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Etruscans As A Monolithic Group, In Fact, Essay

¶ … Etruscans as a monolithic group, in fact, they covered a wide geographic area with a civilization that spans many centuries from a millennium BCE to their putative dissolution a couple of decades BCE (Time International, 2001). The sculpture Etruscan warrior supporting a wounded comrade, from the early fifth century BCE, was created in about the middle of the Etruscan era. At the time this sculpture was created, the Etruscans had begun exploring the coast of what is now known as the Italian peninsula. The Etruscans enjoyed dominion on the seas at the time, giving them "tremendous potential for trade as well as piracy" (Time International, 2001). It is obvious from the embellishment on the clothing of the two warriors that the Etruscans enjoyed their sea-based wealth. It is also easy to believe, as Time (2001) contends, that the Etruscans were a more jovial people than were the Romans who supplanted them; despite the obviously unpleasant fact of the warrior being wounded, neither face is particularly anguished, and, indeed, the wound is probably not all that grave.

About the time of this statue, or really a statuette and possibly one of the many funerary objects the Etruscans were fond of creating (Time International, 2001), the Romans...

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"Romans hated the third Etruscan king, tyrannic Tarquin the Proud. Abruptly in 510 B.C., as if at their wits' end, they declared Rome a republic. Its brand-new senate deposed Tarquin the Proud and banished him north of the Tiber" (Dillard, 2004). None of this is apparent from the elegant little statuette. Indeed, this piece seems to deny that the Etruscan world would ever come to an end; its details, its expression and its refinement all seem the hallmarks of a stable and prosperous civilization.
The second work, Augustus in Armor, bears certain similarities to the Etruscan piece. First, as Time and Dillard both note, the Roman rulers by the time of this statue, 20 BCE, had more than a little Etruscan blood in their veins. Both statues are of warriors, although the Etruscan statue is a tableau of life, whereas the Roman one is a paean to a great leader.

Another difference is that the Etruscans were (probably continuously) at war when the statuette was cast. The Augustus in Armor statue was created at the beginning of a period of relative peace, after a recent time of great upheaval. It was on March 15, 44 BCE that Julius Caesar was killed, and, according to some, Mark Antony was not…

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References

Dillard, Annie. (2004) Etruscans, losing their edge. American Scholar, March 22. Retrieved 20 October 2004 from www.highbeam.com.

Julius Caesar Historical Background. Retrieved 20 October 2004 from www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html

Masters of power and pleasure: A display of Etruscan arts and crafts reveals a civilization that seemed to enjoy a good fight as much as a good party. (2001) Time International, February 12. Retrieved 20 October 2004 from www.highbeam.com.

Rehak, Paul. (2001) Aeneas or Numa? Rethinking the meaning of the Ara Pacis Augustae. The Art Bulletin, June 1. Retrieved 20 October 2004 from www.highbeam.com.
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