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When one begins an investigation one does not know where it will lead. Of key importance to any investigation is the way the data are gathered and recorded; then the process by which the information is analyzed. With diligence the study may open new vistas and they too are important to the work. Bear with me, now, as we explore the fascinating, mysterious world of the Etruscans, their neighbors, ancestors, hopes, dreams and fears. I say, fears, since their writing includes fearsome depictions, as can be seen, for instance, in the Tomb of Orcus (who would want to be buried with such depictions around them?), which you may wish to view by clicking on the Etruscan_murals link. To understand the Etruscans we step into their world about ~1,200 B.C. Although that date and the subsequent centuries are somewhat of a "Dark Age" to us, we can see in the light from the Etruscans and other Indo-European peoples, such as the Aryans of India who created the Rig Veda and the Danaäns of the Illiad, an attempt to reconcile their lives, their hopes and dreams, to that which is greater than they are: the gods. What these ancient peoples, in those ancient times, were reconciling was then even ancient history to them.
Also described in this work are the Celts, who have passed down a similar, though abbreviated, Indo-European tradition that continues with us till this day. They passed down to us the Táin Bó Cuailnge, also called The Tain. It is about a great battle between the two major chieftans of Ireland, concerning a cattle-raid by Queen Medb and King Ailill, of Connacht, with their allies, against the king of Ulster. The hero of the story is Cúchulainn, his name meaning "the hound of Chulainn." Though a giant of a man, still in his youth, he is obliged to watch the cattle that are about to be raided, because he killed the hound that normally watched the cattle. Obviously he is at the center of the battle that takes place and certain warriors that are killed in the battle leave their names to the places of Ireland where they were killed. It follows the same pattern of story-telling as the Illiad and the Hindu version of the "great battle" called the Mahabharata. An Anglo-Saxon, Danish version of the "great battle" is another wonderful story, Beowulf, that involves the hero, Beowulf, who destroys the monster Grendel, that lives underground, and feeds upon the warriors of a Danish palace. More ancient in the Indo-European tradition, perhaps, is the Rig Veda, which tells us of the god Indra (like the Greek god Zeus and Etruscan god Tinia) who destroys a dragon. In Greek mythology Zeus destroys the monster, whose legs were serpents, Typhöeus or Typhon. In Celtic mythology the name of this god who destroyed monsters or dragons is probably Cernunnos, who will be discussed more in this work. Typhöeus is a character, like many other Greek gods, remembered in Etruscan images. Knowing this we should be able to find in Tinia's ephitet a refrence to Typhöeus, or the Etruscan name of that character, if much different.
While there is no doubt that the Etruscan language, as shown on this site, is Indo-European and closely related to Latin, the work is not complete until other relationships are examined. We need to better understand what the Etruscan scripts say, and to do that, though we can read them, we need to be able to understand what we are reading. This is where an understanding of other like mythologies and languages is important and introduced in this work. For instance, in the "Tomb of the Lioness," in Tarquinia, a mural that can be viewed by clicking on the link below shows dancers and musicians on either side of an enormous vase or cauldron, and above them two lionesses. Actually, on the left appears to be a lioness, and on the right appears to be a leopardess. What mythology is being represented here? As will be seen in this work, the images from the Etruscan tombs are not just pretty images, though many have deteriorated; they tell a story. Our purpose ought to be to understand that story, to hopefully find at least a piece of the story in the extanct Etruscan scripts. We need to step beyond the efforts of the "historians" of the past.
Because so many of the Etruscan murals recall Greek mythology –many contain names that coincide with greek gods and godesses – we can presume that they adopted Greek themes to themselves, like the Latins. The Greek Zeus is the Latin Jupiter, for instance and he is called Tinia by the Etruscans. We also know from the Aeneid of Vergil (born in Cisalpine Gaul, 70 B.C.) that the Lydian refugees with Aeneas were able to enlist the Etruscans (Tyrrhenians) to aid them in their war against the indigenous Latins at Rome. Mentioned in that tale is also the fact that nearby was a Greek colony. The Greeks did influence Etruscan works of art, justifying the title of the "Hellenic" period in Etruscan "history." I put the word, history, in quotes for a reason: What is known about the Etruscans is from archeological data and bits and pieces of testimonials from the Greeks and Latin historians. Here we shall attempt to put more legitimacy to the idea of an Etruscan history, one that at least is composed of words and images, as we can see from the murals and mirrors, from their own hands – not others. Like the Greek mythology, Etruscan mythology focuses on patronymic relationships important to them. These characters are particularly associated with actors involved in the Trojan War and a few, like Alcestis and Admetus, provide moral lessons and conundrums. A modern representation of their history, from their point of view, is carried in a mirror about King Tarquin, whose powerful wife, Tanaquil, compelled him to move from Tarquinia to Rome where he became king. The mirror shows an augur warning Tarquin to beware.
In this work there is beauty, since many of the Etruscan inscriptions are on murals or frescos painted in Etruscan tombs. The paintings are extraordinary art forms in themselves, but now they are also sources of a new history about the Etruscans from the Etruscan point of view. Note that the mural below, on a sarcophagus, has writing upon it and was thus intended by its creator to be more than just a painting or work of art. The composer is trying to tell us something that has to do with the image he painted.
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Script AM: "Battle of the Greeks and Amazons" from a sarcophagus from Tarquinia, now in the Archeological Museum in Florence. There are some characters that are hard to read. See more details in Short_Scripts.html. The script reads: HVC CRAI: RVI: ASV ATI: TIFI CNEI: LAR RIAL Translation [ Hither is (L. huc) Crai the king (L. rex, regis; It. re, Fr. roi). Aso (Asius, a Trojan ally) of the Ati (sons of Atis). He carried away (L deveho -veheree -vexi -vectum) Cnei (Hecate or Hecuba; Cyneus): of the god (L. lar) royal (L. regalis)]. Note: Asius was the younger brother of Hecuba and son of Dymas, king of the Phryigian tribe who lived on the Sangarius River (their father was the river god, Sangarius). Asius led that nation's forces in the Trojan War. Crai carries a genetive suffix and may have a relationship to the Titan Crius. Crius was the father of Perses and Perses was the father of Hecate (Hecuba) by Asteria. Based upon the translation, rather than calling this scene the "Battle of the Greeks and Amazons" it would be better described as "The rape of Hecuba, wife of King Priam of Troy." Trojan stories are favorites in Etruscan art. |
The following is a short explanation of what I am trying to do with this website:
The Etruscan language involves one of the greatest mysteries and controversies in the history of archaeology, since there have been so many charlatans who have claimed to translate the language over the past hundred years or so. Many Etruscologists are invested in the theory that the language is not Indo-European and some linguists and historians even offer their own translations, adding more confusion to the problem. I approached the problem 35 years ago from a different perspective, based upon some sound principals:
1) The texts are a language intended to communicate messages;
2) since the texts are a language, the language would reflect grammatical characteristics (obey rules);
3) since rules are involved there would be repetition and
4) by isolating the repetitious words and phrases (thus, "Etruscan Phrases") one should see declension and conjugation patterns: nouns and verbs. This was the first phase of my work, my having no intention to translate but rather to establish a "map" or grammar of the language.
As the grammar unfolded I saw clear relationships to Latin, and some to Italian and French. I pursued the relationships to examine how the grammar related to other Indo-European languages, as in "Etruscan Phrases" Table 1. Finding overwhelming evidence that Etruscan is a close relative of Latin, I have progressed to a Glossary and Grammar in Excel spreadsheets, where each word has its alphanumeric locator which can be scrolled to in the appropriate text(s) in the "Etruscan Phrases" website. (The spreadsheets should be self explanatory.) This process has allowed some translation of the words based upon their close relationship to Latin and measurable shifts to Latin, Italian and French.
I am now attempting to obtain photos of all the scripts I can get so to further verify and isolate the grammatical characteristics of the language. The photos are more importantly needed for the confirmation of the work, since all scientific inquiry is dependent upon independent corroboration. I have set up "Etruscan Phrases" so that anyone can research the site and make their own determinations from the images I supply on the site, the objective here being to obtain agreement on the grammar and glossary / translations. Also, the images have physical locations – museums and private collections – which need to be identified as well so that they can be examined if the need arises. This is the cataloguing phase. I hope to make "Etruscan Phrases" a complete catalogue of all extant Etruscan texts.
Now we can read the scripts, though progress is slow, since all of the words in the various scripts must be reconciled into one standing vocabulary (See Indo-European Table 1 (Table 1) and our 
new Etruscan Glossary. The Etruscan Glossary contains over 1,900 words, most of which – as can be seen in Indo-European Table 1 – are close to Latin. The words conjugate and decline in a regular fashion, and consistent shifts between Etruscan and Latin, Italian and French can be observed. Most of the words in the scripts covered by this site are in the Etruscan Glossary / Table 1 and are now being reconciled. Words that are not entered into the glossary include those that are in the Capua Tile, which has considerable damage, and areas of other scripts that have been damaged or are missing. What could not be read with confidence was not entered into the glossary. From the Etruscan_Glossary (the Excel format Etruscan_GlossaryA.xls is most current), we have prepared Etruscan_Grammar, showing rich conjugation and declension patterns. These patterns add further confimation in the identification of the Etruscan language as a tongue close to Latin, French and Italian. A more detailed Excel presentation of the Etruscan_Grammar, showing the location of each word, as listed in Etruscan_GlossaryA.xls, is available via Etruscan_Grammar.xls.
The Etruscan Glossary and Grammar provide a better view of the Etruscan grammatical patterns and phonetic styles than previously seen through Table 1. As better copies of texts that are difficult to read are obtained, and new texts are added to the site, the Etruscan Glossary / Grammar is updated. A recent update including a series of mirrors just added to this site (Miscellaneous_texts_d_html) has increased our confidence in the Declension Tables covering all words in the Etruscan texts. Mirrors contain names of heroes and gods, usually in action, and the spelling of the names as actors in a scene identifies the genitive or nominative case to which they belong. For instance, the character Ajax Telemenos clarified the nature of the frequently used suffix, "os." Telemon is the ancestor of the Ajax being described in the mirror. There was another Ajax in the Trojan War who was called "the lesser," noted as a great spearman but smaller in frame than Ajax Telemenos.
Myths, mirrors and Etruscan declension patterns
The myths of the Etruscans, like the Greeks and Romans, carried their history, and there are some good stories on the Etruscan mirrors, distributed from Italy and France to the Black Sea (See bilkent.edu.tr, "Second International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities.") The founders of cities, the loves and battles, are all connected to the gods, and many founders, as we shall see in examining a few Etruscan mirrors, were demi-gods. Enabling us to understand a bit more of the Etruscan side of the "history" is a new table: We have added to the Etruscan Phrases Grammar a Table of Declension Patterns as Etruscan _Grammar-2.html. This table allows us to examine Etruscan declension patterns and pronunciation more closely, since the names of historical and mythological characters from mirrors and paintings are incorporated in the table. For instance, the suffixes "ai" and "ei" appear in the name of Helen of Troy (See Divine_Mirror, Script DM) and also the name of Persephine – L. Proserpine, Etr. Phersipnei – (See Etruscan Mural of Hades, Script DH). The suffixes used in their names are "ai" and "ei" which can be confused with two other suffixes: "ia" and "ie." The latter suffixes refer to genitive cases, possibly with "ia" being masculine gender and "ie" feminine. But the name of Helen, spelled in two mirrors as ELENAI and ELENEI, shows two other declension patterns that are also found in the texts. Both of these would appear to be the same gender: feminine. However, in Script DM we have the name of AECAI, who is pictured as a young man. He is probably Aesacus, the son of Priam, king of Troy, who had prophetic powers and warned against Troy. Born to Priam by his first wife, Arisbe, some say that Aesacus, rather than his sister Cassandra, warned that Paris (Alexander), Priam's son by Hecuba, should be exposed at birth. Hecuba had a dream, that she had borne a firebrand that burned Troy, when she was about to give birth to her second child, Paris. Paris later abducted Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, brother of King Agamemnon of Mycenae. To recover Menelaus' wife the Greeks led by Agamemnon launched 1,000 ships against Troy and destroyed the city. The Trojan War is a popular theme on Etruscan mirrors, as will be seen below.
One of the mirrors contains an image of Peleus carrying winged Thetis. His name is spelled: Pele. From the context of the mirror we can see that his name is either genitive or nominative case, and this too clarifies the abundantly used "e" suffix. Two other mirrors of interest can be discussed here: Script MR, "Thetis with Eris and Minerva," and Script MG, "Judgment of Paris." There are several mirrors with Thetis.
Translation: Schøyen Mirror, "Ikarius," Script MS, 6th Century B.C. [~26 words] This mirror is interesting since it contains many words in Indo-European Table 1 and Etruscan Glossary & Grammar. It contains the word 8RATER, brother, that corresponds to Latin frater-tris, with several declensions, in the Tavola Eugubine, Scripts N, R and G. The text can be seen to relate to the story written on the mirror. This is, thus, the first of the Etruscan "literature," that can be demonstrated. The story depicted on the mirror is of Icarius, the first disciple of Dionysus, the god of wine. The story of Icarius is unusual since it involves his faithful dog Maera who sets off with him in a chariot to spread the word of wine cultivation to the world. The first encounter they had was with shepherds who got drunk from the wine and thought Icarius had possessed them. They killed the disciple of wine and left his faithful dog wailing beside Icarius. Icarius' daughter came out looking for her missing father and the wailing dog led her to his burial place. She was so bereaved over his death she hung herself in the tree beside her father's burial. Then the dog jumped into a nearby well. The Athenians afterwards created a festival in honor of the event, where young virgin girls would swing in trees during the harvest of grapes. While the character in the mirror could suggest Dionysus himself, the image of the dog prancing alongside the chariot established that the story was of Icarius. The first word of the text is IKRA.
Other, important scripts reflecting a coincidence between a scene and its script is the "Battle of the Amazons," reviewed above (1.31.06) the Volterra Mirror (2.01.06) and Script V: "Alcestis and Admetus."
Translation of the Perugia Cippus, Script K. [~195 words] It contains a list of queens and refers to their power and relationships. Much of the script seems to be a record of a Queen Sarina. Her bust is in the Louvre Museum. She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman, as can be seen from the bronze bust. The bronze has her name inscribed on its forehead. I have updated the translation reflecting findings from the other scripts and reviewing a better copy of the script supplied by the Perugia Museum. We can confirm the word, RINA, queen, used throughout this text with a name, like SARINA, through the bronze bust in the Louvre. The text is unusual since it lists queens and no king is mentioned.
The cippus is proving to be a history and most interestingly seems to have identified a Queen Hinera of the Valley of Fiesole (ancient Florence) – see K65, K66 – whose name also appears in the Zagreb Mummy's wrappings closest to the mummy's body. This has to be verified, but it may be that between the two documents there is a disclosure of not only the Queen of the Etruscan city Fiesole but also the name of the person of the Zagreb Mummy, who died in Egypt, Hinera, the queen of Fiesole (Florence)? This is, thus, becoming an Etruscan history, not from others, such as the Romans and Greeks, but from the Etruscans themselves. K65 is the beginning of a new section of the text, suggesting that the previous section deals with a dynasty of the Clensi, featuring Queen Sarina (K45-K52). The Clensi are mentioned in the text on the bronze statue of Prince Metelis. So far, we have three documents being linked together in the Perugia Cippus.
Of interest are words on the lateral side of the cippus that seem to be more related to the Italian language: K188 – RONCHVLeR (RVNKVLeR), to swallow up (It. ringolare – ringhiottire) or to recoil, fall back, withdraw (It. rinculare; reculer; L. recello-ere) and K194 – CECHASI (CEKASI), (It. checchessia, anything, everything, chicchessia, anyone, anybody; Fr. quelquechose). This is the more challenging part of the text which seems to conclude: "and indeed the gods there to swallow up, fall back, I bind; as far as anything you inhabit." On the front of the monument may be the name of Perugia (Perusia) which begins with a phrase: LERI TEVeNS (TE8eNS) TEIS, the lords divine (L. dius-a-um; adj. divinus) of the gods RASNE SIPA AMA HENNA PER the Etruscans (Rasne) she encloses (L. saepio, saepire, saeps, saeptum) she loves Henna (L. Henna [Enna], f. city of Sicily with a temple of Ceres); through, by (L. per) XII FEL RINA RVRAS ARAS, twelve of the great (Fel) queen (L. regina-ae, f.; It. f. regina; Fr. reine, f.) (PE)RASCEM VLiM, at Perusia (Perugia, Perusia, Tuscan town; "em" suffix, accusative) at times, for a long time now, often (L. olim). The cippus may be the most important Etruscan text found to date. (Updated 12.25.06).
Partial translation of the Capua Tile, Script CP [~126 words that can be read – script largely unreadable] This script is so badly damaged only a portion of it can be made out at the moment. I need a better copy of the tile! It contains the name of the goddess Aph, a partial genealogy of the Etruscan gods which appear to have been born out of Aph, including the god Tini and an interesting reference to HIPA RIV, the "river horse" which may relate to the Egyptian goddess of fertility which had the body of a hippopotamus with human breasts and features of other animals. Places and boundaries, providing somewhat of a geography lesson from Etruscan times, are mentioned, including rivers relating to the people of Pisa and the Oscans. This is so far the most interesting of the Etruscan scripts. The Aph.html relates to the fertility goddess and is written on the waistline of a statue of a woman. The shape of that disfigured fragment appears to reflect the ancient fertility goddess: wide hips, pronounced vulva, etc. It would be interesting to find a complete image of that Etruscan goddess, since there was a controversy over her according to the Pyrgi gold tablets (10.06.01).
The Piacenza Liver, Script PL, [~34 words] An Etruscan model of a sheep liver used for instruction in divination. This is the latest and one of the more exciting of the Etruscan Phrases translations. Most of the words in the text are repeated in other Etruscan Phrases texts, and thus, using Table 1 Vocabulary, this text was relatively easy to understand. The words / locaters of the liver have been added to Table 1. The liver is read from left to right. The right-hand side leads up through the "eternal gods" through the "arch of god" and to the "Net of Propitiation" which begins with "The Law of the Sheep-fold" and salvation / healing. Links to the correlating words and texts are provided in Script PL (5.11.06)
Translation: Chiusi Fibula, Script VF, [~6 words] Villanovan, 7th Century B.C., Louvre Museum. This fibula is interesting since it clarifies words in Indo-European Table 1 and the Etruscan Glossary and Grammar. It is a gold clasp / brooch with an inscription, "my gold brooch of praise, Nasia Maximas / Nasia the greatest." The word for gold, "ara" is confirmed by this brooch as well as the word for praise. (9.14.06)
Translation of the Chimera_Script, Script CA [ 3 words] (7.17.04)
T
ranslation of the two Lemnos stele, Script S [~60 words] (6.13.06) This script is being reworked and seems quite poetic, repeating the word eternal (L. aevus-i; Etr. AFIS).
Translation of the Tavola Cortonensis, Script TC, [~284 words] the latest find of an Etruscan script. This is a letter of demand which appears to relate to passage money and is addresssed to a commander of the Etruscans. Rasna, the name of the Etruscans, is mentioned twice in the text. The sender appears to be of the Latins. The text is amazingly consistent with the body of the other Etruscan texts and from it I have acquired more vocabulary. It seems to involve a conflict over passage through a domain that also has a complaint regarding daughters-in-law (nuora), thus suggesting a family alliance that has been broken. A short introductory text is on one side and on the reverse one finds the rest of the message. Shades of French and Italian are strong in this text. I am revisiting the text for the fourth time, reconciling it to the other scripts. (11.21.05).
Translation of the Novilara Tablet, Script L . [~76 words] It was found near Pesaro and dates around the 5th to 4th century B. C. This script uses characters common to the Osco-Umbrian scripts. (9.10.06).
Translation of the Siculian Tablet, Script F. [~ 29 words] It is a short letter from a grandson, Brutus, to his grandfather dating around the 5th century B.C (9.11.06)
Translation of theMagliano Lead Disk, Script M. [~87 words] Probably the oldest of the texts dating from circa. 600 B.C. It is written in a spiral (labyrinth) much like the Phaestos Disk. It uses the TH more extensively than other scripts. This script, like the Tavola Cortonensis, is a military document, and it too invokes Dione, Minerva and Tinia in the defense of its oration.(Updated 6.16.06). This script has been updated in correspondence with our Etruscan Glossary.
Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.a.html, Scripts BS, AQ, LS, FT, NC, AR, HT, MF, V [~90 words] (11.26.06)
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Script BS-6, a mural that refers to the Chaneri (BS17) royalty who are also mentioned in Script VP
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Script BS-1
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Script HT
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The Banquet scenes and Script HT, a tile identifying the precinct of Hermes, are shedding considerable light on the Etrusan beliefs. In Script For instance, Hermes plays an important role in the burial chambers, where he is the escort of the departed soul to the abode of the afterlife (gods). This makes sense since Hermes is identified as the messenger of the gods. If he brings messages from the gods or takes messages to the gods, it follows that he would be the one who carries the departed soul to the gods. A curious word, AL, ends the phrase of Script NT, but it is common to many scripts. I thought it was similar to Italian, al, "to the," but always recognized that Etruscan, as is true with Latin, does not use the article, "the," so "al" had to represent something else. It turns out, if my interpretation of Script NT is correct, "al" is Latin "alius," another and the word preceeding AL in Script NT is FETVS (Lat. "fetus-us," the bringing forth or hatching of young). Hermes is involved in the bringing forth of another birth, and we can see that the Etruscan view of life after death was very similar to the Egyptian and Judaic concepts, of being reborn.
Scripts BS-1 and BS-6 – In Banquet BS-1 there is an offering of an egg, and on the mirror where the goddess Uni is suckling Heracles a child-like angelic being (Epe?) is offering an egg. In this scene a person who appears to be the departed matron of the family is offering an egg to the man. The same man appears to be in Script BS-1, in the same tomb, and there he is offering a bowl (containing a mead-like drink?) to a younger woman, who appears to be his wife. These banquet scenes fall in the category of "Illustrated Etruscan literature" where the script should reflect the illustration. Script BS-6 contains the name of a family name, Chaneri (KANERI) who are mentioned in an earlier sarcophagus (Script VP) from Tarquinia, of the 4th- 5th century B.C. The Banquet scenes, Scripts BS, are in the "Tomb of the Shields," Tarquinia and dated the 3rd century B.C. The "Velthur Partunus" Script VP is about "Alisa of the clan Rameras and she is "to us of the Chaneri royalty."
Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.c,html Scripts GA, MR, MM, OU, VG, VA, CH, MG, MH, PF, LM, DP, DQ, DR, DS, PF Script GA is from the necropolis of Gouraya near Algiers, Algeria. Script MR is a mirror containing what appears to be the Nereid Thetis, the goddess of wisdom, Minerva, the goddess of discord, Eris and Heracles. |
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Script MG,"Judgment of Paris"
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Script VG, amphora. Museum Villa Giula
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Script PF, stele from Fiesole of a Parthian
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Script AL
Prince Metelis |
Script T
Prince Serelus |
Script HA Haruspex |
Script AK Kylix from Tarquinia
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Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions, Scripts A, P, AB, AD, AE, AF, AG, AT, AJ, AK, AL, TA, AN(1), AN(2), AN(3), AP, HA, LF, AM, T ; See also Script PH, "Phersipnei," above. (12.03.06) [~226 words]The orator of Script AL is Prince Metelis who appears to be of the clan Veleres, a name appearing in many scripts, including the Zagreb Mummy. The text (still in work) indicates that he holds the chair of Turin. The gens. Clensi are mentioned in this script (CLENSI). The Clensi (K52) are associated with Queen Sarina in the Perugia Cippus, Script K, a stele of kings and queens. (9.23.06)
Script HA is on the left leg of the haruspex (seer), saying, "Behold! He atoned for the faithful offspring." This also falls within the category of "Illustrated Etruscan literature," and we should expect the text to explain the image. Since it does not contain a personal name, we can presume it was not of any particular seer.
Script T – This stele is of Prince Serelus, which has been called the Avle Luske stele, a misnomer. His armor is like that described in the Iliad and the sword pointing up between his legs may indicate his power as a great warrior. Images of Mycenean swords have been found carved on stonehenge, among many places, thus indicating a tradition, perhaps indicating that he is under the protection of the god of War (Roman Mars; Greek, Ares). Part of the text is damaged but it appears to say, "To Prince Serelus a lamentation we sing; I write in love; in the least he comes from Achaea."
Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.b.html Scripts MA, RA, VP, BT, LP, TB, FR, BB, BC, VC, OM [~170 words, "LP" largely unreadable] An interesting script is BT, which has nail holes on its right hand side, indicating it was posted against a wall, like the Pyrgi gold tablets, as opposed to the Tavola Cortonensis, a bronze plate designed to be hung by a lanyard. Script LP, "Laris Pulena," is a long inscription that I have tentatively translated. The image I have is hard to read and when I get a better copy I will be able to finish this translation. Most of the words in the text are common to the Etruscan Vocabulary, Table 1. The urn is in the Museo Archeologico, Tarquinia. The text refers to the "divine Tarquins."
Script VP is interesting, located in the Museo Archeologico, Tarquinia. It dates from circa. 480 B.C. - 320 B.C. and is of "Alisa, of the clan Rameras, the new Cocle." Horatius Cocles, is the Roman who defended the bridge over the Tiber against Porsenna, after the Romans expelled Tarquin the Proud in 510 B.C. Tarquin the Proud, also called Lucius Tarquinius Superbus or Tarquin II, was the 7th and last king of Rome. He ruled for 24 years, from 535-510 B.C. The deposed monarch, whose family was of Etruscan origin, appealed to the Etruscan king, Lars Porsena, of Clusium (now Chiusi), for assistance in suppressing the new Roman Republic, and Lars Porsena agreed to help.
There are two other scripts that refer to the Tarquins. Script A identifies the tomb of Tanaqil, the wife of Tarquin the Great (Lucius Tarquinius Priscus), 5th king of Rome. She and her husband, Tarquin the Great, are depicted on a mirror, Script DL, "Mirror from Tuscania" where an augur reads a sheep's liver in the presence of Tarquin, Tanaqil and the god Veltune. He says, "Fear Tarquins" (Pave Tarquii). Tanaqil was a highborn and ambitious Etruscan woman who urged her husband to move from Tarquinia to Rome in order to advance his fortunes. Her training in the Etruscan art of augury often aided her husband in his affairs. At his death her strong-mindedness and quick thinking assured the throne to their son-in-law, Servius Tullius, in accordance with her husband's wishes.
Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.d.html, Scripts AC, BR , AV, SC, BM, DJ, DG, DD, DC, DB, DA, DE, DF, DG, DK, DN Script AC is written around an aryballos. We need an image detailing the other side of the aryballos to complete a translation. It refers to the mistress Turan (Aphrodite, Venus). Script BR is a bowl /
Script SC is a small shard from Cetamura and indicative of the importance of a small piece of pottery carrying text, for the text is LAVS INI...The word, LAVS (L. laus, laudis, praise) is used in Script TC, Tabula_Cortonensis.html, TC-211 is in the following context: LAVS ISA. The Cortonensis text appears to controvert the translation of the Cetamura shard by Dr. Nancy Thomson de Grummond, Florida State University, who stated that the shard contains the name of the owner: "Lausini."
Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.e.html, Scripts PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PJ, PK, PL, PM, PN, PO, PQ
Translation of Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.f.html, Scripts from the multivolume work, "Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum," CAA, CB, CC, CD, CF, CG, CH, CI, CJ, CL, CM, CN, CO, CP, CQ, CR, CS, CT, CU, CV, CX, CY (2.17.07). These include mirrors in museums and private collections published under the auspices of the International Scientific Committe for the Corpus of Etruscan Mirrors. The mirrors are important since they carry an illustration of an event and the characters associated with the event, including the Etruscan name of the character. The name and words help to reconcile declension and conjugaation patterns of the texts on the "Etruscan Phrases" site. We reviewed all of the "Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum" volumes and found only these mirrors that contained text that could be verified. A few mirrors were in such bad condition, though the "Corpus" editor(s) produced a transcription, I could not verify the results from the image(s) supplied in the "Corpus" and thus chose not to include them here.
The images produced on this site from the volumes focus on the text of the mirror, which explains why the reader will often see only a portion of the mirror. We will, of course, supply better images when we get them. The mirrors may be objects of art to art history buffs, but to the Etruscans they were essential to their daily grooming and were obviously in high demand, with over 3,000 mirrors extant. They were found with grave goods intended to accompany the departed in his / her quest for eternal life, through the Underworld. Erebus (Etr. Arepes?) and the throne of King Hades (Etr. Aita) and Queen Persephone (Etr. Phersipnei). The stories on the mirrors were derived essentially from Greek myths, but from the spelling of the names, such as APVLV (Apollo) we note that the mirrors were intended for Etruscans who could read the Etruscan language. Of interest with regard to this point is the fact that the mirrors were found throughout the western Mediterranean, from Central France to the upper reaches of the Black Sea. Today there are about 3,000 mirrors extant, most of which do not carry writing.
The Etruscans were known for their seamanship and in the myth of Dionysus, the god of wine, we are told that he was kidnapped by Tyrrhenian pirates (Etruscans), and during the episode he cast a spell on the ship, causing it to be invaded by wild animals, including lions, panthers and tigers. This frightened the pirates such that they jumped overboard, leaving Dionysus alone on the ship. Dionysus continued his journey through Egypt to spread his cult of wine around the world. It would be informative to find a mirror that told the Etruscan version of the pirate story. We do have their version of the story of Dionysus' first disciple, Icarius, which is on the Schøyen Mirror, MS 565/2.
The story of Helen of Troy on an Etruscan Mirror, Divine_Mirror.html, Scripts DM and OB [~19 words/names] This mirror has the names of the characters in the story and is an excellent illustration of the Etruscan ability to tell an entire story through graphic images. The story is told from the Etruscan point of view, with a Lydian bias, as it were. It is important because it defines the gods used in the mirror in the context of the story of the Iliad. We can see that the consort of Tinia (Zeus) is Ralna (Nemesis).
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| Mirror, DM | Mirror, DL | Mirror, AH |
Translation of the Mirror from Tuscania, Script DL , [10 words] that shows the divination of a liver for lord Tarquin (AUL TARCHONOS). "Fear Tarquins," (TARCHIE) it concludes. (05.08.06)
The Volterra mirror, Script AH, [~11 words] "Uni Suckling Hercules.html" containing heroes and a script common to the Divine_Mirror.html. (Updated 9.26.06). The Volterra mirror is another script falling into the category, "Illustrated Etruscan literature," and thus we can expect the text to coincide with the illustration. The genitive case of Uni, VNIA, is used in this script, as well as Au-13. The page also contains a mirror of Dionysus, Semele & Apollo, Script SF. More mirrors are at Miscellaneous Short Inscriptions.d.html: BM, DD, DC, DB, DA, DE, DF, DG, DH, DK, DN, DO Script DF carries another complex story, combining that of Orestes with Jason, the leader of the Argonauts who sought the Golden Fleece. Both stories involve the revenge of the son of the father's murder. Orestes took revenge upon Clytemnestra, his mother, and her lover, over their murder of Agamemnon. Jason, son of Aeson, took revenge upon Pelias who had murdered his half-brother, Aeson, for the throne of Iolcus.
ation, Aph.html, an inscription from Santa Marinella. This text is on two sides of a lead foil, found in a temple precinct believed to be dedicated to the goddess Minerva (Gr. Athena). The text begins rather with an address to Uni (Juno; Gr. Hera) . Although there are claims that this is dedicated to Minerva, her name is not on this image or the transcriptions seen on the lead foil. The Pyrgi scripts mention a controversy over the goddess Aph, which name is mentioned in this script as well. Ashtar is mentioned on the Punic gold tablet found with the Etruscan Pyrgi gold tablets. (12.11.06).
Translation of sheet 1 of the Pyrgi Gold Tablets, Script Au. [~72 words] These gold tablets were found in the sanctuary of Pyrgi, dating circa. 5th century B.C. This is an oration during the Festival of Hera with regard to a controversy (polemic) involving the goddess Aph. The Etruscan tablets are a dedication to Uni, the Roman Juno, and affirms her seat as the main sigoddess of the site. She is addressed in the two tablets both as Uni, the Etruscan Juno, whose name may also be in the text as IVNO. Juno is the mother and fertility goddess of the Romans and the occasion of the dedication is on the feast called Heraea (L. Heraea-orum). The oration calls Uni and Janus, the god of wisdom, to the rock together before the Italian magistrates' seats to resolve a controversy (polemic). The beginning of the oration acknowledges the goddess Thia, (L. Dia-ae), mother of Mercury (Gr. Hermes) "to you Maia" and the god Janus. Maia was the oldest daughter of Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione. One of the Pleaides, Maia was shy and lived quietly in a cave on Mount Cyllene, in Arcadia. Zeus seduced her, from which a son, Hermes, was born. Hermes was a precocious child and while still in swaddling clothes stole the cattle of Apollo, hiding them in his mother's cave. Hermes (Roman Mercury) seems to have played a very strong role in the Etruscan religion, and a dedication of his feast days can be read at Script HT. Mercury seems to have had a large presence in Celtic religion as well.
May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead. Hermes (Mercury) was the messenger of the gods and appears to play a major role, as the transporter of the soul, in the Etruscan view of the afterlife. Janus was the doorkeeper of heaven in Roman mythology and the god of beginnings and endings. He was originally a supreme deity, like Zeus and Jupiter, and was the mediator of prayers and petitions to the other gods. His blessing was asked at the beginning of every day, month and year. January was named after him. He also presided over the sowing of crops, and Roman commanders departed through the doors of his temple, which were closed only in times of peace. He was represented in art with two faces, looking in opposite directions, symbolizing his knowledge of the past and future.
The Pyrgi Gold Tablets are curious from the standpoint that they are a dedication of the Festival of Hera (Heraea). The festival – games for young virgin women – in ancient times preceded the Olympic Games held for males. Both games were associated with lunar calendar dating systems, often varying among the Greek City States. The date of the games served to regulate the calendars, and sometimes the Olympiad and the Heraea conflicted in their timing, so the dates of the festivals were reset to avoid the conflict. The conflict and dates of the festivals is described by http://phoenixandturtle.net/excerptmill/harrison.htm:
We have seen that the Olympic festival was a moveable feast, and occurred alternately in Apollonios and Parthenios, which were probably the second and third months of the Elean year. This variation of the month is a strange and inconvenient arrangement. Moreover it is unique. The Pythia also were held at intervals of 50 and 49 months, but the incidence of the intercalated months of the octennial period was so arranged that the festival itself always fell in the same month (Bukatios) of the Delphic year. In the same way the Panathenaea, though penteteric, always fell in Hekatombaion. There must have been some very strong reason for the troublesome variation of months in the sole case of the most important of panhellenic gatherings.
Weniger finds the reason in the existence of an older immovable festival at the very season at which the reconstituted Games were to be fixed. Every fourth year a college called the Sixteen Women wove a robe for Hera and held games called the Heraea. The games consisted of a race between virgins, who ran in order of age, the youngest first, and the eldest last. The course was the Olympic stadium, less about one-sixth of its length (i.e. 500 instead of 600 Olympic feet). The winners received crowns of olive and a share of the cow sacrificed to Hera. ÔThey trace the origin of the games of the virgins, like those of the men, to antiquity, saying that Hippodameia, out of gratitude to Hera for her marriage with Pelops, assembled the Sixteen Women, and along with them arranged the Heraean games for the first time.Õ
It is highly probable that these games of virgins (Parthenia) gave its name to the month Parthenios, and were in honour of Hera Parthenos—Hera whose virginity was perpetually renewed after her sacred marriage with Zeus. It is also probable that they were held at the new moon, that is, on the first day of Parthenios. Further, if these games gave the month its name, in that month they must always have fallen. Thus the octennial period of the Heraea is of the usual straightforward type, which keeps always to the same month. The natural inference is that the Heraea were first in the field, and that, when the menÕs games were fixed at the same season, it was necessary to avoid this older fixed festival. At the same time, if the games of Zeus were allowed to be established regularly in the middle of the previous month Apollonios, it was obvious that the Heraea would sink into a mere appendage. Zeus, on the other hand was not inclined to yield permanent precedence to Hera. The deadlock was solved by a characteristic compromise. The octennial period for the Games of Zeus was so arranged that in alternate Olympiads they should fall fourteen days before, and fourteen days after, the Heraea (on Apollonios 14/15 and Parthenios 14/15). By this device of priestly ingenuity the honour of both divinities was satisfied, and so the inconvenient variation of months for the Olympic festival is explained.
The Heraea, then, were probably older than the reconstituted Olympia; and if they gave its name to the month Parthenios, they must have been annual before they were octennial or penteteric. They carry us back to the old lunar year, which preceded the combined sun-and-moon penteteris.
If the reference to Maia also acknowledges the calendar date of the Heraea held in Pyrgi, we are tempted to postulate that the confusing, mysterious date for the Heraea, at least among the Etruscans, coincided with the later Roman month of Maius. Like the old Greek lunar calendars, the early Roman calendar involved 10 months: Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November and December (September, "seventh month," October, "eighth month," November, "ninth month," and December, "tenth month." The calendar was later revised to include ianuarius and Februarius. In order to keep the calendar year roughly aligned with the solar year, Numa, the second king of Rome (715-673 B.C.), added an "intercalated" month every other year at the end of February of 22 -27 days, called the Interclaris, or Mensis Intercalaris, sometimes also known as Mercedonius or Mercedinus. The leap month was added from time to time at the end of February, which was shortened to 23 or 24 days. The resulting year was either 377 or 378 days long.
We know that the Etruscans used "Roman numerals" in their dating system, seen in Scripts AN, for instance. Since the Romans received their alphabet (that which is used for English) from the Etruscans, we can rightfully assert that the Roman Numerals should be called "Etruscan Numerals," setting the heritage where it belongs. The Roman Calendar may also owe its origin to the Etruscans, who no doubt were influenced by the Greek calendars of 10 lunar months. As may be revealed in the Pyrgi Gold Tablets, the Etruscan calendar may, in fact, be influenced by the date of the Heraea Festival, just as the Greek calendar(s) were influenced by the Heraea and the Olympiad held every four years. The following, which is relevant to the date of the Pyrgi Heraea, is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiad:
An Olympiad, especially in ancient literature, was a period of four years (Polybius, Histories 9.1.1) counting inclusively (the fifth year during which the games were held was also the first year in the beginning of the new cycle), starting with the games at Olympia. The ancient Olympics, it is believed, originated from Heracles, the eldest of five brothers, who matched them in a race and crowned the winner with an olive branch. The games, in accordance with the number of brothers, were held every fifth year (Pausanias, Description of Greece (Elis 1) 5.7.6-9). By our modern calendar system (Gregorian), the first Olympiad is reckoned to the year 776 BC, which year is arrived at deductively. The first year of the common era (1 CE/AD) is equivalent to the seven-hundred and fifty-fourth year from the founding of Rome (AUC 754) according to the Varronian epoch. The founding of Rome, in turn, is testified as being April 21, in the third year of the sixth Olympiad (OL 6) (Plutarch, Romulus 23-24; Eutropius, History 1.1). So deductively speaking, the first year of the games and the start of the first Olympiad was the summer of 776 BC.
We may conclude that the Festival of the Heraea referred to in the Pyrgi tablets has to do with the first month of the Etruscan year, probably coinciding with the Elean month Parthenios. That the mother of Mercury is addressed in the Pyrgi dedication – both as Dia and Maia – suggests a coincidence with the old Roman month, Maius (May). Uni (Juno) and Ianas (Janus) are addressed in the scripts. The month of June (after Juno) follows May and January (named after Janus, the god of ports and doors, beginnings and endings, became the 11th month, after which February was added. We may assume for the moment that the Etruscans at Pyrgi had only a 10 month calendar, and beginning with Martius as the first month would celebrate Juno's feast day, March 1, called the Matronalia, the primary feast of Juno, the chief Roman goddess. On this day, lambs and other cattle were sacrificed to her. Also on this day the Feriae Marti, the festival of Mars, the Roman god of war, was held. March 1 is also New Year's Day in the old Roman calendar.
Maius is the third month of the old Roman calendar, and on May 1 a cow was sacrificed to Maia, the mother of Mars (Gr. Ares). May 1 was also the Celtic feast of Beltane, marking the first day of Summer. May 15 was the festival of the Mercuralia, the festival of Mercury, the Roman god of merchants and travellers. April 9 was the feast of Ishtar, known today as Easter, and April 18 was when the festival of Maia began (see http://syrylynrainbowdragon.tripod.com/april.html). It may be that the Etruscan Heraea was coincident with the Feast of Ishtar then in the 6th century B.C., somehow relating to the "3rd month," of Maius (May). Perhaps further examination of the Pyrgi Gold Tablets will clarify this.
The third sheet is in Punic and refers to the goddess Ishtar. Updated 9.14.06)
Translation of sheet 2 of the Pyrgi Gold Tablets, Script Au, [~105 words] This page carries the second page of the Pyrgi script. Also on the page is a third gold tablet which is in Phoenician, "Lamina B" script. Images of the gold sheets are from "The Etruscans." (5) Its translation by Sabatino Moscati is:
To [our] Lady Ishtar. This is the holy place // which was made and donated // by TBRY WLNSH [= The faries
Velianas] who reigns on // Caere [or: on the Caerites], during the month of the sacrifice // to the Sun, as a gift
in the temple. He b//uilt an aedicula [?] because Ishtar gave in his hand [or: raised him with her hand] // to
reign for three years in the m//onth of KRR [=Kerer], in the day of the burying // of the divinity. And the years
of the statue of the divinity // in his temple [might be ? are ?] as many years as these stars.
The Etruscan scripts largely coincide with the Phoenician. There are some corrections, however. Velianas is Fel Ianus (the great Janus).
Fel is a term meaning "great" used frequently in the Etruscan scripts on this site. The name Caere is read as "heart" in the context of getting to the heart or kernel of the matter which concludes acknowledging the polemic involving the goddess Aph. Updated (9.14.06)
The Tavola Eugubine Script N is being updated based upon better images of the tablets. [~755 words] A general note on the Tavola Eugubine should be listed here. The vocabulary is consistent with the vocabulary used in the other Etruscan scripts on this website. To translate an entire corpus of scripts, using common grammatical rules and a consistent vocabulary, without a "Rosetta Stone" is a big challenge in itself. But one can make a fair translation, knowing that all languages have rules of grammar and following the rules there is the liklihood of repetition. These scripts, together with the Zagreb Mummy script, fortunately contain a lot of repitition. And they use the same grammar/vocabulary; and both are consistent with other scripts. Where you see an alpha-numeric locater for a word, which points to several different Etruscan scripts, know that the same word works well in the same context in the translations where it appears. The Tavola is thus Etruscan. My vocabulary, built from the various scripts, defines what Etruscan is. It is old, rich in inflections, like Latin and Greek. It is like Latin but recalls shades of Italian and French. These are the closest languages to which Etruscan is related.
The text is a blessing where the Lord Titus is standing on the battlements addressing the people in detail, from beginning to end. He is seen at the end of the script pouring water in the blessing. The blessing involves a vision through which the lord addresses certain gods/goddesses to keep away. The narrative focuses on what appears to be temple virgins (sisters). The phrases of the formulas are interchanged and juxtaposed, thus creating a lot of repetition.
The narrative acknowledges that there is a truce/covenant which provides for eternal life. I die, we die but the skin is restored. The close of the narrative acknowledges that the people being addressed are of the line of the god Tages who in the end is called the hairy Pesnimus. (01.24.07).
Translation of the Tavola Eugubine Script Q [~920 words] – Script "Q" is a funeral oration and like Script N interchanges repeated formulas which contain the names of gods who were on the side of Troy during the Trojan war. We have added copies of the images, from Citta di Gubbio to complement / verify our transcription.
Translation of the Tavola Eugubine Script R. [~671 words] This is a blessing of the people through supplication of the gods. It is a feast of lights, and it begins with an address to Oph (L. Ops, goddess of abundance?): "you pull, bring forth the day." The blessing refers to a pyre and various images, linking the light of the pyre and the sprinkling of water in the names of specific gods and godesses. The orator calls out/summons Apollo, Phabia, the goddess of the moon, Lune (Diana), Phobea, etc. in addressing the castle which is apparently located in Pisa. The ritual connects an ancient form of Apollo (Phoebus) with Helios, the sun, and in the middle of the text the orator contrasts a goddess of the earth, Eph, with the moon and the sun. The fire and the sun is that which gives birth to nature, makes the moon go away, and that which devours what it created. The more we analyze this script the clearer the appeal to the light becomes. This may have been a ceremony performed at dawn and at the setting of the moon. R133 says, "the staff of the moon I am called, named," where the appeal seems to reveal a coming forth again in the names of the gods and goddesses in the script. The pattern recalls Christian prayers: to become one with Christ, one with the light, as it were or those of Egypt, to be one with Osiris.
Tavola II para. 2 appears to be a letter, addressed to the descendents of Atigerius in Achaia; it also addresses the same in Gordos, and the port of Pyrae. It complains about the sacrifice of mares without blemish, endorsing the sacrifice of lambs. It is a celebration of light which is illuminated by Script "G" which repeats some phrases (R164; R204) in script "R." And these repititions are connected with the aegis of Jupiter/Zeus which is the source of lightning. The Etruscans interpreted lightning bolts. (Being updated, reflecting the Etruscan Glossary and Grammar, 1.13.07).
Translation of the Tavola Eugubine Script G. [~45 words] A short text which is written by another hand which renders the "T" as a "Y". The hand that wrote Script "N" and "Q" is not the same as the one that wrote script "R," and "G" is completely different. See comment on Script "R," for both scripts cover a festival of "lights" which refers to a three-fold supremacy or monarchy: that of three planes. Three are noted: the goddess Eph, who is of the earth; Jupiter, the sky-god; and Lune, the goddess of the moon. The pyres appear to be related to the worship of Eph and also Pha and symbolic of the light of the sun and the moon; and Jupiter/Tini/Zeus rule over all through their shield (aegis) of lightning bolts. The introductory phrase of this script is a repeat of a phrase in script R. The script concludes, "I go before the arbitrator himself." (9.29.06)
Translation of Lydian, showing its relationship to the Etruscan language (new 6.26.06).
Translation of Phrygian, showing its relationship to the Etruscan language (new 4.17.07).
Translation: The Etruscans' view of their faith – after death – Etruscan_Faith.html
Hittite Treaties.html
LINKS of interest (Etruscan_Phrases_e.html)
Visitors. I am overwhelmed by the amount of response to this site and thank you for visiting what I believed over the years to be an esoteric work.
Notes:
(1) Illiad, translated by W. H. D. Rouse, A Mentor book, 1938, pp. 265 ff. All quotes on the Illiad are from the Rouse translation.
(2) Praying to the North Wind and the West Wind. Compare the importance of the Wind gods in the ceremony to their function in the Rig Veda, quoted in Banquet of the Gods.
(3) Following this Achilles began the games, consisting of chariot races, boxing and wrestling matches, spear throwing, throwing a lump of iron, and other feats.
(4) An interesting comment by the Roman historian Suetonius (70 A.D. - 130 or 140 A.D) refers to an Etruscan word. About 100 days before Augustus Caesar's death a bolt of lightning struck a statue of Caesar near the Campus Martius. A bronze plaque on the statue contained the word, Caesar, and the bolt melted the "C" in his name, leaving the letters, aesar. The "flash of lightning ..was interpreted to mean that he would live only a hundred days from that time, the number indicated by the letter C, and that he would be numbered with the gods, since aesar (that is, the part of the name Caesar which was left) is the word for god in the Etruscan tongue." [Lives of the Caesars, Suetonius, "The Diefied Augustus," XCVII]. There is one Etruscan word, AIS, that comes near to "aesar," and it appears in the Zagreb Mummy Script. In most instances it appears as a single word, AIS, and in a compound, AIS AN. At the end of the script, Z1861, the contruction, AIS ERAS appears. I translated AIS as "bronze object" and its use was in the context of worship, i.e., Z1861 "they shall turn / change; to the bronze you wander; to Zeus of the serene trellis you assemble."
(5) "The Etruscans," Federica Borrelli and Maria Cristina Targia, translated by Thomas Michael Hartmann, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2004, J. P. Getty Trust.
(6) Bibliographical Data from our earlier work, "Catalogue of Etruscan Words," 1981, pdf file.
(7) Comment on Sources: Sources used in "Etruscan Phrasaes," are quoted in situ, as we prefer to place a link to the source where it applies. It is easier to update and, for the reader, easier to use. We may not agree with the data in all sources linked in "Etruscan Phrases."
All of the data pertaining to the translation, grammar, and process of translating, the Etruscan language is original to this work and not developed from any other source. Because the common understanding among Etruscologists was that the "Etruscan language is not Indo-European and an isolate, unlike any language, modern or dead," which is contrary to the presentation of "Etruscan Phrases," there has been no need to refer to those sources, except as noted in situ on these pages. We credit sources on photographs, etc., where possible.
My commentary relative to the history of the Etruscans is a composite, sifted from many works, including those listed in the "Catalogue of Etruscan Words," bibliographical data which include perhaps one of the best works on the Etruscans: "The Etruscans," by Massimo Pallottino, Indiana University Press, 1975 (first published in 1942). An Etruscologist from Italy categorized the "Etruscan...non-Indo-European theorists" in an email to the author as the "Pallottino School," an appropriate nomenclature, I think. However, my "Catalogue of Etruscan Words," 1981, used examples from Staccioli's works to illustrate the erroneous linguistic view we can call the "Pallottino School." Pallottino's Part 3, "The Etruscan Language," includes a short "vocabulary" and pronunciation table that is based on the study of short inscriptions, usually on tombs. His analysis covers the efforts of those who preceeded him. Their conclusions on the language have been misleading scholars at least since 1942.
I am indebted to Edward Tripp's "The Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology," New American Library, 1974 for the Greek Mythology used in "Etruscan Phrases." It is by far the best work on Greek Mythology compiled and includes, often in situ, source references for the stories he compiled. We hope that his work will be placed on the internet one day.
(Etruscan_Phrases_a.html)
(Etruscan_Phrases_e.html)
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Launched 7.26.98
Updated: 9.6.98; 9.20.98; 11.8.98; 11.28.98; 12.12.98; 1.17.99; 3.7.99; 3.27.99 (pg. 4); 5.31.99; 7.3.99; 7.18.99; 7.31.99; 8.22.99; 8.29.99; 9.6.99; 9.11.99; 10.3.99; 10.17.99; 11.14.99;11.21.99; 11.28.99; 12.2.99' 12.13.99; 12.25.99; 3.5.2000; 5.27.2000; 7.4.2000; 6.30.02;7.06.02; 7.28.02; 8.04.02; 8.11.02; 8.25.02; 9.15.02; 9.22.02; 9.29.02; 10.13.02; 10.25.02; 11.08.02;12.02.02; 12.08.02; 12.22.02; 12.28.03; 1.01.03; 1.12.03; 2.02.03; 2.09.03; 2.16.03; 2.22.03; 3.02.03; 3.16.03; 4.05.03; 4.13.03; 5.04.03; 5.11.03; 5.18.03; 5.26.03; 6.01.03; 6.08.03; 6.22.03; 6.29.03; 7.13.03; 7.20.03; 8.31.03; 9.07.03; 9.14.03; 9.21.03; 9.28.03; 10.13.03; 10.26.03; 11.11.03; 11.17.03, 11.19.03; 11.23.03; 11.27.03; 12.04.03; 12.07.03; 12.11.03; 12.14.03; 12.22.03; 12.28.03; 1.04.04; 1.11.04; 1.17.04; 1.26.04; 2.01.04; 2.08.04; 2.17.04; 2.21.04; 2.29.04; 3.02.04; 3.20.04; 3.25.04; 4.07.04, 4.22.04; 4.25.04; 5.14.04; 5.16.04; 5.22.04; 6.21.04; 7.01.04; 7.09.04; 7.11.04; 7.12.04; 7.14.04; 7.17.04; 8.01.04; 8.04.04; 8.17.04; 8.26.04; 8.27.04; 9.24.04; 10.07.04; 11.21.04; 1.29.05; 2.23.05; 4.17.05; 5.02.05; 5.19.05; 5.30.05; 7.22.05; 9.04.05; 11.14.05; 11.17.05; 11.21.05; 11.22.05; 1.31.06; 2.01.06; 2.02.06; 4.10.06; 5.08.06; 5.09.06; 5.11.06; 6.04.06; 6.16.06; 6.23.06; 7.16.06; 7.23.06; 7.25.06; 8.16.06; 8.22.06; 8.28.06; 8.29.06; 9.10.06; 9.16.06; 9.23.06; 9.27.06; 9.28.06; 9.29.06; 10.01.06; 11.13.06; 11.20.06; 11.22.06, 11.26.06; 11.29.06; 12.03.06; 12.05.06; 12.11.06; 12.18.06; 12.25.06; 1.13.07; 1.24.07; 1.29.07; 2.03.07; 2.16.07; 2.17.07; 2.22.07; 2.23.07; 3.04.07; 3.10.07; 3.11.07; 4.03.07; 4.17.07; 4.27.07; 4.30.07; 5.01.07; 5.08.09
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Copyright © 1981-2007 Mel Copeland. All rights reserved. Use of the information on this page is expressly forbidden for purposes of publication in any media without the prior written consent of the author.