Sicilian Peoples: The Sicanians

Best of Sicily ^ | 2004 | Vincenzo Salerno

[SunkenCiv]

Little is known of the Sicans' literature or mythology. Developed some time before 1200 BC, the Phoenician alphabet was used in some form in early Etruscan and Greek, and also influenced the writing systems of Hebrew and Aramaic. The only known alphabet of the Sicanians was essentially Phoenician. It would not be inappropriate to postulate that an identifiably "Sicanian" culture existed in many parts of Sicily by 1600 BC; it certainly existed before the presumed date of arrival of the Elymians and Sicels a few centuries later... It is difficult to overlook the frequency with which Greek and Roman writers mention the Sicanians -- among them Appollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, Herodotus, Homer, Strabo, Pausanias and Ovid. Indeed, one of the Greeks' earliest names for Sicily was "Sikania." In his Histories, Herodotus mentions the Sicanian city of Kamikos (near present-day Sant'Angelo Muxaro in the Agrigento area), and the legendary Sicanian king Kokalos figures in the myth of Daedalus and Icarus... ...Their origins are elusive. Of Sicily's three most ancient peoples (Sicanians, Sicels, Elymians), the indigenous Sicanians (or Sicans) of central and western Sicily were present at the earliest date, as the evidence suggests a more recent introduction of the Sicel ("Siculian") civilization in eastern Sicily and the Elymian one in the northwest... Archeologically and socially, differences between the Sicans and Sicels were subtle in more "recent" times (i.e. 600 BC), though their languages -- eventually using characters based on Phoenician -- were distinctive of each other... Much of our knowledge of the earliest Sicilians comes to us from Greek literary sources or, in some cases, quasi-historical ones.

[SunkenCiv]

Sicanian architecture was simpler than that of the Phoenicians and Greeks. Few standing structures survive from the Sicanian culture, but the so-called "Temple of Diana" (shown here) overlooking Cefalù was built upon an older Sicanian temple to their own goddess of the hunt -- analogous to the Phoenician Astarte, Greek Artemis and Roman Diana.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

Cefalù temple (image search):

Google

[Individual Rights in NJ]

I’m Sicilian!

I’m 3rd generation but still 75%!!

[JoeProBono]

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

Me too, but I’m only 25%...

[angcat]

ping

Viva Italia!

[angcat]

I'm 100 percent Sicilian. My children are 100 Italian on both sides. Nice!

[SunkenCiv]

:’) You eat your pasta with a spoon then?

[blam]

I'm Irish but my DNA says I'm from Norway (yDNA R1b) and Finland (mtDNA 'V')

I may be a Viking who went to Ireland and stayed.

[Little Bill]

My Mothers friend Florence, there are no Italians South of Rome. My Stepfather, there are no Italians South of Albano, also Sicilians are Turks and Arabs, Brutti.

[JoeProBono]

Sicilian Pizza $17.99 - Thick crust topped wtih Romano,Fontinella,Provolone and Asiago cheeses with fresh garlicslices of tomato and spices

[angcat]

I have a feeling my DNA would reveal Arab decent lol. This because Sicily was invaded by everyone. I'm probably not even Italian. I would love to get the test.

[DeaconBenjamin]

Don’t be surprised if there is some Viking as well.

[angcat]

What are the personality traits of a Viking?

[1010RD]

What are the personality traits of a Viking?

Believing they're 100% Sicilian while worrying they're not.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) There’s a line like that in “the Big Red One”.

[angcat]

LOL good one see you don’t even know me and yet you do!

[Little Bill]

I was with the 25th, but Lee Marvin should have been a Master Sgt. I had a Platoon Sgt who was with the 1St Div from Africa to the end, cool stories.