Etruscan torture. Where are the Etruscans, and where are the Russians

(1494-1559)

Argumentation of the migration version

The works of Herodotus, which appeared in the 5th century BC, speak in favor of the second theory. e. According to Herodotus, the Etruscans are from Lydia, a region in Asia Minor, - tyrrhens or tyrsenes, forced to leave their homeland due to catastrophic crop failure and famine. According to Herodotus, this happened almost simultaneously with the Trojan War. Hellanic from the island of Lesbos mentioned the legend of the Pelasgians, who arrived in Italy and began to be called Tyrrhenians. At that time, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed and the empire of the Hittites fell, that is, the appearance of the Tyrrhenes should be dated to the 13th century BC. e. or a little later. Perhaps this legend is connected with the myth of the escape to the west of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the founding of the Roman state, which was of great importance to the Etruscans. Herodotus' hypothesis is confirmed by genetic analysis data, which confirm the relationship of the Etruscans with the inhabitants of the lands currently belonging to Turkey.

Up to the middle of the 20th century. The "Lydian version" was subjected to serious criticism, especially after the decipherment of the Lydian inscriptions - their language had nothing to do with Etruscan. However, there is also a version that the Etruscans should not be identified with the Lydians, but with the more ancient, pre-Indo-European population of the west of Asia Minor, known as the "Protoluvians". With the Etruscans of this early period, A. Erman identified the legendary Tursha tribe, who lived in the eastern Mediterranean and carried out predatory raids on Egypt (XIII-VII centuries BC).

Argumentation of the complex version

On the basis of ancient sources and archeological data, it can be concluded that the most ancient elements of prehistoric Mediterranean unity took part in the ethnogenesis of the Etruscans during the period of the beginning of the movement from East to West in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e.; also a wave of migrants from the area of ​​the Black and Caspian Seas in the II millennium BC. e. In the process of the formation of the Etruscan community, traces of Aegean and Aegean-Anatolian emigrants were found. In confirmation of this, the results of excavations on about. Lemnos (Aegean Sea), where inscriptions close to the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language were found.

Geographical position

It is not yet possible to determine the exact limits of Etruria. The beginning of the history and culture of the Etruscans was laid in the region of the Tyrrhenian Sea and limited to the basin of the rivers Tiber and Arno. The river network of the country also included the rivers Aventia, Vesidia, Tsetsina, Aluza, Umbro, Oza, Albinia, Armenta, Marta, Minio, Aro. A wide river network created conditions for developed agriculture, which was complicated in a number of places by swampy areas. Southern Etruria, whose soils were often of volcanic origin, had extensive lakes: Tsiminskoe, Alsietiskoe, Statonenskoe, Volsinskoe, Sabatinskoe, Trazimenskoe. More than half of the country's territory was occupied by mountains and hills. According to the paintings and reliefs, one can judge the diversity of the flora and fauna of the region. The Etruscans cultivated cypress, myrtle, and pomegranate brought to Italy from Carthage (the image of a pomegranate is found on Etruscan objects in the 6th century BC).

Cities and necropolises

Each of the Etruscan cities had an influence on the territory that they controlled. The exact number of inhabitants of the Etruscan city-states is unknown, according to rough estimates, the population of Cerveteri during its heyday was 25 thousand people.

Cerveteri was the southernmost city of Etruria, he controlled the deposits of metal-bearing ore, which ensured the prosperity of the city. The settlement was located near the coast on a steep ledge. The necropolis was traditionally located outside the city. A road led to it, along which funeral carts were transported. There were tombs on both sides of the road. The bodies rested on benches, in niches or terracotta sarcophagi. Along with them were placed the personal belongings of the deceased.

From the name of this city (Etr. - Caere), the Roman word "ceremony" subsequently came - this is how the Romans called some funeral rites.

The nearby town of Veii was well protected. The city and its acropolis were surrounded by moats, making Veii almost impregnable. Here they found an altar, the foundation of the temple and water tanks. Vulka, the only Etruscan sculptor whose name we know, was a native of Vei. The area around the city is notable for the passages carved into the rock that served to drain water.

The recognized center of Etruria was the city of Tarquinia. The name of the city comes from the son or brother of Tyrren Tarkon, who founded twelve Etruscan policies. The necropolises of Tarquinia centered around the hills of Colle de Civita and Monterozzi. The tombs carved into the rock were protected by mounds, the chambers were painted for two hundred years. It was here that magnificent sarcophagi were found, decorated with bas-reliefs with images of the deceased on the lid.

When laying the city, the Etruscans observed rituals similar to those of the Romans. was chosen perfect place, a hole was dug into which sacrifices were thrown. From this place, the founder of the city, with a plow harnessed by a cow and an ox, made a furrow that determined the position of the city walls. Wherever possible, the Etruscans used the lattice layout of the streets, orienting them to the cardinal points.

Story

The formation, development and collapse of the Etruscan state took place against the backdrop of three periods Ancient Greece - orientalizing or geometric, classical (Hellenistic), as well as the rise of Rome. The earlier stages are given in accordance with the autochthonous theory of the origin of the Etruscans.

Protovillanovian period

The most important of the historical sources that marked the beginning of the Etruscan civilization is the Etruscan chronology of saecula (centuries). According to him, the first century of the ancient state, saeculum, began around the 11th or 10th century BC. e. This time refers to the so-called protovillanovian period (XII-X centuries BC). There is extremely little data on protovillanovians. The only important evidence of the beginning of a new civilization is a change in the funeral rite, which began to be performed by cremating the body on a funeral pyre, followed by burial of the ashes in urns.

Periods of Villanova I and Villanova II

After the loss of independence, Etruria retained a cultural identity for some time. In the II-I centuries BC. e. local art continued to exist; this period is also called the Etruscan-Roman period. But gradually the Etruscans adopted the way of life of the Romans. In 89 BC. e. the inhabitants of Etruria received Roman citizenship. By this time, the process of Romanization of Etruscan cities was practically completed along with Etruscan history itself.

Art and culture

The first monuments of Etruscan culture date back to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th centuries. BC e. The cycle of development of the Etruscan civilization ends by the 2nd century BC. BC e. Rome was under its influence until the 1st century. BC e.

The Etruscans for a long time preserved the archaic cults of the first Italic settlers and showed a particular interest in death and the afterlife. Therefore, Etruscan art was significantly associated with the decoration of tombs, and based on the concept that the objects in them should retain a connection with real life. The most notable of the surviving monuments are sculpture and sarcophagi.

Etruscan language and literature

Women's toilet articles constituted a special category. One of the most famous products of the Etruscan craftsmen were bronze hand mirrors. Some are equipped with folding drawers, decorated with high reliefs. One surface was carefully polished, the reverse was decorated with engraving or high relief. Bronze was used to make strigils - spatulas for cleaning off oil and dirt, cysts, nail files, chests.

By modern standards, Etruscan houses are rather sparsely furnished. As a rule, the Etruscans did not use shelves and cabinets, they kept things and provisions in caskets, baskets or hung on hooks.

Luxury goods and jewelry

For centuries, Etruscan aristocrats wore jewelry and acquired luxury goods made of glass, faience, amber, ivory, precious stones, gold and silver. Villanovians in the 7th century BC e. wore glass beads, precious metal jewelry, and earthenware pendants from the Eastern Mediterranean. The most important local items were fibulae, made of bronze, gold, silver and iron. The latter were considered rare.

The exceptional prosperity of Etruria in the 7th century BC. e. caused the rapid development of jewelry and the influx of imported products. Silver bowls were imported from Phoenicia, the images on them were copied by Etruscan craftsmen. Caskets and goblets were made from ivory imported from the East. Most of the jewelry was made in Etruria. Goldsmiths used engraving, filigree and graining. In addition to brooches, pins, buckles, hair bands, earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, plates for clothes were widespread.

During the archaic, decorations became more elaborate. Earrings in the form of tiny pouches and disc-shaped earrings came into fashion. Semi-precious stones and colored glass were used. During this period, beautiful gems appeared. Hollow pendants or bulla often played the role of amulets, they were worn by children and adults. Etruscan women of the Hellenistic period preferred Greek-type jewelry. In the II century BC. e. they wore a tiara on their heads, small earrings with pendants in their ears, clasps in the form of discs on their shoulders, bracelets and rings adorned their hands.

• The Etruscans all wore short hair, with the exception of the priests - haruspices [ ] . The priests did not cut their hair, but removed it from their foreheads with a narrow headband, a gold or silver hoop [ ] . In more ancient period the Etruscans cut their beards short, but later they began to shave them clean [ ] . Women loosened their hair over their shoulders or braided it into braids and covered their heads with a hat.

  Leisure

  The Etruscans loved to participate in combat competitions and, possibly, to help other people with the housework [ ] . Also, the Etruscans had a theater, but it did not become as widespread as, for example, the Attic theater, and the found manuscripts of plays are not enough for a final analysis.

  Economy

  Crafts and agriculture

  The basis of the prosperity of Etruria was agriculture, which made it possible to keep livestock and export surplus wheat to Largest cities Italy. In the archaeological material, grains of spelt, oats and barley were found. The high level of agriculture of the Etruscans made it possible to engage in selection - an Etruscan variety of spelt was obtained, for the first time they began to cultivate cultivated oats. Flax went to sewing tunics and raincoats, ship sails. This material was used to record various texts (later this achievement was borrowed by the Romans). There is evidence from the ancients about the strength of linen thread, from which Etruscan artisans made shells (tomb of the 6th century BC, Tarquinia). Quite widely, the Etruscans used artificial irrigation, drainage, and regulation of the flow of rivers. Ancient canals known to archaeological science were located near the Etruscan cities of Spina, Veii, in the Coda region.

  In the bowels of the Apennines, copper, zinc, silver, iron were deposited, on the island of Ylva (Elba) iron ore reserves - everything was developed by the Etruscans. The presence of numerous metal products in the tombs of the VIII century. BC e. in Etruria is associated with an adequate level of mining and metallurgy. The remains of mining are widely found near ancient Populonia (Campiglia Marritima region). The analysis allows us to establish that the smelting of copper and bronze preceded ironworking. There are finds made of copper, inlaid with miniature iron squares - a technique used when working with expensive materials. In the 7th century BC e. iron was still a rare metal to work with. Nevertheless, metalworking in cities and colonial centers was revealed: in Capua and Nola, the production of metal utensils was developed, in Minturni, Venafre, Suessa, an assortment of blacksmith craft items was found. Metalworking workshops are marked in Marzabotto. For that time, the mining and processing of copper and iron was significant in terms of the scale of application. In this area, the Etruscans succeeded in building mines for the manual extraction of ore.

The Etruscans, the ancient inhabitants of Central Italy, once called Etruria (modern Tuscany), are one of the most mysterious peoples that I knew.

They had a written language, but modern scientists have managed to decipher only a small part of the records that have come down to us. The rich literature of the Etruscans has been lost, apart from isolated passages, and all that we know of their history has come down to us only through the unflattering comments of Greek and Roman authors.

Ancient Etruscans

Etruria, an area that roughly coincided with the territory of the modern Italian province of Tuscany, was rich in iron and copper ores.

Chimera from Arezzo. Bronze statue of the 5th century. BC e.

Its coast abounded with natural harbors. So the Etruscans were good sailors and were well versed in the art of metalworking.

The basis of their wealth was the maritime trade in ingots, bronze and other goods along the entire coast of Italy and the South.

Around 800 BC e., when Rome was still a cluster of miserable huts clinging to the top of a hill, they already lived in cities.

But Etruscan traders faced fierce competition from the Greeks and Phoenicians.

Around 600 BC. e. the Greeks founded the trading colony of Massilia (modern Marseille) in southern France. With this stronghold, they were able to take control of an important trade route that led along the Rhone River to Central Europe.

The source of the wealth of the Etruscans was the development of mineral reserves; in particular, they owned the largest deposits of copper and iron in the entire Mediterranean. Etruscan artisans made wonderful works of art out of metal, such as this bronze statue of the Chimera, a monster with a lion's head and a snake instead of a tail.

To protect their interests, the Etruscans entered into an alliance with Carthage. The Etruscans owned all the advanced technologies of their time; they built roads, bridges and canals.

From the Greeks they borrowed the alphabet, painted pottery and temple architecture.

In the VI century. BC e. the possessions of the Etruscans expanded north and south of their original region of Etruria. According to Roman authors, at that time 12 large Etruscan cities formed a political union - the Etruscan League.

Founding of the Roman Republic

For some time the Etruscan kings ruled in Rome. The last king was overthrown by a group of Roman aristocrats in 510 BC. e. - this date is considered the moment of the emergence of the Roman Republic (the city of Rome itself was founded in 753 BC).

Since that time, the Romans began to gradually take away power from the Etruscans. At the beginning of the III century. BC e. the Etruscans disappeared from the historical scene; they were swallowed up by Rome's steadily expanding sphere of political influence.

The Romans adopted many ideas from the Etruscans in the field of culture and art, construction, metalworking and military affairs.

Etruria was glorified by skilled artists and artisans, especially since militarily the Etruscans could not compete with the Romans.

Etruscan cities of the dead

The Etruscans buried the dead in spacious necropolises that resembled cities in appearance. In the south of Etruria, they carved tombs from soft tuff rocks and decorated them inside as housing.

Often statues were placed in the tombs depicting the deceased husband and his wife, sitting sprawled on a bench, as if during a feast.

The ancestral home of the Etruscans occupied part of modern Tuscany. They grew rich through the maritime trade in metal ores and, with the help of wealth, expanded their influence in the northern part of Italy.

Other tombs were decorated with frescoes, also depicting feasts, the participants of which were entertained by musicians and dancers.

A significant part of the tombs was looted by thieves, but archaeologists managed to find many untouched tombs.

As a rule, they contained many Greek vases, as well as chariots, items made of gold, ivory and amber, testifying to the wealth of the Etruscan aristocrats buried there.

Main dates

The Etruscans, as one of the most highly developed civilizations of antiquity, plays an important role in history. The following are the main dates of the Etruscan civilization.

Now you know who the Etruscans are, and why historians are so interested in their ancient civilization.

Italy in Modern Times (1559-1814)

Military history of Italy

Economic history of Italy

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Up to the middle of the 20th century. The "Lydian version" was subjected to serious criticism, especially after the decipherment of the Lydian inscriptions - their language had nothing to do with Etruscan. However, according to modern ideas, the Etruscans should not be identified with the Lydians, but with the more ancient, pre-Indo-European population of the west of Asia Minor, known as the "protoluvians" or "peoples of the sea".

Story

The formation, development and disintegration of the Etruscan state took place against the background of three periods of ancient Greece - orientalizing, or geometric, classical, Hellenistic, as well as the rise of the Roman Republic. The earlier stages are given in accordance with the autochthonous theory of the origin of the Etruscans.

Protovillanovian period

Burial urn in the form of a hut. 9th century BC e.

The most important of the Etruscan sources that marked the beginning of the Etruscan civilization is the Etruscan chronology of saecula (centuries). According to her, the first century of the ancient state, saeculum, began around the 11th or 10th century BC. e. This time refers to the so-called protovillanovian period (XII-X centuries BC). There is extremely little data on protovillanovians. The only important evidence of the beginning of a new civilization is a change in the funeral rite, which began to be performed by cremating the body on a funeral pyre, followed by burial of ashes in the fields of urns.

Periods of Villanova I and Villanova II

After the loss of independence, Etruria retained its originality for some time. In the II-I centuries BC. e. local art continued to exist; this period is also called the Etruscan-Roman period. But gradually the Etruscans adopted the way of life of the Romans. In 89 BC. e. The Etruscans were granted Roman citizenship. By this time, the process of assimilation of the Etruscan cities was almost completed. Yet in the 2nd century A.D. e. some Etruscans spoke their own language. Haruspices, Etruscan soothsayers, lasted much longer. However, Etruscan history was completed.

Art

The first monuments of Etruscan culture date back to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th centuries. BC e. The cycle of development of the Etruscan civilization ends by the 2nd century BC. BC e. Rome was under its influence until the 1st century. BC e.

The Etruscans for a long time preserved the archaic cults of the first Italic settlers and showed a particular interest in death and the afterlife. Therefore, Etruscan art was significantly associated with the decoration of tombs, and based on the concept that the objects in them should retain a connection with real life. The most remarkable of the surviving monuments are sculpture and sarcophagi.

The science

We know very little about Etruscan science, with the exception of medicine, which was admired by the Romans. Etruscan doctors knew anatomy well, and it was no coincidence that the ancient historian wrote about "Etruria, famous for the discovery of medicines." They achieved some success in dentistry: in some burials, for example, dentures were even found.

Very little information has also come down to us about the literature, scientific and historical works created by the Etruscans.

Cities and necropolises

Each of the Etruscan cities had an influence on the territory that they controlled. The exact number of inhabitants of the Etruscan city-states is unknown, according to rough estimates, the population of Cerveteri during its heyday was 25 thousand people.

Cerveteri was the southernmost city of Etruria, he controlled the deposits of metal-bearing ore, which ensured the prosperity of the city. The settlement was located near the coast on a steep ledge. The necropolis was traditionally located outside the city. A road led to it, along which funeral carts were transported. There were tombs on both sides of the road. The bodies rested on benches, in niches or terracotta sarcophagi. Along with them were placed the personal belongings of the deceased.

Foundations of houses in the Etruscan city of Marzabotto

From the name of this city (Etr. - Caere), the Roman word "ceremony" subsequently came - this is how the Romans called some funeral rites.

The nearby town of Veii was well protected. The city and its acropolis were surrounded by moats, making Veii almost impregnable. Here they found an altar, the foundation of the temple and water tanks. Vulka, the only Etruscan sculptor whose name we know, was a native of Vei. The area around the city is notable for the passages carved into the rock that served to drain water.

The recognized center of Etruria was the city of Tarquinia. The name of the city comes from the son or brother of Tyrrhenus Tarkon, who founded twelve Etruscan policies. The necropolises of Tarquinia centered around the hills of Colle de Civita and Monterozzi. The tombs carved into the rock were protected by mounds, the chambers were painted for two hundred years. It was here that magnificent sarcophagi were found, decorated with bas-reliefs with images of the deceased on the lid.

When laying the city, the Etruscans observed rituals similar to those of the Romans. An ideal place was chosen, a hole was dug into which sacrifices were thrown. From this place, the founder of the city, with a plow harnessed by a cow and an ox, made a furrow that determined the position of the city walls. Wherever possible, the Etruscans used the lattice layout of the streets, orienting them to the cardinal points.

Life

The houses and tombs described above belonged to people who could afford to purchase luxury goods. Therefore, most of the household items found during the excavations tell about the life of the upper strata of Etruscan society.

Ceramics

The Etruscans created their ceramic products, inspired by the work of Greek masters. The shapes of the vessels have changed over the centuries, as have the technique and style. The Villanovians made pottery from a material often referred to as impasto, although this is not quite the correct term to describe Italic clay vessels with an admixture fired to brown or black.

Around the middle of the 7th century BC. e. in Etruria, real buccero vessels appeared - black ceramics characteristic of the Etruscans. Early bucchero vessels were thin-walled, decorated with notches and ornaments. Later, the procession of animals and people became a favorite motif. Gradually, the buccero vessels became pretentious, overloaded with decorations. This type of pottery disappeared by the 5th century BC. e.

In the 6th century, black-figure ceramics became widespread. The Etruscans basically copied products from Corinth and Ionia, adding something of their own. The Etruscans continued to make black-figure vessels when the Greeks switched to the red-figure technique. Real red-figure pottery appeared in Etruria in the second half of the 5th century BC. e. Favorite subjects were mythological episodes, scenes of farewell to the dead. The center of production was the Vulci. Painted pottery continued to be produced into the 3rd and even the 2nd century BC. e. But gradually the style leaned towards black ceramics - the vessel was covered with paint, which imitated metal. There were silver-plated vessels, of exquisite form, decorated with high reliefs. The ceramics from Arezzo, used on the tables of the Romans in the following centuries, became truly famous.

bronze products

The Etruscans had no equal in working with bronze. Even the Greeks recognized this. They collected some items of Etruscan bronze. Bronze vessels, especially for wine, often repeated Greek forms. Ladles and sieves were made of bronze. Some products were decorated with bas-reliefs, the handles were in the form of bird or animal heads. Candelabra for candles were made of bronze. A large number of incense braziers have also been preserved. Among other bronze utensils, there are meat hooks, basins and jugs, tripods for boilers, libation bowls, coasters for playing cottabos.

Women's toilet articles constituted a special category. One of the most famous products of the Etruscan craftsmen were bronze hand mirrors. Some are equipped with folding drawers, decorated with high reliefs. One surface was carefully polished, the reverse was decorated with engraving or high relief. Bronze was used to make strigils - spatulas for cleaning off oil and dirt, cysts, nail files, chests.

Other household items

Most best items in the Etruscan house were made of bronze. Others were lost because they were made of wood, leather, vines, fabric. We know about these objects thanks to various images. For several centuries, the Etruscans used chairs with a high rounded back, the prototype of which was a wicker chair. Products from Chiusi - chairs with backs and tables with four legs - indicate that in the 7th century BC. e. The Etruscans sat at the table while eating. In Etruria, it was common for spouses to eat together; they reclined together on a Greek wedge bed, which was covered with mattresses and pillows folded in half. Low tables were placed in front of the bed. In the VI century BC. e. there are a lot of folding chairs. The Etruscans also borrowed high-backed chairs and high tables from the Greeks - craters and oinochoes were placed on these.

By modern standards, Etruscan houses are rather sparsely furnished. As a rule, the Etruscans did not use shelves and cabinets, they kept things and provisions in caskets, baskets or hung on hooks.

Luxury goods and jewelry

For centuries, Etruscan aristocrats wore jewelry and acquired luxury goods made of glass, faience, amber, ivory, precious stones, gold, and silver. Villanovians in the 7th century BC e. wore glass beads, jewelry made of precious metals and faience pendants from the Eastern Mediterranean. The most important local items were fibulae, made of bronze, gold, silver and iron. The latter were considered rare. The exceptional prosperity of Etruria in the 7th century BC. e. caused the rapid development of jewelry and the influx of imported products. Silver bowls were imported from Phoenicia, the images on them were copied by Etruscan masters. Caskets and goblets were made from ivory imported from the East. Most of the jewelry was made in Etruria. Goldsmiths used engraving, filigree and graining. In addition to brooches, pins, buckles, hair bands, earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, plates for clothes were widespread. During the archaic, decorations became more elaborate. Earrings in the form of tiny pouches and disc-shaped earrings came into fashion. Semi-precious stones and colored glass were used. During this period, beautiful gems appeared. Hollow pendants often played the role of amulets, they were worn by children and adults. Etruscan women of the Hellenistic period preferred Greek-type jewelry. In the II century BC. e. they wore a tiara on their heads, small earrings with pendants in their ears, clasps in the form of discs on their shoulders, bracelets and rings adorned their hands.

Clothes and hairstyles

Clothing consisted mainly of capes and shirts. The head was covered with a high hat with a round top and curved brim. Women loosened their hair over their shoulders or braided it into braids and covered their heads with a hat. Shoes for men and women were sandals. The Etruscans all wore short hair, with the exception of the priests - haruspices. The priests did not cut their hair, but removed it from their foreheads with a narrow headband, a gold or silver hoop. In the more ancient period, the Etruscans cut their beards short, but later they began to shave them clean.

Military organization and economy

military organization

Trade

Crafts and agriculture

Religion

The Etruscans deified the forces of nature and worshiped many gods and goddesses. The main deities of this people were Tin (Tiniya) - the supreme god of the sky, Uni and Menrva. There were many other gods besides them. The sky was divided into 16 regions, each of which had its own deity. In the worldview of the Etruscans, there were also gods of the sea and the underworld, natural elements, rivers and streams, gods of plants, gates and doors; and deified ancestors; and just various demons (for example, the Demon Tukhulka with a hawk beak and a ball of snakes on his head instead of hair, who was the executor of the will of the gods of the underworld).

The Etruscans believed that the gods could punish people for mistakes and lack of attention to their persons, and therefore, to propitiate them, sacrifices must be made. The greatest sacrifice was human life. As a rule, these were criminals or captives who were forced to fight to the death during the funeral of noble people. However, at critical moments, the Etruscans sacrificed their own lives to the gods.

Power and social structure of society

Leisure

The Etruscans loved to participate in combat competitions and, possibly, in helping other people with the housework. The Etruscans also had a theater, but it did not become as widespread as, for example, the Attic theater, and the found manuscripts of plays are not enough for a final analysis.

Toponymy

A number of geographical names are associated with the Etruscans. The Tyrrhenian Sea was so named by the ancient Greeks because it was controlled by the "Tyrrhenians" (the Greek name for the Etruscans). The Adriatic Sea was named after the Etruscan port city of Adria, which controlled the northern part of this sea. In Rome, the Etruscans were called "Tusci", which was later reflected in the name of the administrative region of Italy Tuscany.

Etruscan language and literature

The family ties of the Etruscan language are debatable. The compilation of a dictionary of the Etruscan language and the deciphering of the texts are progressing slowly and to this day are far from complete.

Sources

• Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities: In 3 vols. M.: Frontiers XXI, 2005. Series "Historical Library".
• Titus Livy. History of Rome from the founding of the city. In 3 vols. Moscow: Nauka 1989-1994. Series "Monuments of historical thought".
• Plutarch. Comparative biographies: In 3 vols. M.: Nauka, 1961, 1963, 1964. Series "Literary Monuments".
• Pavel Orozy. History against the pagans. Books I-VII: In In 3 vols. St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2001-2003. Series "Byzantine Library".

Literature

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• Bor Matej, Tomajic Ivan. Veneti and Etruscans: at the origins of European civilization: Sat. Art. M.; St. Petersburg: Dr. France Preshern, Aletheia, 2008.
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• Vasilenko R.P. The Etruscans and the Christian Religion // Ancient World and Archeology. Saratov, 1983. Issue. 5. S. 15-26.
• Vaughan A. Etruscans. M.: KRON-Press, 1998.
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• Zalessky N. N. Etruscans in Northern Italy. L .: Publishing house of Leningrad State University, 1959.
• Zalessky N. N. On the history of the Etruscan colonization of Italy in the 7th-4th centuries. BC e. L .: Publishing house of Leningrad State University 1965.
• Kondratov A. A. Etruscans - the number one mystery. Moscow: Knowledge, 1977.
• Mavleev E.V. Lukumons // Science and Religion.
• Mavleev E.V. Master of the Judgment of Paris from Oberlin College in the Hermitage // Communications of the State Hermitage. 1982. Issue. 47. S. 44-46.
• Mayani Zachary. The Etruscans begin to speak. M .: Nauka, 1966. (Reprint: Mayani Z. In the footsteps of the Etruscans. M .: Veche, 2003).
• Ellen McNamara. Etruscans: Life, religion, culture. M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2006. Series "Life, religion, culture".
• Lighthouse I. L. Rome of the first kings (Genesis of the Roman policy). M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1983.
• Nagovitsyn A.E. Etruscans: Mythology and Religion. M.: Refl-Book, 2000.
• Nemirovsky A.I. Archaeological museums of Tuscany // Bulletin of ancient history. 1992. No. 1. S. 237-244.
• Nemirovsky A.I., Harsekin A.I. Etruscans. Introduction to Etruscology. Voronezh: Publishing House of the Voronezh University, 1969.
• Nemirovsky A. I. Etruscans. From myth to history. Moscow: Nauka, 1983.
• Penny J. Languages ​​of Italy // . Vol. IV: Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean c. 525–479 BC e. Ed. J. Boardman and others. Trans. from English. A. V. Zaikova. M., 2011. S. 852-874. – ISBN 978-5-86218-496-9
• Ridgway D. Etruscan // The Cambridge History of the Ancient World. Vol. IV: Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean c. 525–479 BC e. M., 2011. S. 754-808.
• Robert Jean Noel. Etruscans. M.: Veche, 2007. (Series "Guides of Civilizations").
• Sokolov G.I. Art of the Etruscans. M.: Art, 1990.
• Thuillet J.-P. Etruscan civilization / Per. from fr. M.: AST, Astrel, 2012. - 254 p. - Historical Library Series, 2,000 copies, ISBN 978-5-271-37795-2, ISBN 978-5-17-075620-3
• Ergon Jack. Everyday life Etruscans. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya, 2009. Series “Living history. Daily life of mankind.
• Etruscans: Italian love of life. M.: TERRA, 1998. Encyclopedia series "Disappeared Civilizations".
• Macnamara E. Everyday life of the etruscans. M., 2006.

see also

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Romans are called teachers Western Europe. Indeed, Western European civilization took over from Roman culture a huge number of its achievements, starting with alphabetic writing and ending with sewerage. But the Romans themselves had their teachers. For at the cradle of Roman civilization stands another, more ancient one, created by the Etruscans, a people who to this day remain mysterious. And it’s not for nothing that we called our book “The Etruscans – Mystery Number One”. Indeed: shouldn’t the “first issue” of modern historical science studying the origin of ancient civilizations be the question of the “teachers of teachers” of Western European culture, a culture that, after the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, spread to all parts of the world, including the current wintering stations in Antarctica?

On the the globe there are many peoples whose origin, history, language, culture are mysterious. And yet, the Etruscans are rightfully called the "most mysterious" people. After all, they did not live in distant exotic lands, but in the very heart of Europe, their study began in the Renaissance, when Europeans did not know anything about America, Australia and Oceania, and their information about Africa and Asia was very fantastic, but our knowledge about the "teachers of teachers" is less than about the Pygmies of the Congo, the Indians of the Amazon, the Polynesians of Oceania and other peoples who are called "mysterious". The riddle of the Etruscans is really “mystery number one”.

This mystery cannot but excite our Soviet scientists who study the origins of the cultural heritage that we use along with other European peoples.

The symbol of Rome is the Capitoline she-wolf, who nursed Romulus and Remus. Romulus is considered the legendary founder of the city, from whose name the very name Rome, or rather Roma, is produced (it is we, the Slavs, who call it Rome). Of course, this is just a widespread myth. The name of the "eternal city" is given by the river on which it stands. After all, the ancient name of the Tiber sounds like Ruma. This word, most likely, comes from the language of the Etruscans. But not only the name, but also the creation of the city itself, the Romans owe to their mysterious predecessors. Yes, and the sculpture of the Capitoline she-wolf, personifying Rome, was made by the hands of an Etruscan master, only later, by the Romans, statuettes of babies Romulus and Remus were attached to it. And for us, unlike the ancient inhabitants of Rome, it takes on a different meaning: the “eternal city” was founded by the Etruscans, and then the Romans took over from them.

Not far from the outskirts of modern Bologna, archaeologists were lucky to find a small Etruscan city, more or less spared by time. It can be used to judge the layout of the Etruscan cities. They were built on the hills, step by step. In the center, at the top, temples were erected, below the residential part of the city was geometrically correct. Its obligatory affiliation was a water pipe ... Isn't it an exact copy of ancient Rome, standing on seven hills, each of which is crowned with temples, and equipped with a water supply system (which, by the way, still operates to this day!)?

The oldest houses of the Etruscans were round; they were covered with thatched roofs. But very early, rectangular houses began to appear, in the central room of which a hearth burned. Smoke escaped through a hole in the roof. The aristocrats and military nobility who dominated the Etruscan cities lived in houses with an atrium, that is, with an open area inside the house, on which the hearth was placed. All this we find later in the "Roman" type of residential building. It is more correct to call it "Etruscan".

From the Etruscans, the Romans also adopted the design of temples, whose roofs and entablature - the part of the structure between the roof and the columns - were decorated with sculptures and clay reliefs. However, sometimes there was not even continuity or imitation here: many of the famous temples of Rome were erected by Etruscan masters.

The Capitoline she-wolf is a symbol of Rome; the symbol of his eternity and power is the grandiose temple on the crest of the Capitol Hill, which was decorated with the famous she-wolf, as well as many other statues and reliefs. Their author was the Etruscan sculptor Vulka from the Etruscan city of Veii.

Temple on the Capitol Hill; dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, was commissioned by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius the Proud, an Etruscan by birth, and its architecture is typically Etruscan. The front of the temple is a hall with a colonnade; back - three halls located parallel to each other; rooms: the central one, dedicated to the supreme god Jupiter, and two side ones, dedicated to Juno and Minerva.

Etruscan were not only proportions, decorations, designs, but also the material from which the Capitoline temple was made. Along with stone, the Etruscans also used wood. To protect the wooden walls from rotting, they were lined with mud slabs. These plates were painted in various colors. This, of course, gave the temple a festive and cheerful look.

The Capitoline Church was destroyed by fire several times, but each time it was rebuilt. Moreover, in the very original form in which it was built by the Etruscan architects, because, according to the soothsayers, “the gods are against changing the shape of the temple” - it was only allowed to change its size (although in size the first Capitol was not inferior to the largest temples of Ancient Greece).

Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote about the plumbing, "worked by the slaves of Rome." In fact, this is not entirely true: the construction was carried out by the Romans themselves on the orders of the Etruscan king Tarquinius Priscus, who ruled Rome.

"Cloaca maxima" - "great cloaca" - this is how the ancient Romans called a huge stone pipe that collects excess moisture and water from showers and carries it to the Tiber. “Sometimes the Tiber drives the waters back, and various streams collide inside, but despite this, a strong structure withstands the pressure,” Pliny the Elder reports and adds that it is “so spacious that an arba loaded with hay could pass through it.” But not only a load of hay, but also the huge weights that were transported on top of this covered canal, could not do anything with it - “the vaulted building does not bend, fragments of buildings fall on it, which themselves suddenly collapsed or were destroyed by fires, the earth oscillates from earthquakes, but nevertheless it has endured it for seven hundred years since the time of Tarquinius Priscus, being almost eternal, ”writes Pliny the Elder.

Another two thousand years passed. But to this day, the “cesspool of maxim” is included in the sewer system of the “eternal city”.

Actually, the creation of this building made Rome Rome. Until then, there were villages here, on seven hills, and between them there was a swampy place - pasture for cattle. Thanks to the "cesspool of maxim" it was drained and became the center of the city - a forum. First, the central square, then the center of Rome, then the Roman Empire, which covered almost the entire civilized world of the ancient era, and, finally, it became a symbolic name ...

Thus, the Etruscans created the "authentic Rome", even if we assume that not only they lived in the villages on the hills, but also other tribes, which the legends of the Romans speak of.

Back in the 18th century, the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi noted that the Etruscans had a strong influence on " Roman style architecture" - a style that dominated for several centuries in the medieval art of Europe, when, in the words of the chronicler Raoul Glabner, author of the Five Books of History, who lived in the 11th century, "Christian peoples seemed to compete with each other in splendor, trying to surpass each other grace of their temples", and "the whole world unanimously cast off the ancient sackcloth to put on the snow-white robes of the churches."

It turns out that these “snow-white robes of churches” nevertheless appeared under the influence of “ancient rags”, and not even “Romanesque”, that is, Roman, but even more ancient - Etruscan!

Not only the art of urban planning, but also the management system was adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans. Thus, Strabo reports that “triumphal and consular decorations, and in general the decorations of officials, were transferred to Rome from Tarquinia, as well as fasces, axes, trumpets, sacred rites, the art of divination and music, since the Romans use it in public life". After all, the rulers of the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, as the legends unanimously assert, were also the kings of Rome. And those attributes that we always associate with Roman domination are in fact Etruscan. For example, bundles of rods with axes stuck in them, a toga trimmed with purple, an ivory chair, etc.

More than one hundred articles and books have been written about the art of Roman sculptural portraiture. It owes its origin again to the Etruscans. “Having adopted the funeral customs from the Etruscans, the Romans began to preserve the appearance of the deceased in the form of a wax mask. The masks conveyed the individual features of a relative who enjoyed the veneration of his descendants. Subsequently, sculptural images made of hard metal (bronze, stone) followed this artistic realistic tradition,” writes Professor A. I. Nemirovsky in the book “The Thread of Ariadne”, dedicated to ancient archeology.

The Romans were also students of the Etruscans in the manufacture of bronze statues. As we have already said, the Capitoline she-wolf was cast by Etruscan masters. No less magnificent is the bronze figurine of a chimera found in one of the Etruscan cities - the personification of malice and revenge. Her hidden tension before the jump is conveyed with extraordinary skill and realism. Both the she-wolf and the chimera are examples of the traditional style of Etruscan cult art; their eyes were once made of. precious stones. Later, in Roman temples, bronze statues were placed along with terracotta statues.

The Etruscans acted as teachers of the Romans not only in the field visual arts. For example, according to Titus Livius, the performing arts of Rome owe their origin to them. In 364 BC. e., he reports, to save from the plague in honor of the gods, stage games were arranged, for which “gamers” were invited from Etruria, who performed various dances. Interested in their game, the Roman youth also began to dance in imitation of the Etruscan "games", and then accompany the dance with singing. Later, the Romans learned about the Greek theater... “Although T. Livy’s presentation suffers from some inconsistency, the combination of three elements in the Roman drama - Latin, Etruscan and Greek, remains indisputable,” states S. I. Radtsig in his textbook “Classical Philology”.

The Etruscan influence on the Romans was reflected not only in the field of urban planning, architecture, fine arts and art in general, but also in the field of science. Wealthy Romans sent their children to Etruria to study the "Etruscan discipline" - the Etruscan sciences. True, the main achievement of this science was considered the ability to predict the future. More precisely, even one of the varieties of this ancient “futurology” is the so-called haruspicy, predictions from the entrails of sacrificial animals (however, sometimes another “science” was called haruspicy - the prediction of fate through the interpretation of signs in the form of lightning sent by the gods during a thunderstorm).

The main object of study of the haruspex predictors was the animal's liver, less often the heart and lungs. A divination process is engraved on an Etruscan bronze mirror found in the city of Vulci. The Haruspex is leaning over a table on which the trachea and lungs lie, and in his left hand he holds the liver. The slightest changes in the color and shape of the liver received a "strictly scientific" interpretation. Moreover, at the suggestion of the Roman emperor Claudius, an attempt was made to turn haruspicy into a "state doctrine". Haruspex played a huge role in life ancient rome and throughout the Roman Empire. At first they were all Etruscans, then the Romans adopted this "science". Their collegium, whose center was traditionally located in Etruscan Tarquinia, was addressed not only by personal, but also by public affairs. And although the political independence of the Etruscans at that time was lost a long time ago, the "ideological" influence persisted for many centuries.

In the IV century. n. e. Emperor Constantine, the "benefactor" of the Christians, issues a strict order for the haruspex to stop sacrificing at altars and in temples. But the activity of the Etruscan priests and their Roman students continues. When Constantine, under pain of death, generally prohibits the activities of haruspices. But this also cannot stop the priests - divination on the liver and entrails of sacrificial animals does not disappear. Even in the 7th century n. e., when there are no traces of the ancient Etruscans left in the memory of the peoples who inhabited the expanses of the former Roman Empire, decrees continue to be issued that the haruspices stop their prophecies!

... So, art and architecture, urban planning and plumbing, the creation of the "eternal city" and the "science of divination" - all this was the work of the Etruscans, and not the Romans, their heirs. As well as the creation of the "Roman" system of government. The Romans themselves admitted that they learned a lot from the Etruscans in military affairs. The art of building and driving ships was completely adopted by the "land" Romans from the Etruscans - one of the best sailors in the Mediterranean, rivals of the Greeks and allies of the Carthaginians ...

Who are they, the Etruscans? What is this people? These questions have been of interest for a very long time, even in the era of antiquity. And even then the “Etruscan problem” was born, because the opinions of scientists of that time diverged sharply. The dispute about the Etruscans began almost two and a half thousand years ago. An argument that continues to this day!

Who and where

Initially, in the X-IX centuries. BC e., the Etruscans lived in the northern part of present-day Italy, in Etruria (later it became known as Tuscany, because the Etruscans were also called “Tosks” or “Tusks”). Then their dominion extended to the whole of Central Italy and part of the Mediterranean. Their colonies also appear in the south of the Apennine Peninsula, in Corsica and other islands, in the foothills of the Alps. The Etruscan state was not centralized: according to the Romans, it was a federation of 12 cities of Etruria (a number of them have already been excavated by archaeologists, and a number have yet to be discovered). In addition, there is information about the "12 cities of Campania", south of Etruria, and about the "new twelve-city in the North", in the Po valley and the Central Alps. The famous enemy of Carthage, Senator Cato even claimed that the Etruscans once belonged to almost all of Italy. The Etruscan kings ruled Rome.

But now the “eternal city” is freed from the dominion of the Etruscan kings and becomes a city-republic ... And after that, a slow but inevitable decline of Etruscan domination begins. Greek colonists in southern Italy close their ports and the Strait of Messina to Etruscan ships. Then they, in alliance with the ruler of Syracuse, inflict a crushing defeat on the Etruscan navy. The maritime glory of the Etruscans is waning. They take away the island of Elba, then Corsica. The Etruscans are losing their colonies and cities in the most fertile Campania in the south and the "new twelve-city" in the north. It is the turn of the loss of land in Etruria itself.

Rome's longtime rival was the Etruscan city of Veii, a neighbor and competitor in trade, art, and fame. Bloody clashes between the Romans and the Etruscans ended with the fall of Veii. The inhabitants of the city were killed or sold into slavery, and its territory was transferred to the possession of the citizens of Rome. After that, the slow penetration of the Romans into Etruria begins, which is replaced by a sudden invasion of the Gallic tribes.

The Gauls capture first Northern Italy, devastate Etruria, and then defeat the Roman troops. Rome was also captured by hordes of aliens, its buildings were destroyed and burned, only the temple on the Capitoline Hill, the famous Capitol built by the Etruscans, survived (remember the legend about how "the geese saved Rome" by warning the defenders of the Capitol?).

The Gauls, having devastated and received tribute, left the land of Rome and Etruria. Rome managed to recover from their invasion and began to gain strength again. Etruria, on the contrary, received a mortal blow from the Gallic invasion. On its territory, the Romans arrange their colonies. One by one, the Etruscan cities fall under the rule of Rome. And gradually Tuscany no longer becomes a "country of the Etruscans", but a Roman province, where not Etruscan, but Latin speech sounds. True to the principle of "divide and rule", the Romans widely grant citizenship to their former rivals. Along with Roman citizenship come Roman customs. The native language is forgotten, the former religion and culture are forgotten, and, perhaps, by the beginning of our era, only the art of divination remains Etruscan. In all other respects, the Etruscans are already Latins, Romans. Having fertilized the culture of Rome with its achievements, the Etruscan civilization disappears ...

The end of the Etruscans, as well as the heyday of Etruria, are well known. The birth of the Etruscan civilization, the Etruscan people is unknown. "Father of history", Herodotus gives the most ancient evidence of the origin of the Etruscans, called the Tyrrhenians by the Greeks. According to him, they come from Asia Minor, more precisely, from Lydia (by the way, woman's name Lydia brought to our days the name of this ancient country, located in the center of the western tip of the peninsula of Asia Minor).

Herodotus reports that “during the reign of Atys, the son of Maneas, there was a great need for bread throughout Lydia. At first the Lydians endured the famine patiently; then, when the hunger did not stop, they began to invent means against it, and each one came up with his own special one. It was then, they say, that the games of cubes, dice, ball, and others were invented, besides the game of chess; Lydians do not attribute the invention of chess to themselves. These inventions served them as a means against hunger: one day they played continuously so as not to think about food, the next day they ate and left the game. In this way they lived for eighteen years. However, the hunger not only did not weaken, but was intensified; then the king divided the whole people into two parts and cast lots so that one of them would remain in their homeland, and the other would move out; he appointed himself king of the part that remained in place by lot, and appointed his son, named Tyrrhenus, over the evicted. Those of them who were destined to emigrate went to Smyrna, built ships there, put on them the objects they needed, and sailed off to look for food and a place to live. Passing through many peoples, they finally arrived at the Ombrics, where they founded cities and live to this day. Instead of the Lydians, they began to be called by the name of the son of the king who forced them to emigrate; they took his name to themselves, and were called Tyrrhenians.

Herodotus lived in the 5th century. BC e. Many of his stories have been confirmed in the light of modern discoveries, including some reports about the Etruscans. So, Herodotus says that the Etruscans, in honor of their victory over the Greeks, regularly organized gymnastic competitions, a kind of "Etruscan Olympiad". During excavations of the famous Etruscan city of Tarquinia, archaeologists discovered colorful frescoes depicting sports: running, horse racing, discus throwing, etc. - like illustrations for the words of Herodotus!

The stone tombs of the Etruscans bear a resemblance to the stone tombs discovered in Lydia and neighboring Phrygia. The sanctuaries of the Etruscans, as a rule, are located near the springs, as well as the sanctuaries of the ancient inhabitants of Asia Minor.

According to many experts, Etruscan art, if we discard the later Greek influence, has a close connection with the art of Asia Minor. They believe that the colorful Etruscan painting comes from the East, like the custom of erecting the most ancient temples on high artificial platforms. In the figurative words of one of the researchers, “through the elegant Greek clothes thrown over Etruria, however, the eastern origin of this people shines through.”

Some historians of religion join this opinion of art historians, who believe that although the main gods of the Etruscans had Greek names, they, in principle, were closer to the deities of the East than the Greek Olympus. In Asia Minor, the formidable god Tarhu or Tarku was revered. Among the Etruscans, one of the most common names came from this name, including the names of the Etruscan kings who ruled Rome, the Tarquinian dynasty!

The list of similar arguments in favor of the testimony of the "father of history" could be continued. But all these arguments are indirect, by analogy. The similarity of customs, names, monuments of art may be accidental, and not due to deep ancient kinship. As for the story of Herodotus about the “starving Lydians”, who, fleeing from hunger, spent 18 years playing games, you yourself probably noticed a lot of fabulous, legendary things in it. Moreover, who lived, like the "father of history", in the 5th century. BC e. the Greek author Hellanicus of Lesbos told us a completely different story related to the origin of the Etruscans.

According to Hellanic, the territory of Hellas was once inhabited by the ancient people of the Pelasgians - up to the Peloponnese peninsula. When the Greeks came here, the Pelasgians were forced to leave Hellas. First they moved to Thessaly, and then the Greeks drove them across the sea. Under the leadership of their king Pelasg, they sailed to Italy, where they began to be called in a new way, and gave rise to a country called Tirsenia (i.e. Tirrenia-Etruria).

Other authors of antiquity say that the Pelasgians were forced to flee from Thessaly by a flood that was under King Deucalion, even before the Trojan War. They report that part of the Pelasgians settled on the islands of Lemnos and Imbros in the Aegean Sea; that the Pelasgians originally landed near the Spinet River on the coast of the Ionian Gulf, and then moved inland and only then came to their current homeland, Tyrrhenia or Etruria ...

These versions are contradictory, but they all agree on one thing: the Etruscans are the descendants of the predecessors of the Hellenes in Greece, the Pelasgians. But besides this and Herodotus' "theory of the origin of the Etruscans" there are two more, also dating back to antiquity. Rome at the end of the 1st century BC e. lived a native of the Asia Minor city of Halicarnassus named Dionysius, an educated person and well acquainted with both the traditions of his homeland and Roman-Etruscan traditions and traditions.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote a treatise "Roman Antiquities", where he strongly objects to Herodotus' assertion that the Etruscans are descendants of the Lydians. He refers to the fact that a contemporary of the "father of history", Xanthos, wrote a four-volume "History of the Lydians", specially dedicated to this people. And it does not say a word about the fact that half of the Lydians moved to Italy and gave rise to the Etruscans. Moreover, according to Xanthus, the son of King Atys was not called Tyrrhenus, but Thoreb. He separated from his father part of Lydia, whose subjects became known as Torebians, and by no means Tyrrhenians or Etruscans.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus believes that the Lydians and the Etruscans have nothing in common: they speak different languages, pray to different gods, observe different customs and laws. “Therefore, it seems to me, those who consider them to be the local population, and not aliens at all,” concludes Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a native of Asia Minor who lived in Rome, once founded by the Etruscans. And this point of view is shared not only by Dionysius himself, but also by many modern scientists.

"Newcomers from the East or Aborigines?" - so, it would seem, one can summarize the long-standing dispute about the origin of the Etruscans. But let's not rush. We have already quoted Titus Livius, an ancient Roman historian. Let us quote another curious remark made by him: “And the Alpine tribes, no doubt, are also of Etruscan origin, especially the Rheti, who, however, under the influence of the surrounding nature, have grown wild to such an extent that they have not retained anything from the old customs except the language, but even the language they failed to preserve without distortion.

The Rhaetians are the inhabitants of the area stretching from Lake Constance to the Danube River (the territory of present-day Tyrol and part of Switzerland). The Etruscans, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, called themselves racens, which is close to the name of retia. That's why back in the middle of the XVII! in. the French scientist N. Frere, referring to the words of Titus Livy, as well as a number of other evidence, put forward the theory that the homeland of the Etruscans should be sought in the north - in the Central Alps. This theory was supported by Niebuhr and Mommsen, two of the greatest historians of Rome in the last century, and in our century it has many supporters.

For a long time, Herodotus' message about the Etruscans was considered the most ancient. But now the inscriptions carved on the walls of the ancient Egyptian temple in Medinet Habu were deciphered, which spoke of the attack on Egypt by the "peoples of the sea" in the XIII-XII centuries. BC e. “No country has resisted the right hand,” the hieroglyphs say. - They advanced on Egypt ... The allies were united among them prst, chkr, shkrsh, day and vshsh. They laid hands on countries to the ends of the earth, their hearts were full of hope and they said: "our plans will succeed." Another text speaks of tribes shrdn, shkrsh and finally trsh.

As you know, the Egyptians did not convey vowels in writing (we will refer the reader to our book “The Riddle of the Sphinx”, published by the Znanie publishing house in the “Read, comrade!” series in 1972, which tells about Egyptian hieroglyphics). Therefore, the names of peoples for a long time were not decipherable. Then the people prst managed to identify with the Philistines, who are spoken of in the Bible and from whom the name of the country of Palestine comes. People day, most likely, these are the Danaans or the Achaean Greeks, those who crushed Troy. People shrdn- these are Sardis, people shkrsh— sikuly, and the people trsh- tyrsenes or tyrrhens, i.e. Etruscans!

This message about the Etruscans in the texts of Medinet Habu is many centuries older than the evidence of Herodotus. And this is not a tradition or a legend, but a genuine historical document, compiled immediately after the Egyptians managed to defeat the advancing armada of the "peoples of the sea", acting in alliance with the Libyans. But what does this message say?

Supporters of the "Asia Minor address" of the homeland of the Etruscans saw in the indication of Egyptian inscriptions a written confirmation of their correctness. After all, the "peoples of the sea", in their opinion, moved to Egypt from the east, from Asia Minor, through Syria and Palestine. However, nowhere in the texts does it say that the "peoples of the sea" attacked Egypt from the east, it only says that they crushed the countries lying east of the country of the pyramids.

On the contrary, many facts indicate that the Sea Peoples attacked Egypt from the west. For example, the biblical tradition indicates that the Philistines came to Palestine from Caphtor, that is, the island of Crete. The headdresses of the "peoples of the sea" depicted on the Egyptian frescoes accompanying the inscriptions are surprisingly similar to the headdress imprinted on the head of the pictorial sign of a hieroglyphic inscription also found on the island of Crete. The Danaan-Achaeans lived in Greece almost a thousand years before the appearance of the "peoples of the sea", and Greece also lies to the west of Egypt. The name of the island of Sardinia comes from the name of the Sardinian tribe, the ancient inhabitants of Sicily were called Sicules ...

Where, then, did the Tirsenes, the allies of all these peoples, come from? From Greece, home of the Pelasgians? And then Hellanicus of Lesbos is right? Or maybe from Italy, along with sards and siculi? That is, they were natives of the Apennine Peninsula, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus believed, who raided to the east? But, on the other hand, if this is so, then maybe the Alpine theory of the origin of law? At first, the Etruscans lived in the Central Alps, the Retes remained in their ancestral home, and the Tyrrhenians founded Etruria and even, having entered into an alliance with other tribes living in the neighborhood in Sicily and Sardinia, moved far to the west, right up to Egypt and Asia Minor ...

As you can see, the deciphering of the Medinet-Habu inscriptions did not clarify the long-standing dispute about the Etruscans. More than that: it gave rise to another "address". They began to look for the homeland of the mysterious people not to the north or east of Etruria, but to the west of it - at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea and even Atlantic Ocean! For in the "peoples of the sea" some researchers tend to see the last wave of the legendary Atlanteans, the inhabitants of the sunken mainland, which Plato told mankind about in his "Dialogues". The Etruscans, therefore, were considered the descendants of the Atlanteans, and the riddle of Atlantis, if it can be solved, should become the key to solving the Etruscan riddle!

True, other researchers believed that it should not be about searching at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, but much closer, at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea. There, according to a number of researchers, there is a sunken land - Tyrrenida. Her death happened in historical period(and not millions of years ago, as most geologists believe), and there it was the homeland of the Etruscans. After all, they find the ruins of Etruscan buildings and cities at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea!

And the latest finds of archaeologists and "excavations" of linguists force us to add one more address to the list of candidates for the Etruscan ancestral home - and what! The legendary Troy, sung by Homer and destroyed by the Achaean Greeks!

The Romans considered themselves descendants of Aeneas, a fugitive from the burning Troy. The legends about this have long been considered a "propaganda gimmick". Indeed, the Romans have nothing in common with the inhabitants of ancient Troy. But, as you yourself have perfectly seen, a lot of "Roman" actually turns out to be Etruscan. And, as archeological excavations of the last twenty years show, the cult of Aeneas was also borrowed by the Romans from the Etruscans! In February 1972, Italian archaeologists discover an Etruscan tomb, or rather a cenotaph, a “false tomb” or a monument tomb dedicated to the legendary Aeneas. Why did the Etruscans worship a hero who came from distant Troy? Perhaps because they themselves come from those places?

About a hundred years ago, the outstanding etruscologist Karl Pauli compared the name of the inhabitants of ancient Troy, the Trojans, with the name of the Etruscans (among the Romans) and the Tirsenes (among the Greeks). The name of the Etruscans is decomposed into three parts: e-cowards-ki. The initial "e" does not mean anything, it is an "auxiliary vowel" that made it easier for the Romans to pronounce the loan word. "Ki" is a Latin suffix. But the root "coward" is similar to the root underlying the name of the Trojans and Troy.

True, for a long time this comparison of Pauli was considered incorrect and was cited as a curiosity. But here linguists penetrate the secret of the languages ​​of the inhabitants of Asia Minor, the neighbors of the Trojans. And they contain the same root "true" or "tro" - moreover, it is included in the composition of proper names, names of cities and even nationality. It is quite possible that the Trojans also spoke a language related to other ancient languages ​​of Asia Minor - Lydian, Lycian, Carian, Hittite.

If this is so, then the language of the Etruscans must be related to the Trojan! And again, if not so, then perhaps Herodotus is right, and the Lydian language, well studied by scientists, is the language of the Etruscans? Or are the relatives of the Etruscans - Alpine retii, speaking the "spoiled" Etruscan language? And if Dionysius of Halicarnassus is right, then the Etruscan language should not have any relatives at all, at least in Asia Minor, in the Alps, and nowhere else except Italy ...

As you can see, the key to riddle number one, the riddle of the origin of the Etruscans, lies in the juxtaposition of Etruscan and other languages. But the fact of the matter is that the Etruscan language itself is a mystery! Moreover, it is even more mysterious than anything else related to the mysterious people. If the Etruscans themselves and the civilization they created are the “number one riddle” of modern historical science, then the Etruscan language is the “mystery of the riddle”, or rather “mystery number one of the riddle number one”.

But, what is most surprising, you can learn to read Etruscan texts in a few hours. To read without understanding the words of a foreign language, or rather, even knowing the meaning of individual words ... And yet, for about five centuries, scientists have been trying in vain to penetrate in the secret of the Etruscan language.

Language unknown

How many Etruscan letters do you know? If you can read English, French, German - in a word, any language that uses the Latin alphabet, then you can easily read about half of all Etruscan letters. Yes, and owning only a “Russian letter”, you will also read a few letters. Our "a" is both written and read like the letter A in Etruscan texts. Our “t” is also the Etruscan T. The letter K was written by the Etruscans in the same way as our “k”, only it was turned in the other direction. The same goes for the letter E.

Letter I Latin alphabet and in the letter of the Etruscans conveyed the vowel "and". The Latin and Etruscan letters "M", "N", "L", "Q" are identical (capital letters, the so-called majuscules; lowercase letters - minuscules - appeared only in the Middle Ages). A few more Etruscan letters have the same form and the same reading as the letters of the ancient Greek alphabet. It is not surprising that people learned to read Etruscan inscriptions a very long time ago, back in the Renaissance. True, some letters could not be read immediately. And the entire Etruscan alphabet was deciphered only in 1880, when it was established what phonetic reading all the letters of this alphabet have. That is, its deciphering stretched out for several centuries, despite the fact that the reading of most Etruscan letters is known from the very beginning, the first texts written by the Etruscans were hardly found, or rather, as soon as Renaissance scientists became interested in them (inscriptions made by the Etruscans on various objects, vases, mirrors, etc., have been found before, but they did not arouse anyone's interest).

Of course, the styles of Etruscan letters have various options: depending on the time of writing (they cover about six to seven centuries, from the 7th to the 1st century BC) and the place where this or that inscription was found. Just as there are different dialects in a language, so there can be variations in writing, depending on the "schools of writing" in a given province or region.

Etruscan inscriptions are made on a variety of objects and, of course, differ from the typographic font familiar to us. The Etruscan texts that have come down to us were written by both experienced scribes and people who were not very good at writing. Therefore, again, we are faced with different handwritings and, which makes reading especially difficult, with different spellings of the same word. The Etruscans, however, like many other peoples of the ancient world, did not have strict spelling rules. And here's the same name ARNT we find in writing: A, AT, AR, ARNT(and in two versions, because for the sound T, in addition to the usual T, there was another letter, in the form of a circle crossed out in the middle with a cross, and in later texts it turned into a circle with a dot in the middle). Another common name among the Etruscans VEL spelled like VE, VL and VEL.

We know these names. What about words we don't know the meaning of? Here it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to figure out what is in front of us: either the same word in different spellings, or still different words. At the same time, in many texts, the Etruscans did not put signs separating words (usually they separated one word from another not with a space, as we do, but with a special word division icon - a colon or a dash).

Try to understand a text written in a language you do not know, where all the words are written together, where many vowels and sometimes consonants are missing, and the text itself is inscribed on some stone or vessel and many of its parts are so damaged that it is difficult to distinguish one letter from another - and then you will understand the difficulties that the researcher faces when he takes only the first step in the study of Etruscan texts - he tries to read them. But the most important thing, as you know, is not reading, but translating texts, the task is much more difficult!

We began the chapter by showing that you know how to read a whole range of Etruscan letters, although you have never specifically studied Etruscology. Now let's say more: you know the meaning of several Etruscan words, despite the fact that the Etruscan language is perhaps the most mysterious in the world.

The familiar words “cistern”, “tavern”, “ceremony”, “person”, “litera” (and, therefore, “literature”) come from the Etruscan language. Do not be surprised, there is no miracle here: these words came into our language (and into most of the world's cultural languages) from Latin. The Romans borrowed all these concepts - "cistern" and "liters", "ceremonies" and "taverns" - from the Etruscans, as well as the words for them. For example, the central part of the Roman house, as you know, was called atrium. It is borrowed from Etruscan architecture, along with the Etruscan word ATRIUS.

Many words, on the contrary, got into the Etruscan language from the Romans. So, wine in Etruscan was called VINUM. This is a borrowing from Latin. There were even more borrowings in the Etruscan language from ancient Greek, because this mysterious people was associated with the great civilization of Hellas for many centuries. And since many words from Greek got into our Russian language, many words of the Etruscan and Russian languages ​​are similar in sound and meaning. For example, in the Etruscan ELEIVA has the meaning "oil, oil, ointment" and is related to our "oil", the Greek word.

The kilik, a drinking vessel used by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Etruscans, is called KULIKHNA in Etruscan inscriptions. The Etruscans adopted the Greek name along with the vessel itself. As well as ask, the vessel and its name (among the Etruscans it is called ASKA). The names kilik and aska may be familiar to you from books on the history of ancient culture. But the ancient Greeks also had several dozen special names for vessels of various capacities and shapes (after all, we also have goblets, glasses, glasses, glasses, jugs, bottles, damask bottles, quarters, half-liters, mugs, etc., etc.). P.). The names of these vessels are known to specialists in Greek and history of ancient culture. And it turned out that there are about forty names in Etruscan texts. Greek culture undoubtedly influenced the culture of the Etruscans. The Etruscans borrowed vessels from the Greeks along with their Greek names, slightly changing them, as is almost always the case when borrowing words from one language to another, unrelated to it.

But not only in material culture did the Greeks influence the Etruscans. Perhaps they had even greater influence in the “ideological”, spiritual sphere. The Etruscans worshiped many gods of Olympus and the heroes of Ancient Hellas, however, like the Romans. The pantheon of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans was in many ways similar. Sometimes each of these peoples called the same god their own, "national" name. For example, the Greeks called the god of trade, the patron of travelers, merchants and shepherds Hermes, the Romans called Mercury, and the Etruscans called him TURMS. But often the name of the Etruscan god coincides with its Greek or Roman name. The Greek Poseidon and the Roman Neptune are known to the Etruscans under the name NETUNS. Roman Diana and Greek Artemis are called by the Etruscans ARTUME or ARITIMI. And the god Apollo, called by both the Greeks and the Romans alike, is called by the Etruscans in the same way, only in the Etruscan manner: APULU or APLU.

The names of all these gods (and there is also Minerva, called in Etruscan MENRVA, Juno, called by the Etruscans UNI, Vulcan - among the Etruscans VELKANS, Thetis-Tetis, known to the Etruscans under the same name - TETIS, ruler of the underworld Hades - in Etruscan AITA and his wife Persephone-Proserpina, in Etruscan called PERSEPOI) are probably well known to you. And even more so they were familiar to connoisseurs of antiquity, who studied Etruscan texts. And, having met in them the names Apulu or Tethys, Netuns or Menrva, they easily determined which gods they were talking about. Moreover, very often the Etruscan text was accompanied by images of these gods with their characteristic attributes, in situations familiar from ancient myths.

The same is with the names of the heroes of these myths. Hercules was called the Etruscans HERKLE, Castor - KASTUR, Agamemnon - AHMEMRUN, Ulysses-Odysseus - UTUSE, Clytemnestra - KLUTUMUSTA or KLUTMSTA, etc. Thus, you, without specifically studying the Etruscan language, and indeed, perhaps, reading a book for the first time about the Etruscans, being a cultured and inquisitive person, you can understand a decent number of words in Etruscan texts, especially the names of their own gods and heroes.

However, not only them, but also mere mortals. After all, the names of many Etruscans are well known from the history of ancient Rome. The kings of the Tarquinian dynasty sat on the Roman throne. The last king was expelled by the Roman people, says the legendary story of the "eternal city", and settled in the Etruscan city of Caere. Archaeologists have found the ruins of this city near modern Cerverteri. During the excavations of the burial ground in Tsere, a burial was discovered, where there was an inscription "TARKNA". Obviously, this is the tomb of the Tarquinian family, who once ruled Rome.

An equally amazing “meeting” took place during the excavation of a grave near the Etruscan city of Vulci, discovered by a resident of Tuscany Francois and named after the discoverer “Francois’ Tomb”. There were frescoes depicting the battle between the Romans and the Etruscans. They were accompanied by brief inscriptions, or rather, the names of acting characters. Among them was this one: “KNEVE TARKKHUNIES RUMAKH”. It is easy to guess that "Rumakh" means "Roman", "Tarkhunies" - "Tarquinius", "Kneve" - ​​"Gnaeus". Gnaeus Tarquinius of Rome, ruler of Rome! This is how the text is translated.

According to the legends about the early history of Rome, the kings of the Tarquinian family, who ruled the city, more precisely, Tarquinius Prisk (i.e., Tarquinius the Elder), fought against the rulers of the Etruscan city of Vulci, the brothers Gaius and Aulus Vibenna. Episodes of this war are depicted on the frescoes of the "Graves of Francois". The burial dates back to more recent times than the reign of the last Roman kings (6th century BC), and the frescoes obviously depict the legendary history of Rome and the Etruscans.

But the famous Italian archaeologist Massimo Pallotio is excavating the sanctuary of the Etruscan city of Veii. And then he finds a vase - obviously, a sacrifice on the altar - on which the name of the donor is inscribed. This name is AVIL VIPIENAS, that is, Avl Vibenna in Etruscan transcription (the Etruscans did not have letters in the alphabet to convey the sound B and they wrote it through P). The vase dates from the middle of the 6th century. BC e., the era of the reign of the Etruscan kings in Rome. Most likely, the brothers of Vibenna, like the kings of Tarquinia - historical figures - drew the conclusion of Pallotino, and a large number of Etruscologists agree with him.

Be that as it may, these names, known to us from Roman sources, are also inscribed on the Etruscan writing monuments. We know many Etruscan names and not legendary, but quite real. For example, the Etruscan was a famous politician and patron of the arts Maecenas, whose name has become a household name. An Etruscan who lived in the 1st century. n. e. the satirist-fabulist Avl Persius Flakk and Cicero's friend Avl Cetina, who initiated him into the "science of prediction", haruspicy... urns or crypts that we are talking about a person bearing the name Avl, common among the Etruscans.

Thus, starting to study Etruscan texts, the researchers knew the reading of most of the letters of the alphabet in which they are written, and had a certain stock of Etruscan words and proper names, as we could see for ourselves (after all, you know them!).

However, this list does not exhaust the list of Etruscan words whose meaning is known. In the writings of ancient authors, one can find references to the Etruscan language. True, none of them compiled either a dictionary or a grammar of this language. Just in connection with this or that case, some Roman historians or writers give the meaning of individual Etruscan words.

For example, explaining the origin of the name of the city of Capua, one ancient author writes: “It is known, however, that it was founded by the Etruscans, and the appearance of a falcon, which in the Etruscan language is called KAPUS, served as a sign, hence Capua got its name.” From other sources we learn that the monkey was called AVIMUS in the Etruscan language, from the third - the names of the months in Etruscan: ACLUS - June, AMPILES - May, etc. (although the names of the months have come down to us in a dictionary in Latin, compiled in the VIII century and, of course, underwent a "deformation" no less strong than that to which the Etruscans subjected the names of the gods and Greek words).

Suetonius, author of the "Biography of Caesar Augustus", tells that before the death of the emperor, lightning struck his statue and knocked down the initial letter C in the word "CAESAR" ("Caesar"). The interpreters of omens (haruspex, fortunetelling by lightning) stated that Augustus had one hundred days left to live, because "C" in the writing of the Romans also meant the number "100", but after death he will be "ranked among the gods, since AESAR, the rest of the name Caesar, in Etruscan means god. Another author, Cassius Dio, writes that the word AISAR among the Tyrrhenians, that is, the Etruscans, means god, and the compiler of the dictionary Hesychius also writes that the word AISOI has the meaning of "gods" among the Tyrrhenians.

All Etruscan words, the meaning of which is given by ancient authors, were collected together at the beginning of the 17th century. Thomas Dempster, a Scottish baron and professor at the University of Pisa and Bologna (although his work "Seven Books on the Kingdom of Etruria", which gave a list of these words, was published only a hundred years later). And they, of course, were able to lighten the meaning of the Etruscan texts, if ... If only in these texts there were words explained by ancient authors. But, alas, apart from the word "god", the rest of the words, all these "falcons" and "monkeys", are known to us only from the works of scientists of antiquity, and not from the texts of the Etruscans. The only exception is the word "aiser", i.e. "god". And here, too, among scientists there is no agreement on what it means - singular or plural, that is, "god" or "gods."

What's the matter? Why can't we understand Etruscan texts that are well read and include words whose meaning we know? This question should be formulated somewhat differently. After all, you can also read not only individual words, but also entire texts, without being an etruscologist and without specifically deciphering. Moreover, there will be a huge number of such texts.

Here is a burial urn in front of you, on which one word is inscribed: "VEL" or "AULE". It is clear that you can easily read and translate such a text: it says that a man named Vel or Avl is buried here. And there are many such texts. Even more often, this kind of inscriptions consist not of one, but of two or sin words. For example, "AULE PETRUNI" or "VEL PETRUNI". It is also easy to guess here that the name of the deceased and his “surname” are given, or rather the genus from which he comes (real surnames appeared in Europe only in the Middle Ages).

The Etruscans created wonderful frescoes. Many of them depict gods or mythological scenes. Here, for example, is a fresco from the "Monster's Grave". You see a picture of the underworld, sitting on the throne of his lord Hades and his wife Proserpina. They are accompanied by signatures: "AITA" and "PERSEPOI". It is not difficult to translate them: "Hades" and "Proserpina". Another fresco from the same crypt depicts a terrible demon with wings. Above it is the signature: "TUHULKA".

This name is not familiar to you, but you can easily guess that this is a proper name: after all, their names are also inscribed above Hades and Proserpina. The meaning of this monster, which is among the mourning people, is also clear: it is the demon of death. So, the signature "TUHULKA" conveys his name... You have translated another Etruscan text!

True, it consists of only one word .... But here is a longer inscription. In the Leningrad Hermitage there is a bronze mirror, on the reverse side of which five figures are depicted, and above them - five words inscribed in Etruscan. Here they are - "PRIUMNE", "EKAPA", "TETIS", "TSIUMITE", "KASTRA". The word "Tethys" is well known to you: that was the name of Thetis, the mother of Achilles. The elder "Priumne" is Priam. Obviously, other characters are connected with Trojan War. "Ekapa" is Hekaba, the wife of Priam - she is depicted on the mirror standing next to with an old man. Castra is the prophetess Cassandra. It remains "Tsiumite". Instead of "b", as you already know, the Etruscans wrote "p"; they also deafened other voiced vowels. "D" was written by them through "t" and even through "c". "Tsiumite" should be transcribed "Diumide". The Etruscans did not have the letter O, they usually transmitted it through U. So: “Diomede” is the hero of the Trojan War, inferior in courage only to Achilles, Diomedes. So, the whole text is translated as follows: "Priam, Hekaba, Thetis, Diomedes, Cassandra."

As you can see, the task is not too difficult - to read an Etruscan text of one, two, three, five words ... But these are proper names, you don’t need to know any grammar or vocabulary. Well, what do you say, for example, about such a passage: “KHALKH APER TULE APHES ILUKU VAKIL TSUHN ELFA RITNAL TUL TRA ISWANEK KALUS…”, etc., etc.? In the inscription, where there are no drawings and nothing at all, what could be a “fulcrum”?

The first thing that comes to mind when we start reading a text in a language unknown to us is to look for similar consonances with our own language. Or with some other, foreign, but known to us. This is exactly what the first researchers of Etruscan texts began to do.

This technique is used in deciphering ancient writings and languages ​​not for the first time. And it very often brings success to the researcher. So, for example, scientists were able to read the mysterious texts found in the south of the Arabian Peninsula and dating back to the time of the legendary Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. The characters of the "South Arabian" characters were basically read in the same way as the well-known characters of the Ethiopian script. The language of South Arabian writing was close to classical Arabic, and even closer to Ethiopian and the "living" languages ​​of South Arabia and Ethiopia: Socotri, Mehri, Amharic, etc.

An excellent knowledge of the language of Egyptian Christians or Copts, which was used only in worship, but was a descendant of the language of the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt, allowed the brilliant Francois Champollion to penetrate the secret of the hieroglyphs of the country of the pyramids (the book “The Riddle of the Sphinx” tells more about this).

... In a word, the method of comparing a known language with a related unknown has justified itself in deciphering many scripts and languages.

But where he brought the Etruscologists, you yourself will understand after reading the next chapter.

World Wanted

In 1444, in the city of Gubbio, located in the ancient Italian province of Umbria and once the ancient city of Iguvia, nine large copper plates covered with inscriptions were discovered in an underground crypt. Two boards were taken to Venice, and since then no one has heard of them. The rest were placed in storage in the city hall. Two of the seven remaining boards turned out to be written in Latin with letters of the Latin alphabet. Five of the boards were written in an unknown language and in letters similar to Latin, but in many ways different from them.

A dispute broke out: whose writings are these, whose language do they hide? The letters were called "Egyptian", "Punic" (Carthaginian), "the letter of Cadmus", that is, the oldest variety of Greek writing, according to legend, was brought to Hellas by the Phoenician Cadmus. Finally, they decided that the letters were Etruscan, and their language was "forever lost." And only after long discussions and painstaking research it turned out that these letters are still not Etruscan, although their letters are related to the letters of the Etruscan alphabet. And the language of these texts, called the Iguvian Tables, has nothing to do with the Etruscan language at all.

In Italy in the 1st millennium BC. e., in addition to the Latins-Romans, there lived several other peoples related to them in culture and language: Samnites, Sabels, Osci, Umbras. In the language of the Umbrians, the Iguvian tables are written. This was proved about a hundred and fifty years ago by the German researcher Richard Lepsius, who later became famous for his most valuable contribution to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Well, what about the writings of the Etruscans? In the same 15th century, when the Igouvian tables were found, only not in its middle, but at the very end, in 1498, the work of the Dominican monk Annio de Viterbo “Seventeen volumes on various antiquities with comments by brethren” was published. John Annio de Viterbo. Here are excerpts from the writings of various ancient authors, which are commented on by de Viterbo. And besides that, he publishes Etruscan texts. And even deciphers them using the language of the biblical Old Testament- Hebrew...

A little time passes - and now it turns out that de Viterbo owns not only comments, but also ... some texts. He wrote them himself! The credibility of the Seventeen Volumes on Various Antiquities has been lost. But here is the key with which he tried to penetrate the secret of the Etruscan language - the Hebrew language - was considered correct for a long time. The logic here was simple: the Etruscans are the most ancient people of Italy; Hebrew is the most ancient language in the world (after all, the hieroglyphs of Egypt were not read at that time, the “clay books” of Mesopotamia were not opened at all, and the Bible was considered the most ancient book in the world).

In the middle of the XVI century. Vincenzo Tranquilli and Justa Lipsia publish the first collections of Etruscan inscriptions. At the same time, Pietro Francesco Giambullari, one of the founders of the Florentine Academy, translated some of them, of course, using the Hebrew language.

But Thomas Dempster, already mentioned by us, publishes an extensive collection of Etruscan inscriptions. And after him, in 1737-1743. in Florence, the three-volume work "Etruscan Museum" written by A.F. Gori is published, which also contains many texts written in Etruscan. And it becomes clear that the language of the Bible cannot serve as a key to the language of the ancient people of Italy.

Perhaps this key will be given by other ancient languages ​​of Italy, called Italic - Oscan, Umbrian, Latin? Many researchers of the XVIII-XIX centuries. believed that the Etruscan language is related to Italian. This is precisely what the best etruscologist of the 18th century, the Italian Luigi Lanzi, proved, who published in 1789 in Rome a three-volume study on the Etruscan language, reprinted in 1824-1825.

And three years after the reprint of Lanzi's work, a voluminous two-volume work by the German scientist K. O. Müller (which has not lost much of its value to this day) comes out, in which it is shown that Lanzi, considering the Etruscan language to be related to Latin, was on the right track.

At the time of Luigi Lanzi, comparative-historical linguistics had not yet been created. Müller released his work at the time when its foundations were already laid and it was shown that there is a huge family of related languages, called Indo-European, which includes Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Greek, Indian, Iranian, Romance (Latin, French, Spanish, Italian and many others) languages, that between these languages ​​there are certain sound correspondences that obey strict laws. And if you seriously prove that the language of the Etruscans is Italian, you need to show the "correspondence formulas" of the Etruscan words of Latin and other Italic languages. And the fact that some Etruscan words and names of gods are related to Latin does not prove anything. The Romans could borrow them from the Etruscans or the Etruscans from the Romans, because they were the closest neighbors and were in close contact for many centuries (for example, there are a lot of Slavic words in the Romanian language, but this language is Romance, a descendant of the language spoken by the Romans). legionnaires; and not the language of the Slavs, with whom there were only close and long-term contacts).

Müller called for a "comprehensive comparison of languages" before concluding which of them is closest to the language of the Etruscans, whose relative it is. The researcher himself believes that the Etruscans were Pelasgo-Tyrrhenians, distant relatives of the Greeks. Other researchers believed that the Etruscan language is a direct relative of the Hellenic language. Still others, mainly Italian researchers, remained true to Lanzi's views, only began to prove his correctness using the methods of comparative historical linguistics: to identify the laws of correspondence between the sounds of the Etruscan and Italic languages, the laws of changes in the sounds of the Etruscan language itself over time, etc.

In 1874-1875. a well-known connoisseur of the Latin language, German professor W. Korssen, publishes a two-volume book called "On the Etruscan Language." In it, he, it would seem, convincingly proves that this language is related to Italian dialects, although many words in it are Greek. For example, the word TAURA in the Etruscan language means “bull” (Greek “taurus” - remember the Minotaur, the bull of the Cretan king Minos), the word LUPU or LUPUKE means “sculpted” (Greek “glipe” - “carve, sculpt”; hence our "glyptics"). We have already said that the name Avl (or Aule) was very widespread among the Etruscans. Korssen found that there is another similar sounding name - AVILS. And it was also used very often. Moreover, on sarcophagi and burials scattered throughout Etruria, moreover, in combination with the word “loupe” or “lupuke”, that is, “sculpt”, “carve”.

Korssen concluded that Ávile is the generic name of a dynasty of sculptors and sculptors whose talents served Etruria and whose names, like a “factory mark” or “quality mark”, were put on the work of their hands - funerary urns and sarcophagi, in which were representatives of the most noble Etruscan families were buried ...

But as soon as the second volume of the monograph of the venerable scientist was published, in the same year, a small, 39-page brochure by his compatriot Wilhelm Deeke leaves no stone unturned from Korssen's constructions with his Avils, Greek words in Etruscan and the latter's kinship with Italian languages.

Deeke convincingly shows that TAURA, which Korssen thinks is the Greek word for "bull" borrowed by the Etruscans, actually means "grave". The word LUPU or LUPUKE is not "sculpt" or "carve", but the verb "died"; the word AVILS means "year" and not a proper name. "Lupu" and "avil" very often form a stable combination, and the number of years is indicated between them in Latin numerals. Here is the “dynasty of sculptors” discovered by Corssen as a result of many years of painstaking study of Etruscan texts!

Deeke himself believed, like K. O. Müller, that the Etruscan people “belong to the family of Greek peoples, although it was, without a doubt, a distant member of it.” However, not everyone agreed with this. Back in the 18th century it was hypothesized that the Etruscans were the first wave of Celtic tribes that invaded Italy (followed by another Celtic tribe, the Gauls, who inflicted a mortal blow on the Etruscans). In 1842, a book (in two volumes) entitled "Celtic Etruria" was published in Dublin, Ireland's capital. Its author, V. Betham, argued that the Etruscan language is related to the extinct Celtic languages, such as the language of the Gauls, and also modern - Irish, Breton, Welsh.

In the same 18th century it has been suggested that the Etruscans are not the first wave of the Celts, but the ancient Germans, who many centuries later invaded the Roman Empire, reached Italy and crushed Rome. In the 19th century The relationship of the Etruscan language with the German ones was proved by many scientists: the German von Schmitz, the Englishman Lindsay, the Dutchman Maak, the Dane Niebuhr.

In 1825, the scientist Ciampi returned to his homeland in Italy from Warsaw, where he had been a professor for several years. He immediately urged his colleagues to abandon the search for the key to the Etruscan language with the help of Greek and Latin words. In his opinion, it is necessary to turn "to other ancient languages ​​descended from the original, namely, to the Slavic ones." Following this, Kollar's book "Slavic ancient italy"(1853) and A. D. Chertkov" On the language of the Pelasgians who inhabited Italy, and its comparison with ancient Slovenian. According to Chertkov, the Slavs "come, in a straight line, from the Pelasgians", and therefore it is precisely Slavic languages can give a clue to the reading of Etruscan inscriptions. Later, the Estonian G. Trusman clarifies the work of Kollar and Chertkov. Not the Slavs, but the Balto-Slavs are relatives of the Etruscans. That is, not only Slavic languages ​​​​(Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Polish, Serbian), but also Baltic ones (Lithuanian, Latvian and Prussian, which disappeared as a result of German colonization) can give the key to the Etruscan language. Publishing his work in Reval (now Tallinn), Trusman noted that he was "refused to publish the work in an academic publication, so the author publishes it himself."

Why academic publications in the XX century. (Trusman's book was published in 1911) were they denied publication of works on the Etruscan language, and the authors had to publish them themselves? Yes, because by this time the search for the key to the Etruscan writings had greatly undermined the credibility of any attempts to find it, especially if they were undertaken by non-specialists. “All these failures, which often occurred due to insufficient linguistic training of amateurs and because of naive claims to the appearance of success in “translation”, states the etruscologist Reymond Blok in this connection, “brought upon etruscology the unjust distrust of some sensible minds.” For it was not so easy to draw a line between work in the field of etruscology, trying to find a key among known languages world, and the writing of the "Etruscan", who by all means wants to "translate" Etruscan texts, without having sufficient knowledge.

“I visited the secretary of a Parisian weekly,” says one of the Etruscan enthusiasts. He was a serious young man with excellent manners. And then I told him point-blank that I was working on deciphering the Etruscan text. He staggered as if I had stabbed him in the jaw. For a fraction of a second, the ground shook under his feet, and he had to lean against the fireplace. I looked at him impassively. Finally, raising his head like a diver emerging from under the water, he said with a wide smile: “Ah! You are studying the Etruscan language!“. It was necessary to hear this “Ah!”. It was a whole symphony of sympathy and pity. He did not place me, of course, on straight line AB, where point A is occupied by the seeker of the philosopher's stone, and point B is occupied by the counterfeiter. In order to talk seriously about deciphering the Etruscan language, he needed an author " ancient history“ in three volumes or at least the head of the department. But to hear an ordinary person talking about this, and even wanting to place a small article in his journal, was a blow to him! I understood this and was not offended. Indeed, it was a dangerous undertaking."

Remember Corssen's mistakes. The venerable scientist composed a whole story about the Avils “family of sculptors”, made thoughtful conclusions, although all this was based on an absolutely wrong understanding of the word “avils”. One can imagine where errors and misinterpretations led people who did not have the academic training and caution that Corssen certainly had.

Here is a short list. One researcher finds similarities between the Etruscan language and the language of an Indian tribe living in the Orinoco jungle. Hence the conclusion: it was not Columbus who discovered America, but the Etruscans! Another discovers, after "reading" the Etruscan texts, evidence of the death of Atlantis. They are trying to decipher the Etruscan language with the help of Ethiopian, Japanese, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, the extinct Urartian, and finally, Chinese!

This list is far from complete. For example, here is how they tried to connect the Etruscans living in Italy with the inhabitants of distant India. In 1860, in Leipzig, Bertani's book entitled "An attempt to decipher several Etruscan inscriptions" was published - deciphering is carried out on the basis of the sacred priestly language of India, Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is an Indo-European language, it is related to Slavic and other languages. And if the Etruscan language is really related to Sanskrit, then it would be reasonable to expect that between Italy and Hindustan there will be other Indo-European languages ​​that will be even closer to Etruscan. For example, in 1909 S. Bugge publishes a book where he proves that the Etruscan language is a special branch in the family of Indo-European languages ​​and Greek, Armenian and Balto-Slavic languages ​​are closest to it.

However, very many scientists resolutely rebelled against the fact that the Etruscan language was included in the great Indo-European family. In addition to Indo-European languages ​​(ancient Sanskrit, modern Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, and many others), languages ​​of another family, Dravidian, are spoken in Hindustan, mainly in the south of the peninsula (Tamil, Malayali, etc.). In 1904, the Norwegian philologist Sten Konov published a work, and in such a respectable publication as the Journal of the Asiatic Royal Society, under the title "Etruscans and Dravidians". It compares individual Etruscan and Dravidian words that have a similar meaning and sound.

Following this, another researcher, J. Yadzini, compares the Etruscan letters with the icons on clay products found in Central India and dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. e.

True, it is not known whether these icons are letters and in general written signs.

In the 20-30s. of our century in the Indus Valley discover a great civilization, modern ancient egypt, Sumer, Crete. Hieroglyphic inscriptions have been found. In 1933, the Italian etruscologist G. Piccoli published a table. In it, he compares the hieroglyphs of Hindustan and the icons found on some Etruscan inscriptions - at their very beginning, as well as placed on some funerary urns. Piccoli finds that about fifty of these icons are similar to the hieroglyphs of Hindustan ... So what? After all, the hieroglyphs of Hindustan have not been deciphered, and, according to the author of the comparison, practically nothing is known about Etruscan badges. One unknown - this is already known! - you can not decide through another unknown.

The prominent Italian scholar and polyglot Alfredo Trombetti decided to abandon the comparison of the Etruscan language with one language or family. He believed that the languages ​​of our planet are related to each other, in them it is possible to identify a certain common layer, words that have the same meaning and very close sound. And if any Etruscan word sounds similar to those that belong to the universal layer, therefore, it must have the same meaning.

For example, in Etruscan there is the word TAKLTI. Trombetti believes that this is some kind of case of the word "taka". Then he finds the “universal” meaning of “roof”, which in the ancient Persian language is expressed by the word “teg” (house), in Sanskrit - “stkhagati” (to close), in Chechen - “tchauv” (roof), in Arabic - “dag” (to close), in Latin “tego” (I close), hence “toga”, in Greek - “stege” (roof), in the African language of Bari - “lo-dek” (roof). And Trombetti concludes: the word "taka" in the Etruscan language means "roof" (that is, "closing").

But, firstly, it is not clear whether the word "taklti" is really case form the word "taka". Secondly, the possibility of error in the "Trombetti method" is even greater than in the usual comparison of "language with language." And thirdly, no one has yet been able to prove and even give any serious arguments in favor of the fact that there really is a certain layer in all languages ​​​​of the world (and if they come from the same universal root, then the separation of languages ​​​​and peoples began many thousands of years before there was a roof over people's heads and the word for it!).

With the help of universal laws, linguistic universals, Academician N. Ya. Marr also tried to penetrate the secret of the Etruscan language. He used a method he called "paleontological analysis".

According to Marr, any word in any language consists of only four elements. On these elements he "quartered" the words of the most different languages, from Abkhazian to Basque. The Etruscan words were also subjected to Marrov's "quartering". But etruscology did not benefit from this.

In 1935, summing up the results of the centuries-old search for Etruscologists, F. Messerschmidt wrote: "The problem is now even more confused than before." In 1952, the monumental monograph "Languages ​​of the World" was published, summarizing the results of the work of linguists in the study of the relationship of languages. And it was written in it: "Until now, the Etruscan language has not been attributed to any linguistic group."

In 1966, Soviet readers get acquainted with the translation of Z. Mayani's book "The Etruscans Begin to Talk", published by the Nauka publishing house. And in it they read that finally “the Etruscan Bastille has been taken… Yes, the key exists, and I just found it. It is very effective, and I place it in the hands of all Etruscologists ... I think that if the decipherment of the Etruscan language goes on a wider and fresher road, Etruscologists will feel strong and better protected from their true and imaginary sorrows. And then they can finally break out of the vicious circle in which they are now. To this end, I am doing my bit."

So the key is really found?

Alexander Kondratov

From the book "Etruscans. Mystery number one", 1977

This civilization flourished between 950 and 300 BC in the northwestern part of the Apennine peninsula between the Arno River, which flows through Pisa and Florence, and the Tiber, which flows through Rome. Since ancient times, this area has a historical name - Tuscany (in ancient times - Tuscia), named so by the indigenous Italian tribes after the people who inhabited and ennobled it - the Tusks.

Etruria was located in an area with a wonderful mild climate, wide valleys, fertile soil, as if prepared for agriculture by nature itself. There were enough forests and mineral resources, which the Etruscans skillfully exploited, having established the production of wonderful metal products, especially bronze sculptures, which were unparalleled in the entire Mediterranean. Etruscan wines, wheat, flax were also famous. Before others on the Apennine Peninsula, they were engaged in trade, establishing links with all the major trading centers of the Mediterranean, successfully competing with the Phoenicians and Greeks. Their sailors quite often engaged in piracy, which, however, was almost synonymous in those days. And they did it on such a grand scale that the Greeks even formed a legend that the god Dionysus himself, during his wanderings, was captured by the Etruscan pirates. The sea itself was named Tyrrhenian after them, for the Greeks called them Tyrrhenians. The Romans later began to call them Etruscans, they themselves called themselves races or races.

And who, besides the Greeks, equally glorious sailors, could give a name to the sea? But it was the Etruscans who became the true thalassocrats - the masters of the entire Western Mediterranean.

But they were not only sailors and merchants - the Etruscans founded many cities and colonies in Corsica, Elba, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and Iberia. They also subjugated important areas along the western coast of Italy - Latium and Campania. The Etruscans penetrated into northern Italy, founding a number of cities there as well. They were engaged in draining swamps, erecting stone walls around cities, laying sewers. Representatives of the aristocracy in the Etruscan cities, united in leagues of twelve cities, already lived in stone houses, more like palaces, when the inhabitants of neighboring Rome still lived in primitive buildings.

But it was in Rome, which arose on the hills among the swamps, that the future threat to Etruria was born. A century later, the Etruscans made considerable efforts to subdue the growing Rome - according to legend, the last three Roman kings were representatives of the Etruscan dynasty and did a lot to "cultivate" both the city and its inhabitants. The influence of Etruria spread to almost all of Italy. However, happiness turned away from the Etruscans and failures began to pursue them one after another. First, the Greeks defeated their once invincible fleet in a major naval battle. Then, outraged by the inappropriate behavior of the king's son, the Romans expelled the entire royal family from the city. Then the Samnites rebelled, after which there was an invasion of the Gauls. Rome, on the other hand, was so strong that it no longer wanted to obey anyone. They learned the lessons of the Etruscans well, adopting a lot in military affairs. Time for Etruria seemed to run faster. The golden age is over: the already former rulers of Rome, still recent allies, had to surrender their cities one by one in heavy battles. But the Romans were insatiable - endless wars required more and more new means. Resistance was brutally suppressed. The last Etruscan city fell in 406 BC. The Romans generously used the distribution of privileges to win over the recalcitrant to their side. The Etruscans reconciled, eventually even switched to Latin.

However, the worst, as it turned out, lay ahead. During the terror of the dictator Sulla, the last Etruscans were destroyed.

The Etruscans gave the Romans a lot - in addition to the already mentioned skills in various crafts and arts, they gave them the alphabet and numbers (the so-called Roman numerals, which we still use today, were actually invented by the Etruscans), even the symbol of Rome - the famous she-wolf - and the one of Etruscan work.

Much is known about the Etruscans. Many, but not all...

Who were they and where did they come to the lands of Italy? Some sources report that they clearly stood out among the surrounding tribes with their stocky figures with large heads and thick arms.
This people was formed by three waves of migration: from the Eastern Mediterranean (Anatolia); because of the Alps (Rezia); from the North Caspian steppes (Scythia).

This theory is supported by the works of Herodotus, which appeared in the 5th century BC. e. According to Herodotus, the Etruscans are natives of Lydia, a region in Asia Minor - Tyrrhens or Tyrsenes, forced to leave their homeland due to catastrophic crop failure and famine. According to Herodotus, this happened almost simultaneously with the Trojan War. Hellanicus from the island of Lesbos mentioned the legend of the Pelasgians who arrived in Italy and became known as Tyrrhenians. At that time, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed and the Hittite empire fell, that is, the appearance of the Tyrrhenes should be dated to the 13th century BC, or a little later. Perhaps this legend is connected with the myth of the escape to the west of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the founding of the Roman state, which was of great importance to the Etruscans. Herodotus' hypothesis is supported by genetic analysis data.

Titus Livy gives a semi-legendary version of the northern origin of the Etruscans from the Alpine tribes. The penetration of migrating northern tribes - carriers of the Protovillanova culture into the Apennine Peninsula is accepted by most experts. Within the framework of this hypothesis, the Etruscan-Rasenians were related to the Alpine Rhets, and in this case it is permissible to consider them as an autochthonous, pre-Indo-European population of Central Europe, which absorbed at different times alien cultural and ethnic elements from Sardinia and, possibly, Asia Minor .

And the attitude of the Etruscans towards women shocked the Greeks and Romans so much that they called it immoral. It was unacceptable to them that Etruscan women enjoyed an independent social position and had influence in such important matters as matters of worship.

The origin of the Etruscans remains a mystery to this day. Some archaeologists believe that they migrated from the Aegean region, others that from Northern Europe. Some believe that their culture originated directly in Tuscany, suddenly receiving an impetus for rapid development.

The Etruscans themselves believed that they were the descendants of Hercules.

In the XVI century. Noah was said to have founded twelve cities in Etruria after the Flood, and that his body rests in the vicinity of Rome. Added to this that Hercules of Libya was the founder of Florence. These ideas were very common in the Florentine Academy.

Another mystery is the language of the Etruscans. Despite the fact that about ten thousand different Etruscan texts are known, and we can even read them, no one has yet been able to convincingly prove that he understands what these records mean. Because no one knows what language the Etruscans spoke.