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Concept
Elymians
Summary
The Elymians (Elymī) were an ancient tribal people who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity.
According to Hellanicus of Lesbos, the Elymians were a population of Italic origin, who arrived in Sicily after having fought a war with the Oenotrians. Furthermore for the Greek historian, the Elymians would also have contributed to the formation of the Sicels. Today this thesis seems to be the most accredited and is confirmed by linguistic studies. Elymian, a language for which a different affiliation has long been sought in the past, must also be attributed to this linguistic family (Indo-European); however, the ancient tradition according to which the Elymians came from Troy is corroborated by the linguistic data but today the most authoritative opinions see in Elymian an Italic language more or less similar to Latin.
Greek historian Philistus refers to the presence of a people of Ligurian origin, although he does not identify it with the Elymians. In modern times, historians such as Heinrich Nissen and Karl Julius Beloch investigated the possibilities of a Ligurian origin following the numerous common epigraphic and toponymic references, still found in the cities of Lerici, Segesta and Entella.
Apart from mythological tales, there is little known about the identity and culture of the Elymians. They are indistinguishable from their Sicani neighbours in the archaeological record of the early Iron Age (c. 1100–c. 700 BC). Thereafter they appear to have adopted many aspects of the culture of the Greek colonists of Sicily, erecting the remarkable temple at Segesta and using the Greek alphabet to write their own language. As yet, no one has succeeded in deciphering the Elymian language.
The archaeological excavations of the Elymian centers show clear affinities with Anatolian pottery, in particular from the Troas region.
The Elymians maintained friendly relations (and alliances) with Carthage but came into frequent conflict with the expansionist Greek colonies of western Sicily, especially Selinus.
Official source
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