3. Etruscans Romans

The Etruscans 8th to the 5th century B.C (900/700-500 B.C) Triclinium – formal dining room Interior of the Tomb of the Triclinium, from the Monterozzi necropolis, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 480–470 BCE Italy in Etruscan times Important sites: Tarquinia Cerveteri Vulci Villanova Brief History • The Etruscans occupied the region to the north of Rome, in what is today known as Tuscany (Central). • The Romans (still considered a tribe, yet the Empire it would become) were first a subject people of the Etruscans and later their conquerors. • The Etruscan culture was well-developed and advanced but distinctively different from the cultures of the other peoples in the region. This distinctive difference immediately led to the question of “where did the Etruscans originate?” Where did the Etruscans originate? • Some Greeks held that the Etruscans came from Lydia, a kingdom of western Anatolia (or modern day Turkey). • In the 19th c, it was discovered that most of the languages of Europe belonged to one big language family called Indo- European but Etruscan was not one of them. – The Etruscan language is unique in the ancient Greco- Roman world. There are no known parent languages to Etruscan, nor are there any modern descendants. As Romans took control, Latin became the dominant language. – We have no surviving histories or literature in Etruscan. Science vs. Art • The American Journal of Human • Villanovan Culture: 900-700 BC. Genetics reports finding 11 A culture of Northern Italy, they lineages of human mitochondrial were first identified by their DNA in Tuscany that occur in the cemeteries. They practiced Near East. cremation and buried the ashes • Mitochondrial DNA of cattle in of their dead in pottery urns of Tuscany were tested and were distinctive double-cone shape. genetically related to breeds of • These funerary practices appear cattle in the Near East. to be a part of the Urnfield culture (1350-750 BC) of central - • What these two studies indicate is eastern Europe which arrived in that there were some Near Northern Italy at the beginning of Eastern sources for the Etruscans the first millennium B.C. • The Villanovan Culture was influenced and displaced by the cultures of the Greeks and later the Etruscans So the answer is – we don’t know! Evidence, both scientific and artistic, show a mix of cultures. Early Etruscan Art Fibula (pin) with Orientalizing lions, from the Regolini-Galassi Tomb, Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 650– 640 BCE Double-flute player, detail of a mural painting in the Tomb of the Leopards, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 480-470 BCE Model of a typical sixth-century BCE Etruscan temple, as described by Vitruvius How does this temple differ from Greek temples? How does it differ from Roman temples? Etruscans would cremate bodies and then put the Sculpture ashes in life-size coffins. Sarcophagus with reclining couple, from Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 520 BCE. The hair texture, the physical features allude to the Ancient Near East; the column on the coffin alludes to the Greeks. Etruscan Women • In both Greece and early Rome, respectable women were confined to the house; mixed-sex socializing did not occur. • The freedom of women within Etruscan society was misunderstood by Greeks & Romans as implying their sexual availability. • Also worth noting is that a number of Etruscan tombs carry funerary inscriptions in the form "X son of (father) and (mother)", indicating the importance of the mother's side of the family, unlike the Hegoso Stele. 520 BCE vs. 400 BCE (Etruscan left, Greek right) Necropolis • Modern knowledge of Etruscan daily life is largely dependent on the numerous decorative details and finds from tombs. • The painted tombs of the aristocracy, as well as more simple ones, are extraordinary evidence of what objects cannot show: daily life, ceremonies and mythology as well as artistic abilities. • Two main sites: Cerveteri & Tarquinia Note the similarity to Greek tholos tombs CERVETERI Tumuli (burial mound) in the Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy, seventh to second centuries BCE Plan of the Tomb of the Shields and Chairs, and interior view, Cerveteri, Italy, second half of the sixth century BCE The plans of these tombs typically resembled wealthy houses of the time, which were not different for Romans than Etruscans. Here is another contrast with the Greeks who built stone temples but not tombs. The Etruscans built temples from wood and brick and tombs from stone. Interior of the Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri, Italy, third century BCE. Objects include: weapons and domestic and religious items. Stools, mirrors, drinking cups, pitchers, and knives effectively suggest a domestic context. The tomb was a symbolic home for the afterlife Classical and Roman Etruscan Art Capitoline Wolf, from Rome, Italy, ca. 500–480 BCE Traditionally regarded as a symbol of Rome from ancient times Body of a lioness, with a tail that ends in a snake's head, the head of a goat is on her back at the center of her spine Chimera of Arezzo, from Arezzo, Italy, first half of fourth century BCE Inscribed on its right foreleg is an inscription believed to read TINSCVIL, showing that the bronze was a votive object dedicated to the supreme Etruscan god of day, Tin or Tinia. Porta Marzia (Gate of Mars), Perugia, Italy, second century BCE This was an entry point into the city – defensive architecture once again. Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona, near Lake Trasimeno, Italy, early first century BCE Portrait of an orator. Aule Metele wears the toga and boots of a Roman magistrate, but his name is Etruscan, as are those of his father and mother, included in inscriptions on his hem. Most likely produced at about the time that Roman power and dominance over the Etruscans became total….. The Romans Aquila – eagle – symbol of Roman legion (army soldier) SPQR – Senatus Populusque Romanesque The Roman World Roman History • Rome was founded April 21, 753 BCE • 2 periods to Roman history: – Republic : 509-27 BCE – Empire: 27 BCE – 476 AD & (27 BCE – 1453 AD). The Roman Empire was a "multicultural" entity, stretching from Mesopotamia in the east to Spain in the west, and from North Africa in the south to Britain in the north • During the Republic, the Romans developed a special interest in and taste for Greek art which continued through out the Empire. • Architecture, Engineering, City Planning: – Major Roman innovations: concrete, arch, dome, amphitheater – Column shafts are one piece (instead of stacked drums) – Temple architecture shows a blending of Etruscan and Greek features, and emphasizes the front of the building – Roman city planning: square plan with 2 main avenues that cross, 4 gates Roman Society • Patricians and Plebeians were • Slaves were foreigners. the classes of free residents in – Roman slavery was not based ancient Rome. on race; they were prisoners of – The patricians were a war, sailors captured and sold hereditary aristocracy. by pirates, or individuals – The plebeians were peasants, bought outside Roman laborers, merchants, and territory. residents of Italian states • Women were not regarded as absorbed by Rome. equal to men before the law. – They received only a basic education, and were subject to the authority of a man. • Soldiers - The Roman Empire was created and controlled by its soldiers. – At the core of the army were its legions. Model of the city of Rome during the early 4th century CE 2) Circus Maximus. 3) Palatine Hill, 5) Pantheon, 6) Column of Trajan, 7) Forum of Trajan 10) Forum of Augustus, 11) Forum Romanum, 12) Basilica Nova, 13) Arch of Titus, 15) Arch of Constantine, 17) Colosseum. 22 Roman Religion In Latin, religio means “something that binds.” • State Worship – Romans had a set of public gods, such as Jupiter and Mars. State worship was much more formal: colleges of priests paid tribute to these gods on behalf of Rome itself. • Cult worship: – Each god needed an image – usually a statue or relief in stone or bronze – and an altar or temple at which to offer the prayers and sacrifices. – Approval from the gods did not depend on a person’s behavior, but on perfectly accurate observance of religious rituals. Roman Religion • Judaism in Ancient Rome Communities of Jews existed in cities throughout the Roman Empire for centuries. Written records tell us of brutal treatment in Alexandria and a revolt in Judaea led to the destruction of the temple • Rise of Christianity New religion is established in the 1st c AD. Jesus’ message of eternal life and hope was spread across the empire by missionaries such as Paul. Christians and Jews in Rome (and the larger Empire) suffered persecution; Christianity eventually conquers Rome itself. Roman architecture is based on Greek Temples principles, however, the Romans deviated quite a bit and allowed for more freedom in shape and size. Temple of Vesta (?), Tivoli, Italy, early first century BCE Temple of Portunus (Temple of “Fortuna Virilis”), Rome, Italy, ca. 75 BCE Sculpture and Republican Verism Verism is the emphasizing of realistic elements, such as scars or wrinkles, and was used in Roman portraiture. It can also be described as “veristic”. This is the total opposite of the Greeks who idealized all figures. Look at how this sculpture differs from Greek sculpture below. Both sculptures depict an elder male. Head of an old man, from Osimo, mid-first century BCE Ancestry and gens in the Roman world. Figures shown bust-length (cut off at the base of the chest) follow in the Etruscan tradition. Gens - refers to a family, individuals who shared the same name and claimed descent from a common ancestor. - important to social structure as an individual's social standing depended on the gens to which he belonged. Man with portrait busts of his ancestors, from Rome, late first century BCE Describe this sculpture.

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