DOCSLIB.ORG

Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome's Founders

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome's Founders Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome’s Founders – “Curiouser and Curiouser" Published on iItaly.org (http://www.iitaly.org) Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome’s Founders – “Curiouser and Curiouser" Tom Verso (June 18, 2013) Southern-Italian Americans are an ‘a-historical people’. Near seventeen million Americans of southern Italian descent have become a ‘history-less people’ forced to define themselves culturally in terms of ‘food’, because the history of the Italian people south of Rome, unlike many other Page 1 of 16 Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome’s Founders – “Curiouser and Curiouser" Published on iItaly.org (http://www.iitaly.org) ethnic/nation groups in America, is virtually non-existent in the American education system. University Italian Studies programs, for example, are limited to Renaissance studies and Italian American Studies programs are limited to post-Ellis Island largely nostalgic hiSTORYs with heavy emphasis on Italian American fiction and literature. The Elymian Sicilians are a quintessential example of the lost history of southern-Italian Americana. The Elymians are a fascinating and thought provoking people with significant implications for Italian and European history, and especially meaningful to millions of Sicilian-Americans. As this blog has documented in some detail, highly qualified classical scholars have brought forth significant bodies of evidence showing that Elymians (not Greeks) were the people described in the Odyssey, they were colonizers of Liguria and they may very well have been the founders of Rome (please see list of six links at end of this article). Savor the delicious irony: the “Sicilian-SCANDINAVIAN Archaeological Project” does archeological research in western Sicily (http://www.sciencecentral.com/site/441769). One wonders how may Sicilian descendants live in Scandinavia? In short, you would never know it by looking at Italian Studies curriculums in American universities but, believe it or not, there is much more to Sicilian culture than ‘pizza-crust-thick’ and ‘Hollywood-mafia-shtick’. Preface Any study of ancient Sicilian history must from the onset include the seminal and incredible scholarly work of the great classical scholar Edward A. Freeman: The History of Sicily – From The Earliest Times (1891). The following is drawn in large part from Professor Freeman’s book. However, it seems to me, Freeman by limiting his evidence base solely to ancient documentary evidence (as would be expected from a nineteenth century Critical Method historian), and not taking into consideration some archeological and geographic evidence, limited the range of possible inferences about the Elymain Sicilians. Significant evidence in the form of similar geographic characteristics of: - Troy (where the ancients universally agree the Elymians came from), - Elymian cities in Sicily, - Ligurian and Roman settlements circa 1000 – 750 BC when contextualized along with ancient source documentary evidence provides a more comprehensive (albeit still very speculative) picture of the Sicilians Freeman rightfully characterized as “Mysterious.” This is not to say or imply that I presume to improve on the work of a great classical scholar. Rather, to point out some interesting facts and correlations that one might want to take into consideration when delving into the history of La Mysteriosa Sicilia Introduction Before the Greek and Phoenician colonizers arrive in Sicily circa 750 B.C., there were three district groups of people who came before them. Freeman writes: “Every ancient writer who undertakes to give a view of Sicilian history begins by a list of the nations which were already dwelling in the island when the Phoenician and Greek settlement began.” (p. 99) Those pre-Phoenician/Greek “nations” were the Sicels, Sicani and Elymians. [Note: It is not uncommon to read characterizations of these three people as “indigenous” (or words to that effect) at the time the Greeks and Phoenicians arrived. However, they were not in any sense “native” in the sense of “Native Americans” when the European colonist arrived. The Sicels, Sicani and Elymians were themselves colonist who came from other places not long before (perhaps a few centuries) the Greeks and Phoenicians.] Much more is know about the Sicels and Sicani than Elymians. There are remnants of the Sicels and Sicani Latin language and volumes of Greek documents describing their society. However, the Elymian language is lost and there is much less recorded about them in Greek documents. Freeman: “The little that we know of Sikans and Sikels is strictly traditional; that is it comes from a source trustworthy in is own nature, though not a little liable to be corrupted. The origin of the Elymians comes within the range of legend, and that kind of legend which always savours of deliberate invention. (p. 195) However, what little is known about the Elymians is intellectually provocative and stimulating for historians with a detective’s bent. Due to the lack of documentary evidence, the study of Elymians must draw heavily on material evidence. Historical geography is an important tool in the Page 2 of 16 Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome’s Founders – “Curiouser and Curiouser" Published on iItaly.org (http://www.iitaly.org) historiography of Elymian history. (see map below) Elymian Sicilian Homeland Elymian Cities (brown circles on map) There are two locations of ancient Elymian cities that are not disputable: Eryx (modern Erice; mountain top adjacent to modern Trapani) Segesta (same modern name) The city of Entella (left bank of the modern Belice River about 25 miles from the mouth of the Belice) is disputed to be either Elymian or Sicani. The significance of the ethnicity of Entella will be discussed below in terms of inferences about Sicilian colonists in Liguria. Regions (solid blue line OR dotted red line on map) Accordingly, because of there is no agreement about the status of Entella, the general territorial region under Elymian control (indicted on the map respectively with solid blue line or dash red line) will vary depending on the status of Entella being either Elymian or Sicani (see 'textbox' notes on map). Neighbors ('textbox' notes on map) Page 3 of 16 Mysterious Sicilians: Trojan Refugees, Odyssey Women, Ligurian Colonizers, Rome’s Founders – “Curiouser and Curiouser" Published on iItaly.org (http://www.iitaly.org) It is significant that in either case (blue line or red), various other national groups surround the Elymian territory: Phoenicians to the North (Palermo) and Southwest (Mozia) Greeks to the South (Selinunte) Sicani town to the North (Hyccare/Carini) and territory to the West The significance of this surrounding territorial configuration will be discussed below in terms of inferences about Elymian colonists in Liguria and possibly the founding of Rome. Entella (Elymian: “to be or not to be”) Freeman categorically and emphatically rejects Entella as an Elymian location. He writes: “Entella: The hill fortress by the eastern branch of the Hypsas or Belice [river], which is to this day know in a marked way as the Rock of Entella stands apart from both the known Elymian settlements [Eryx & Segesta], in a land thoroughly Sikan. Its territory may well have bordered on that of Segesta, but that is all. A hill-town without a haven [seaport], even a haven as distant as that of Segesta, it bears the stamp of the most primitive occupations.” (p. 122) Freeman presents an incredibly comprehensive ancient source document analysis substantiating his argument that Entella was Sican and not Elymian. However, in a noteworthy demonstration of objective scholarship, he also indicates that there are both ancients and modern commentators who differ with his conclusion. He writes: “What was the number of the Elymian settlements? Thucydides mentions Segesta and Eryx only…But it is quite clear that some of the later [ancient] writers looked on Entella as an Elymian foundation, and some modern scholars have adopted the same view…Holm and Busolt accept Entella as Elymian.” (p. 552) As noted above, Freeman’s argument is based solely (so far as I understand him) on a meticulous analysis of ancient source documents. However, it seems to me that he fails to at least consider the fact of Ligurian settlements with identical place names as those in Elymian Sicily and the inferences that fact may have for conclusions about Entella being Elymian or not. He writes: “When Holm finds the names Eryx, Entella, Segesta itself, repeated in Liguria…I do not draw from it any inferences…I look on the names rather as traces of the general pre-Aryan occupation…” (p. 554) Sicilians in Liguria – Common Place Names Three outstanding classical scholars, the German Adolph Holm in 1870, the Italian in Ettore Pais in 1908, and the English Toynbee in 1932, noted the presence of three Sicilian place names in Liguria: Eryx [modern Lerici], Segesta [modern Sestri Levante] and Entella [near modern Chiavari Entella river]. Moreover, unlike Freeman who ignored them as insignificant similarities, they considered what the common names might imply about Elymian history. Most significantly, to my mind, Toynbee posits that a linguistic characteristic of the word 'Eryx' clearly implies that colonizing Elymians from Sicily created the Ligurian settlements. He writes: “The probability that the group of names in Liguria was derived from the group in Sicily is indicated by the fact that in Liguria, as in Sicily, the mountain-name appears in the Graecized form ‘Eryx’ and not in a Ligurian equivalent ... ‘verruca’ (‘peak’), which we should expect to find surviving here if the name had originated in Liguria and had been carried thence to Sicily.” (A Study of History v.8 p.705 emp.+) In short, the Elymian language in Sicily showed the influence of the Greek language as the Greeks and Elymains interacted with each other. Accordingly, there is no other probable way to explain a mountain in Liguria with a ‘Elymian-Greek’ name Eryx.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics
    Princeton/Stanford Working Papers in Classics The eighth-century revolution Version 1.0 December 2005 Ian Morris Stanford University Abstract: Through most of the 20th century classicists saw the 8th century BC as a period of major changes, which they characterized as “revolutionary,” but in the 1990s critics proposed more gradualist interpretations. In this paper I argue that while 30 years of fieldwork and new analyses inevitably require us to modify the framework established by Snodgrass in the 1970s (a profound social and economic depression in the Aegean c. 1100-800 BC; major population growth in the 8th century; social and cultural transformations that established the parameters of classical society), it nevertheless remains the most convincing interpretation of the evidence, and that the idea of an 8th-century revolution remains useful © Ian Morris. [email protected] 1 THE EIGHTH-CENTURY REVOLUTION Ian Morris Introduction In the eighth century BC the communities of central Aegean Greece (see figure 1) and their colonies overseas laid the foundations of the economic, social, and cultural framework that constrained and enabled Greek achievements for the next five hundred years. Rapid population growth promoted warfare, trade, and political centralization all around the Mediterranean. In most regions, the outcome was a concentration of power in the hands of kings, but Aegean Greeks created a new form of identity, the equal male citizen, living freely within a small polis. This vision of the good society was intensely contested throughout the late eighth century, but by the end of the archaic period it had defeated all rival models in the central Aegean, and was spreading through other Greek communities.
    [Show full text]
  • 0. Introduction L2/12-386
    Doc Type: Working Group Document Title: Revised Proposal to Encode Additional Old Italic Characters Source: UC Berkeley Script Encoding Initiative (Universal Scripts Project) Author: Christopher C. Little ([email protected]) Status: Liaison Contribution Action: For consideration by JTC1/SC2/WG2 and UTC Replaces: N4046 (L2/11-146R) Date: 2012-11-06 0. Introduction The existing Old Italic character repertoire includes 31 letters and 4 numerals. The Unicode Standard, following the recommendations in the proposal L2/00-140, states that Old Italic is to be used for the encoding of Etruscan, Faliscan, Oscan, Umbrian, North Picene, and South Picene. It also specifically states that Old Italic characters are inappropriate for encoding the languages of ancient Italy north of Etruria (Venetic, Raetic, Lepontic, and Gallic). It is true that the inscriptions of languages north of Etruria exhibit a number of common features, but those features are often exhibited by the other scripts of Italy. Only one of these northern languages, Raetic, requires the addition of any additional characters in order to be fully supported by the Old Italic block. Accordingly, following the addition of this one character, the Unicode Standard should be amended to recommend the encoding of Venetic, Raetic, Lepontic, and Gallic using Old Italic characters. In addition, one additional character is necessary to encode South Picene inscriptions. This proposal is divided into five parts: The first part (§1) identifies the two unencoded characters (Raetic Ɯ and South Picene Ũ) and demonstrates their use in inscriptions. The second part (§2) examines the use of each Old Italic character, as it appears in Etruscan, Faliscan, Oscan, Umbrian, South Picene, Venetic, Raetic, Lepontic, Gallic, and archaic Latin, to demonstrate the unifiability of the northern Italic languages' scripts with Old Italic.
    [Show full text]
  • Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions 2021
    YOUR O.A.T. ADVENTURE TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDE® Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions 2021 Small Groups: 8-16 travelers—guaranteed! (average of 13) Overseas Adventure Travel ® The Leader in Personalized Small Group Adventures on the Road Less Traveled 1 Dear Traveler, At last, the world is opening up again for curious travel lovers like you and me. And the O.A.T. Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions itinerary you’ve expressed interest in will be a wonderful way to resume the discoveries that bring us so much joy. You might soon be enjoying standout moments like these: Who doesn’t love to eat in Italy? But Sicilian food, which is heavily influenced by the Arabs who thrived here, is in a league of its own. Sample the local flavors when you visit the Tunisian-inflected town of Mazara del Vallo and share a traditional Sicilian lunch with a local family. As you savor the home-cooked fare, you’ll learn how the city’s identity continues to evolve, and the vital role of the local fishing industry. You’ll also visit a home of a very different sort, one that traveler Carol Bowman described as “a house full of hope.” It’s Casa di Maria, an organization (and Grand Circle Foundation partner) established by a family in Catania to provide a loving home for children who are refugees or victims of neglect and domestic violence. The daughter-in-law of the founders (Sergio and Carmela) will enlighten you about Sicily’s foster care system. And you’ll meet more of the Casa’s extended family, including a young Nigerian woman who literally showed up on Sicily’s shores with nothing and grew up here, and hear her harrowing—but ultimately inspiring—story.
    [Show full text]
  • Francesco M. Raimondo Evolution of the Forest Landscape in the Punic
    Bocconea 28: 369-370 https://doi.org/10.7320/Bocc28.369 Version of Record published online on 22 November2019 Francesco M. Raimondo Evolution of the forest landscape in the Punic Eparchy area (West Sicily): the importance of cork oak in natural residual vegetation for the purposes in the restoration of the forest landscape Raimondo, F. M.: Evolution of the forest landscape in the Punic Eparchy area (West Sicily): the importance of cork oak in natural residual vegetation for the purposes in the restoration of the forest landscape. — Bocc. 28: 369-370. 2019. — ISSN: 1120-4060 printed, 2280-3882 online. Key words: Oleo-Ceratonion, Erico-Quercion ilicis, Quercus suber. The natural forest vegetation in the territory of the western provinces of Sicily (Palermo, Trapani and Agrigento) has almost completely disappeared. This area coincides with the ancient administrative territorial unit that precedes the division into three "valleys" of the most inhabited island of the Mediterranean: it is the Val di Mazara, remembered by archae- ologists as "Punic Eparchy". As a seat of important Greek cities (Himera, Solunto, Entella, Agrigento, Gela, Eraclea Minoa, Segesta, Selinunte, Erice, Lilibeo, Mozia, etc.), it was a Punic domain before being abandoned. Due to the lack of a marked relief and the benefit of climate, agriculture was practiced for three millennia. In the last centuries – first in extensive and then intensive way – this form of agriculture was progressively occupying all practicable spaces and the cultivation of woody plants replaced the natural vegetation - the scrub and the Mediterranean evergreen forest - thus determining a landscape with a strong agricultural imprint, devoid of forest formations; from almond groves, olive groves and vineyards of classic cultivations it has been passed to modern, more rational woody plants which mainly make up the two extreme provinces, the most important wine and olive cultivation area of Sicily.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Roger D
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-56256-0 — The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages Edited by Roger D. Woodard Excerpt More Information chapter 1 Introduction roger d. woodard 1.1 Preliminary remarks What makes a language ancient? The term conjures up images, often romantic, of archeol- ogists feverishly copying hieroglyphs by torchlight in a freshly discovered burial chamber; of philologists dangling over a precipice in some remote corner of the earth, taking impres- sions of an inscription carved in a cliff-face; of a solitary scholar working far into the night, puzzling out some ancient secret, long forgotten by humankind, from a brittle-leafed manuscript or patina-encrusted tablet. The allure is undeniable, and the literary and film worlds have made full use of it. An ancient language is indeed a thing of wonder – but so is every other language, all remarkable systems of conveying thoughts and ideas across time and space. And ancient languages, as far back as the very earliest attested, operate just like those to which the linguist has more immediate access, all with the same familiar elements – phonological, morphological, syntactic – and no perceptible vestiges of Neanderthal oddities. If there was a time when human language was characterized by features and strategies fundamentally unlike those we presently know, it was a time prior to the development of any attested or reconstructed language of antiquity. Perhaps, then, what makes an ancient language different is our awareness that it has outlived those for whom it was an intimate element of the psyche, not so unlike those rays of light now reaching our eyes that were emitted by their long-extinguished source when dinosaurs still roamed across the earth (or earlier) – both phantasms of energy flying to our senses from distant sources, long gone out.
    [Show full text]
  • First Capitals of Armenia and Georgia: Armawir and Armazi (Problems of Early Ethnic Associations)
    First Capitals of Armenia and Georgia: Armawir and Armazi (Problems of Early Ethnic Associations) Armen Petrosyan Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Yerevan The foundation legends of the first capitals of Armenia and Georgia – Armawir and Armazi – have several common features. A specific cult of the moon god is attested in both cities in the triadic temples along with the supreme thunder god and the sun god. The names of Armawir and Armazi may be associated with the Anatolian Arma- ‘moon (god).’ The Armenian ethnonym (exonym) Armen may also be derived from the same stem. The sacred character of cultic localities is extremely enduring. The cults were changed, but the localities kept their sacred character for millennia. At the transition to a new religious system the new cults were often simply imposed on the old ones (e.g., the old temple was renamed after a new deity, or the new temple was built on the site or near the ruins of the old one). The new deities inherited the characteristics of the old ones, or, one may say, the old cults were simply renamed, which could have been accompanied by some changes of the cult practices. Evidently, in the new system more or less comparable images were chosen to replace the old ones: similarity of functions, rituals, names, concurrence of days of cult, etc (Petrosyan 2006: 4 f.; Petrosyan 2007a: 175).1 On the other hand, in the course of religious changes, old gods often descend to the lower level of epic heroes. Thus, the heroes of the Armenian ethnogonic legends and the epic “Daredevils of Sasun” are derived from ancient local gods: e.g., Sanasar, who obtains the 1For numerous examples of preservation of pre-Urartian and Urartian holy places in medieval Armenia, see, e.g., Hmayakyan and Sanamyan 2001).
    [Show full text]
  • Cenni Storici Historical Background
    INTRODUZIONE INTRODUCTION Alto Belice Corleonese Cenni storici Historical background L’Alto Belice Corleonese si estende a Sud di Palermo, verso Alto Belice Corleonese lies south of Palermo,towards the interi- l’interno.Le prime notizie storiche lo danno popolato dalla or.The first historical notices tell us the area was populated by popolazione indigena degli Elimi,a Nord Ovest,e dai Sicani, the native population of the Elymians,to the northwest,and a Sud.Questi ultimi daranno il nome alla catena montuosa the Sicani,to the south.The latter were to give the name to the che interessa l’area sud dell’Alto Belice Corleonese. mountain chain in the southern area of Alto Belice Corleonese. In epoca classica e medievale, il comprensorio segue le In the classical and medieval ages,the area underwent the his- vicende storiche siciliane:la colonizzazione greca e cartagi- torical vicissitudes of all Sicily:Greek and Carthaginian coloniza- nese,le guerre puniche,l’affermazione dei Romani,le inva- tion,the Punic wars,the triumph of the Romans,barbaric inva- sioni barbariche,la presenza bizantina,la conquista araba. sions,the presence of the Byzantines,and the Arab conquest. I Normanni fondano Monreale (sec.XII),la città più impor- The Normans founded Monreale (12th century),the most tante del distretto, e la dotano di un ampio territorio, important town in the area,and they gave it a big territory,the nucleo fondante di quello dell’Alto Belice Corleonese. founding nucleus of that of Alto Belice Corleonese. L’imperatore Federico II di Svevia nel Duecento distrugge le In the thirteenth century the emperor Frederick II of Swabia ultime roccaforti dei ribelli arabi,asserragliati presso anti- destroyed the last strongholds of the Arab rebels,barricaded in 4 INTRODUZIONE INTRODUCTION old towns,today important archaeological sites like Ietas and Entella.
    [Show full text]
  • Sicani Cave Drawings
    Sicani cave drawings Continue October 6, 2014 Patrice Hall Leave a comment written: Patrice Hall magazine IndexBest Sicily Arts and Culture Fashion Food - Wine Story - Society of Us Travel Faqs Contact Map of Sicily Some terms BC - Before the traditional birth of Jesus Christ. Also, B.C., until the general era. The Bronze Age - The Era of the first instruments and weapons of copper and bronze, in Greece, dating from about 3000 BC to the Iron Age. chalcedony - Mineral quartz formations and similar substances previously used for use by primitive tools. Copper Age - Earliest period of the Bronze Age, depending on the region, before copper was fused with tin to form bronze for tools and weapons. Early Minoan - Minoan (Cretan) civilization from 4000 BC to 2100 BC Indo-European - Many societies in Europe, South Asia and southwest Asia, identified by 1000 BC on the basis of linguistic similarities. Iron Age - The Era of iron instruments, dating back to about 1200 BC, in Greece around 1100 BC, in Sicily, probably with the Greeks around 700 BC. Late Bronze Age - In Sicily, the epoch dates from about 1270 BC to around 650 BC, just before the Iron Age imposed by the Greeks. Late Minoan - Minoan (Cretan) civilization from 1550 BC to 1100 BC The Middle Minoan - Minoan (Cretan) civilization from 2100 BC to 1550 BC Minoan - Aegean civilization of ancient Crete, from 4000 BC to 1100 BC Mycenaean - a civilization of the late bronze age of ancient Peloponnese modern to mine late (Critical) development. Attitude to ancient mycenae. Neolithic is literally the New Stone Age, which immediately preceded the Bronze Age.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture E Studi Del Sociale Cussoc ISSN: 2531-3975
    Culture e Studi del Sociale CuSSoc ISSN: 2531-3975 Movement to Another Place. Cultural Expressions of Migration as Source of Reflection Contributing to Social Theory PAICH SLOBODAN DAN Come citare / How to cite Paich, S.D. (2017). Movement to Another Place. Cultural Expressions of Migration as Source of Ref- lection Contributing to Social Theory. Culture e Studi del Sociale, 2(2), 129-141. Disponibile / Retrieved from http://www.cussoc.it/index.php/journal/issue/archive 1. Affiliazione Autore / Authors’ information The Artship Foundation, San Francisco-USA 2. Contatti / Authors’ contact Slobodan Dan Paich: [email protected] Articolo pubblicato online / Article first published online: Dicembre/December 2017 - Peer Reviewed Journal Informazioni aggiuntive / Additional information Culture e Studi del Sociale Movement to Another Place. Cultural Expressions of Migration as Source of Reflection Contributing to Social Theory Slobodan Dan Paich The Artship Foundation – San Francisco, USA E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Methodologies are explored to enriching migration theory, with an inter-disciplinary look into cultural expressions resulting from migration. Cultural and migration maps offer a comparative and diachronic insight into migration impulses and waves.Migration of ideas and techniques is also examined through artifacts resulting from forced or intended move- ment of people and experts. Two contemporary plays evolved from the stories of mi- grants/refugees offer probing and open-ended speculation about itinerancy, vagrancy, reset- tlement and economic emigration as part of social plurality. The tangible, visceral qualities of expression may shed light on issues too complex for verbal theory only. Approached is comparative examination of stylization in art and abstraction in theoretical inquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • 5 Between City and Country. Carthaginian Colonialism and Punic Settlement in West Central Sardinia
    On colonial grounds : a comparative study of colonisalism and rural settlement in the 1st milennium BC in West Central Sardinia Dommelen, P.A.R. van Citation Dommelen, P. A. R. van. (1998, April 23). On colonial grounds : a comparative study of colonisalism and rural settlement in the 1st milennium BC in West Central Sardinia. Archaeological Studies Leiden University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13156 Version: Corrected Publisher’s Version Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the Institutional License: Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13156 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). 5 Between city and country. Carthaginian colonialism and Punic settlement in west central Sardinia Cartagine, ignoriamo sotto quali precise circostanze e entirely different sense, namely referring to the Semitic- impulse, favorita dalla sua eccellente posizione centrale, ove speaking inhabitants of North Africa in Classical and Hel- si incrociavano le principali vie commerciali fenicie, alzò il lenistic times. Since several of the Roman-period sources are vessillo della resistenza nazionale, invitò ed obbligò le altre written in Greek rather than Latin (cf. below) and use the città sorelle, ad accettare la sua alleanza che divenne poi term Fo⁄niz, which is habitually rendered as ‘Phoenician’ as egemonia e dominio ... 1 a translation of the Latin Poenus, the Greek word has even- E. Pais, La Sardegna prima del tually come to indicate both the people coming from the dominio romano (1881), 308 Levant in the Iron Age as described by Homer and those occupying the North African coasts in Roman times.
    [Show full text]
  • Me STORY· of the Nt\TIONS Edmon
    mE STORY· OF THE Nt\TIONS EDmON ~bt ~tOt~ of tbe Jaations. SICILY ~--~----------------------------------~ THE STO~Y OF THE NATIONS J. ROMB. By ARTIIUR GILMAS, 2'), THB NORMANS. lIy SAIlAIi M.A•. ORNK J RWETT. 2. THB JEWS. By Prof. J. K. JV. THB BYZANTINB EMPIRE. HOSMER. ByC. W. C. OMAN. 3. GERMANY. Ily Rev. S. IJA"'''il;' Jl. 8IOILY: Pbmnlolan, Gre.k and GOULIil M.A. Roman. Uy the late J'ruf. E. .. CARTHAGB. Ily Prof. ALI'R." A. lo'RlmMAN • J. CHURCIt. 32. THB TUSCAN REPUBLICS. s. ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. Ily Hy BELLA lJl'F"P'Y. Prof. J. P. MAHAYFY. 3]. POLAND. Dy W. R. MORP.L •• , 6. THB MOORS IN SPAIN. Dy M.A. STAHLEY LANE,PooLE. 34. PARTHIA. Dy Prof. GIlORc.n 7. ANCIBNT EGYPT. By Prof. RAWLINSON. GEORGE RAWLINSON. 35. AUSTRALIAN COMMON- 8. HUNGARY. By Prof. ARM'NIUS WEAI.TH. By GREVII ••• " VAMBERV. TRRGARTItEN. 9. THB SARACENS. By ARTHUR 36. SPAUI. Dy H.·F., WATTS. GILMAN. M.A. 31. IAPAN. Dy DAV'" MURRAY, • 0 IRELAND. By Ih. Hon. EMILY Ph.D• LAWLESS. ]8. SOUTH AFRICA. Dy GEORG It II. CHALDEA. By ZENA'"'' A. M. THKAL. RAGOZJN. 39. VENICB. Ily A •. nTHEA Wmr.. 12. THB GOTHS. By HENkY BkAI>. 40. THE CRUSADES. Jly T. A. LEY• ARCIfI~R and C. L. KL'lriliSI/fJRU. • J. ASSYRIA. lly ZEN Ai.,,, A. 4" VEDIO INDIA. By Z. i\. RA· RAr,ozl:'f, (;(JlIK. '4. TURKEY. lly Sa'L'" LANI(. p. WESTINDIEBand tbeSPANIBH POOLE. IrtAlN. Jjy JA"'h.!'o ROHWAY. ',So BOLLAND. By Prof. J. E. 4j. BOHElIIIlA. lIy C.
    [Show full text]
  • Warships of the First Punic War: an Archaeological Investigation
    WARSHIPS OF THE FIRST PUNIC WAR: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION AND CONTRIBUTORY RECONSTRUCTION OF THE EGADI 10 WARSHIP FROM THE BATTLE OF THE EGADI ISLANDS (241 B.C.) by Mateusz Polakowski April, 2016 Director of Thesis: Dr. David J. Stewart Major Department: Program in Maritime Studies of the Department of History Oared warships dominated the Mediterranean from the Bronze Age down to the development of cannon. Purpose-built warships were specifically designed to withstand the stresses of ramming tactics and high intensity impacts. Propelled by the oars of skilled rowing crews, squadrons of these ships could work in unison to outmaneuver and attack enemy ships. In 241 B.C. off the northwestern coast of Sicily, a Roman fleet of fast ramming warships intercepted a Carthaginian warship convoy attempting to relieve Hamilcar Barca’s besieged troops atop Mount Eryx (modern day Erice). The ensuing naval battle led to the ultimate defeat of the Carthaginian forces and an end to the First Punic War (264–241 B.C.). Over the course of the past 12 years, the Egadi Islands Archaeological Site has been under investigation producing new insights into the warships that once patrolled the wine dark sea. The ongoing archaeological investigation has located Carthaginian helmets, hundreds of amphora, and 11 rams that sank during the course of the battle. This research uses the recovered Egadi 10 ram to attempt a conjectural reconstruction of a warship that took part in the battle. It analyzes historical accounts of naval engagements during the First Punic War in order to produce a narrative of warship innovation throughout the course of the war.
    [Show full text]