Etruscans: Phersu

 Phersu and his victim, Tomb of the Augurs, late 6th century B.C.E., Tarquinia

 

            To start off, the above piece of art was derived from an ancient Etruscan tomb. It is of the Etruscan mythological figure Phersu the frightful. Phersu was always crafted as masked man which makes sense because Phersu means mask. According to Smarthistory, “Phersu — the frightful, masked figure you see in this Early Etruscan tomb painting who would engage his victims in a dreadful “game” of bloodletting in order to appease the soul of the deceased (the original gladiatorial games, according to the Romans!).” With that being said, it truly makes this piece of art quite interesting. I say this because according to our readings, “but it gives us the idea that the afterlife was a continuation of life on Earth and that it was a joyous occasion with banquets and social gatherings.”, the Etruscans provided nothing but happiness and joy through death and in the tombs of their loved ones. The Etruscan tombs were known to not have negativity in their tombs which makes this artwork seem to be a positive in the eyes of the Etruscans. 

 

            The other thing that is really interesting regarding this piece of art is that you can tell that the romans had a relationship with the Etruscans in some way. In fact, the Etruscans had quite the impact on ancient Rome. According to smart history, “It was from the Etruscans that the Romans inherited many of their own cultural and artistic traditions, from the spectacle of gladiatorial combat, to hydraulic engineering, temple design, and religious ritual, among many other things.”, which brings a couple of things to my attention. The biggest tradition that comes to my attention that the Romans adapted was regarding gladiatorial combat. For me, it brings up the question of, if the Etruscans didn’t have a successful military strategy, would Rome be the same as what they are known for now? Even with having a successful military, the Etruscans were still conquered by Rome but the Etruscans made the roman empire that much stronger because of the core of traditions and beliefs the Etruscans had.

Link to Smarthistory: https://smarthistory.org/the-etruscans-an-introduction/

Taylor, Dr. Laurel, and Dr. Laurel Taylor. “The Etruscans, an Introduction.” Smarthistory, smarthistory.org/the-etruscans-an-introduction/. 

Our original Reading:  greece and etruscans transcript.docx