Psylli
Encyclopedia
The Psylli were an ancient North African tribe or ethnic group.

Historical accounts

Of the Psylli Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...

 described "a tribe that met with extinction" after the desert wind dried up their water holes.(IV.173) Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

 said that they were "almost exterminated" in a war with their neighbours, the Nasamones, but the descendants of those who escaped "survive today in a few places" (VII.2.14). Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...

 does not mention an unsuccessful war against either the desert wind or the Nasamones but only that the Psylli were still in existence, occupying "a barren and arid region" (XVII.3.23) below the Nasamones. Later writers, especially poets, bestowed on the Psylli a reputation as great snake charmers.

In his Roman History, Cassius Dio makes reference to the Psylli as being sought out by Octavian to draw out the snake venom with which Cleopatra had poisoned herself (LI.14). According to Dio, the Psylli were completely immune to snake bites and were all male.

Customs

It is claimed that the Psylli employed tests by animals in order to find out if their offspring was genuine and at the same time if their wives were faithful. Infant Psylli were subjected to snake-bites. If the infant died of the snakebite, illegitimacy was supposed to be implied.

Further reading

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