During this weeks reading, I was fascinated that a fair amount of Etruscian art revolved around their funeary practices. They thought of tombs as homes for the dead, making elaborately decerated tombs, some of which resembled fully furnished rooms of a house. The most interesting part was how Etruscians made sarcophagi, usually out of terra-catta, with sculptures of the deceased ontop. The sculptures were very detailed and had lively and happy people on them. The "Sarcophagus from Cerveteri" had a husband and wife reclining on a couch.
The sarcophagus from cerveteri reminded me of sarcophagi from ancient egypt, like Pharaoh Tutankhamen's sarcophagus. I wonder if, and how much, the Egyptians influenced Etruscian art. I also wonder why people have such an obsession with death. Throughout history, it seems as if each society has some ritual when dealing with the dead. Whether it is preparing the deceased for life after death, like the Etruscians, or helping those still living to cope with those they lost, like america today. For some reason, our art, including war memorials and sarcophagi, tends to be heavily intertwined with death.
During this weeks reading, I was fascinated that a fair amount of Etruscian art revolved around their funeary practices. They thought of tombs as homes for the dead, making elaborately decerated tombs, some of which resembled fully furnished rooms of a house. The most interesting part was how Etruscians made sarcophagi, usually out of terra-catta, with sculptures of the deceased ontop. The sculptures were very detailed and had lively and happy people on them. The "Sarcophagus from Cerveteri" had a husband and wife reclining on a couch.
The sarcophagus from cerveteri reminded me of sarcophagi from ancient egypt, like Pharaoh Tutankhamen's sarcophagus. I wonder if, and how much, the Egyptians influenced Etruscian art. I also wonder why people have such an obsession with death. Throughout history, it seems as if each society has some ritual when dealing with the dead. Whether it is preparing the deceased for life after death, like the Etruscians, or helping those still living to cope with those they lost, like america today. For some reason, our art, including war memorials and sarcophagi, tends to be heavily intertwined with death. 
I too wonder why they focused so much time and assets on the life after death. Modern day people seldom discuss those issues. If we look at what we do with our elderly, I'm not sure we care much about what happens to them when they die. Our gravestones are expensive but not something remarkable that will go into the history books. Thanks for the post, Milae Weiser
ReplyDeleteI too find it extremely interesting how every culture views death. It is one's fear or anticipation of death that evokes thought about religion. Like you mentioned all the different cultures have different rituals when it comes to entering the after life. It is interesting how similar these two cultures are in particular.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting as well how different cultures view death. Death was a very big ordeal in most cultures back then. When someone died it took a lot of time and effort to create "living arrangements" for the dead and places where they would be buried. I did a previous post comparing death back then to today and how different it was. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think that many of the cultures we have studied valued these practices such as creating extravagant temples and tombs for the deceased was because they believed that if they took care of their beloved ones they too would be taken care of by the divine. I feel like this concept is similar to the idea behind Karma. I may be completely wrong but my guess is that they believed that if they respected rulers, kings, beloved ones, they too would be granted good fortune, stability or protection. Just my theory, but interesting blog!
ReplyDeleteI was really impressed with how much emphasis they put into preparing the tombs and the coffins. The piece of arts they would create focusing on these events was so incredible and time consuming.
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