- Adrian P. Harrison –
was soon improved by the importation of eastern horses by 700 bc coinciding with the
early equestrian games (Bokonyi 1968). Subsequently, the Etruscans took rapidly to such
events as chariotry (see Fig. 60.2 o = GR 1842.5–15.1; British Museum), which readily
became associated with an extensive aristocratic prestige system requiring a considerable
income in order to be able to breed and maintain such animals (Turfa and Steinmayer
1993). A frieze from the excavations at Murlo portrays a horse race and Livy writes (Livy
1.35.68) that when the fi rst games at Rome were celebrated in the reign of the Etruscan
king Tarquinius Priscus, most of the horses came from Etruria (cited in Bokonyi 1968).
In terms of symbolism, horses are often associated with the twins (the Dioscuri/
Gemini). Horses are also represented with one or two knights in a group, indicative
of mobility, exchange and travel, and in association with Turms, the Hermes of the
Etruscans. A good example of this is to be found in the Tomb of Bulls, Tarquinia, circa
530 bc (Bonfante and Swaddling 2006: 18; Steingräber 1985: 350 no. 120, color pl.
158), in which the ambush of the Trojan prince Troilos is depicted. This particular image
is interesting for another reason, though, as the painter of this particular tomb appears
unpracticed in working on the scale demanded by a wall space, being more used perhaps
to painting pottery. One can see that the head of the horse being ridden by Troilos is very
small in proportion to the body, and the horse’s head appears to have been repainted a
couple of times in an attempt to improve this error of size (Spivey 1997: 106).
Many of the Etruscan bronze sculptures depict the head of a horse reigned in and deep,
what we refer to today as “deep and round,” a typical position of control that calms any
horse into submission. Horses were also controlled with the aid of a bit as on display at
Villa Giulia in Rome (circa 800 bc; Rm 21 Case 1; references on early bits: Turfa 2005:
115–116 nos. 52–53; 148–150 nos. 110–111). Perhaps these sculptures and metal bits
are indicative of the style of riding used by the Etruscans, but they may also serve as a
visual attestation to the power the Etruscans wielded over their neighbors.
Another point of interest is the white horses pulling Amazons’ chariots on the painted
sarcophagus in Tarquinia of Ramtha Huscnai (Brendel 1978/1995: 342 Fig. 266). Such
horses, especially if they are true “dominant whites,” have characteristic pink skins, all-
white hair and brown eyes, and are born white since one of the parents is a dominant
white. This trait does not as a consequence “skip” a generation, as it is not recessive.
Nonetheless, “dominant whites” are rare, and to have four matching horses for your
chariot would be a clear sign to all that you had hundreds of horses in your breeding
stable, and that you owned suffi cient land to support that many horses. There are also
suggestions that true homozygous “dominant whites,” at least some forms of dominant
white, may result in nonviable embryos, making breeding of these horses even more
expensive. However, unlike other species, dominant white horses do not suffer the
complications of anemia and sterility, although they are prone to sunburn.
The bull was a cult object in several Etruscan localities (Tarquinia, Volsinii) (see Fig.
60.2h = GM 1872.7–9.4; British Museum). It was a symbol of fecundity and force.
Cattle also represented an agricultural asset as is beautifully illustrated by the plowing
peasant on the bronze vessel found at Bisenzio in Olmo Bello necropolis tomb 22 (circa
730–700 bc; Rm 25 Case 2; Villa Giulia, Rome; drawing: Turfa 2012: Fig. 17). This
simple motif tells the familiar story of man dependant on his oxen for his sustenance.
The rooster/cockerel is associated with all those who are dead and everything erotic.
A famous example of this form of Etruscan representative art is that of the Tomba del
Triclinio at Tarquinia (circa 470 bc; Steingräber 1985: 352–353 no. 121, color pls. 166–