. Etruscan tomb paintings, Their subjects and significance. ther emperors had, as a rule, an Etruscansoothsayer in their suite, whom they consulted before takingany important step, and this custom survived down to theintroduction of Christianity. Julian the Apostate was accom-panied by hosts of Etruscan soothsayers, who, however,undoubtedly read the sacred books in the Latin transla-tion by Tarquitius Priscus,^ and, as late as 408, we learnthat Tuscan soothsayers and scribes still existed. If anyof them at that time could still read the language, thenEtruscan, as a dead and sacred language, ha
. Etruscan tomb paintings, Their subjects and significance. ther emperors had, as a rule, an Etruscansoothsayer in their suite, whom they consulted before takingany important step, and this custom survived down to theintroduction of Christianity. Julian the Apostate was accom-panied by hosts of Etruscan soothsayers, who, however,undoubtedly read the sacred books in the Latin transla-tion by Tarquitius Priscus,^ and, as late as 408, we learnthat Tuscan soothsayers and scribes still existed. If anyof them at that time could still read the language, thenEtruscan, as a dead and sacred language, had survived thedisappearance of the people by about half a millennium.* ^ Cicero, Pro Milone 26, 74, 87. ^ Thulin, Pauly-Wissowa, vii. 2434. ^ ii. 1. 29. The later authors speak * The best summary view of the of nothing but the corpulency and Etruscan civilization is still to be found imbecility of the Etruscans. Catullus, in Ottfried Miiller, Die Etrusker, in Carm. 39. 21. Virgil, Georg. ii. 193 ; the second edition by xi. 732. Diodorus v. Fig. 35. DEMON IN THE TOMBA DELL ORCO 49 TOMBA DELL ORCO 49 XVI To this long, sad period of national decline the latergroup of Etruscan tomb-paintings and reliefs on cineraryurns form a remarkable and melancholy accompaniment. The continuity is unbroken; the new creeps in, at first,without superseding the old subjects. This is especiallyclear in the front room of the Tomba dell Oreo, whichdates from the latter part of the fifth century, and from whichwe reproduced the beautiful married couple at the symposium(figs. 28, 29); in the same sepulchral chamber we see in acorner, beneath a finely stylized vine, a terrible death demon,with large wings and a shock of wildly fluttering reddish hair,which is sharply outlined on a blue background as if it weresurrounded by a halo. His beard is pointed, his nose termi-nates in an eagles beak ; over his shoulder a snake rearsitself, and the latchets of his shoes are snakes. His dressconsis
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjecttombs, bookyear1922
