The Etruscans were the powerful inhabitants of Central Italy in the Iron Age, before the Romans rose to power. One of the most fascinating issues about the Etruscans is their origin. Some researchers believe that the Etruscans may have actually been descendants of the Trojans. Does the evidence support this conclusion?
The basis for the idea that the Etruscans were descendants of the Trojans
What is the basis for the suggestion that the Etruscans might have been descendants of the Trojans? The basic foundation for this idea is the fact that many ancient historians believed that the Etruscans originally came from Anatolia.
For example, we see this belief in the writings of Herodotus. Numerous later historians also wrote about it. Their migration to Italy allegedly took place at more or less the time of the Trojan War.
Various Greek historians also reported that the Trojans had migrated to Italy after that war. Hence, with two migrations from the same general region and at the same general time, it is not a stretch to suppose that they might have something to do with each other, leading to the idea that the Etruscans might have been descendants of the Trojans.
Did the Etruscans come from the same place as the Trojans?
In this article, we will examine only whether the literary evidence really supports this conclusion. Do the connections really stand up to scrutiny? The first detail to examine is whether or not the Etruscans really were associated with the same part of Anatolia as the Trojans.
In Herodotus’ account, he does not specifically mention Troy. Rather than mentioning the inhabitants of that city, the Trojans, he claims that the Etruscans were Lydians.
Lydia was in western Anatolia, but it was further south than Troy and somewhat inland. Does this mean that the migration of the Etruscans cannot be the same as the migration of the Trojans?
The Lydians near Troy
In reality, the situation is more complicated than this. An early tradition is that the Etruscans stopped off at Lemnos on their migration. Thucydides is one of the ancient historians who noted that the ancient inhabitants of that island were Etruscans. This is backed up by archaeology.
When we look on a map, we see that the island of Lemnos is almost immediately next to Troy. How could Lydians have stopped off at Lemnos on a voyage from Lydia to Italy? This is highly illogical.
However, there are various historical references to Lydians living much closer to the vicinity of Troy prior to the Trojan War. Strabo is one such source. Furthermore, Homer presents the Lydians as allies of Troy during the war. This means that there would logically have been many Lydians there near the city when it fell to the Greeks.
Thus, when the Trojans went on their legendary migration from Troy to Italy after the fall of their city, the idea that many Lydians went with them and became the Etruscans is perfectly plausible.
When did the Etruscans migrate to Italy?
A second detail that we need to establish is whether the legendary migrations of the Etruscans and the Trojans supposedly happened at the same time or not. As noted by the Encyclopedia Britannica, Herodotus places the Etruscan migration broadly at the time of the Trojan War.
Actually, Herodotus places the Etruscan migration somewhat earlier than that, in the reign of King Atys. However, other records from not long after Herodotus provide several different claims concerning this.
According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the fifth century BCE historian Hellanicus of Lesbos placed the Etruscan migration at about the time of the Trojan War. Since this dates from the same time as Herodotus’ claim, we should give at least equal weight to it.
In fact, Dionysius also reports that Xanthus, another historian of the fifth century BCE, explicitly contradicted Herodotus’ claim that the migration occurred in the reign of King Atys.
The tradition that places it at the time of the Trojan War (rather than earlier, in the reign of Atys) is supported by other records which claim that Tarchon, the leader of the Etruscans during this migration, was the companion of Aeneas of Troy.
Conclusion
In summary, we cannot make any definitive statements about the connection between the Etruscans and the Trojans just on the literary evidence. However, we can see that a plausible reconstruction of the best supported tradition is that the migration of both nations happened at about the same time and set off from the same place.
Therefore, understanding the Etruscans as descendants of the Trojans is a very plausible understanding of the literary record. At the very least, they must have been closely associated migrations, if not identical.
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