Etruscan Demons, Monsters Unearthed

Discovery news.com ^ | 11-5-2003 | Rossella Lorenzi

[dodger]

Interesting development.

[r9etb]

few traces of their puzzling, non-Indo-European language survive

Related to the Basques?

[farmfriend]

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[VadeRetro]

It would be nice if they turned up a long bilingual text, say Latin and Etruscan. Almost all we know of the Etruscan language is from short bilinguals of the form "A. Doofus erected this to his father lest he be thought lacking in filial piety."

That red-haired lady is obviously some guy's ugly wife with a big fat cat. In fact, the cat looks a lot like a character from a Cary Grant - Katherine Hepburn movie. No need to get supernatural here.

[blam]

[LanPB01]

Looks like Helen Thomas to me.

[eastsider]

Yet mystery shrouds their history. First defeated by the Romans in the 4th century B.C., in 90 B.C., after centuries of decline, the Etruscans became Roman citizens. They left no literature to record their culture — few traces of their puzzling, non-Indo-European language survive. Only the richly decorated tombs they left behind provide a glimpse into their world.

Shame on the false Etruscan
Who lingers in his home,
When Porsena of Clusium
Is on the march for Rome.

[Junior]

More likely the Minoans.

[shamusotoole]

The Roman historians wrote about lots of others, even Lapplanders. The Wrote of Greek history and myths. Yet they did not preserve any Eutruscan heritage. Were they too familiar? Were they ashamed? Just seems strange to me.

[Romulus]

The Roman historians wrote about lots of others, even Lapplanders.

Lars Porsena was a Swede, wasn't he? ;-)

[Evil Inc]

From the red hair I would guess they were celtic or related to them. I remember vaguely there was a group of Celts that invaded and fought the locals, I am not positive of the timing. They may have come later.

[BushMeister]

Did someone say "Demon"?

[eastsider]

The Wrote of Greek history and myths.

Arma virumque cano

[VadeRetro]

From the red hair I would guess they were celtic or related to them. I remember vaguely there was a group of Celts that invaded and fought the locals, I am not positive of the timing. They may have come later.

There were Celts (Cisalpine Gauls) south of the Alps, but they weren't the Etruscans. The Celtic languages are Indoeuropean; Etruscan is an isolate.

[MarcoPolo]

There was a whole history of interaction between peoples the world over in ancient times that we moderns are largely unaware of. Most people's Darwinistic view of man's development has clouded their vision of the human race's many rises and falls in world travel, interaction, sophistication, and technology.

I find it quite interesting that pretty much every other piece of Etruscan art I've ever seen depicted dark haired and often dark skinned people. This person, I would imagine was most definitely not of that origin. If he is, and yes I think it's a he and not a she, then he would probably have been a far more ancient Etruscan, living long before the Etruscans became a uniformly dark haired people.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I am fascinated by this find. Thank you for posting it.

[muleskinner]

They were the off-scouring of Numenor, deceived by Sauron.

[blam]

"There was a whole history of interaction between peoples the world over in ancient times that we moderns are largely unaware of. Most people's Darwinistic view of man's development has clouded their vision of the human race's many rises and falls in world travel, interaction, sophistication, and technology.

That's my view also.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Not only was Lars (non Norgensis) Porcena an Etruscan King of Rome, supposedly I Clavdivs (and II Clavdivs and III Clavdivs and IV Clavdivs....) was of Eutruscan descent and wrote about their language. His book was last (perhaps buried in the Robert Graves.)

[SengirV]

Sauron this, Sauron that - Sauron was jsut Melko(r)'s piss boy.