ABSTRACT

Even though we have no evidence of Etruscan musical notation and will never know the details of how Etruscan music sounded, quite a lot can be said about the way in which music and instruments figured in Etruscan society. And, while a definitive study of music and instruments in Etruria has yet to be published, there has recently been a lot of scholarly writing on the subject.1 Just as in many other aspects of Etruscan culture, the evidence is fragmentary but enticing. Our knowledge of Etruscan music and instruments draws on a variety of sources that can be divided into three broad categories; images, archaeological evidence and texts.