In this novel, I have taken certain liberties with history. The Etruscans habitually cremated their dead, but there are isolated instances of burial. The most famous, and the one that fired my imagination and created the subplot of the sentient bandage in Tatia’s tomb, is the Zagreb Mummy.
This mummy is wrapped in linen which has been inscribed with sacred Etruscan writing. Etruscans used linen rather than paper to write on, so linen scrolls and books are common in this ancient culture.
Clay tablets were also used, especially for black magic. The “defixiones” mentioned in Chapter 20 are found in many Etruscan tombs. Etruscans used these, wax dolls and demon bowls to curse one another, much as the book describes. Demon bowls can be found buried in graveyards and deserted lands, where the user hoped to capture a ghost or spirit to torment their enemy.
The Etruscans were fatalists, and most of their gods were primordial, monstrous things. Many were incorporated into the Roman belief system, although altered to have more human appearances and motivations. The Disciplina Etrurai and other touches of culture are gleaned from research.
Clothing, attitude, and lifestyle are kept as close to my notes as possible without interfering with the flow of the narrative.
The societies in Constantinople and Rome are more loosely based on historical research. The plague first encountered by K in Rome is fictional, although somewhat based on the awful plagues that frequented Europe in the early part of the millennium.
Comments on religion are purely conjecture by the author and not meant to offend. They reflect the way this character and those he encounters might feel.
The lara that attended Appollonius’ birth is another myth incorporated into this novel. An Etruscan tomb, the tomb of Orcus in Tomba del Orco,
built at the beginning of the 4th Century BCE. depicts two animals dancing under an olive tree outside a house where a child is being born.(www.mysteroiusetruscans.com)
I did most of my research online. Those curious about the Etruscans might like to check out these websites:
www.mysteroiusetruscans.com
www.lib.imuch/edu/pap/magic
www.msnu.edu/emuseum/
www.roman-empire.net/
www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html
(This excellent site also provided a partial translation of Etruscan writing and directed me toward information on the Zagreb Mummy)
More on this mummy:
http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Post/100106
Liber Linteus of Zagreb is the text inscribed on the linen of the mummy. Bought in Egypt in 1848 or 1849 by a European nobleman and transferred to the Zagreb museum in Egypt, it has provided modern man with a glimpse into Etruscan religion.
