Traders and Refugees: Contributions to Etruscan Architecture

Abstract Etruscan architecture underwent a radical change in the mid-seventh century B. C. E., from oval huts with thatched roofs to rectangular buildings with stone foundations and tiled roofs.1 Comparison is drawn with the architecture of the early Temple of Apollo at Corinth, dated ca. 670–660 B. C. E., and the story of Demaratus, a wealthy Corinthian trader who settled at Tarquinia around 657 B. C. E., according to ancient sources. A second set of changes took place after 540 B. C. E., introducing new artistic motifs and technical features into traditional Etruscan terracotta roofs; these innovations at Veii and Cerveteri can be traced to the influx of refugees from the area of Phocaea in Ionia, fleeing enslavement under the expanding Persian kingdom.