Who are the Etruscans?
The Etruscans were a people who lived on the Apennine Peninsula before the advent of Rome. The origin of the Etruscans is still shrouded in mystery. According to modern historians, this nation was formed from ancient local tribes, mixed with aliens from across the Alps, from Scythia and migrants from the Anatolian area. Before the Romans, the Etruscans were neighbors of the Latin tribes, subsequently assimilated by the Romans.
Now the Etruscans seem to us both similar and dissimilar to the Romans. For the reason that the Romans borrowed a lot from the Etruscans. Skills and traditions, culture and religious rituals, the art of building… it is difficult to name a field of activity in which one could not trace Etruscan influence. The Roman name Lucius, for example, comes from the Etruscan Lucumon. It was the name of the first king of Rome of Etruscan origin (the fifth of all Roman kings), Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. And “Tarquinius” refers to Lucius’ descent from the Etruscan city of the same name. The last Roman king, Lucius’ grandson, was also named Tarquinius after his grandfather. Gladiator games are also of Etruscan origin. They are thought to have originally been a funerary rite, a human sacrifice to underground Etruscan deities. Many Roman gods were originally Etruscan, such as Juno (Etruscan Uni) and Minerva (Menrva). Only later were they found Greek correspondences in the form of Hera and Athena.
