The ancestors of the historic Etruscans were probably Aegean sea-rovers who settled in the Italian peninsula before the beginning of the eighth century B.C. The immigrants mingled with the natives and by conquest and colonization founded a strong power in the country to which they gave their name--Etruria. At one time the Etruscans appear to have ruled over Campania and also in the Po Valley as far as the Alps. Their colonies occupied the shores of Sardinia and Corsica. Their fleets swept the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Etruscans for several centuries were the leading nation in Italy. [Illustration: A GRAECO-ETRUSCAN CHARIOT (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) The chariot was discovered in 1903 A.D. in an Etruscan cemetery near Rome. It dates from perhaps 600 B.C. Almost every part of the vehicle is covered with thin plates of bronze, elaborately decorated. The wheels are only two feet in diameter. Since the chariot is too small and delicate for use in warfare, we may believe it to have been intended for ceremonial purposes only.] ETRUSCAN CIVILIZATION These Etruscans, like the Hittites of Asia Minor, [3] are a mysterious race. No one as yet has been able to read their language, which is quite unlike any Indo-European tongue. The words, however, are written in an alphabet borrowed from Greek settlers in Italy. Many other civilizing arts besides the alphabet came to the Etruscans from abroad. Babylonia gave to them the principle of the round arch and the practice of divination. [4] Etruscan graves contain Egyptian seals adorned with hieroglyphics and beautiful vases bearing designs from Greek mythology. The Etruscans were skillful workers in iron, bronze, and gold. They built their cities with massive walls, arched gates, paved streets, and underground drains. In the course of time a great part of this Etruscan civilization was absorbed in that of Rome. [Illustration: AN ETRUSCAN ARCH The Italian city of Volterra still preserves in the Porta dell' Arco an interesting relic of Etruscan times. The archway, one of the original gates of the ancient town, is about twenty feet in height and twelve feet in width. On the keystone and imposts are three curious heads, probably representing the guardian deities of the place.] [Illustration: CHARACTERS OF THE ETRUSCAN ALPHABET About eight thousand Etruscan inscriptions are known, almost all being short epitaphs on gravestones. In 1892 A.D. an Etruscan manuscript which had been used to pack an Egyptian mummy, was published, but the language could not be deciphered.] THE GREEKS