- chapter 27: The gods and the places –
could also be perceived as boundaries between city territories (Fig. 27.3). Although river
gods were prominent in both Greek and Roman religion, Etruscan cult places were most
likely connected with the crossing of rivers rather than with the river itself.^9
Roads fulfi ll an important function by providing connections between settlements,
but they also provide transitions from within communities to the outside, including
burial grounds. It is therefore to be expected that sacred places and offerings be placed
at the point of entry or exit to a town or village, at the entry to burial grounds, or at the
crossing of roads.^10
Transhumance represents a form of travel peculiar to Etruria as well as other areas of
ancient Italy. Here, the herds of animals dictated the rules of passage, and places of rituals
therefore could include stops along the way at holy cleansing waters, at sulphur springs,
or at other points of healing.^11
The Etruscans were feared at sea, but on land the sanctuaries that faced the sea were
also very much part of the inland communities (for example, Pyrgi, the harbor town of
Caere/Cerveteri). Most settlements were located away from the sea, with the exception
of harbors and smaller outposts. As points of entry for foreign traders, such outposts (for
example, Gravisca) provided an infl ux of non-Etruscan cults that co-existed with the local
cults.^12
Regardless of location, the sacred places chosen by the Etruscans were planned in
accordance with the demands on the location in relation to nature and to the habitations.
Often diffi cult to document, but vital for our understanding of Etruscan sacred places and
sanctuaries, is the relation between approach and access especially within larger sanctuaries
with many different cult areas (for example, Pyrgi, Campo della Fiera, Tarquinia).^13 While
studies have suggested that the orientation of temples was chosen because of the deities
worshipped there, it seems that other factors played a role as well.^14 If one assumes that the
front of a temple is the visual goal of a visitor, the Belvedere temple at Orvieto is turned
towards someone coming from the city (Fig. 27.4), whereas both temples at Pyrgi are
facing the sea and not the city (Caere/Cerveteri), which they represented.
Before the time of written documentation in the form of dedicatory inscriptions
and other texts, we are completely dependent on the archaeological remains to identify
the practices of the people who worshipped at sacred places in Etruria. Rituals such as
Figure 27.3 Tiber river. Photo: Ingrid Edlund-Berry.