The Cercetae are an ancient people of Scythia mentioned by Strabo [1] and Pliny the Elder.[2] They are one of many ancient tribes of the Northwestern Caucasus which are the ancestors of modern Circassians.[3] The name "Cercetae" apparently was the basis of the name of the people that arose later - the Circassians.[3] The ethnonym itself of presumably Iranian origin[4] or derived from the κερκέτηζ, is a kind of "stern oar”, and is the nickname given to them by the Greeks due to their skill in the sea business.[5]
Pliny places them beyond the Amazons and the Hyperboreans, together with the Cimmerii, Cissianti, Achaei, Georgili, Moschi, Phoristae and Rimphaces.
See also
- Zygii
- Circassians
- Maeotians
References
- ^ Geographia 11.2
- ^ Chorographia 1.12
- ^ a b БСЭ. Керкеты
- ^ Новичихин А.М. Керкеты. Псессы. Синды. Тореты
- ^ Oleg Trubachyov, Некоторые данные об индоарийском языковом субстрате Северного Кавказа в античное время // Journal of Ancient History № 4. 1978, с. 41
- "Strabo, Geography, Book 11, Chapter 2, Section 1". Retrieved November 17, 2010.