Tyrsenians

Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek: ΤυῤῥηνοίTyrrhēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic: ΤυρσηνοίTyrsēnoi; Doric: ΤυρσανοίTyrsānoi) were names used by the ancient Greeks to refer, in a generic sense, to non-Greek people, in particular pirates. While ancient sources have been interpreted in a variety of ways, the Greeks always called the Etruscans Tyrsenoi, although not all Tyrsenians were Etruscans. The term "Tyrrhenians" was sometimes used by ancient writers to refer to other ethnic groups in central-western Italy, such as the Latins. Dionysius of Halicarnassus stated that the Greeks once called Latins, Umbrians, Ausonians, and others "Tyrrhenians," and that Rome was called a Tyrrhenian city.