Ok--one more post about the indigenous people of Sicily, way before the Arabs and pasta arrived. The Sicels (Sikels) gave their name to Sicily and probably arrived from the Italian mainland about 1200 BCE. They settled primarily the eastern end of the island from Messina south beyond Mt. Etna. They had peaceful contact with the Sicanians to the west, and the Sicels eventually integrated them into their own society. About 800 BCE when the Greeks arrived, the Sicels had a well established, highly developed society. It took several centuries for the Sicels to amalgamate with their Greek neighbors. Their language, called Siculan, shared features of othe Italic tongues (especially the Iatoli of nearby Calabria) and at least some characteristics of what eventually became Latin. One of the Sicels' last great leaders, Ducetius, tried to join their various federations to liberate themselves from Greek influence about 446 BCE, but the Greek Syracusans eventually triumphed. After founding the city of Cale Acte on the northern coast (now the province of Messina), Ducetius died about 440 BCE.

Arrival of Greeks in Sicily

According to Vincenzo Salerno, Sicily's Bronze Age cultures c. 2500-1250 BCE, were the Castelluccian and Thapsos groups. The Castelluccian culture is being investigated by archaeologists as La Mulufuca in south central Sicily and were likely the forebearers of what are known as the Sicans, discussed in the earlier post. An identifiable Sicanian culture existed in Sicily c. 1600 BCE, and was influenced by the Phoenicians and Minoans. Greek colonization began about 735 BCE at Syracuse and widespread Hellenization of the island peoples soon followed. The Sicanians are frequently mentioned in Greek and Roman texts, including those from Appollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, Herodotus, Homer, Strabo, Pausanias, and Ovid.Herodotus mention the Sicianian city of Kamikos in his Histories. It was in the Agrigento area. The Temple of Diana overlooking Cefalu is a Roman temple built on the site of a former Sicanian temple to a similar goddess of the hunt.Little is known about the Sicanian mythology, literature (if any), or notable individuals, except for the legends of Kokalos, which may have been based on a historical figure, much like the tales of King Arthur.