CHAPTER 22
Greeks and Phoenicians in the
Western Mediterranean
Corinne Bonnet
Sicily Between Worlds
As befits a “Companion to Ethnicity,” my analysis aims to integrate a number of aspects
from the sphere of cultural life, particularly cultural transfers, acculturation, and strate-
gies of mediation, identity, and alterity. It will deal with the perception of self and other,
and the sense of belonging. “Political” conditions in the broad sense, referring to the
exercise of domination and violence, or the opposite, will be in the background of con-
nections and ties through diplomacy. The field of investigation is enormous, given that,
conceptually, it lies at the crossroads of several disciplines: history, sociology, anthropol-
ogy, ethnology, historical psychology, ethnoarcheology, and so on. That is why it seems
essential to me to pay attention to the conceptual tools whereby these disparate data may
be understood. My study, therefore, is presented in the following way: first I define the
actors being considered, in particular the notion of “Phoenicians,” as well as the tempo-
ral parameters of the proposed synthesis. Second, I offer a “reading grid” and a few key
concepts, illustrating their operation and their contributions in a specific field, namely
religious practice. The third section of this study deals with the treatment of relations
between Greeks and Phoenicians in Sicily in ancient historiography. Finally, in the fourth
part, we pause to consider the ways in which material culture does (or does not) serve as a
marker of ethnicity. I conclude with a brief consideration of other areas frequented by the
Phoenicians and the Greeks, to highlight similarities and differences with the situations
described in Sicily.
Phoenicians and Greeks in Sicily
A consensus has emerged over the last decade or so to avoid using the term “Phoenico-
Punic,” an expression that only serves to mask the difficulty experienced by specialists
A Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean, First Edition. Edited by Jeremy McInerney.
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.