Etruscans in Latin poetry: political, cultural and personal implications in the age of Augustus

The intention of this thesis is to attempt for the first time to explore the presence of Etruscan themes in the Augustan poets in all their facets and shades, in their political as well as cultural context, while also being mindful of the unique ways in which each individual poet engages with traditional tropes. The thesis examines the presence of Etruscan themes as they surface in Augustan poetry, by exploring the particular ways in which each subject takes shape and the different forms they assume, re-contextualising and re-appraising overly well-known material by framing narratives according to more unorthodox intra- and inter-textual connections. The investigation will be supplemented by ample recourse to material evidence, in an attempt to reconstruct each subject in its many ramifications and expressions. The intent is not to read the text as truthful substantiation of the archaeological evidence, of course, but as one of many pieces of a puzzle, all equally required to reveal the overall picture in its most complete form. Such an outlook will enable the reader to better discern the framework in which the emergence of Etruscan themes can be investigated and understood. Emphasis on the need to incorporate Etruria and the rest of Italy into the new Augustan political programme coexists with a resurgence in the cultural milieu of the late republic of a vigorous interest in Etruscan antiquities, amongst others. To these stimuli, poets respond either by forcefully seeking to legitimise the Etruscans’ role in Rome’s past or by maintaining a more traditional stance and offering conventional portrayals of Etruscan self-indulgence and treacherousness. The ambition of this work overall is thus to provide a comprehensive account of the ways in which Augustan poetry engages with Etruria and the Etruscan people at the twilight of their civilisation