Trogodyte
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The Troglodytae ( el, , ''Trōglodytai''), or Troglodyti (literally "cave goers"), were people mentioned in various locations by many ancient Greek and Roman geographers and historians, including Herodotus (5th century BCE), Agatharchides (2nd century BCE),
Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ;  1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
(1st century BCE),
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 ...
(64/63 BCE – c.  24 CE), Pliny (1st century CE), Josephus (37 – c. 100 CE), Tacitus (c. 56 – after 117 CE), Claudius Aelianus (c. 175 CE – c. 235 CE),Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, 9.44
/ref> Porphyry (c. 234 CE – c. 305 CE).


Greco-Roman period

The earlier references allude to Trogodytes (without the l), evidently derived from Greek ''trōglē'', cave and ''dytes'', divers.


In Herodotus

Herodotus referred to the Troglodytae in his ''Histories'' as being a people hunted by the Garamantes in Libya. He said that the Troglodytae were the swiftest runners of all humans known and that they ate snakes, lizards, and other reptiles. He also stated that their language was unlike any known to him, and sounded like the screeching of bats.
Alice Werner Alice Werner (26 June 1859 - 9 June 1935) was a writer, poet and teacher of the Bantu languages.- Alice Werner
(1913) believed (in passing) that this was a clear allusion to the early
Khoisan Khoisan , or (), according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography, is a catch-all term for those indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who do not speak one of the Bantu languages, combining the (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the or ( in t ...
, indigenous inhabitants of Southern Africa, because their languages contain distinctive click sounds.


In Aristotle

According to Aristotle (''Hist. An.'' viii. 12) a dwarfish race of Troglodytes dwelt on the upper course of the Nile, who possessed horses and were in his opinion the
Pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
of fable.


In Diodorus

In ancient writing, apparently the best known of the African cave-dwellers were the inhabitants of the "Troglodyte country" ( grc, Τρωγλοδυτική) on the coast of the Red Sea, as far north as the Greek port of
Berenice Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. Th ...
, of whom an account was preserved by
Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ;  1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
from Agatharchides of Cnidus, and by Artemidorus Ephesius in Strabo. They were a pastoral people, living entirely on the flesh of their herds, or, in the season of fresh pasture, on mingled milk and blood.


In Strabo

In his work ''
Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...
'', Strabo mentions a tribe of Troglodytae living along with the Crobyzi in Scythia Minor, near the Ister ( Danube) and the Greek colonies of Callatis and Tomis. He also mentions tribes living in various parts of Africa from Libya to the Red Sea.


In Pomponius Mela

In his work ''Chorographia'', Pomponius Mela mentions that they own no resources, and rather than speak, they make a high-pitched sound. They creep around deep in caves and are nurtured by serpents.


In Athenaeus

In his work ''Deipnosophists'', Athenaeus wrote that Pythagoras who wrote about the Red Sea mentioned that they make their pandura out of the white mangrove which grows in the sea and that Euphorion in his book on the Isthmian Games mentioned that they played sambucas with four strings like the
Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
.Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, 14.34
/ref>


In Claudius Aelianus

In his work ''On the Characteristics of Animals'', Claudius Aelianus mentions that the tribe of Troglodytae are famous and derive their name from their manner of living. He also adds that they eat snakes. Furthermore, he wrote that Troglodytes believe that the king of the beasts is the Ethiopian Bull, because it possesses the courage of a lion, the speed of a horse, the strength of a bull, and is stronger than iron.


In Josephus

Flavius Josephus alludes to a place he calls ''Troglodytis'' while discussing the account in ''
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
'', that after the death of Sarah, Abraham married Keturah and fathered six sons who in turn fathered many more. "Now, for all these sons and grandsons, Abraham contrived to settle them in colonies; and they took possession of Troglodytis, and the country of Arabia Felix..." Josephus Flavius, ''Antiquities'', 1.15.1 The ''Troglodytis'' Josephus refers to here is generally taken to mean both coasts of the Red Sea. However, Josephus goes on to state that the descendants of one of these grandsons,
Epher Epher*Ephera'im, Effrain* ( ''ʿĒp̄er'') was a grandson of Abraham, according to Gen. 25:4, whose descendants, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus claimed, had invaded Libya. Josephus also claimed that Epher's name was the etymological root of the ...
, invaded Libya, and that the name of Africa was thus derived from that of Epher. The dominant modern hypothesis is that ''Africa'' stems from the
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 ...
word ''ifri'' (plural ''ifran''), meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers.


In Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria ( The Stromata, Book I, chapter xvi) mentions them as the inventors of sambuca.


In Eusebius

Eusebius, most likely citing Clement of Alexandria, also credits them with the invention of Sambuca.Eusebius, Preparation of the Gospels, 10.6.1
/ref>


See also

*
Afri (singular ) was a Latin name for the inhabitants of Africa, referring in its widest sense to all the lands south of the Mediterranean ( Ancient Libya). Latin speakers at first used as an adjective, meaning "of Africa". As a substantive, it den ...
, singular ''Afer'' – a Latin name for the inhabitants of the Africa Province *
Blemmyes The Blemmyes ( grc, Βλέμμυες, Latin: ''Blemmyae'') were an Eastern Desert people who appeared in written sources from the 7th century BC until the 8th century AD.. By the late 4th century, they had occupied Lower Nubia and established a k ...
– a nomadic Beja tribal kingdom (at least 600 BCE – 3rd century CE) *
Ichthyophagi Ichthyophagoi ( grc, Ἰχθυοφάγοι, "fish-eaters") and Latin Ichthyophagi is the name given by ancient geographers to several ethnically unrelated coast-dwelling peoples in different parts of the world. *Herodotus (book i. c. 200) mention ...
– name given by ancient geographers to several coast-dwelling peoples in different parts of the world * Midian – area in the northwest Arabian Peninsula mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Koran, and associated with Ptolemy's Modiana *
Zimran Zimran (; , ar, زمران), also known as Zambran, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first son of the marriage of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah. Zimran had five other brothers, J ...
– the first son of Abraham and Keturah; their descendants are said by Josephus to have settled "Troglodytis" and Arabia Felix * Hijaz – the mountains on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea identified by Josephus * Thamud – a once-powerful nation occupying the northern tip of the Hijaz known for their cave-dwelling * Horites – a people of the northern Hijaz with an etymology of digging a hole for a den *
Wadi Feiran Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
– another name associated with the Hijaz and northwestern Arabia, the root "F-ˀA-R" means "mouse" and "burrowing like a mouse" *
Chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
– a great ape whose scientific name, ''P. troglodytes'' comes from the Troglodytae, out of an incorrect belief they lived and slept in caverns.


References


Further reading

* * Murray, G.W. and E.H. Warmington (March 1967), "Trogodytica: The Red Sea Littoral in Ptolemaic Times", '' The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 133, No. 1. pp. 24–33. {{refend Tuareg African nomads Legendary tribes in Greco-Roman historiography