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.
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