The Mysterious Etruscans by Stephen L. Tuck

The Mysterious Etruscans by Stephen L. Tuck

The Etruscans may have been a fully indigenous people of the Italian Peninsula. They are generally considered mysterious because we don’t know very much about them, but after reading this Great Courses book, you’ll realize that we actually know an awful lot about them. They were major influencers of Rome and the modern world. In fact, a considerable amount of what we think of as Romans were actually Etruscan innovations such as the bridges and the roads, divination, gladiatorial games, and quite probably, living in city states, getting rid of kings, and so much more. In fact, much of what we think of as the great works of the Renaissance were actually building on Etruscan culture, not Roman. And much of modern society that we think was influenced by Rome was actually derived from their Etruscan neighbors and subjects. This is a very good book.