Other
description than that of the pictures we do not possess, for as yet
the language is a dead letter. There is no doubt, as Gerhardt
[Footnote: "Ann. Institut.": 1831, p. 321.] suggests, that they
considered dancing as one of the emblems of joy in a future state,
and that the dead were received with dancing and music in their new
home. They danced to the music of the pipes, the lyre, the castanets
of wood, steel, or brass, as is shown in the illustrations taken from
the monuments.
[Illustration: Fig. 21.--Etruscan dancing and performances. From
paintings in the Grotta della Scimia Corneto, about 500 B.C.]
That the Phoenicians and Greeks had at certain times immense influence
on the Etruscans is evident from their relics which we possess (fig.
20).
A characteristic illustration of the dancer is from a painting in the
tomb of the _Vasi dipinti_, Corneto, which, according to Mr. Dennis,
[Footnote: "Etruria," vol. i., p. 380.] belongs to the archaic period,
and is perhaps as early as 600 B.C. It exhibits a stronger Greek
influence than some of the paintings.
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