Etruria and early Roman culture and religion

The Etruscans enjoyed a reputation for their religious practices in their own and later times. Theirs was largely religion of the book, yet understanding it remains a major challenge because none of the major Etruscan literary works have survived. A further complication is that while we can read over 10000 inscriptions Etruscans left us (they are written in a version of the ancient Greek alphabet), we often do not know what they mean.

Ancient Greek and Latin written sources have contributed much to our knowledge about Etruscan culture and religion but they do not convey the entire picture either. Culture and religion can best be mapped by uniting a range of disparate and often overlapping information, including, not only ancient texts and inscriptions, but also artistic representations and archaeological finds that include votive objects and the sites themselves. Because religious practices were pervasive in all aspects of life, they elucidate other, social and economic aspects of the societies engaged in them.

Through a combination of evidence such as written sources and archaeological finds, this course aims at exploring the various components of Etruscan and Roman religion: the practice of votive, divination and mortuary rituals; the evolution of sacred architecture; the composition of the pantheon; the myths; and the legacy of Etruscan and Roman cultures.