Sicels

The Siculi, mostly Sikels ( Sikeloi ancient Greek, Latin Siculi ) were at the time of Greek colonization residents of East and North Sicily. They are mentioned in the Odyssey by Homer. There they are associated with the slave trade.

The Sikels migrated to Thucydides originally from Italy to Sicily and displaced while the Sicani to the west. According to Diodorus, the Siculi settled in uninhabited regions, since the Sicani had previously left the east of the island because of an Etna eruption. Thucydides, who relies on information from the Siculi, also indicates that this happened almost 300 years before the first Greek colony ups. Then to the island, which was previously called Sikanien, have been named after the Sicels.

By Greek colonists Sikels were increasingly displaced into the interior BC from the second half of the 8th century. In the 5th century BC still Sikels to have lived on the Italian mainland.

The Sicel language that are only known by a few short texts is obviously an Indo-European language. Probably it belongs to the Italic languages.

There are opinions that the Siculi / Sikels, are identical to the maritime people of Šekeleš that encountered in Egyptian sources. In the same context, the Sikels also be brought with in a document written about 1200 BC (RS 34 129 ) from Ugarit Sikala mentioned in connection. This text is a letter of the Hittite Great King, the prefect of the city of Ugarit the transfer of a man demanded, who had fallen into the hands of Sikala, " who live on ships ". Apparently, the great king would thus learn about this mixed multitude more. The Sikala in turn are parts of the research with the Tjekern ( trk ), which are mentioned in Egyptian sources as Sea People equated, probably based on Breadsteds transcription " Sikel " for the trk

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