Download The Mysterious Etruscans AudioBook Free

How much do you know about the Etruscans? Many people, even those who are fascinated by early background, are less acquainted with this interesting culture than with the annals of Greece and Rome - however the story of the Etruscans is equally captivating and far more important than you might have known. This early civilization prospered in the region of modern-day Tuscany, keeping extensive trade sites, building impressive fortified places, making exquisite artwork, and creating a culture that, while deeply linked to the Greeks and Romans, acquired attractive contrasts. The Etruscans were the initial inhabitants of central Italy. Ages before Rome's go up, they built places such as Pompeii, Capua, and Orvieto along fortified hilltops. They developed a system of streets and developed what we call the Roman arch. While that they had their own system of authorities, their own common myths and legends, and their own cultural characteristics, the Etruscans imported and repurposed much from the Greeks - and, in turn, offered much to the Romans. You might be surprised to discover how much of Roman civilization - from togas to bronze armed forces armor to Rome itself - actually has Etruscan origins. The Etruscans are generally responsible for:

• transmitting the alphabet to the Romans and other early societies as a long way away as the Nordic locations
• granting Rome much of its celebrated architecture and infrastructure, from the Cloaca Maxima water-control system to the storied arch
• producing delightful works of bronze and terra-cotta, as well as mesmerizing tomb paintings
• creating well-known symbols of republican authorities, imagery that still lives on in US authorities properties like the Lincoln Memorial

Without the Etruscans, much of what we associate with the Roman world, and therefore the foundations of European civilization, would generally disappear.