Phrourion: History and Archaeology of a Word

Abstract

Historical and archaeological literature in many cases have named phrouria the ancient Sikel and Sikan towns, which were in contact with the apoikoi from the end of the 8th century B.C. But what is the meaning that the researchers attribute to this word? Is it possible that, in choosing this definition, the interpretations of the dynamics of contact were inevitably filtered through a Hellenocentric view? The purpose of this paper is to analyze different forms in which the noun “phrourion” has been and is still used in scientific production, from ancient textual sources to archaeological literature. It is an invitation to reflect on the agency of words in scientific discourse and to what extent we, scholars of Antiquity, are influenced by the vocabulary of Greek “colonialism” when interpreting material culture and societies from the past.