Archaeology is the science that confirms historical narratives through material evidence. According to historians, the Odyssey and the Iliad were once considered mere myths, until the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated Troy and later discovered the city of Mycenae and the Tomb of Atreus (Agamemnon). Archaeological confirmation, together with the decipherment of the Linear B tablets—written in the Greek language—pushed Greek history back by an entire millennium. In other words, Greek history officially begins around 2000 BC, during the era in which the Achaeans, or Mycenaeans, flourished. According to historical sources, Greeks in the southern Apennines and in Sicily have lived there since mythological times. See: Sikani, Sikuli and Elymi. Who were they? (Sikani, Sikuli ed Elimi. Chi erano?) on Academia.edu and on the blog sicilia-calabria.blogspot.com. However, until recently, archaeological evidence was missing to prove with absolute certainty the Greek character of the region dating back to 2000 BC. But not today! Current excavations at more than 90 sites and cities reveal Mycenaean habitation and trace Greek–Aegean colonization to the southern Apennine Peninsula, which received the Greek names ITALY and SICILY, around 1300 BC. (The Minoan–Cretan and Aegean-Pelasgian settlement, dating from 3000 BC, is still under discussion if the Minoans spoke a Greek language, although some Minoan cities have been identified in southern Sicily and in the Salento Peninsula.)
Stefanos Sotiriou (Thu,) studied this question.