A work in progress–not yet ready for student use.
CaerE
Modern Cerveteri is ancient Caere. Most ancient authors writing in Greek and Latin tell us that ‘one upon a time’ the city was called Agylla. We believe indigenous peoples who built the city, the Etruscans, called it Cisra and that the Latin name of Caere, derived from this name. It was inextricably linked to Rome’s legendary past within Roman stories. Vergil weaves it into his Augustan age epic, the Aeneid and his near contemporary tells how Rome’s ‘first’ Etruscan king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, won a battle over the city in the 6th century BCE and it had recognized his supremacy and by extension that of Rome. The legends continue that Caere and other Etruscan towns did not recognize his successor, Servius Tullius, sparking another armed conflict and Roman confiscation of some of their territory. When the last king of Rome, Tarquin ‘the arrogant’ was driven from Rome with his sons, they are said to have gone into exile in 509 BCE to Caere. Another legend says that when the Gauls sacked Rome in 390 BCE, Caere offered shelter to the Vestal Virgins and ensured the continuity of religious worship until Rome could repulse the invaders. Yet another legend describes how an elite young Roman was raised in Caere in the mid 4th century, so as to speak Etruscan and even read it fluently. The story is memorably because he uses these skills to learn the enemy plans during war. We are confident that by 273 BCE, Caere fell completely under Roman control.
Thus goes the story from the Roman perspective.
From the Etruscan perspective, it represents one of the most powerful centers of regional superpowers of the pre-Roman period, one often allied with the Carthaginians, particularly in their attempts to resist Greek expansion. Even as they imported some of the finest masterpieces of Classical Athenian art surviving. It’s own literature does not survive, but its artifacts have long been plundered in the modern period to fill the museums of modern imperial powers, and its incredible necropolis (city of the dead) is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Readings
Etruscans Overview – This is a longer article, so I’ve put in notes about what portions I consider most important and what to skim. Things I felt unnecessary I whited-out. I also used highlighting to guide you a little.
Rome via Brooklyn 