Etruscan Myths

The Legendary Past

by Larissa Bonfante, Judith Swaddling

The Etruscans were a people of sophisticated culture and technology who lived in the area between Florence and Rome. Their civilization flourished for nearly a thousand years before being subsumed by the Roman Empire, but they left a substantial legacy to western civilization. In antiquity they were known as a wealthy, luxury-loving people, fond of banqueting and music and deeply religious. They were highly literate, but their literature has not survived, so we turn to Etruscan art to tell us about their mythology and beliefs. Their plentiful, spontaneous art also tells us a great deal about their lives and about the importance of women in their aristocratic society. Most informative of their own distinctive and colorful beliefs are their interpretations of scenes from Greek mythology, reflecting the importance of goddesses and demons in their religion, as well as scenes of the human sacrifice they practiced. This book serves as an excellent introduction to the world of the Etruscans and their mythology and is plentifully illustrated from the vast collection of the British Museum and other international museums.

Genres: Mythology, History, Nonfiction, Archaeology

80 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2006

Reviews

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating survey of Etruscan mythology as learned from studies of their art. Sadly it seems that little Etruscan writing remains to us, so it is that how we can learn about what they believed comes from studying their art. Their art, in short, seems like an interesting mix of almost comic book characterization coupled with Egyptian style merged in a hint at what would become reinasanceian style. This books captures some of the themes, tones, and highlights of these people delightfully. What has been passed on to us, to learn from, is essentially Hellenic with an Etruscan twist. The original religion is lost to us, only later Etruscan culture seems known to us at all, and while it seems likely that they combined Greek mythology with their own at some point, this is mostly Greek...with cool differences, such as such brief high lights as the equivalent to Hades wearing a wolf’s head cap, or Hercules suckling from Hera in order to become a God, or a battle between brothers turned so violent that the champions seemed to commit cannibalism during the combat. Their is an interesting interplay between violence, magic, and sexuality. Tombs are decorated both with symbolic sacrificial art as well as mythological sex scenes to ward off evil and the supernatural. Here is probably one of the more egalitarian classical societies, as shocked commentators from other cultures note that “married women often have lunch with male friends that are not their husband”...it usually a cultural that is interested in both lines of descent, matriarchal and patriarchal, and mythological figures are depicted as couples. And may I note, there seem to be many transgender gods. Last, but but least, are the demonic and angelic iconography. Perhaps generated as evolutionized memes from ancient egypt (I.e. human bird iconography) many mythological figures have angelic wings...well before the event of Christianity! The Vanth in particular interested me as they almost seem like sister-mythological figures to the Norse Valkyrie...they are present at times of death, often during battles, flying women. So, in conclusion, this culture and thus book were fascinating. For fans of mythology and history I’d recommend it with a caveat that we know little about these people, so although thus work was fairly well written it is by necessity an intellectual construct and as such more than a little fractured, so if your looking for a story format you may find yourself somewhat disappointed.

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooooooooooodličan i taksativan uporedni pregled epoha etrurske kulture i grčke i rimske. Monografija je eseistička, tako da nema prepričavanja u detalje mitova na koje se autorka poziva, ali se itekako osvrće na njih i uz odgovarajuće ilustracije artefakata (kojih ima u izobilju – što ogledala, što skulptura, što fresaka) ih potkrepljuje, te se priča poprilično lepo zaokružuje. Naravno, na kraju knjige je dat i popis dodatne literature, tako da je za one koji se prvi put upuštaju u koštac sa mističnim Etrurcima ovo prava polazna tačka.

[Sineala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very stylish little overview of Etruscan myths, mostly focusing on how Greek myths were adapted into Etruscan art; there are a lot of very nice pictures and drawings, and it's an interesting look at the differences. There's a bit on native myths, of course, and an interesting chapter on how Romans viewed them, basically retelling the greatest hits of Livy (Tanaquil! Lucretia! Scaevola!), and then on how more modern peoples viewed them -- there's even a bit of Renaissance art, and of course quoting Macaulay on Lars Porsenna.

It's short, but worth a look; there's a lot of information in there, though I think perhaps it does have a little too much rehashing Greek myths and stories that the reader is likely to know already, when it's setting up the discussion of Etruscan portrayals. But it's good.

[Keegan Bucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much more than some variations on Greek and Roman myths. About the only strictly Etruscan mythical elements included are the angel-like demons that protect tombs. An interesting detail that is mentioned is that Etruscan analogue of Zeus is sometimes represented as young and beardless.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and interesting read.