The Morgetes (, ) were an ancient
oenotrian tribe, of
Pelasgian descent, who occupied the region of southern Italy from
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
to
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
.
[ Girolamo Marafioti, ''Croniche et antichità di Calabria. Conforme all'ordine de' testi greco, & latino, raccolte da' più famosi scrittori antichi, & moderni ...'', Padova, Ad instanza de gl'Uniti, 1601, p. 21. Ristampa anastatica: editore Arnaldo Forni, 1975 e 1981]
Consultabile on line in Google Libri
/ref>
History
The Morgetes were part of the Italic peoples, which occupied both the Ionian and Tyrrhenian shores of Calabria. According to some ancient historians, they were one of the branches of the Oenotrians, along with the Chones, the Itali and the Sicels
The Sicels ( ; or ''Siculī'') were an Indo-European tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily, their namesake, during the Iron Age. They spoke the Siculian language. After the defeat of the Sicels at the Battle of Nomae in 450 BC and the death of ...
. Others hold that they inhabited Italy before the Oenotrians and were driven out by them, fleeing to Sicily. Yet others identify them with the group of the Italoi who accepted the rule of the mythical king after the death of his father Italus. A final definition claimed that they were the Sicels who moved into Sicily under the leadership of King Morges. In this version, Morges was the brother of Italus and son of Siculus, who was also the founder of Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
In Calabria, they were said to inhabit the inland regions according to the works of Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor (, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers of late antiquity. He set forth one of th ...
, Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
, 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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
, which describe the Morgetes and King Morges. Morges was reputed to have founded the site of San Giorgio Morgeto, which was fortified as a castle in the 9th and 10th century AD.
In Sicily, the Morgetes were also meant to have settled in the interior, driving away the Sicans and establishing the city of Morgantina and other communities in the 10th century BC.[Strabo 6.257 & 270)]
References
Bibliography
* Girolamo Marafioti, ''Croniche et antichità di Calabria. Conforme all'ordine de' testi greco, & latino, raccolte da' più famosi scrittori antichi, & moderni ...'', Padova, Ad instanza de gl'Uniti, 1601. Ristampa anastatica: editore Arnaldo Forni, 1975 e 1981
Consultabile on line in Google Libri
*
* Pasquale Scaglione (1808-1880), ''Storie di Locri e Gerace''.
* Nicolino Amendolia, ''La notte Morgezia'' (pubblicato a Napoli nel 1842).
* Domenico Valensise ''Monografia di Polistena'' (1863).
* Domenico Cangemi, ''Monografia di San Giorgio Morgeto'' (1886).
* Marcello Amendolea, "San Giorgio Morgeto", in '' Calabria Letteraria'', luglio-agosto-settembre 1961 (anno IX n. 7-8-9), pp. 27–28.
* {{Cite book, author = Sebastiano Tusa , title = La Sicilia nella preistoria , location= Palermo , publisher = Sellerio , year = 1999 , isbn = 88-389-1440-0
* Antonio Floccari, ''Storia di Cinquefrondi''.
Ancient peoples of Italy
Ancient peoples of Sicily