Ancora sulla barbarizzazione di Poseidonia

Abstract

The vexata quaestio of the exact meaning of a famous Aristoxenos\u2019 fragment about Poseidonia\u2019s barbarization (\u201c[the Greeks of Poseidonia] became barbarous Etruscans or Romans\u201d) is here considered. The main problem focused by modern critics is the double and contemporary presence of Romans and Etruscans in Poseidonia at the end of fourth century B.C. But the lack of mention of another people, the Lucans, is more remarkable. The historical context of South Italy at the end of the fourth century B.C. suggests a new interpretation of Aristoxenos\u2019 text: the alternative \u201cRomans or Etruscans\u201d could conceal a reference to the alleged Pelasgic origin of the Romans