Siculi (in Latin – siculi). An ancient ethnic group
localized in the eastern part of the island of Sicily.
Sikany (in Latin – sicani). An
ancient people on the island of Sicily, predating the Siculi.
Elimy (in Latin – elymi). An ancient ethnic group that
occupied the western part of the island of Sicily during the Bronze Age and
Classical antiquity.
It
is believed that the appearance of Siculi and Elimy in Sicily occurred around
the XIII century BC.
The
ethnolinguistic affiliation of these ethnic groups is debatable.
Sikany
are most often attributed to the pre-Indo-European population, related to the
Iberians-Ligurs. Their Illyrian origin has also been suggested.
The
Siculi most likely spoke a language related to the Italic languages (a branch
of the Indo-European language family).
There
is not enough data to more or less accurately determine the origin of the Elimy
and the characteristics of their language. There are publications suggesting
the arrival of the Elimy to Sicily from Asia Minor.
Perhaps
it would be more correct to assume not so much about the migration of the Elimy
from Asia Minor, as about the direction of their related ethno-linguistic ties.
The
ethnonyms sikuli and sikany contain the root component sik-, while it was, as can be assumed,
the primary one in the ethnonym sikany
(sik-+ -an-y)...
Ethnonyms from the ancient history of Sicily
© A. F. Rogalev. The ancient world. Ethnoses, ethnonyms. – Gomel: Gomel State University named after Francysk Skoryna, 2021.
