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.