Marking identity through graphemes? A new look at the Sikel arrow-shaped alpha

The scanty epigraphic corpus of the indigenous peoples of Sicily — who between the 6th and 5th century BCE recorded their languages in the Greek alphabet — lacks distinctive extra-linguistic features that set it apart from Greek texts. One element, however, is often mentioned in the literature as peculiar to Sicel inscriptions: the arrow-shaped alpha. This sign has often been regarded as a conscious marker of Sicel ethnic and cultural identity. Interestingly, linguists have been the keenest to uphold such a theory. 

In this chapter, a linguist and a historian review past approaches to the ‘Sikel’ alpha in order to explore two separate but related issues: 1. Why have linguists chosen to assign cultural significance to the ‘Sikel’ alpha? 2. Do available Sikel inscriptions really support the above interpretation of this sign? 

Starting from an up-to-date overview of the distribution of the arrow-shaped alpha in the Sicilian epigraphic record, the authors answer these questions by looking at the epigraphic habit specific to Sikel contexts. The different distribution of epigraphic records throughout eastern Sicily will serve as a key-factor to assess whether there exists a connection between epigraphic habit and the socio-political relevance of Sikel villages (or areas). 

By combining linguistic and historical perspectives, we aim to provide a better understanding of the epigraphic dimension of the ‘Sikel’ alpha in the context of both the history and the ‘archaeology’ of the Sikel writing system.