【摘 要】女性的角色在伊特魯里亞社會是不容易界定的。在其生活各方面能力的問題上，由于缺乏直接的，公正的證據(jù)，結論大多都是來自于猜測。如同判斷世界其他社會中人們的生活狀態(tài)一樣，在面對伊特魯里亞人的生活問題上，我們受到的限制是缺乏任何來自伊特魯里亞的直接文獻資料。我們所接觸到的都是來自希臘和羅馬的歷史學家們的描述。盡管如此，伊特魯里亞時期留下的大量文物和古跡帶給我們確鑿的證據(jù)，因此，我們可以將這些證據(jù)與羅馬和希臘人所描述的伊特魯里亞女性進行對比。通過著重分析一個古代社會中婦女的角色，我們可從中得出重要信息，從而了解特定環(huán)境中男性和女性的具體生活狀態(tài)。女性在伊特魯里亞社會中表現(xiàn)出的分量對于了解伊特魯里亞的社會分工十分重要。

【關鍵詞】伊特魯里亞社會；婦女角色；宴會；獨特地位

Abstract：Women’s role in Etruscan society is not easy to define because of the lack of direct，impartial evidence regarding their capacities，which are conjectured.In judging the aspects of Etruscan life，as in others，we are limited by the lack of any Etruscan literature.What we have are the accounts of Greek and Roman historians.However，the archaeology of Etruria left us with solid evidence so that we can compare them with what the Romans and Greeks say about the Etruscan women.By focusing specifically on women and their roles within an ancient society we are able to elicit information important to the understanding of gender in specific contexts.The power of women in Etruria is of patent importance in understanding how Etruscan society worked.

Key words：Etruscan women attending banquet unique life

Introduction

Perhaps no feature of Etruscan society differed so much from that of Greece and Rome as the position of women.The traditional tales of the Etruscan dynasty at Rome and the story of Lucretia’s suicide dramatically illustrate the different social roles of Etruscan and Roman women.Aside from the above，in Greece，the distinctions of gender reflected in the different vase-shapes can be reduced to contrasts of original vase-contents-yielding a male/wine association，and a female/water association.①In turn these associations reflect gender-based social roles，in which the men attend drinking parties from which their wives are excluded，and only women perform the task of fetching water.On the contrast，women of Etruria were said to have permission to join their husband in the drinking parties.The images support the shocked Greek opinions recorded in literary tradition.‘Women are as equals as men！’ The very thought appalled the Greeks.From which we know that the legal status of women in Etruria was stronger than it was in Greece.

Literature Review

Among all the evidence pointing out the unique social condition of Etruscan women，there are some of great importance and significance：attending the banquets；going outdoors；having their own names.Of course，according to both literature recording and archaeological evidences，it is the part of attending banquets draws most attention.Several Roman commentaries indicate that Etruscan husbands and wives dined together in public，reclining together in their public life as they intended to lie together in death.Etruscan gender relationships thus differed from those of both Romans and Greeks，who practiced”gender avoidance”while eating and in other contexts.This”unusual”Etruscan social behavior generated considerable commentary custom.

The longest ancient literary passage we have about Etruscan customs comes from Theopompus，a Greek historian of the fourth century B.C.E.He was startled by them and drew the worst possible conclusion from what he saw and heard about Etruscan women （the passage is quoted in a work by Athenaeus，a later Greek author）②：

Theopompus，in the forty-third book of his Histories，also says that it is normal for the Etruscans to share their women in common.These women take great care of their bodies and exercise bare，exposing their bodies even before men and among themselves：for it is not shameful for them to appear almost naked.He also says they dine not with their husbands，but with any men who happen to be present；and they toast anyone they want to.

And the Etruscans raise all the children that are born，not knowing who the father is of each one.The children also eventually live like those who brought them up，and have many drinking parties，and they too make love with all the women.

When Greek authors comment on Etruscan customs，they tend to concentrate on the power accorded to women.Is it possible to detect here an Etruscan preference for strong female roles，filtered through Greek ideas about the dangers of untamed females？ Images of women in Etruscan art show them as the equals of men，engaged in family conferences on mirrors，attending banquets and sharing in funerary ritual in tomb-paintings，and as we have seen，Theopompus emphasizes the idea of equality in his account of Etruscan banquets.Theopompus s picture is put together in part from a literary cliché about the luxurious life of the barbarians，in this case the Etruscans.

How much of this account was true？ Certainly the extraordinary freedom of the women，emphasized by the implied contrast with Greek women of the time，was more than simply the expression of the author’s hostility to a way of life vastly different from his own：the banquet/symposium，to which women were freely admitted，a custom that prompted much disapproval among the Greeks.③

Women are also represented in symposium scenes on Archaic and Classical Attic vases，where they are interpreted as hetairai.Most obvious is that Greek symposiasts are always male，whereas in Etruria women are participators in banquets from the later sixth century onwards.④Moreover，the women are freeborn wives and family members，as context and inscriptions make clear （however，there is still someone doubt about this point，see the example below），whereas the only women admitted to Greek symposia were entertainers and prostitutes.

Doubts of the role of women attending banquets

As I mentioned above about doubts on the identities of women presented at banquet/symposium in Etruria，Glenys Davies in his Etruscan Body Language assumed that the women in Etruscan banqueting scenes were hired prostitutes of some kind，and that the Etruscans，like the Greeks，left their wives at home when they dined for ‘on the grounds that the symposium is known to have been an all-male event at which wives would not be present.’⑤Although there had already been scholars suggested that those women were family members，they held evidence from what we can see on the tomb-paintings like：they keep their clothes on；their clothes are rich and expensive；they appear to be shown in intimate and affectionate relationships with the men；and if they are reclining with men on terms of equality in scenes painted in a tomb，they must be wives and not prostitutes.However，he still argues that these evidences is decisive：some of the presumed hetairai in the symposium scenes on Attic vases are wearing clothes too；top-notch hetairai might be expected to dress richly；the appearance of intimacy and affectionate behavior was also expected of hetairai；the provision of paid sexual companionship could be an integral part of the élite practice of banqueting and a way of showing status.⑥

I do not agree with him，even if the hetairai were expected to dress well and show affectionate behavior，and thus the women presented at the banquet were not family members like he said.We still have to raise the question about his last point，would the Etruscans paint the scene of dining with prostitutes on the wall of their family graves？ It does not seem to me a way of expressing their social status.Moreover，the gestures of the women in the later scene，however，suggest that their status as participants in the banquet was equal to that of the men.⑦So if these women were hired for entertainment，how could they possibly be equal as men.

In a word，it is clear that the women presented at banquet in Etruria were family members.Besides，the many illustrations from the Archaic and early Classical periods，the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.，show that the banquet was for the Etruscan woman the big occasion for showing her beauty，wealth，and status as the mistress of the house.She is clad from top to toe - while men follow the Greek custom of banqueting with nude upper bodies and bare feet.The wives are smiling and gesticulating elegantly，and their husbands look not only pleased with their presence，but even proud of their social talents.⑧ Moreover，the reclining woman has her own retinue of female servants to balance the man’s male servants，reinforcing the impression that they are social equals，two parts of a single unit，husband and wife.⑨

Paintings and other archaeological evidences of the unique role of women

Etruscan women were usually represented with mantles and shoes，indicating that they went outdoors as much as the men – in contrast to the women of Athens，usually shown on vases of the Archaic and Classical periods at home，wearing the chiton.Etruscan women did attend games，as we see in paintings and reliefs from Tarquinia the fifth century，B.C.E.，showing bleachers with spectators，male and female，watching games and contests.

Likewise，the Etruscan permissiveness toward women，as an indication that the men were not exercising sufficient control，recalls the Athenian view of Spartan society，where women were also allowed to exercise in public.Spartan women are said to have practiced – like their husbands，they seem to have preferred spectator sports.There is a clear similarity to the comments found in Athenian writers about Spartan women：they are influential in society and also licentious.⑩ Etruscan women were hardly prohibited from going out.We see them participating in many kinds of activities in public.Maybe we can assume that in Etruria a woman could play a part in certain religious practices too.

Etruscan society was patriarchal，where，as inscriptions make clear，the family name was carried through the male line.However，the fact is that women were given individual first names.Moreover a woman，even when she married，might carry her own patronymic，or her family name，through to the grave.This was indeed unique all through ancient societies，as far as I can tell，the Egyptian women also kept their own names.Like art，language preserves traces of women’s lives and their importance in Etruscan society.Funerary inscriptions give evidence of women’s names.Roman women had no names of their own；they were known first as their fathers’ daughters and later as their husbands’ wives，and it was the same situation in many ancient Asian countries.What’s more，Etruscan women had their own names and they apparently passed their rank to their children；the frequent use of both the father’s name and the mother’s name in Etruscan inscriptions attests to the mother’s importance.

Conclusions

The Etruscan women，compared to other women in an ancient society，did enjoy some special social rights.The archaeology of Etruscan women confirms their peculiar status.If they were of the appropriate family，they might share in some of the tokens of social power：“heroic”burial；the ostentation of ancestry；the ability to read and write.In the tombs the houses of the living were reproduced for the dead，with all the equipment for eating，drinking，and dancing，as well as wall paintings depicting these feasts.Etruscan married couples took part in banquets，in contrast with the men’s symposia or drinking parties so popular in Greek life and vase painting；at those Athenian parties only female entertainers and prostitutes were welcome.

Their role within the family and society which is not only explicated inside the household walls，a situation already existing and familiar in Rome or Athens，but outside too：the woman besides being recalled as wife or mother or grandmother of important figures，or by her own fecundity，assumes importance as a symbol of belonging to a high-ranking family，with the authority to pass on her own property.Some of the oldest Etruscan inscriptions or graphic signs are often carved on articles intended for women，and now and then present individual women’s names or dedicatory formulas to female subjects，confirming women’s knowledge and use of writing.

注釋：

①Spivey 1991：56.

②Gulick 1927-41：12.517-18；quoted in Bonfante 1994：248.

③Bonfante 1994：248.

④Cristofani，1987a：Cited in Barker Rasmussen 1998：107.

⑤Davies 2006：403.

⑥Davies 2006：403.

⑦Davies 2006：409.

⑧Briguet 1989；Nielsen 1993，115-121；quoted in Nielsen 1998：75.

⑨Davies 2006：404-406.

⑩Arist.Pol.1269b12-39；quoted in Lewis 1997：146.

References：

[1]Graeme Barker and Tom Rasmussen，1998.The Etruscans.Blackwell Publish.

[2]Marshall Joseph Becker，1999.”Reconstructing the lives of South Etruscan Women.”In Reading the Body.Representations and Remains in the Archaeological Record，edited by Alison E.Rautman.pp.55-67.Philadelphia：University of Pennsylvania Press.

[3]Larissa Bonfante，1994.“Etruscan Women.”In Women in the Classical World：Image and Text，edited by Elaine Fantham.pp.243-59.New York：Oxford University Press.

[4]Glenys Davies，2006.“Etruscan Body Language.”In Across Frontiers：Etruscans，Greeks，Phoenicians and Cypriots.Studies in Honor of David Ridgway and Francesca R.Serra Ridgway，edited by Edward Herring et al.London：Accordia Research Institute，University of London Publish.

[5]Sian Lewis，1997.“Shifting Images：Athenian Women in Etruria.”In Gender and Ethnicity in Ancient Italy，edited by Tim Cornell and Kathryn Lomas.pp.141-54.London：Accordia Research Institute，University of London Publish.

[6]Marjatta Nielsen，1989.“Women and Family in a Changing Society：A Quantitative Approach to Late Etruscan Burials.”In Analecta Romana Instituti Danici 17-18.pp.53-98.Copenhagen：E.Munksgaard Publish.

[7]Marjatta Nielsen，1998.“Etruscan Women：a Cross-cultural Perspective.”In Aspects of Women in Antiquity，edited by Lena Larsson Lovén and Agneta Str?mberg.pp.69-84.Paul ?str?ms F?rlag Jonsered Publish.

[8]Antonia Rallo，2001.“Women’s Role.”In The Etruscans，edited by Mario Torelli.Translated by Rhoda Billingsley，et al.London：Thames Hudson Publish.

[9]Nigel J.Spivey，1991.“The Power of Women in Etruscan Society.”In The Accordia Research Papers：the Journal of the Accordia Research Centre 2.pp.55-68.London：Accordia Research Centre，Queen Mary and Westfield College，University of London Publish.

[10]Nigel J.Spivey and Simon Stoddart，1990.“Chapter 8.Social Organization.”In Etruscan Italy.pp.140-52.London：Batsford Publish.

作者簡介：裴沛（1987—），女，山西沁縣人，雙碩士，助教，現(xiàn)供職于寧波大紅鷹學院，研究方向：社會學跨文化研究，世界歷史（希臘羅馬、中世紀女性、美國與第二次世界大戰(zhàn)）。