Fresh Batch #108: Chariots, Amber, Friezes, Cats, Ataiun, Poses
Reconsidering the Phoenicians and Etruscans
Annette Rathje wrote in her Banquet and Ideology (Mur. Etr. p. 96.), “Clearly we have to enlarge our visions and apply a model of cross-cultural interaction that disproves the isolation of Greeks and Etruscans from the Near East—a modern view historically based on the hegemony of Greek culture in the educational system of Europe since the eighteenth century, when it seems to have been necessary to see Greek culture as uncontaminated by Oriental influence. We still have to remind ourselves that there was no “Dark Age” or “Middle Ages” in the ancient Near East, as there was in Greece from the fall of the Mycenaean Empire to the “Renaissance” of the eighth century BC. Interactions between East and West continued, as has been clearly shown. Indeed, we have to reconsider the role of the Phoenicians as agents in these cross-cultural connections, a role that was still significant during the time of Neo-Assyrian imperialism. I have argued elsewhere about the active role of the Phoenicians in transmitting Oriental luxury items to Etruria, and I suggest now that they were active in the transmission of ideas that led to the incorporation of eastern customs in Etruscan society.”
The language of the Celts, Romans, and Indians has undeniable affinity. My work aims to prove that it is a result of European exploration rather than Asian exploration. In Irish, Buide, or buidhe, means yellow, a color attributed to the sun, but also piety, a quality attributed to godliness. Does this correlate to Buddha?
And since Annette Rathje suggested the active role of the Phoenicians needs to be reconsidered, I’ve suggested the identity of the Phoenicians needs to be reconsidered, for the details, when considered, suggest they were the Etruscans, indigenous to Italy, not the Orient. Do you not find it curious that the mythology of the Etruscans, when not shared with the Greek version, corresponds to the Phoenician mythology? Do you not find it curious that the Etruscan alphabet (which may be the oldest) corresponds to the Phoenician and Irish ones, and that the Greek correspondence is a direct result of it being shared with them, or that the Etruscan and Phoenician writings demonstrate no affinity to Indo-European writings, yet it is admitted that the Phoenicians gave the Greeks their letters? I suggest it was the Etruscans who gave the Greeks their letters and the reason we have little remaining of the Etruscan writings is the same reason for why there is little of the Phoenician writings: they are the same culture of ancient Italians. Whether the writings were burned at the destruction of their temples or something else occurred, the effect is the same: nothing significant remains to translate them.
Rebecca Hague Sinos wrote in her article Godlike Men (Mur. Etr. p.112), “The use of a cart in the Murlo scene differs not only from the practices attested for the triumph, but also from the Greek procession scenes that we have discussed, in which the chariot is an important part of the divine or heroic flavor. Such scenes of chariot processions were certainly known in Etruria. But the Murlo precession represents a seated type, which may, like so many of the elements of the scene, trace its inspiration to the practices of the Near East.
“The kings depicted in Assyrian and Persian reliefs are most often shown standing in chariots, in scenes of war or the hunt. In scenes of other processions, however, the king rides more comfortably in a seat or throne on wheels. One such throne appears on a seventh-century Assyrian relief, borne by the servants of Sargon II.
“The Murlo figures do not ride in an actual wheeled throne, but their seated position does correspond with such Near Eastern royal processions. Their cart, although not as elaborate as the Assyrian or Persian vehicles, is clearly more elegant than the utilitarian carts that appear occasionally in scenes of wedding or funeral processions; the back of the seat with its curved edge is not unlike the profile of the throne of Hera in the seated figures frieze, and indicates that this vehicle is suited specifically to carry passengers. Such a specialized vehicle, drawn by horses, the most luxurious of all draft animals, furthers the impression of the wealth and importance of its occupants and, again, is in keeping with the proposed interpretation that these people are rulers, people who must participate in many ceremonial processions and who might therefore find much use for such a vehicle.”
Though it’s difficult to find all the information I’d like on the Assyrian reliefs, I remind the reader that the Murlo friezes that depict some sort of chariot procession also include people sitting on curule chairs, and carule denotes or relates to the authority exercised by the senior magistrates in ancient Rome, chiefly the consul and praetor, who were entitled to use the sella curulis (curule seat, a kind of folding chair). I will also remind you that Vetulonia, once the pride of all Etruria, first adorned the high curule chairs with ivory according to the Latin poet Silius Italicus (Punica, VIII, 483ff.)
The following is a sketch of the chariot procession based on what remains of the broken pieces put together. The staff almost looks like a groma, a Roman instrument used to survey land. But perhaps it’s an attachment to the chariot that provided shade when draped. However, it could be some sort of religious symbol representing Terminus fashioned in the shape of the Phoenician Tau.
I highlight this because the precession could be some sort of coronation, not a wedding or funeral precession as has been imagined by others.
As Rebecca Hage Sinos observed, the Etruscan carts are not as elaborate as the Assyrian or Persian ones, and they aren’t wheeled thrones. This would indicate that the simpler version used by two empires is likely more ancient, would it not?
The following is from Acquarossa, again showing a procession of people riding in chariots pulled by pegasi, whose wings are similar to those found on Etruscan sphinxes.
The research I’ve published on my Substack during 2023 will be incorporated into my next project, which is The Real Universal Empire.
So far, many have succeeded in recognizing the affinity between cultures all over the world, but few have explained the origin of this system, nor have they adequately identified the culture responsible for this system. Even as late as the 18th century, the origin of letters and writing was still uncertain, and while many scholars refrain from making claims, they seem to agree that the most likely candidate was the Phoenicians. However, even up till now, it is uncertain. I suspect the answers are available, as many have contributed key pieces to putting the puzzle together. One portion of it has not been talked about much, and I’ve only come across a handful of individuals who posited the idea. No one has incorporated all of the systems of government, priestcraft, symbolism, language, and other keys necessary into one body of work to demonstrate the origins of European civilization, except for me, which is why I do this work. If it had been done by anyone else to the extent that I’ve done it, I wouldn’t waste my most precious commodity to do it: time. Almost no one talks about Etrurians (Etruscans, Tyrrhenians, Tyrsenians, Pelasgians) because everyone has made a fortune on the victim status that comes from scapegoating Rome and painting a false narrative of European civilization coming from the Orient to justify the religious allegories taken from the Chaldeans and others in the east, which were converted into history by the religious institutions who enslaved Europe around the time the Common Era was reckoned. Few suspect the extent that history has been inverted. This appears to be done by the nobility and the priests to create the glamour that they are descended from these scriptural characters in order to coerce the people of Europe to submit to their “divine authority”. While The Real Universal Empire won’t be a Spirit Whirled book, it will be based on the research in that series. Click here to catch up. All of these books are available in audio format except for Terminalia, which is in production. If you’ve never been an Audible subscriber, then you can use a free trial to get the first one for free. Click here for Book 1’s audio format.
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