Salentīni
or
Sallentīni. A people in the southern part of Calabria,
who dwelt around the promontory Iapygium, which is hence called
Salentīnum
or
Salentīna. They laid claim to a Greek
origin, and pretended to have come from Crete into Italy under the guidance of Idomeneus
(
Verg. Aen. iii. 400). They were subdued by
the Romans at the conclusion of their war with Pyrrhus, and having revolted in the Second
Punic War were again easily reduced to subjection (Livy,
Epit. 15).