Caere
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Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the
Caere was one of the most important and populous Etruscan city-states, in area 15 times larger than today's town, and only
Geography
The ancient city was situated on a hill about 7 km from the sea, a location which made it a wealthy trading town derived originally from the iron ore mines in the Tolfa hills.[2] It had three sea ports including Pyrgi and Punicum. It was bounded by the two rivers Mola and Manganello, and lay 80 metres above sea level on an outcrop of rocky tuff.[citation needed] The hill ran from northeast to southwest, isolated except on the northeast.[3] The modern town, at the western extremity, probably occupies the site of the acropolis. The line of the city walls, of rectangular blocks of tufa, can be traced, and there seem to have been eight gates in the circuit, which was about four miles in length. There are no remains of buildings of importance, except the theatre, in which many inscriptions and statues of emperors were found.[3]
History
The earliest evidence of
Trade between the Greeks and Etruscans became increasingly common in the middle of the 8th century BC, with standardised urns and pottery common in graves of the time. The town became the main Etruscan trading centre during the 7th century BC, and trade increased with other Greek colonies in Southern Italy and Sicily, and with the Corinthians. Locally manufactured products began to imitate imported Greek pottery, especially after the immigration of Greek artists into Etruria.
The oldest examples of Bucchero ceramics come from Caere and it can be assumed that these typical Etruscan ceramics were developed here or produced at least for the first time in large scale.[4]
The early prosperity of the city is demonstrated by graves from the
Caere had a good reputation among the Greeks for its values and sense of justice, since it abstained from piracy.
Caere appears for the first time in documented history in 540 BC concerning the Battle of Alalia in which captured prisoners were stoned to death in the city, an act that was later attributed as the cause of an ensuing plague. In recompense, athletic contests were held every year in the city to honour the dead. In 509 BC, upon the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the king
In spite of the difficulties affecting
Caere was not spared by the crisis that affected the great centres of southern Etruria during the second half of that century, after the defeat at sea at the
The Roman Tabulae Caeritum dates from this time; it listed those citizens of Caere who were classed as Roman citizens and liable for military service, without being able to vote. It is supposed to have been the first community to receive this privilege, known as ius Caeritum.
In 384/383 BC Dionysius plundered Pyrgi. Support came from Caere, but this was also beaten.[10]
In 353 BC Caere, allied to the
The city briefly regained some prosperity under either Augustus or Tiberius,[3] but lost its wealth and power completely by the first century AD.
Ancient bishopric
Saint Adeodatus participated as bishop of this
No longer a residential bishopric, Caere is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[12]
Archaeological site
During the period 700-300 BC the inhabitants constructed an impressive necropolis known today as
Since 2012, Queen's University at Kingston has been leading archaeology at the urban centre known as Vigna Marini.[13]
See also
- Pyrgi, one of its harbours
- Pyrgi Tablets
References
- ^ KAI 277 - Pyrgi Tablets
- ISBN 3170052144, S. 38
- ^ a b c d e Ashby 1911, p. 937.
- ISBN 9780500203040, page 37
- ^ Weber: History of the Etruscans, p.36
- ^ Strabo, Geographia, V, 2,3.
- ^ Ashby 1911, p. 936.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheke Historian XV 14
- ^ Francesco Lanzoni, Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604), vol. I, Faenza 1927, pp. 510–516
- Giuseppe Cappelletti, Le Chiese d'Italia dalla loro origine sino ai nostri giorni, Venice 1844, vol. I, pp. 547–548 - ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 867
- ^ https://caeresite.com/ Archived 21 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- "Caere Excavation Project". queensu.ca. Department of Classics, Queen's University. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- public domain: Ashby, Thomas (1911). "Caere". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 936–937. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Del Chiaro, Mario. 1974. Etruscan Red-Figured Vase Painting at Caere, Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
- Drago Troccoli, Luciana. 2006. Cerveteri, Rome: Istituto Poligrafico.
- Hemelrijk, Jaap M. 1984. Caeretan Hydriae, Mainz, West Germany: Von Zabern.
- Klempan, B., Helwig, K. and F. Colivicchi. 2017. "Examination and Analysis of Etruscan Wall Paintings at Caere, Italy", Archaeometry 59.6: 1082–1094.
- Moretti, Mario. 1978. Cerveteri, Novara, Italy: Istituto Geografico de Agostini.
- Naso, Alessandro. 2010. "The Origin of Tomb Painting in Etruria", Ancient West and East 9:63–86.
- Prayon, Friedhelm. 2001. "Tomb Architecture", Etruscans, edited by Mario Torelli, 335–343. New York: Rizzoli.
- Richardson, Emeline. 1983. Etruscan Votive Bronzes: Geometric, Orientalizing, Archaic, Mainz, West Germany: Von Zabern.
- Riva, Corinna. 2010. "Ingenious Inventions: Welding Ethnicities East and West", Material Culture and Social Identities, edited by Shelley Hales and Tamar Hodos, 79–113. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Pr.
- Riva, Corinna. 2010. The Urbanization of Etruria: Funerary Practice and Social Change, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.