Who were the Sea peoples?

Who do you guys think the Sea peoples were, I have always found them very fascinating, especially the fact there is very little knowledge on them although the latter is already known what are your opinions?

It was probably people from the Aegian islands, cyclades specifically. They were not exactly Greeks, but you could say they were ancestors of some Greeks. I don't remember exactly where but some Jewish texts mentions them as being people that came from the north side of the sea. Some others connect them with the rule of the Hyksos in Egypt. Others connect them to the Minoans, because of localy made minyan artifacts found in the region of palestine.

It's kinda fuzzy right now. I have some issue of science illustrated that had an amazing article about them. Gotta find it in order to be more specific.

It kinda occured to me their origin is unknown. Calling them greek seems far streched.
They are suposed to be Sicilians, Sardenians, or better people that eventually (after their inasion on Egypt and the Levante) settled on Sardinia and Sicily.
Their Greek origin is based mostly on the fact that after the destruction of the phoenician Alasya (Cyprus), the local culture was replaced with a mycenean one, while at the same time the most populated centres of Mycenean world (Mycenae and Pylos) were abandoned. Also, the Bible names the origin of the Filistines to be Kafthor. Kafthor was originally (2000 years ago) identified with Kapadokia, but today it is identified with Crete (which at the time of the Sea peoples' invasion was Mycenean). This seems to agree to some extent with archaeological finds in Palestine, which show that at the time the area identified to the Filistines seems to have been Mycenean. Moreover, Egyptian sources say that after being repelled on Egypts' border, the Peleshet (Filistines?) settled in what's today Palestine. Moreover, ancient greek texts translated Goliath's name as Alyattes (Goliath was a Filistine), showing that they saw his name as a greek one (or inodeuropean one, rather a semitic one).

That link is the best analysis i've read so far! Thanks Lawageta!

ty for the link, pretty interesting especially the boat w/out oars.

Originally posted by xristar It kinda occured to me their origin is unknown. Calling them greek seems far streched. They are suposed to be Sicilians, Sardenians, or better people that eventually (after their inasion on Egypt and the Levante) settled on Sardinia and Sicily. Their Greek origin is based mostly on the fact that after the destruction of the phoenician Alasya (Cyprus), the local culture was replaced with a mycenean one, while at the same time the most populated centres of Mycenean world (Mycenae and Pylos) were abandoned. Also, the Bible names the origin of the Filistines to be Kafthor. Kafthor was originally (2000 years ago) identified with Kapadokia, but today it is identified with Crete (which at the time of the Sea peoples' invasion was Mycenean). This seems to agree to some extent with archaeological finds in Palestine, which show that at the time the area identified to the Filistines seems to have been Mycenean. Moreover, Egyptian sources say that after being repelled on Egypts' border, the Peleshet (Filistines?) settled in what's today Palestine. Moreover, ancient greek texts translated Goliath's name as Alyattes (Goliath was a Filistine), showing that they saw his name as a greek one (or inodeuropean one, rather a semitic one).

This is a good topic but I agree we know so little about them. I have read theories that they were Minoans escaping the destructive power of Thera and also they came from Anatolia. It seems it is all speculative but I wonder if there is any archaeological evidence that supports a particular theory more than others??? Looking at Egyptian relief sculptures of them they look like Europeans or Caucasians.

Hello! I am a first time poster on this list and I hope to be able to keep up with you guys and gals?
The topic here is "Who were the Sea People(s)" or as they are sometimes called "The People of the Sea", or even more often "The People of the Isles!"
If I would give but one answer, I would suggest that Velikovsky is closer to the truth than our consensual history! He connected the "Peoples of the Isles, etc." to the Persians, mostly due to the fact that consensual history does show a period of history (broken into two eras) where Persian rule of Egypt existed, that an the headgear / helments that are to be seen on both some of the saliors / marines seen in the incised murals found at Medinet Habu in Egypt! There are two events to be investigated at Medinet Habu, that are seperated by a few years, and Velikovsky made a good point in identifying the two events and especially the so called "Greek" presence as mercenaries! That is, some times they (the mercenaries) fight for the Persians, and sometimes for the Egyptians! If you are not familar with the Velikovsky proposal, I would suggest that you become familar with it! It will help you to understand certain "political" events that were important during this period of the past.
But, as much as I appreciated the zeal that allowed Velikovsky to remove hundreds of years from Egypt's past, I believe he did not go far enough!

Before I continue with my proposal(s) I would merely like your response to this introductory post? Sorry for my typing and spelling mistakes, I am usually pressed for time to do these things!

I will give you an hint of my follow up post(s)! I would like you to know that the word "Persian" is very close to "Parisian", and "Isles" can be spelled in differing languages or in abbreviations to indicate something that is basically a bith different than our current view of an Island!

Regards,

Ron

Blue-hue,

Dittos!
It seems however that Herr Doctor Velikovsky did not acknowledge any credit to Sir Isaac! He was certainly in line with the esteemed knight in many regards.

Grigory were the " Immortal Guards on the walls of Sion."

I heard before that the Sea People might have come from Cilicia since that region known by the Greeks for Piracy, it seems befitting of them.