Key Terms for the Art of the Etruscans
- bucchero (for more information see bucchero)
- chimera
- dromos
- Etruscan
- Etruria
- fibula (for more information see fibula)
- granulation (for more information see granulation)
- Iron Age Etruria
- necropolis
- oligarchic
- polytheism
- Rasenna
- repoussé (for more information see repoussé)
- sarcophagus (for more information see sarcophagus)
- symposium
- terracotta (for more information see terracotta)
- theocracy
- tumulus (for more information see tumulus)
A type of black, burnished, fineware pottery produced by the ancient Etruscan culture in central Italy.
A legendary, fire-breathing monster of Greek myth that hailed from Lycia (southwestern Asia Minor). It is the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Typically the Chimera is a hybrid—often shown with elements from more than one animal incorporated into the whole; most often these include a lion’s head, with a goat rising from its back, and a snaky tail.
See: https://smarthistory.org/chimera-of-arezzo/
A long, narrow passage to a tomb.
The modern name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Latium.
Name of the Etruscan kingdom; included modern-day Tuscany and part of Umbria. It was established in the 7th century BCE and reached its height in the 6th century BCE.
A brooch used to fasten garments at the shoulder in antiquity and the Early Medieval and Byzantine periods. Often made of precious materials and highly decorated, fibulae (pl.) worked like modern safety pins.
A decorative metalwork technique in which tiny balls of metal (granules) are fused to a metal surface.
Iron Age Etruria lasted from 900 to 750 B.C.E.
A large cemetery located outside an ancient city (literally a “city of the dead”).
A form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, or military control. Such states are often controlled by a few prominent families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next; however, inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term.
The worship of, or belief in, multiple deities, usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, each with their own specific religions and rituals.
The name that the Etruscans used to identify themselves, according the the Greek historian Halicarnassus.
In metalworking, a technique for creating patterns or images in relief by hammering or pressing from the reverse side of a metal sheet.
A coffin, usually of stone, often decorated with relief sculpture.
In ancient Graeco-Roman culture, a drinking party.
Fired, unglazed clay, used for sculpture. Also spelled terra cotta.
A system of government in which priests rule in the name of a god.
A form of government in which a deity is officially recognized as the civil ruler, and official policy is governed by officials regarded as divinely guided, or is pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religion or religious group.
An artificial mound, especially a mound built over a tomb (pl. tumuli).
