Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mining the mineral-rich hills around Tuscany for tin and copper, and Elba for iron
ore, they traded metals with the Greeks and the Phoenicians, becoming exceedingly
prosperous. This wealth meant they were able to commission artists from Greece;
more ancient Greek pottery has been discovered in Etruscan tombs than in Greece it-
self.
Where Did They Come From?
This question has fascinated historians ever since the 5th century BC when Hero-
todus wrote that they came from Lydia, escaping famine in what is now Turkey. It
was later proposed that the Etruscans were a pre-Indo-European native race, and ar-
chaeological and linguistic evidence supports this theory. However, in 2007, DNA
tests seemed to support the idea that they came from north-west Asia, and so the con-
troversy continues.
According to legend, Rome's first king, Romulus, was Etruscan and a family of
Etruscans, the Tarquins, were also the last dynastic rulers of Rome. Their influence
continued: Augustus had 19 Etruscan families (the old, established aristocracy) back-
ing him as late as the end of the 1st century AD. Claudius' first wife was Etruscan,
and the emperor himself wrote a 20-volume history of the Etruscans, though this has
completely disappeared.
The Mystery of the Etruscans
Part of the mystery surrounding Etruria is that no literature remains nor any historical
chronicles - only tomb inscriptions or votive offerings. Written evidence of Etruscan
culture largely comes from contemporary Greek and Roman commentary - much of
which was unsurprisingly (as their rivals) negative, painting them as a decadent
people. It's been theorised that their literature was destroyed by the Romans,
ashamed of their former dominance.
However, it's perhaps also misleading to talk about the Etruscans as if they were a
nation. Although the discovery of warrior graves shows that military status was im-
portant, unlike the Romans, the Etruscans didn't fight together as a block. Evidence
shows that, like the Greek city-state, each town operated independently, making its
own alliances. Perhaps DH Lawrence was correct in suggesting that Italy is less Ro-
man than Etruscan: even today, this relatively new country is enduringly a collection
of distinct regions.
