The Psylli (Seli) were a native
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
tribe inhabiting
Ancient Libya
The Latin name ''Libya'' (from Greek Λιβύη: ''Libyē'', which came from Berber: ''Libu'') referred to North Africa during the Iron Age and Classical Antiquity. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the recording of histor ...
.
Historical accounts
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
(Hist. Nat., vii 14) places the Psylli on the Syrtic coast above the
Garamantes
The Garamantes ( grc, Γαράμαντες, translit=Garámantes; la, Garamantes) were an ancient civilisation based primarily in present-day Libya. They most likely descended from Iron Age Berber tribes from the Sahara, although the earliest kno ...
, and gives Psyllikos Kolpos as an early name of the Syrtic Gulf.
According to John C. Murphy, "the Psylli were the displaced remnants of an ancient Libyan tribe that lived on the Gulf of Sidra. Conquered by the nomadic Nasamones, the Psylli became a well-known snake-charming sect."
[John C. Murphy, ''Secrets of the Snake Charmer'' , 9781450221269 iUniversity 2010, p. 8]
Of the Psylli,
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
described "a tribe that met with extinction" after the desert wind dried up their water holes (IV.173).
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
said that they were "almost exterminated" in a war with their neighbours, the
Nasamones The Nasamones ( grc, Νασαμῶνες) were a nomadic Berber tribe inhabiting southeast Libya. They were believed to be a Numidian people, along with the Garamantes.
They took their name from Nasamon (Νασάμων), the son of Amphithemis and ...
, but the descendants of those who escaped "survive today in a few places" (VII.2.14).
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
does not mention an unsuccessful war against either the desert wind or the
Nasamones The Nasamones ( grc, Νασαμῶνες) were a nomadic Berber tribe inhabiting southeast Libya. They were believed to be a Numidian people, along with the Garamantes.
They took their name from Nasamon (Νασάμων), the son of Amphithemis and ...
but only that the Psylli were still in existence, occupying "a barren and arid region" (XVII.3.23) below the Nasamones. Later writers, especially poets, bestowed on the Psylli a reputation as great
snake charmers
Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous ...
.
In his ''Roman History'',
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
makes reference to the Psylli as being sought out by
Octavian
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
to draw out the snake venom with which
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
had poisoned herself (LI.14). According to Dio, the Psylli were completely immune to snake bites and were all male (LI.14).
Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...
, speaking of the Psylli, whose peculiar property it was to be unhurt by the bite of serpents with which their country abounded, wrote:
"Of all who scorching Afric's sun endure,
None like the swarthy Psyllians are secure:
With healing gifts and privileges graced,
Well in the land of serpents were they placed:
Truce with the dreadful tyrant death they have,
And border safely on his realm the grave" (''
Pharsalia
''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'', is a Roman epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Gre ...
'' ix. 891, trans. by Rowe)
Customs
It is claimed that the Psylli employed tests by animals in order to find out if their offspring was genuine and at the same time if their wives were faithful. Infant Psylli were subjected to
snake-bite
A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may oc ...
s. If the infant died of the snakebite,
illegitimacy
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
was supposed to be implied.
References
Notes
Further reading
#
{{authority control
Berber peoples and tribes
Ethnic groups in Libya
Ancient Libya
Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography
Ancient Libyans