Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Etruscans, Greeks & Wolf-Raised Twins
Of the many tribes that emerged from the millennia of the Stone Age in ancient Italy, the
Etruscans dominated the peninsula by the 7th century BC. Etruria was based on city-states
mostly concentrated between the Arno and Tiber rivers. Among them were Caere (modern-
day Cerveteri), Tarquinii (Tarquinia), Veii (Veio), Perusia (Perugia), Volaterrae (Volterra)
and Arretium (Arezzo). The name of their homeland is preserved in the name Tuscany,
where the bulk of their settlements were (and still are) located.
A wide-ranging general site with potted Italian history is
www.arcaini.com
. It covers everything
from prehistory to the post-war period, and includes a brief chronology.
Most of what we know of the Etruscan people has been deduced from artefacts and
paintings unearthed at their burial sights, especially at Tarquinia, near Rome. Argument
persists over whether the Etruscans had migrated from Asia Minor. They spoke a language
that today has barely been deciphered. An energetic people, the Etruscans were redoubtable
warriors and seamen, but lacked cohesion and discipline.
At home, the Etruscans farmed, and mined metals. Their gods were numerous and they
were forever trying to second-guess them and predict future events through such rituals as
examining the livers of sacrificed animals. They were also quick to learn from others.
Much of their artistic tradition (which comes to us in the form of tomb frescoes, statuary
and pottery) was influenced by the Greeks.
Indeed, while the Etruscans dominated the centre of the peninsula, Greek traders settled
in the south in the 8th century BC, setting up a series of independent city-states along the
coast and in Sicily that together were known as Magna Graecia. They flourished until the
3rd century BC and the ruins of magnificent Doric temples in Italy's south (at Paestum)
and on Sicily (at Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta) stand as testimony to the splendour of
Greek civilisation in Italy.
The Romans devised a type of odometer that engaged with a vehicle's wheel to count every mile
travelled.
