Caere

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Tumulus, monumental tomb in one of the Caere necropolis

Caere is the Latin name of one of the most important Etruscan cities. The Etruscan name of the place was in the early days Kaiserie and later Caisra . It is today's Cerveteri . The city is located on a hill about 7 kilometers from the sea. The city had three ports in ancient times, including Pyrgi , Punicum and Alsium. The city belonged to the Etruscan League of Twelve Cities .

Surname

The name Caere appears in Romano-Latin sources. On the basis of inscriptions it can be reconstructed that the city was probably first called Kaiserie . In a Punic inscription that was found in Pyrgi , the name of the city KJSRJ is written, which is probably to be transcribed as Kajserrije . According to later ancient sources, the Etruscan proper name of the city was Chaisrie , Chaire , Caisra or Cisra . In Greek sources the city is called Agylla .

history

The area of ​​the city was already settled by the Villanova culture, but their remains are by far not as numerous here as in other Etruscan places. At the beginning of the sixth century there was a sudden sharp rise in prosperity. Caere may have owed its prosperity to the iron mines in the Tolfa Mountains. Its location near the sea also made it a prosperous trading city. Above all, the numerous Greek vases found in the necropolis are evidence of trade with southern Italy and Greece. It was also an important center for craft and art. The oldest examples of the Bucchero pottery come from Caere and it can be assumed that this typical Etruscan pottery was developed here or at least was produced here on a large scale for the first time. Already from the time around 700 BC The so-called Regolini-Galassie grave comes from Caere, which was extremely rich in gold offerings and proves the city's early prosperity. It is the period of Etruscan history known as the orientalizing time. Imports from the Orient and rich gold finds are often found in the graves of this era.

The city seems to have been ruled by several important families who got rich from trade but also from piracy. In the years 530 and 510/500 BC Greek artists worked in the city. One example are the painters of the Caeretan Hydria . They are probably two Greek vase painters who settled in the city and worked there for a generation. These produced brightly painted hydrates.

The city is only mentioned occasionally by ancient authors, so that its history can only be partially reconstructed. Caere was involved in the Battle of Alalia (around 540 BC). The Punians and Etruscans had allied themselves against the Greeks who were trying to gain a foothold in Corsica . The Greeks could be defeated. The Greek colony of Alalia in Corsica became Etruscan. The surviving Greeks ( Phocaeans ) were brought to Caere and stoned there. However, the place of stoning was considered cursed and anyone who entered it became sick or maimed, whereupon the people of Caere asked the Oracle of Delphi what to do. Overall, however, Caere's relations with the Greeks appear to have been good. Caere was also the only Etruscan city that had a treasure house in Delphi.

From the time around 500 BC The gold sheets come from Pyrgi , one of the ports of Caere. Two of them have inscriptions, the text of which is in the Etruscan language , the third is a Punic inscription. The Etruscan text is not an exact translation of the Punic text. He reports that Thefarie Velianas, king / administrator of Caere in his third year in office, consecrated a temple to Astarte . The text shows good relations between the Punic and Etruscans. Around 500 BC The overthrown Etruscan king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , fled into exile in Caere. In the year 384/383 BC BC Dionysius I of Syracuse plundered Pyrgi, one of the city's ports. Auxiliary troops came from Caere, but these too were defeated.

Around 387 BC The Gauls invaded Italy and attacked Rome. According to Strabo ( Geography V 3, 2) the troops from Caere defeated the Gauls after they had sacked Rome and were on their way back. In addition, Caere had taken in refugees from Rome, including the priestesses of Vesta , and the sacred fire ( eternal fire of Vesta) also survived in Caere. In general, relations with Rome were close and Roman nobles sent their children to Caere to be educated. The city wall of Caere also dates from around this time. From around 273 BC. Caere came under Roman rule. In 270 BC Chr. Was Gaius Genucius Clepsina first Roman prefect city. He erects an underground sanctuary in the city with an inscription to prove it. The exact course of this submission can no longer be reconstructed today. There were numerous feuds. As a result, Rome is said to have concluded a 100-year armistice with Caere; in practice, southern Etruria was from about 264 BC. In Roman hands. The city lost its importance and is said to have been just a village during the imperial era .

remains

Little is known of the ancient city. Six temples are known from various sources. Two of them have been excavated. One belonged to the Hera , the other was in the north of the city. Parts of the city walls are still visible today. It was built at the beginning of the fifth century. There were different city gates. Eight of them have been proven with certainty, others can be suspected. Older excavations uncovered a theater. There were three necropolises; from the 7th and 6th centuries BC Remarkably rich graves date back to BC, such as B. the Tomba Regolini-Galassi .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rex Wallace: Literacy and Epigraphy of an Etruscan town. In: Nancy Thomson de Grummond , Lisa C. Pieraccini (Eds.): Caere , Austin 2016, ISBN 978-1-4773-0843-1 , p. 41.
  2. ↑ Herodotus : Historien I, 167
  3. ^ Karl-Wilhelm Weber: History of the Etruscans. Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1979, ISBN 3-17-005214-4 , p. 38.
  4. ↑ Nigel Spivey: Etruscan Art. London 1997, ISBN 0-500-20304-0 , p. 37.
  5. ^ Weber: History of the Etruscans. P. 36.
  6. ↑ Herodotus: Historien I, 167
  7. ^ Weber: History of the Etruscans. P. 59.
  8. ^ Weber: History of the Etruscans. Pp. 64-65.
  9. ^ Diodorus Siculus , Bibliothéke historiké XV 14
  10. ^ Graeme Barker, Tom Rasmussen: The Etruscans. Blackwell Publishing, Malden MA, Oxford, Victoria 2000, ISBN 0-631-22038-0 , p. 274.
  11. ^ Cassius Dio , fragment 83
  12. ↑ Amrio Toreli: The Roman Period. In: LN Thomson de Grummond, Lisa C. Pieraccini (eds.): Caere. Austin 2016, ISBN 978-1-4773-0843-1 , p. 265.
  13. ↑ Vincenzo Bellelli: The Urban Area. In: LN Thomson de Grummond, Lisa C. Pieraccini (eds.): Caere. Austin 2016, ISBN 978-1-4773-0843-1 , pp. 50-51.

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