Etruscans

A people who migrated, apparently from Asia Minor, to the north-west Italian peninsula during the during the late Bronze Age (c. 1500-1200). They were driven out of Italy by the Latin-speaking people in 509 BC, but not before passing on to the Latins, among other things, the alphabet (c. 700) which they had acquired from the Greeks and had developed to their own use. Little is known about the Etruscans. Although their alphabet is from the Greek, their language is unrelated, and has never been deciphered by modern research. Our lack of knowledge is due in part to the political stake which the Romans had in obliterating any record of the Etruscan history and culture. (Rose Folsum)

Lion Gate of Boghazkoy

The mother of all 'entry way' lion sculpture! These lions date to 1400 B.C. and are located in what is now Turkey in the town of Boghazkoy. It was home to the Hittites and the lions were located at the gates of their fortified city. They were designed to be fierce protectors and scare away threatening peoples. They are made of huge limestone blocks and stand 7 feet high. These lions have been imitated ever since by many empires in antiquity, including Assyria. Any lion sculptures in the doorways of your neighborhood?

"The Babylonian Empire was brought down by the Hittites, an Anatolian people who conquered and sacked Babylon around 1595 B.C. and then retired to their homeland, leaving Babylon in the hands of the Kassites." (Gardner)