ABSTRACT
The VIth century before our era was the period of the full development of Ionian civilization. In Asia Minor and in the islands of the Aegean Sea, great cities, enriched by trade and industry, gave art, literature, and science an impulse which marks the beginning of the radiance of Greece. 1 In the West, the brilliance of Etruscan civilization was a reflection of the light which came from Ionia. Great industrial and commercial cities used their wealth to make life beautiful. Architecture, sculpture, painting, metal-engraving, jewellery, beautiful vases of clay and bronze, scents, wine, rich clothing, games, and music transformed the native rudeness of Italy. Ionian ships frequented the Etruscan ports, just as Etruscan mariners, as merchants or as pirates, scoured the seas of Ionia. 2 In Etruria imported articles were mingled with native manufactures, so that it is usually hard to tell one from the other. Moreover, Greek artists came regularly and settled among the Etruscans, working for them and among them. 3 Etruscan civilization at this time, though doubtless heavier, less refined, and less spirited than Ionian, seems to have been quite as wealthy, and perhaps even more luxuriant. Never, perhaps, was Italy so like Greece.
