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Ancient Mediterranean + Europe
Course: Ancient Mediterranean + Europe > Unit 8
Lesson 1: Before 500 B.C.E.- The Etruscans, an introduction
- Bucchero
- The Regolini-Galassi tomb and the Parade Fibula
- Temple of Minerva and the sculpture of Apollo (Veii)
- Apulu (Apollo of Veii)
- Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Louvre)
- Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Rome)
- Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Rome)
- Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (from UNESCO/NHK)
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Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (from UNESCO/NHK)
These two large Etruscan cemeteries reflect different types of burial practices from the 9th to the 1st century BC, and bear witness to the achievements of Etruscan culture. Which over nine centuries developed the earliest urban civilization in the northern Mediterranean. Some of the tombs are monumental, cut in rock and topped by impressive tumuli (burial mounds). Many feature carvings on their walls, others have wall paintings of outstanding quality. The necropolis near Cerveteri, known as Banditaccia, contains thousands of tombs organized in a city-like plan, with streets, small squares and neighbourhoods. The site contains very different types of tombs: trenches cut in rock; tumuli; and some, also carved in rock, in the shape of huts or houses with a wealth of structural details. These provide the only surviving evidence of Etruscan residential architecture. The necropolis of Tarquinia, also known as Monterozzi, contains 6,000 graves cut in the rock. It is famous for its 200 painted tombs, the earliest of which date from the 7th century BC.
Source: UNESCO TV / © NHK Nippon Hoso Kyokai (URL)
.Want to join the conversation?
At1:33-1:38, the speaker mentions that the Etruscans believed that their afterlife would be "very similar to their own world". This belief is eerily similar to the Ancient Egyptian religious system. This strange coincidence begs two different questions: Were the Etruscans inspired by that particular society in general; how did that viewpoint on the afterlife come about?(3 votes)
Etruscan art seems to be almost a hodge-podge of different cultures arts. This being said, where did the etruscans come from?(1 vote)
To this day, no one knows for certain from where they came but we know that they wrote in Greek alphabet. Some experts says they might be from Greece.(4 votes)
Why where there demon on the wall?(2 votes)
Demons symbolize the afterlife and the transition from life to death.(2 votes)
I find it fascinating that the Etruscan society was so much close to gender equality than their neighbors at the time. Is there any explanation to why the Etruscan women had, or were given, such a right, as participation in social activities? Where women allowed to vote? Thank you!(1 vote)- Etruscan women did not participate in the political process directly. They dd enjoy property rights and had more social freedom than did contemporary women in the Greek world, for instance.(4 votes)
- When were the etruscan tombs discovered?(1 vote)
The first was found in 1868, but more kept being discovered until 1985.(2 votes)
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