Etruscan Religion in the Classical World

A Genetic History of Continuity and Mobility in the Iron Age Central Mediterranean

“…Origin questions are also particularly salient for the Etruscans, who inhabited central Italy. There has been speculation about the origins of the Etruscans for over 2,500 years, with theories put forward by both ancient and modern scholars (3). Around 500 BCE Herodotus wrote that the Etruscans were people from Lydia (in modern-day Turkey) who had fled a drought.…”

“…Their material culture suggests continuity with the preceding Villanovan culture, but there are also strong indications of contact with other cultures, both by sea and land (3). short inscriptions (3,4). As a result, much of the historical record is filtered through the lens of Greek and Roman sources (5,6).…”

“…Across the sea, Etruscan city-states flourished in central and northern Italy during the Iron Age. Their material culture suggests continuity with the preceding Villanovan culture, but there are also strong indications of contact with other cultures, both by sea and land (3). While contemporary scholarship (and geopolitics) often regards the Mediterranean as a border and siloes research along country and continent boundaries, these divisions are modern in their making.…”

“…Across the sea, Etruscan city-states flourished in central and northern Italy during the Iron Age. Their material culture suggests continuity with the preceding Villanovan culture, but there are also strong indications of contact with other cultures, both by sea and land (3).…”

“…However, insights into the relationship between these trans-Mediterranean neighbors are limited. Few Punic or Etruscan written sources have survived to the present day, and most of these are short inscriptions (3, 4). As a result, much of the historical record is filtered through the lens of Greek and Roman sources (5, 6).…”