Editing Etruscan civilization (section)

===Literature===
[[File:Lanena_knjiga_(Liber_linteus_Zagrebiensis).jpg|thumb|right|220px|Samples of Etruscan script, from the [[Liber linteus]]]]
Etruscan texts, written in a space of seven centuries, use a form of the [[Greek alphabet]] due to close contact between the Etruscans and the Greek colonies at [[Ischia|Pithecusae]] and [[Cumae]] in the 8th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC (until it was no longer used, at the beginning of the 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD). Etruscan inscriptions disappeared from [[Chiusi]], [[Perugia]] and [[Arezzo]] around this time. Only a few fragments survive, religious and especially funeral texts, most of which are late (from the 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC). In addition to the original texts that have survived to this day, there are a large number of quotations and allusions from classical authors. In the 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC, [[Diodorus Siculus]] wrote that literary culture was one of the great achievements of the Etruscans. Little is known of it and even what is known of their language is due to the repetition of the same few words in the many inscriptions found (by way of the modern epitaphs) contrasted in bilingual or trilingual texts with Latin and [[Punic language|Punic]]. Out of the aforementioned genres, is just one such Volnio (Volnius) cited in classical sources mentioned.<ref>[[Varro]], ''De lingua Latina'', 5.55.</ref> With a few exceptions, such as the [[Liber Linteus]], the [[Thesaurus Linguae Etruscae|only written records in the Etruscan language]] that remain are inscriptions, mainly funerary. The language is written in the [[Etruscan alphabet]], a script related to the early [[Euboean alphabet|Euboean Greek alphabet]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Maras|first1=Daniele F. |year=2015 |chapter=Etruscan and Italic Literacy and the Case of Rome |editor1-last= Bloome |editor1-first=W. Martin |title=A Companion to Ancient Education |language=en |location=Chichester, UK |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |page= 202}}</ref> Many thousand inscriptions in Etruscan are known, mostly [[epitaph]]s, and a few [[Thesaurus Linguae Etruscae|very short texts]] have survived, which are mainly religious. Etruscan imaginative literature is evidenced only in references by later Roman authors, but it is evident from their visual art that the Greek myths were well known.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Nielsen |first1=Marjatta |last2=Rathje |first2=Annette |chapter=Artumes in Etruria—the Borrowed Goddess |editor1-last=Fischer-Hansen |editor1-first=Tobias |editor2-last= Poulsen|editor2-first=Birte |title=From Artemis to Diana: The Goddess of Man and Beast |language=en|location=Copenhagen |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |page=261 |quote= A massive Greek impact is clear especially in the coastal territory, which has led many to believe that the Etruscans were entirely Hellenized. Countless depictions show that Greek myths were, indeed, adopted and well-known to the Etruscans.}}</ref>

With the founding of [[wikt:Πιθηκοῦσαι|Pithekussai]] on [[Ischia]] and Kyme (lat. [[Cumae]]) in [[Campania]] in the course of the [[Greek colonization]], the Etruscans came under the influence of the [[Greek culture]] in the 8th century BC. The Etruscans adopted an [[alphabet]] from the western Greek colonists that came from their homeland, the Euboean [[Chalkis]]. This alphabet from Cumae is therefore also called Euboean<ref name="Larissa Bonfante p. 14">Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 14.</ref> or Chalcidian<ref>Friedhelm Prayon: ''The Etruscans. History, religion, art.'' p. 38.</ref> Alphabet. The oldest written records of the Etruscans date from around 700 BC.<ref>Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 56.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! colspan="24"|Euboean alphabet<ref>Steven Roger Fischer: ''History of Writing.'' S. 138.</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:left;width:20px"|Letter
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Alpha 06.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Beta 16.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Gamma archaic 1.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Delta 03.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Epsilon archaic.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Digamma oblique.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Zeta archaic.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Eta archaic.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Theta archaic.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Iota normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Kappa normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Lambda 06.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Mu 02.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Nu straight.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Xi archaic grid.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Omicron 04.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Pi archaic.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek San 02.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Koppa normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Rho pointed.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Sigma normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Tau normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Upsilon normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Chi normal.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Phi 02.svg|20px]]
|style="width:20px"|[[File:Greek Psi straight.svg|20px]]
|-
|Transcription
|A
|B
|G
|D
|E
|V
|Z
|H
|TH
|I
|K
|L
|M
|N
|X
|O
|P
|Ś
|Q
|R
|S
|T
|U
|X
|PH
|CH
|}

One of the oldest Etruscan written documents is found on the [[:it:Tavoletta di Marsiliana|tablet of Marsiliana d’Albegna]] from the hinterland of [[Vulci]], which is now kept in the [[National Archaeological Museum of Florence|National Archaeological Museum]] of [[Florence]]. A western Greek model alphabet is engraved on the edge of this [[wax tablet]] made of [[ivory]]. In accordance with later Etruscan writing habits, the [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] in this model alphabet were mirrored and arranged from right to left:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="24"|Early Etruscan alphabet<ref>Steven Roger Fischer: ''History of Writing.'' S. 140.</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:left;width:20px"|Letter
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanA-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanB-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanC-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanD-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanE-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanF-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanZ-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanH-02.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanTH-03.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanI-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanK-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanL-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanM-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanN-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:Greek Xi archaic grid.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:Greek Omicron 04.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanP-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanSH-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanQ-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanR-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:Greek Sigma Z-shaped.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanT-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanV-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanX-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanPH-01.svg|20px]]
|style="text-align:center;width:20px"|[[File:EtruscanKH-01.svg|20px]]
|-
|Transcription
|align="center"|A
|align="center"|B
|align="center"|C
|align="center"|D
|align="center"|E
|align="center"|F
|align="center"|Z
|align="center"|H
|align="center"|TH
|align="center"|I
|align="center"|K
|align="center"|L
|align="center"|M
|align="center"|N
|align="center"|S
|align="center"|O
|align="center"|P
|align="center"|SH 
|align="center"|Q
|align="center"|R
|align="center"|S
|align="center"|T
|align="center"|U
|align="center"|X
|align="center"|PH
|align="center"|KH
|-
|}

The script with these letters was first used in southern Etruria around 700 BC in the Etruscan [[Etruscan cities|Cisra]] (lat. [[Caere]]), today's [[Cerveteri]].<ref name="Larissa Bonfante p. 14"/> The science of writing quickly reached central and northern Etruria. From there, the alphabet spread from [[Volterra]] (Etr. [[Etruscan cities|Velathri]]) to [[Etruscan cities|Felsina]], today's [[Bologna]], and later from [[Chiusi]] (Etr. [[Etruscan cities|Clevsin]]) to the Po Valley. In southern Etruria, the writing spread from [[Tarquinia]] (Etr. [[Etruscan cities|Tarchna]]) and [[Veii]] (Etr. [[Etruscan cities|Veia]]) further south to Campania, which was controlled by the Etruscans at the time.<ref>Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 54.</ref> In the following centuries the Etruscans consistently used the letters mentioned, so that the [[deciphering]] of the Etruscan inscriptions is not a problem. As in Greek, the characters were subject to regional and temporal changes. Overall, one can distinguish an archaic script from the 7th to 5th centuries from a more recent script from the 4th to 1st centuries BC, in which some characters were no longer used, including the X for a sh sound. In addition, in writing and language, the emphasis on the first syllable meant that internal vowels were not reproduced, e.g. ''[[Menrva]]'' instead of ''Menerva''.<ref>Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 81.</ref> Accordingly, [[linguists]] also distinguish between Old and New Etruscan.<ref>Friedhelm Prayon: ''Die Etrusker. History, Religion, Art.'' pp. 38–40.</ref>

[[File:Etruscan bucchero cock.jpg|thumb|Bucchero cockerel from [[Viterbo]]. Small Etruscan bottle from 630 to 620 BCE with an early form of the alphabet]]

Alongside the [[:it:Tavoletta di Marsiliana|tablet of Marsiliana d’Albegna]], around 70 objects with model alphabets have been preserved from the early period.<ref>Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 55.</ref> The most famous of these are:
* [[Alabastron]] from the [[Regolini-Galassi tomb]] in Cerveteri
* [[:de:Bucchero-Amphore von Formello|Bucchero amphora from Formello]]
* [[:de:Bucchero-Hähnchen von Viterbo|Bucchero cockerel from Viterbo]]
* [[Bucchero]] vessel from the necropolis of Sorbo near Cerveteri

As all four artifacts date from the 7th century B.C. come from, the alphabets are always written clockwise.<ref>Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 133.</ref> The last object has the special feature that, in addition to the letters of the alphabet, almost all consonants are shown in sequence in connection with the vowels I, A, U and E ([[Syllabary]]). This syllabic writing system was probably used to practice the written characters.<ref name="Larissa Bonfante p. 14"/>

The most important Etruscan written monuments that contain a large number of words include:
* [[Liber Linteus]] (''Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis'') – ritual text with around 1400 words
* [[Tabula Capuana|Clay Tablet of Capua]] (''Tabula'' or ''Tegula Capuana'') – ritual text as a bustrophedon with 62 lines and around 300 words
* [[Tabula Cortonensis|Tablet of Cortona]] (''Tabula Cortonensis'') – contract text with a length of 32 lines and about 200 words
* [[Cippus Perusinus]] – travertine block with 46 lines and about 125 words from near [[Perugia]]
* [[Pyrgi Tablets]] – parallel texts in Etruscan and [[Phoenician script|Punic script]]
* [[Sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas]] – grave inscription of Laris Pulena with nine lines of text on a sarcophagus scroll
* [[Liver of Piacenza]] – model of a sheep's liver with 40 inscriptions
* [[Lead Plaque of Magliano]] – sacrificial instructions with 70 words
* [[:de:Bleistreifen von Santa Marinella|Lead strip from Santa Marinella]] – two fragments of a sacrificial vow
* Building inscription of the tomb of San Manno near Perugia – 30-word consecration inscription
* {{ill|Poupé aryballos|fr|Aryballe Poupé}} – Clockwise dedication inscription on a bucchero bottle
* [[Tuscanian dice]] – Two dice with the numbers 1 to 6

No further Etruscan literature has survived and from the early 1st century AD, inscriptions with Etruscan characters have ceased to exist. All existing ancient Etruscan written documents are systematically collected in the [[Corpus Inscriptionum Etruscarum]].

In the middle of the 7th century BC, the Romans adopted the Etruscan writing system and letters. In particular, they used the three different characters C, K and Q for a K sound. Z was also initially adopted into the Roman alphabet, although the affricate TS did not occur in the Latin language. Later, Z was replaced in the alphabet by the newly formed letter G, which was derived from C, and Z was finally placed at the end of the alphabet.<ref>Steven Roger Fischer: ''History of Writing.'' pp. 141–142.</ref> The letters Θ, Φ and Ψ were omitted by the Romans because the corresponding aspirated sounds did not occur in their language.

The Etruscan alphabet spread across the northern and central parts of the Italian peninsula. It is assumed that the formation of the [[Oscan language|Oscan script]], probably in the 6th century BC, was fundamentally influenced by Etruscan. The characters of the [[Umbrian language|Umbrian]], [[Faliscan language|Faliscan]] and [[Venetic language|Venetic]] languages can also be traced back to Etruscan alphabets.<ref>Larissa Bonfante, Giuliano Bonfante: ''The Etruscan Language: An Introduction.'' p. 117.</ref>