Etruscan Tomb of the Leopards

Chapter 5: The Rise of Rome and its Republic (753-44 B.C.E)

"This detail from a wall painting in an Etruscan Tomb shows a banquet in honor of the dead person buried in the underground chamber. Like Greeks, the banqueters recline on couches, propped up on an elbow. The servant, shown nude, is carrying a wine jug to refill. Unlike Greeks, the Etruscans mixed women and men as guests at dinner and drinking parties, a tradition they passed on to the Romans. The men are depicted with darker skin tones, while the woman has lighter skin, reflecting the tradition that upper-class women stayed out of the sun to avoid getting a tan." - Page 152

Greek parties were mostly had by men, and were never with both women and men. Later in the Roman time period, men and women would both be depicted at parties together in art, which is similar to what is occurring in the this Etruscan wall painting. Women held more rights in Roman society than they did in Greek society, even though it was still slight compared to the rights women have in most countries in the modern world today.