Etruscan Culture

The Aristocracy

The Aristocracy or dominant class in the Etruscan cities originated in the remote past and was composed of rich families of local and overseas origin. Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Lucius was probably a corruption of the Etruscan title "Lucumo"), the first king of Rome was of Etruscan origin. It was probably his limited chances of political advancement in Tarquinii which prompted him to found a city among the sheep herders who lived around the Palatine hill, later to become the Romans.

The Etruscan aristocracy held the keys to power in the Etruscan cities, and was largely made up of rich families of noble descent together with rich merchants and land owners with aspirations to enter the elite social order.

From the tomb inscriptions, we can read the names of some of these families, such as the Apatrui,and Spitu from Tarquinii; and the Acvilna and Hathli families from Vulci for example.

Each of the cities in the Etruscan league of twelve, together with the Po Valley cities to the North of Italy were independent states. It may have been the fact that the ruling classes in each city were unwilling to join forces with other city states, that ultimately left the Etruscans vulnerable to attack from the Celts, and later the Romans, leading to the downfall of the civilisation.

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