nd in these tombs show that the
Etruscans traded with Carthage and the Greeks as early as the seventh
century.

*Etruscan industries.* The Etruscans worked the iron mines of Elba and the
copper deposits on the mainland. Their bronzes, especially their mirrors
and candelabra, enjoyed high repute even in fifth-century Athens. Their
goldsmiths, too, fashioned elaborate ornaments of great technical
excellence. Etruria also produced the type of black pottery with a high
polish known as _bucchero nero_.

*Etruscan art.* In general, Etruscan art as revealed in wall paintings and
in the decorations of vases and mirrors displays little originality in
choice of subjects or manner of treatment. In most cases it is a direct
and not too successful imitation of Greek models, rarely attaining the
grace and freedom of the originals.

*Architecture.* In their architecture, however, although even here
affected by foreign influences, the Etruscans displayed more originality
and were the teachers of the Romans and other Italians. They made great
use of the arch and vault, they created distinctive types of column and
_atrium_ (both later called Etruscan) and they developed a form of temple
architecture, marked by square structures with a high _podium_ and a
portico as deep as the _cella_. Their mural architecture has been referred
to already.

*Writing.* Knowledge of the art of writing reached the Etruscans from the
Greek colony of Cyme, whence they adopted the Chalcidian form of the Greek
alphabet. Several thousand inscriptions in Etruscan have been preserved,
but so far all attempts to translate their language have failed.

*Religion.* The religion of the Etruscans was characterized by the great
stress laid upon the art of divination and augury. Certain features of
this art, especially the use of the liver for divination, appear to
strengthen the evidence that connects the Etruscans with the eastern
Mediterranean. For them the after-world was peopled by powerful, malicious
spirits: a belief which gives a gloomy aspect to their religion. Their
circle of native gods was enlarged by the addition of Hellenic and Italian
divinities and their mythology was greatly influenced by that of Greece.

*Commerce.* The Etruscans were mariners before they settled on Italian
soil and long continued to be a powerful maritime people. They early
established commercial relations with the Carthaginians and the Greeks, as
is evidenced by the contents of t