ArHi 201 Etruscans

Cultural Ties of Estruscans

to the near east because of sailors and merchants who travelled through the Mediterranean.

Began to use the Greek alphabet

 End of 8th century BCE

Reached the height of their power

 7th and 6th century BCE (archaic age of Greece).

Early iron age

 900-700 BCE

Orientalizing period

 700-600 BCE

Archaic Period

600-480 BCE

Classical Period

480-300 BCE

Etruscan culture is absorbed into Roman Culture

300 BCE

Funerary Art 7th c BCE - burials in family tombs

Tumuli

Tombs carved out of volcanic stone or formed mounds. They were grouped together to form a necropolis (city of the dead)

Fibula

Brooch or decorative safety pin to hold garment together at the neck

Dromoi

Pathways in the funeral mound

Height of Etruscan power

600s-500s BCE

Etruscan terra cotta sarcophagi from Cerveti 520 BCE

Construction of the Persian Palace at Persepolis begins

518 BCE

Classical Period in Greece

480-336 BCE

All Estruscan city states lose independence to Rome

270

Architecture

Masters of

architectural engineering, town planning, and surveying

Voussoir arch

An arch built out of a series of truncated wedge-shaped stones called voussoirs set in the semi-circle using a disposable wood frame during construction, e.g. Porta Marzia. 2nd c BCE, Perugia.

City planning

Based on two majors thoroughfares: north-south-the cardo, east-west: decumanus

Temples built of

mud brick, so only the stone foundation survives

Appearance of Etruscan culture on Italian peninsula

1000 BCE

Etruscans begin colonizing flatlands south of Rome

500 BCE

Construction of Parthenon in Athens

447-432 BCE

Defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great

331 BCE

Surviving Etruscan gate, the Porta Marzia in Perugia 200s BCE

Sculpture

Made of brightly painted terra-cotta because they had no access to marble

Apollo (Aplu), from Veii, 510 BCE, 1.75m. Attributed to Vulca of Veii

Gable

The triangular area framed by the cornice or eaves of a building and the sloping sides of a pitched roof. In Classical architecture, it is called a pediment.

Palette

The range of colors used by a particular painter.

Sarcophogus

A large coffin, generally of stone, and often decorated with sculpture or inscriptions. The term is derived from two Greek words meaning “flesh” and “eating.”

Exedra

In Classical architecture, an alcove, often semicircular, and often defined with columns. Sometimes, exedrae framed sculptures.e