The Sicani, along with the Elymi, are the oldest known inhabitants of the island of Sicily south of the italian Peninsula. They are often confused with the SICULI, because of the similarity of their name and the lack of clear archaeological evidence distinguishing the
SICANI
Location:
At one time all of Sicily; then driven into central, western, and southwestern Sicily
Time period:
C. Third millenium to fifth century b. c.e.
Ancestry:
Sicanian (affiliations unknown)
Language:
Sicanian (probably Indo-European)
Sicani time line
B. C.E.
Third millenium Sicani appear in western Sicily, then slowly spread throughout island.
1050 Legendary arrival of Siculi on Sicily; Sicani driven away from east coast in pitched battle.
C. 800 Arrival of first Greek colonists in Sicily 415 Athenians pillage Hyccara, chief city of Sicani.
Fifth-fourth century Sicani caught up in conflict between Greek and Carthaginian colonists on Sicily.
Two. Ancient historians, however, were emphatic in classifying the two peoples separately, the Sicani living to the west and the Siculi to the east.
Tant part of the manufacture of bronze), and the eastern Mediterranean.
SICULI
Location:
Eastern and southern Sicily; Aeolian Islands
Time period:
C. 1050 to fifth century B. C.E.
Ancestry:
Unknown; perhaps Italic language:
Siculan (probably Indo-European)
ORIGINS
The fifth-century B. C.E. Greek historian Thucydides wrote that the Sicani were from the east coast of Spain, and archaeological digs place their arrival in western Sicily sometime in the third millenium B. C.E. Most modern scholars associate the Sicani with the Late Bronze Age Fossa Grave culture of southern Italy, theorizing that they migrated from Italy to Sicily across the Strait of Messina.
LANGUAGE
Hardly anything is known of the Sicani language, but it is generally regarded to be from non-Indo-European.
HISTORY
About a millennium after the arrival of the Sicani on Sicily their relatives, the Siculi, also arrived from the mainland, driving the Sicani west and south (and defeating them, it is said, in a large pitched battle).
The principal Sicani centers were Hyccara, Omphake, and Camicus. Camicus was the mythical seat of King Cocalus, whose palace was legendarily constructed by the Minoan architect Daedalus.
There is ample evidence of contact between the Sicani and the MINOANS and MYCENAEANS of the eastern Mediterranean. Dated around 1500 B. C.E. Mycenaean trading posts are to be found on Sicily along with a ready supply of Mycenaean goods.
The Sicani were enemies of the early Greek settlers, who arrived in Sicily around 800 B. C.E. They were pressured by the continual establishment of Greek settlements, which ended in 580 B. C.E. The Sicani city of Hyccara was pillaged by the Athenians in 415 B. C.E. During much of the fifth century B. C.E. the Sicani were caught up in and eventually swallowed by the conflicts between Greeks and Carthaginians for control of the island.
CULTURE
The Sicani lived in small independent towns, based on agriculture. Trade was important to their culture. Sicily and the Sicani were an important link on the trade route between Spain, with its rich supply of copper (an impor-
The fact that the Sicani were active traders might have been one reason the ancients identified Spain as the origin of the Sicani.
Sicels See Siculi.
World History
