Etruscology

The Etruscan Underworld god is represented in some painted tombs with a wolf skin on his head. Why was the wolf chosen to represent a god? This is the question I will try to answer, starting from a biological approach, by examining the wolf behaviour in nature.
I will consider myths and rites of the Mediterranean area and archaeological findings related to the wolf. The aim is to establish the process that led in the Etrusco-Italic world, to the development of an elusive underworld god, linked to the cities foundation rituals, iconographically represented with a bare wolf on his head.

Populonia is the only Etruscan town on the sea. It occupies the hills of Poggio del Telegrafo
and Poggio del Castello, overlooking the Gulf of Baratti. The city benefits from a territory
rich of natural resources and with great potential. Nevertheless, because of its shape, required
unconventional choices in its organization and its management. Until at least the Late
Bronze Age, the exploitation of the important resources of coastal lagoons seems to follow
similar patterns of other middle Tyrrhenian districts. The Populonian coast was studded
with small settlements, located on the dunes or in the immediate proximity of the sea. In
the Early Iron Age, the above described way of occupation seems to change gradually, all
Bronze Age sites were abbandoned, apparently in contrast with southern Etruria. In the
Gulf of Baratti, the existence of the Villanovan necropolis on top of previous settlements,
seems to support this interpretation. It is possible to relate this phenomenon with the contemporary
concentration of the population in the area of the historical city, corresponding
to Poggio del Telegrafo and Poggio del Castello, as part of a larger commitment to planning
which also involved the gulf. Two different cemeteries have been identified at Baratti, the
first one was located at the center of the Gulf (San Cerbone and Casone-Porcareccia),
the second to the north-east (Poggio-Piano delle Granate). Furthermore, two small necropoleis
have been identified on the south-western slopes of Poggio del Telegrafo, and
the northern foothills in locality Buca (or Buche) delle Fate. The settlement of Poggio del
Telegrafo and Poggio del Castello, if not enclosed, is at least partially surrounded by the
necropolis. This choice of settlement allowed the inhabitans to combine the high defensive
potential of a coastal headland with wide visibility of the surrounding coast. The system of
occupation of the hinterland seems to be centralized, as in southern Etruria, on a tight selection
of the smaller settlements and focused on the maintenance of those needed to ensure
control of the territory. On the Island of Elba, we have evidence of thriving metallurgical
activities, still connected to the mixed sulphides, while the material culture, especially the
bronzework, confirms its proximity to Populonia. The Villanovan Populonia appears to be
the hub of a geographical district rich in important resources, with the mineralization of
Elba and Campiglia’s hills, and not only as a crucial junction of Tyrrhenian routes but also
of the main Mediterranean routes. Such a reconstruction fits well with the features of the
local society which emerges from the analysis of the funerary evidence. Infact, the birth of
the great Villanovan towns implies the overcoming of the previous fragmentation through
a process of integration that lead to a more complex structure of the social hierarchy. In
the case of Populonia, we have to imagine that this layering process was influenced by a
strong human mobility characteristic of a port of trade, the point of arrival or passage of
different peoples.

Sport et musique en Etrurie. En faisant des recherches sur cette très intéressante série que sont les reliefs archaïques de Chiusi, Jean-René Jannot devait obligatoirement rencontrer la question des jeux et des sports puisqu'il s'agit là d'un des motifs les plus fréquents sur ce type de documents, comme c'est aussi le cas sur les fresques funéraires, avec lesquelles les rapprochements ne manquent pas, ne serait-ce d'ailleurs que parce qu'une partie d'entre elles ont été réalisées dans cette même cité de Chiusi-et on pense en premier lieu à la Tombe du Singe récemment restaurée et de nouveau accessible aux visiteurs 1. Un autre document clusien remarquable, la situle de Plikaśna, a conduit au croisement de nos recherches respectives, et nous avons partagé les mêmes conclusions sur ce petit vase d'argent doré, alors que notre interprétation commune était loin de faire l'unanimité 2. Jean-René Jannot s'est aussi penché à plusieurs reprises sur les musiciens étrusques 3 , qu'il est bien difficile d'éviter quand on étudie cette civilisation, comme J. Heurgon, notre maître commun, l'avait rappelé dans une de ces formules frappantes qui parsèment sa Vie quotidienne : « Ce qu'il devait y avoir de plus difficile à découvrir dans une ville étrusque, c'était le silence 4. » Pour ces Studi in onore de notre collègue et ami nantais, j'ai donc voulu revenir sur un sujet portant à la fois sur le sport et la musique en Etrurie, sujet que j'avais déjà abordé dans ma thèse de la BEFAR mais dont je me suis aperçu qu'il pouvait fournir des développements supplémentaires. Le cas de la situle de Plikaśna, à laquelle je viens de faire allusion, est au coeur de cette discussion puisque la présence d'aulètes, situés non loin du centre de la frise supérieure (un chaudron), a contribué pour certains à renforcer l'idée qu'on se trouvait ici devant une « scena di offerta propiziatoria 5 », alors que J.-R. Jannot et moi-même pensons au contraire qu'il s'agit d'une représentation de pugilat, cette épreuve sportive se déroulant presque toujours avec un accompagnement musical en Etrurie – mais ce n'est pas le seul argument que l'on peut mettre en avant pour justifier une telle interprétation. Signalons au passage qu'un autre document étrusque daté des années 650 avant notre ère montre des boxeurs accompagnés par un aulète : c'est une olla stamnoïde peinte attribuée au Peintre de Civitavecchia, peut-être produite à Cerveteri et conservée

Le mot putlumza, gravé sur le fond d'une oenochoé étrusque du début du iii e s. av. J.-C., est le dérivé en-za d'un terme non attesté mais qu'il est aisé de reconstituer : *putlum. Ce dernier a vraisemblablement été emprunté à une langue italique, sans doute au vieux latin *pōtlom (> lat. class. pōcolom / pōculum) avec le sens de « vase à boire ». Le maintien du-t-devant le-l-prouve l'ancienneté de l'emprunt. Lorsque la mode des pocola deorum, ces vases consacrés de fabrication romaine, se diffusa en Étrurie au début du iii e s., le vieil emprunt putlumza fut réutilisé sporadiquement avec le sens de « vase à libation » dont son correspondant latin pōcolom s'était entre-temps enrichi. C'est ainsi que le nom de putlumza fut donné à des vases comme notre oenochoé, très différents par leur forme et leurs dimensions des véritables pocola deorum, mais pourvus d'une fonction rituelle identique. La découverte, il y a peu, au Musée de Berlin, d'une oenochoé en tout point semblable aux cruchons du groupe des pocola deorum mais portant une inscription étrusque prouve toutefois que l'atelier qui produisit les pocola deorum fabriqua aussi des objets destinés au marché étrusque. En définitive, l'oenochoé putlumza mérite moins son nom, qu'elle a en quelque sorte usurpé, que l'authentique pocolom étrusque du Musée de Berlin. abstRact The word putlumza, carved on the bottom of an etruscan oenochoe from the 3rd century B.C., is derived from an unattested *putlum with a za-suffix. This word might be a loan from an Italic language, probably old Latin *pōtlom (> class. lat. pōcolom / pōculum) which means « drinking vase ». The conservation of the-t-just before the-l-proves how ancient the loan is. When the pocola deorum, these Roman-made sacred vases, started to spread across Etruria at the beginning of the 3rd century B.C., the old loanword putlumza was sporadically reused with a new meaning, « libation vase », which its Latin equivalent pōcolom had gained in the meantime. Thus the name putlumza was given to such vases of this oenochoe type, whose shape and size are very different from the real pocola deorum, but whose religious fonction is basically the same.

The scholarly community has become increasingly aware of the differences between Roman myths and the more familiar myths of Greece. Early Rome: Myth and Society steps in to provide much-needed modern and accessible translations and commentaries on Italian legends.

This work examines the tales of Roman pre- and legendary history, discusses relevant cultural and contextual information, and presents author biographies. This book offers updated translations of key texts, including authors who are often absent from classical mythology textbooks, such as Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Servius. Jaclyn Neel debunks the idea that Romans were unimaginative copyists by spotlighting the vitality and flexibility of Italian myth — particularly those parts that are less closely connected to Greek tales, such as the story of Caeculus of Praeneste. Finally, by calling attention to the Italian rather than Roman nature of the collection, this book suggests that Roman culture was broader than the city itself. This important work offers:

    * Up-to-date and accessible translations of Roman and Italic legends from authors throughout antiquity
    * Examination of compelling tales that involve the Roman equivalent of Greek “heroes”
    * Unique view of the strength and plasticity of Roman and Italic myth, particularly the parts less closely connected to familiar Greek tales
    * Intelligent discussion of relevant cultural and contextual information
    * Argument that Roman culture reached far beyond the city of Rome

Fresh and readable, Early Rome: Myth and Society offers essential reading for students of ancient Rome as well as those interested in Roman and Greek mythology.

http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119083796.html

http://earlyrome.omeka.net/

Nel 1870 nel pozzo poi identificato con il mundus di Servirola il Chierici rinviene diversi frammenti di crateri da simposio, uno dei quali con scena dionisiaca, che consentono di ipotizzare la presenza di un culto catactonio in onore di Dioniso.
Solo dalla fine del secolo corso, tuttavia, gli studiosi hanno rilevato l’importante ruolo svolto dal dio nell’ambito della “religione” etrusca.
Recenti campagne di scavo documentano inoltre l’intensificarsi del culto urbano di Dioniso associato a quello della dea Vei durante il V sec. a.C. in connessione con i mutamenti politici e sociali che coinvolgono la società etrusca.
L’obiettivo del presente intervento è di evidenziare come i dati raccolti dagli scavi Chierici possano oggi fare nuova luce sul culto di questo dio straniero, apparentato all’etrusco Fufluns, consentendo di inserire a pieno titolo l’abitato di Servirola nello studio delle dinamiche politiche, sociali e religiose che interessano l’Etruria tra la fine del VI e il IV sec. a.C.

The recent discovery of bronze votive statuettes on a small plateau in Albagino, about six kilometers north-east of the Futa Pass, may reveal a new sacred space that might be connected to a series of rural Etruscan votive deposits in the northern Appennines. In each of the examined sites the determining element of the sacred space remains unchanged: the landscape constitutes the architecture of the open-air sanctuaries.

etrusca e il collezionismo in Europa dal XVI al XIX secolo " Etruscans in Brazil: a summary of the Brazilian collections of Etruscans goods-The constitution of the collections of Etruscan artistic artefacts in Brazilian museums through a brief introduction into their history " .* Nancy Maria Antonieta Braga Bomentre UNIFESP " Etruscans in Brazil; a summary of the brazilian colletions of etruscans goods " Nancy Maria Antonieta Braga Bomentre

Un accurato intervento di restauro restituisce a una lettura integrale e inedita uno straordinario documento pittorico dell’Orientalizzante etrusco, con il suo ricco repertorio iconografico costituito da un bestiario fantastico con esseri ibridi.
La pisside-cratere, dipinta con la tecnica “white-on-red”, fu rinvenuta nel 1836 in occasione degli scavi Regolini-Galassi nella necropoli del Sorbo a Cerveteri ed è tradizionalmente attribuita alla omonima celebre tomba principesca, che viene ricordata con il nome dei suoi scopritori.
A quasi due secoli dalla scoperta, il grande contenitore ha mantenuto integralmente il suo ciclo pittorico indenne da inadeguate puliture e falsificazioni, che diversamente hanno segnato il destino di altri esemplari di questa classe ceramica, dalla tecnica pittorica notoriamente vulnerabile.
Attraverso l’esame iconografico e stilistico, l’opera viene considerata nel contesto dei modelli circolanti nell’ambiente artistico ceretano nel corso del VII sec. a.C. e nella sua valenza rituale e simbolica.
Alla luce della nuova datazione proposta, viene rapportata con l’insieme dei rinvenimenti del 1836 al Sorbo, pur restando incerte la pertinenza a un preciso contesto e la sua funzione.
Parole chiave: Cerveteri, tomba Regolini-Galassi, Orientalizzante, pittura etrusca, ceramica etrusca.

An accurate restoration work retrieves an extraordinary pictorial document of the Etruscan Orientalizing style, with its rich iconographic repertoire consisting of a fantastic bestiary with hybrid beings, to an integral and unedited reading.
The pyxis-crater, painted with the "white-on-red" technique, was found in 1836 in the Sorbo necropolis in Cerveteri during the Regolini-Galassi excavations and is traditionally attributed to the famous princely tomb, which is remembered with the name of its discoverers.
Almost two centuries after its discovery, the large box vessel has fully maintained its pictorial cycle free from inadequate cleaning and falsification, which otherwise marked the fate of other specimens of this ceramic class, made with a notoriously vulnerable painting technique.
By means of the iconographic and stylistic examination, the work is considered in the context of the models circulating in the artistic environment of Caere during the seventh century B.C. and in its ritual and symbolic value.
In light of the proposed new dating, it is related to the whole of the discoveries at Sorbo in  1836, although the relevance to a specific context and its function remain uncertain.
Keywords: Cerveteri, Regolini-Galassi tomb, Orientalizing, Etruscan painting, Etruscan ceramic.

The relationships between T. S. and hellenism can be found in the character of the (Greek) tyrant that the Roman annalistic tradition built, as well as in the image he wanted to give of himself. Like those of the other “kings” of Rome, the figure of T. S. started to be elaborated in the IVth century BC, probably from the image of the contemporary tyrants of Syracuse. Moreover, the legend of the Bacchiadae origins of the Tarquins seems to have been made up by T. S. himself, as it is suggested by the analysis of some details of the François tomb of Vulci and also by the presence of the acroterial group of Dionysos and Ariadne on the temple of Fortuna at the Forum Boarium. T. S. was thus at the origins of the references that were established between Roman triumph and Dionysos, at a time when Rome was living in a mediterranean “cultural koinè” that was strongly dominated by cultural references of the archaic Greek world.