History of Phoenicia ............................................................................................................................................1

George Rawlinson ....................................................................................................................................1

SCHOLARS Of The UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD This Work His Last as Occupant of a Professorial Chair

Histories of Phoenicia or of the Phoenicians were written towards the middle of the present century by

Movers and Kenrick. The elaborate work of the former writer[1] collected into five moderatesized volumes

all the notices that classical antiquity had preserved of the Religion, History, Commerce, Art, of this

celebrated and interesting nation. Kenrick, making a free use of the stores of knowledge thus accumulated,

added to them much information derived from modern research, and was content to give to the world in a

single volume of small size,[2] very scantily illustrated, the ascertained results of criticism and inquiry on the

subject of the Phoenicians up to his own day. Fortyfour years have since elapsed; and in the course of them

large additions have been made to certain branches of the inquiry, while others have remained very much as

they were before. Travellers, like Robinson, Walpole, Tristram, Renan, and Lortet, have thrown great

additional light on the geography, geology, fauna, and flora of the country. Excavators, like Renan and the

two Di Cesnolas, have caused the soil to yield up most valuable remains bearing upon the architecture, the

art, the industrial pursuits, and the manners and customs of the people. Antiquaries, like M.

ClermontGanneau and MM. Perrot and Chipiez, have subjected the remains to careful examination and

criticism, and have definitively fixed the character of Phoenician Art, and its position in the history of artistic

effort. Researches are still being carried on, both in Phoenicia Proper and in the Phoenician dependency of

Cyprus, which are likely still further to enlarge our knowledge with respect to Phoenician Art and

Arch�ology; but it is not probable that they will affect seriously the verdict already delivered by competent

judges on those subjects. The time therefore appeared to the author to have come when, after nearly half a

century of silence, the history of the people might appropriately be rewritten. The subject had long engaged

his thoughts, closely connected as it is with the histories of Egypt, and of the "Great Oriental Monarchies,"

which for thirty years have been to him special objects of study; and a work embodying the chief results of

the recent investigations seemed to him a not unsuitable termination to the historical efforts which his

resignation of the Professorship of Ancient History at Oxford, and his entrance upon a new sphere of labour,

The author wishes to express his vast obligations to MM. Perrot and Chipiez for the invaluable assistance

which he has derived from their great work,[3] and to their publishers, the MM. Hachette, for their liberality

in allowing him the use of so large a number of MM. Perrot and Chipiez' Illustrations. He is also much

beholden to the same gentlemen for the use of charts and drawings originally published in the "G�ographie

Universelle." Other works from which he has drawn either materials or illustrations, or both, are (besides

Movers' and Kenrick's) M. Ernest Renan's "Mission de Ph�nicie," General Di Cesnola's "Cyprus," A. Di

Cesnola's "Salaminia," M. Ceccaldi's "Monuments Antiques de Cypre," M. Daux's "Recherches sur les

Emporia Ph�niciens," the "Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum," M. Clermont Ganneau's "Imagerie

Ph�nicienne," Mr. Davis's "Carthage and her Remains," Gesenius's "Scriptur� Lingu�que Phoenici�

Monumenta," Lortet's "La Syrie d'aujourd'hui," Serra di Falco's "Antichit� della Sicilia," Walpole's

"Ansayrii," and Canon Tristram's "Land of Israel." The difficulty has been to select from these copious stores

the most salient and noteworthy facts, and to marshal them in such a form as would make them readily

intelligible to the ordinary English reader. How far he has succeeded in doing this he must leave the public to

judge. In making his bow to them as a "Reader" and Writer "of Histories,"[4] he has to thank them for a

degree of favour which has given a ready sale to all his previous works, and has carried some of them through

PhoeniciaOrigin of the nameSpread of the name southwardsReal length of Phoenicia along the

coastBreadth and areaGeneral character of the regionThe PlainsPlain of SharonPlain of

AcrePlain of TyrePlain of SidonPlain of BerytusPlain of MarathusHilly regionsMountain

ZaheranyThe HeadlandsMain characteristics, inaccessibility, picturesqueness, productiveness.

Phoenic�, or Phoenicia, was the name originally given by the Greeksand afterwards adopted from them by

the Romansto the coast region of the Mediterranean, where it faces the west between the thirtysecond and

the thirtysixth parallels. Here, it would seem, in their early voyagings, the PreHomeric Greeks first came

upon a land where the palmtree was not only indigenous, but formed a leading and striking characteristic,

everywhere along the low sandy shore lifting its tuft of feathery leaves into the bright blue sky, high above

the undergrowth of fig, and pomegranate, and alive. Hence they called the tract Phoenicia, or "the Land of

Palms;" and the people who inhabited it the Phoenicians, or "the Palmtree people."

The term was from the first applied with a good deal of vagueness. It was probably originally given to the

region opposite Cyprus, from Gabala in the northnow Jebilito Antaradus (Tortosa) and Marathus

(Amrith) towards the south, where the palmtree was first seen growing in rich abundance. The palm is the

numismatic emblem of Aradus,[1] and though not now very frequent in the region which Strabo calls "the

Aradian coasttract,"[2] must anciently have been among its chief ornaments. As the Grecian knowledge of

the coast extended southward, and a richer and still richer growth of the palm was continually noticed, almost

every town and every village being embosomed in a circle of palm groves, the name extended itself until it

reached as far south at any rate as Gaza, or (according to some) as Rhinocolura and the Torrens �gypti.

Northward the name seems never to have passed beyond Cape Posideium (Possidi) at the foot of Mount

Casius, the tract between this and the range of Taurus being always known as Syria, never as Phoenecia or

The entire length of the coast between the limits of Cape Possidi and Rhinocolura is, without reckoning the

lesser indentations, about 380 miles, or nearly the same as that of Portugal. The indentations of the coastline

are slight. From Rhinocolura to Mount Carmel, a distance of 150 miles, not a single strong promontory

asserts itself, nor is there a single bay of sufficient depth to attract the attention of geographers. Carmel itself

is a notable headland, and shelters a bay of some size; but these once passed the old uniformity returns, the

line being again almost unbroken for a distance of seventyfive miles, from Haifa to Beyrout (Berytus).

North of Beyrout we find a little more variety. The coast projects in a tolerably bold sweep between the

thirtyfourth parallel and Tripolis (Tarabulus) and recedes almost correspondingly between Tripolis and

Tortosa (Antaradus), so that a deepish bay is formed between Lat. 34� 27� and Lat. 34� 45�, whence the line

again runs northward unindented for fifty miles, to beyond Gabala (Jebili). After this, between Gabala and

Cape Posideium there is considerable irregularity, the whole tract being mountainous, and spurs from

Bargylus and Casius running down into the sea and forming a succession of headlands, of which Cape

But while the name Phoenicia is applied geographically to this long extentnearly 400 milesof

coastline, historically and ethnically it has to be reduced within considerably narrower limits. A race, quite

distinct from that of the Phoenicians, was settled from an early date on the southern portion of the west Asian

coast, where it verges towards Africa. From Jabneh (Yebna) southwards was Palestine, the country of the

Philistines, perhaps even from Joppa (Jaffa), which is made the boundary by Mela.[3] Thus at least eighty

miles of coastline must be deducted from the 380, and the length of Phoenicia along the Mediterranean

The width varied from eight or ten miles to thirty. We must regard as the eastern boundary of Phoenicia the

high ridge which forms the watershed between the streams that flow eastward toward the Orontes, Litany,

and Jordan, and those that flow westward into the Mediterranean. It is difficult to say what was the average

width, but perhaps it may be fairly estimated at about fifteen miles. In this case the entire area would have

The tract was one of a remarkably diversified character. Lofty mountain, steep wooded hill, chalky slope, rich

alluvial plain, and sandy shore succeeded each other, each having its own charm, which was enhanced by

contrast. The sand is confined to a comparatively narrow strip along the seashore,[4] and to the sites of

ancient harbours now filled up. It is exceedingly fine and of excellent silicious quality, especially in the

vicinity of Sidon and at the foot of Mount Carmel. The most remarkable plains are those of Sharon, Acre,

Tyre, Sidon, Beyrout, and Marathus. Sharon, so dear to the Hebrew poets,[5] is the maritime tract intervening

between the highland of Samaria and the Mediterranean, extending from Joppa to the southern foot of

Carmela distance of nearly sixty milesand watered by the Chorseas, the Kaneh, and other rivers. It is a

smooth, very slightly undulating tract, about ten miles in width from the sea to the foot of the mountains,

which rise up abruptly from it without any intervening region of hills, and seem to bound it as a wall, above

which tower the huge rounded masses of Ebal and Gerizim, with the wooded cone, on which stood Samaria,

nestling at their feet.[6] The sluggish streams, several of them containing water during the whole of the year,

make their way across it between reedy banks,[7] and generally spread out before reaching the shore into

wide marshes, which might be easily utilised for purposes of irrigation. The soil is extremely rich, varying

from bright red to deep black, and producing enormous crops of weeds or grain, according as it is cultivated

or left in a state of nature. Towards the south the view over the region has been thus described: "From

Ramleh there is a wide view on every side, presenting a prospect rarely surpassed in richness and beauty. I

could liken it to nothing but the great plain of the Rhine by Heidelberg or, better still, to the vast plains of

Lombardy, as seen from the cathedral of Milan and elsewhere. In the east the frowning mountains of Judah

rose abruptly from the tract at their foot; while on the west, in fine contrast, the glittering waves of the

Mediterranean Sea associated our thoughts with Europe. Towards the north and south, as far as the eye could

reach, the beautiful plain was spread out like a carpet at our feet, variegated with tracts of brown from which

the crops had just been taken, and with fields still rich with the yellow of the ripe corn, or green with the

springing millet. Immediately below us the eye rested on the immense olive groves of Ramleh and Lydda,

and the picturesque towers and minarets and domes of these large villages. In the plain itself were not many

villages, but the tract of hills and the mountainside beyond, especially in the northeast, were perfectly

studded with them, and as now seen in the reflected beams of the setting sun they seemed like white villas

and hamlets among the dark hills, presenting an appearance of thriftiness and beauty which certainly would

not stand a closer examination."[8] Towards its northern end Sharon is narrowed by the low hills which

gather round the western flanks of Carmel, and gradually encroach upon the plain until it terminates against

the shoulder of the mountain itself, leaving only a narrow beach at the foot of the promontory by which it is

Compared with Sharon the plain of Acre is unimportant and of small extent. It reaches about eight miles

along the shore, from the foot of Carmel to the headland on which the town of Acre stands, and has a width

between the shore and the hills of about six miles. Like Sharon it is noted for its fertility. Watered by the two

permanent streams of the Kishon and the Belus, it possesses a rich soil, which is said to be at present

"perhaps the best cultivated and producing the most luxuriant crops, both of corn and weeds, of any in

Palestine."[10] The Kishon waters it on the south, where it approaches Carmel, and is a broad stream,[11]

though easily fordable towards its mouth. The Belus (Nam�an�) flows through it towards the north, washing

Acre itself, and is a stream of even greater volume than the Kishon, though it has but a short course.

The third of the Phoenician plains, as we proceed from south to north, is that of Tyre. This is a long but

comparatively narrow strip, reaching from the RaselAbiad towards the south to Sarepta on the north, a

distance of about twenty miles, but in no part more than five miles across, and generally less than two miles.

It is watered about midway by the copious stream of the Kasimiyeh or Litany, which, rising east of Lebanon

in the Buka'a or Coelesyrian valley, forces its way through the mountain chain by a series of tremendous

gorges, and debouches upon the Tyrian lowland about three miles to the southeast of the present city, near

the modern KhanelKasimiyeh, whence it flows peaceably to the sea with many windings through a broad

low tract of meadowland. Other rills and rivulets descending from the west flank of the great mountain

increase the productiveness of the plain, while copious fountains of water gush forth with surprising force in

places, more especially at RaselAin, three miles from Tyre, to the south.[12] The plain is, even at the

present day, to a large extent covered with orchards, gardens, and cultivated fields, in which are grown rich

The plain of Sidon, which follows that of Tyre, and is sometimes regarded as a part of it,[13] extends from a

little north of Sarepta to the RaselJajunieh, a distance of about ten miles, and resembles that of Tyre in its

principal features. It is long and narrow, never more than about two miles in width, but wellwatered and

very fertile. The principal streams are the Bostrenus (NahrelAuly) in the north, just inside the promontory

of Jajunieh, the NahrSan�k, south of Sidon, a torrent dry in the summertime,[14] and the

NahrezZaherany, two and a half miles north of Sarepta, a river of moderate capacity. Fine fountains also

burst from the earth in the plain itself, as the AinelKanterah and the AinelBur�k,[15] between Sarepta

and the Zaherany river. Irrigation is easy and is largely used, with the result that the fruits and vegetables of

Sa�da and its environs have the name of being among the finest of the country.[16]

The plain of Berytus (Beyrout) is the most contracted of all the Phoenician plains that are at all noticeable. It

lies south, south east, and east of the city, intervening between the high dunes or sandhills which form the

western portion of the Beyrout peninsula, and the skirts of Lebanon, which here approach very near to the

sea. The plain begins at Wady Shuweifat on the south, about four miles from the town of Beyrout, and

extends northwards to the sea on the western side of the Nahr Beyrout. The northern part of the plain is

known as ArdelBur�jineh. The plain is deficient in water,[17] yet is cultivated in olives and mulberries,

and contains the largest olive grove in all Syria. A little beyond its western edge is the famous pine forest[18]

The plain of Marathus is, next to Sharon, the most extensive in Phoenicia. It stretches from Jebili (Gabala) on

the north to Arka towards the south, a distance of about sixty miles, and has a width varying from two to ten

miles. The rock crops out from it in places and it is broken between Tortosa and Hammam by a line of low

hills running parallel with the shore.[20] The principal streams which water it are the NahrelMelk, or

Badas, six miles south of Jebili, the Nahr Amrith, a strong running brook which empties itself into the sea a

few miles south of Tortosa (Antaradus), the Nahr Kubl�, which joins the Nahr Amrith near its mouth, and the

Eleutherus or NahrelKabir, which reaches the sea a little north of Arka. Of these the Eleutherus is the most

important. "It is a considerable stream even in summer, and in the rainy season it is a barrier to intercourse,

caravans sometimes remaining encamped on its banks for several weeks, unable to cross."[21] The soil of the

plain is shallow, the rock lying always near the surface; the streams are allowed to run to waste and form

marshes, which breed malaria; a scanty population scarcely attempts more than the rudest and most

inefficient cultivation; and the consequence is that the tract at present is almost a desert. Nature, however,

shows its capabilities by covering it in the springtime from end to end with a "carpet of flowers."[22]

From the edges of the plains, and sometimes from the very shore of the sea, rise up chalky slopes or steep

rounded hills, partly left to nature and covered with trees and shrubs, partly at the present day cultivated and

studded with villages. The hilly region forms generally an intermediate tract between the high mountains and

the plains already described; but, not unfrequently, it commences at the water's edge, and fills with its

undulations the entire space, leaving not even a strip of lowland. This is especially the case in the central

region between Berytus and Arka, opposite the highest portion of the Lebanon; and again in the north

between Cape Possidi and Jebili, opposite the more northern part of Bargylus. The hilly region in these places

is a broad tract of alternate wooded heights and deep romantic valleys, with streams murmuring amid their

shades. Sometimes the hills are cultivated in terraces, on which grow vines and olives, but more often they

The mountain ranges, which belong in some measure to the geography of Phoenicia, are four in

numberCarmel, Casius, Bargylus, and Lebanon. Carmel is a long hogbacked ridge, running in almost a

straight line from northwest to southeast, from the promontory which forms the western protection of the

bay of Acre to ElLedjun, on the southern verge of the great plain of Esdraelon, a distance of about

twentytwo miles. It is a limestone formation, and rises up abruptly from the side of the bay of Acre, with

flanks so steep and rugged that the traveller must dismount in order to ascend them,[23] but slopes more

gently towards the south, where it is comparatively easy of access. The greatest elevation which it attains is

about Lat. 32� 4�, where it reaches the height of rather more than 1,200 feet; from this it falls gradually as it

nears the shore, until at the convent, with which the western extremity is crowned, the height above the sea is

no more than 582 feet. In ancient times the whole mountain was thickly wooded,[24] but at present, though it

contains "rocky dells" where there are "thick jungles of copse,"[25] and is covered in places with olive groves

and thickets of dwarf oak, yet its appearance is rather that of a park than of a forest, long stretches of grass

alternating with patches of woodland and "shrubberies, thicker than any in Central Palestine," while the larger

trees grow in clumps or singly, and there is nowhere, as in Lebanon, any dense growth, or even any

considerable grove, of forest trees. But the beauty of the tract is conspicuous; and if Carmel means, as some

interpret, a "garden" rather than a "forest," it may be held to well justify its appellation. "The whole

mountainside," says one traveller,[26] "was dressed with blossoms and flowering shrubs and fragrant

herbs." "There is not a flower," says another,[27] "that I have seen in Galilee, or on the plains along the coast,

that I do not find on Carmel, still the fragrant, lovely mountain that he was of old."

The geological structure of Carmel is, in the main, what is called "the Jura formation," or "the upper

oolite"a soft white limestone, with nodules and veins of flint. At the western extremity, where it overhangs

the Mediterranean, are found chalk, and tertiary breccia formed of fragments of chalk and flint. On the

northeast of the mountain, beyond the NahrelMukattah, plutonic rocks appear, breaking through the

deposit strata, and forming the beginning of the basalt formation which runs through the plain of Esdraelon to

Tabor and the Sea of Galilee.[28] Like most limestone formations, Carmel abounds in caves, which are said

to be more than 2,000 in number,[29] and are often of great length and extremely tortuous.

Carmel, the great southern headland of Phoenicia, is balanced in a certain sense by the extreme northern

headland of Casius. Mount Casius is, strictly speaking, the termination of a spur from Bargylus; but it has so

marked and peculiar a character that it seems entitled to separate description. Rising up abruptly from the

Mediterranean to the height of 5,318 feet, it dominates the entire region in its vicinity, and from the sea forms

a landmark that is extraordinarily conspicuous. Forests of fine trees clothe its flanks, but the lofty summit

towers high above them, a bare mass of rock, known at the present day as JebelelAkra, or "the Bald

Mountain." It is formed mainly of the same cretaceous limestone as the other mountains of these parts, and

like them has a rounded summit; but rocks of igneous origin enter into its geological structure; and in its

vegetation it more resembles the mountain ranges of Taurus and Amanus than those of southern Syria and

Palestine. On its northeastern prolongation, which is washed by the Orontes, lay the enchanting

pleasureground of Daphn�, bubbling with fountains, and bright with flowering shrubs, where from a remote

antiquity the Syrians held frequent festival to their favourite deity the "Dea Syra"the great nature

The elevated tract known to the ancients as Bargylus, and to modern geographers as the Ansayrieh or

Nasariyeh mountainregion, runs at right angles to the spur terminating in the Mount Casius, and extends

from the Orontes near Antioch to the valley of the Eleutherus. This is a distance of not less than a hundred

miles. The range forms the western boundary of the lower Coelesyrian valley, which abuts upon it towards

the east, while westward it looks down upon the region, partly hill, partly lowland, which may be regarded as

constituting "Northern Phoenicia." The axis of the range is almost due north and south, but with a slight

deflection towards the southeast. Bargylus is not a chain comparable to Lebanon, but still it is a romantic

and picturesque region. The lower spurs towards the west are clothed with olive grounds and vineyards, or

covered with myrtles and rhododendrons; between them are broad open valleys, productive of tobacco and

corn. Higher up "the scenery becomes wild and bold; hill rises to mountain; soft springing green corn gives

place to sterner crag, smooth plain to precipitous heights;"[30] and if in the more elevated region the majesty

of the cedar is wanting, yet forests of fir and pine abound, and creep up the mountainside, in places almost

to the summit, while here and there bare masses of rock protrude themselves, and crag and cliff rise into the

clouds that hang about the highest summits. Water abounds throughout the region, which is the parent of

numerous streams, as the northern NahrelKebir, which flows into the sea by Latakia, the NahrelMelk,

the Nahr Amrith, the Nahr Kubl�, the NahrelAbrath, and many others. From the conformation of the land

they have of necessity short courses; but each and all of them spread along their banks a rich verdure and an

But the great range of Phoenicia, its glory and its boast is Lebanon. Lebanon, the "White

Mountain"[31]"the Mont Blanc of Palestine"[32] now known as "the Old Whiteheaded Man"

(JebeleshSheikh), or "the Mountain of Ice" (JebelelTilj), was to Phoenicia at once its protection, the

source of its greatness, and its crowning beauty. Extended in a continuous line for a distance of above a

hundred miles, with an average elevation of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, and steepest on its eastern side, it

formed a wall against which the waves of eastern invasion naturally brokea bulwark which seemed to say

to them, "Thus far shall ye go, and no further." The flood of conquest swept along its eastern flank, down the

broad vale of the Buka'a, and then over the hills of Galilee; but its frowning precipices and its lofty crest

deterred or baffled the invader, and the smiling region between its summit and the Mediterranean was, in the

early times at any rate, but rarely traversed by a hostile army. This western region it was which held those

inexhaustible stores of forest trees that supplied Phoenicia with her war ships and her immense commercial

navy; here were the most productive valleys, the vineyards, and the olive grounds, and here too were the

streams and rills, the dashing cascades, the lovely dells, and the deep gorges which gave her the palm over all

The geology of the Lebanon is exceedingly complicated. "While the bulk of the mountain, and all the higher

ranges, are without exception limestone of the early cretaceous period, the valleys and gorges are filled with

formations of every possible variety, sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Down many of them run long

streams of trap or basalt; occasionally there are dykes of porphyry and greenstone, and then patches of

sandstone, before the limestone and flint recur."[33] Some slopes are composed entirely of soft sandstone;

many patches are of a hard metallicsounding trap or porphyry; but the predominant formation is a greasy or

powdery limestone, bare often, but sometimes clothed with a soft herbage, or with a thick tangle of shrubs, or

with lofty forest trees. The ridge of the mountain is everywhere naked limestone rock, except in the

comparatively few places which attain the highest elevation, where it is coated or streaked with snow. Two

summits are especially remarkable, that of Jebel Sunnin towards the south, which is a conspicuous object

from Beyrout,[34] and is estimated to exceed the height of 9,000 feet,[35] and that of Jebel Mukhmel towards

the north, which has been carefully measured and found to fall a very little short of 10,200 feet.[36] The

latter, which forms a sort of amphitheatre, circles round and impends over a deep hollow or basin, opening

out towards the west, in which rise the chief sources that go to form the romantic stream of the Kadisha. The

sides of the basin are bare and rocky, fringed here and there with the rough knolls which mark the deposits of

ancient glaciers, the "moraines" of the Lebanon. In this basin stand "the Cedars." It is not indeed true, as was

for a long time supposed, that the cedar grove of Jebel Mukhmel is the sole remnant of that primeval

cedarforest which was anciently the glory of the mountain. Cedars exist on Lebanon in six other places at

least, if not in more. Near Tannurin, on one of the feeders of the Duweir, a wild gorge is clothed from top to

bottom with a forest of trees, untouched by the axe, the haunt of the panther and the bear, which on

examination have been found to be all cedars, some of a large size, from fifteen to eighteen feet in girth. They

grow in clusters, or scattered singly, in every variety of situation, some clinging to the steep slopes, or

gnarled and twisted on the bare hilltops, others sheltered in the recesses of the dell. There are also

cedargroves at B'sherrah; at El Hadith; near D�ma, five hours southwest of El Hadith; in one of the glens

north of DeirelKamar, at Etnub, and probably in other places.[37] But still "the Cedars" of Jebel Mukhmel

are entitled to preeminence over all the rest, both as outnumbering any other cluster, and still more as

exceeding all the rest in size and apparent antiquity. Some of the patriarchs are of enormous girth; even the

younger ones have a circumference of eighteen feet; and the height is such that the birds which dwell among

But it is through the contrasts which it presents that Lebanon has its extraordinary power of attracting and

delighting the traveller. Below the upper line of bare and worn rock, streaked in places with snow, and

seamed with torrent courses, a region is entered upon where the freshest and softest mountain herbage, the

greenest foliage, and the most brilliant flowers alternate with deep dells, tremendous gorges, rocky ravines,

and precipices a thousand feet high. Scarcely has the voyager descended from the upper region of naked and

rounded rock, when he comes upon "a tremendous chasmthe bare amphitheatre of the upper basin

contracts into a valley of about 2,000 feet deep, rent at its bottom into a cleft a thousand feet deeper still,

down which dashes a river, buried between these stupendous walls of rock. All above the chasm is terraced as

far as the eye can reach with indefatigable industry. Tiny streamlets bound and leap from terrace to terrace,

fertilising them as they rush to join the torrent in the abyss. Some of the waterfalls are of great height and of

considerable volume. From one spot may be counted no less than seven of these cascades, now dashing in

white spray over a cliff, now lost under the shade of trees, soon to reappear over the next shelving rock."[38]

Or, to quote from another writer,[39]"The descent from the summit is gradual, but is everywhere broken

by precipices and towering rocks, which time and the elements have chiselled into strange fantastic shapes.

Ravines of singular wildness and grandeur furrow the whole mountainside, looking in many places like

huge rents. Here and there, too, bold promontories shoot out, and dip perpendicularly into the bosom of the

Mediterranean. The ragged limestone banks are scantily clothed with the evergreen oak, and the sandstone

with pines; while every available spot is carefully cultivated. The cultivation is wonderful, and shows what

all Syria might be of under a good government. Miniature fields of grain are often seen where one would

suppose that the eagles alone, which hover round them, could have planted the seed. Figtrees cling to the

naked rock; vines are trained along narrow ledges; long ranges of mulberries on terraces like steps of stairs

cover the more gentle declivities; and dense groves of olives fill up the bottoms of the glens. Hundreds of

villages are seen, here built amid labyrinths of rock, there clinging like swallows' nests to the sides of cliffs,

while convents, no less numerous, are perched on the top of every peak. When viewed from the sea on a

morning in early spring, Lebanon presents a picture which once seen is never forgotten; but deeper still is the

impression left on the mind, when one looks down over its terraced slopes clothed in their gorgeous foliage,

and through the vistas of its magnificent glens, on the broad and bright Mediterranean."

The eastern flank of the mountain falls very far short of the western both in area and in beauty. It is a

comparatively narrow region, and presents none of the striking features of gorge, ravine, deep dell, and

dashing stream which diversify the side that looks westward. The steep slopes are generally bare, the lower

portion only being scantily clothed with deciduous oak, for the most part stunted, and with low scrub of

juniper and barberry.[40] Towards the north there is an outer barrier, parallel with the main chain, on which

follows a tolerably flat and rather bare plain, well watered, and with soft turf in many parts, which gently

slopes to the foot of the main ascent, a wall of rock generally half covered with snow, up which winds the

rough track whereby travellers reach the summit. Rills of water are not wanting; flowers bloom to the very

edge of the snow, and the walnuttree flourishes in sheltered places to within two or three thousand feet of

the summit; but the general character of the tract is bare and bleak; the villages are few; and the terraced

cultivation, which adds so much to the beauty of the western side, is wanting. In the southern half of the

range the descent is abrupt from the crest of the mountain into the Buka'a, or valley of the Litany, and the

There is, however, one beauty at one point on this side of the Lebanon range which is absent from the more

favoured western region. On the ascent from Baalbek to the Cedars the traveller comes upon Lake Lemone, a

beautiful mountain tarn, without any apparent exit, the only sheet of water in the Lebanon. Lake Lemone is of

a long oval shape, about two miles from one end to the other, and is fed by a stream entering at either

extremity, that from the north, which comes down from the village of Ain�t, being the more important. As the

water which comes into the lake cannot be discharged by evaporation, we must suppose some underground

The eastern side of Lebanon drains entirely into this river, which is the only stream whereto it gives birth.

The Litany is the principal of all the Phoenician rivers, for the Orontes must be counted not to Phoenicia but

to Syria. It rises from a small pool or lake near Tel Hushben,[43] about six miles to the southwest of the

Baalbek ruins. Springing from this source, which belongs to Antilibanus rather than to Lebanon, the Litany

shortly receives a large accession to its waters from the opposite side of the valley, and thus augmented flows

along the lower Buka'a in a direction which is generally a little west of south, receiving on either side a

number of streams and rills from both mountains, and giving out in its turn numerous canals for irrigation. As

the river descends with numerous windings, but still with the same general course, the valley of the Buka'a

contracts more and more, till finally it terminates in a gorge of a most extraordinary character. Nothing in the

conformation of the strata, or in the lie of ground, indicates the coming marvel[44]the roots of Lebanon

and Hermon appear to intermixand the further progress of the river seems to be barred by a rocky ridge

stretching across the valley from east to west, when lo! suddenly, the ridge is cut, as if by a knife, and a deep

and narrow chasm opens in it, down which the stream plunges in a cleft 200 feet deep, and so narrow that in

one place it is actually bridged over by masses of rock which have fallen from the cliffs above.[45] In the

gully below figtrees and planes, besides many shrubs, find a footing, and the moist walls of rock on either

side are hung with ferns of various kinds, among which is conspicuous the delicate and graceful maidenhair.

Further down the chasm deepens, first to 1,000 and then to 1,500 feet, "the torrent roars in the gorge,

milkwhite and swollen often with the melting snow, overhung with semitropical oleanders, figtrees, and

oriental planes, while the upper cliffs are clad with northern vegetation, two zones of climate thus being

visible at once."[46] Where the gorge is the deepest, opposite the Castle of Belfort (the modern

KulateshShukif), the river suddenly makes a turn at right angles, altering its course from nearly due south

to nearly due west, and cuts through the remaining roots of Lebanon, still at the bottom of a tremendous

fissure, and still raging and chafing for a distance of fifteen miles, until at length it debouches on the coast

plain, and meanders slowly through meadows to the sea,[47] which it enters about five miles to the north of

Tyre. The course of the Litany may be roughly estimated at from seventy to seventyfive miles.

The other streams to which Lebanon gives birth flow either from its northern or its western flank. From the

northern flank flows one stream only, the NahrelKebir or Eleutherus. The course of this stream is short,

not much exceeding thirty miles. It rises from several sources at the edge of the Coelesyrian valley, and,

receiving affluents from either side, flows westward between Bargylus and Lebanon to the Mediterranean,

which it enters between Orthosia (Artousi) and Marathus (Amrith) with a stream, the volume of which is

even in the summertime considerable. In the rainy season it constitutes an important impediment to

intercourse, since it frequently sweeps away any bridge which may be thrown across it, and is itself

unfordable. Caravans sometimes remain encamped upon its banks for weeks, waiting until the swell has

From the western flank of Lebanon flow above a hundred streams of various dimensions, whereof the most

important are the NahrelBerid or river of Orthosia, the Kadisha or river of Tripolis, the Ibrahim or Adonis,

the NahrelKelb or Lycus, the Damour or Tamyras, the Auly (Aouleh) or Bostrenus, and the Zaherany, of

which the ancient name is unknown to us. The NahrelBerid drains the northwestern angle of the

mountain chain, and is formed of two main branches, one coming down from the higher portion of the range,

about Lat. 34� 20�, and flowing to the northwest, while the other descends from a region of much less

elevation, about Lat. 34� 30�, and runs a little south of west to the point of junction. The united stream then

forces its way down a gorge in a northwest direction, and enters the sea at Artousi, probably the ancient

Orthosia.[49] The length of the river from its remotest fountain to its mouth is about twenty miles.

The Kadisha or "Holy River" has its source in the deep basin already described, round which rise in a

semicircle the loftiest peaks of the range, and on the edge of which stand "the Cedars." Fed by the perpetual

snows, it shortly becomes a considerable stream, and flows nearly due west down a beautiful valley, where

the terraced slopes are covered with vineyards and mulberry groves, and every little dell, every nook and

corner among the jagged rocks, every ledge and cranny on precipiceside, which the foot of man can reach,

or on which a basket of earth can be deposited, is occupied with patch of corn or fruittree.[50] Lower down

near Canobin the valley contracts into a sublime chasm, its rocky walls rising perpendicularly a thousand feet

on either side, and in places not leaving room for even a footpath beside the stream that flows along the

bottom.[51] The water of the Kadisha is "pure, fresh, cool, and limpid,"[52] and makes a paradise along its

entire course. Below Canobin the stream sweeps round in a semicircle towards the north, and still running in

a picturesque glen, draws near to Tripolis, where it bends towards the northwest, and enters the sea after

passing through the town. Its course, including main windings, measures about twentyfive miles.

The Ibrahim, or Adonis, has its source near Afka (Apheca) in Lat. 34� 4� nearly. It bursts from a cave at the

foot of a tremendous cliff, and its foaming waters rush down into a wild chasm.[53] Its flow is at first towards

the northwest, but after receiving a small tributary from the northeast, it shapes its course nearly westward,

and pursues this direction, with only slight bends to the north and south, for the distance of about fifteen

miles to the sea. After heavy rain in Lebanon, its waters, which are generally clear and limpid, become tinged

with the earth which the swollen torrent detaches from the mountainside,[54] and Adonis thus "runs purple

to the sea"not however once a year only, but many times. It enters the Mediterranean about four miles

The Lycus or NahrelKelb ("Dog River") flows from the northern and western flanks of Jebel Sunnin. It is

formed by the confluence of three main streams. One of these rises near Afka, and runs to the south of west,

past the castle and temples of Fakra, to its junction with the second stream, which is formed of several

rivulets flowing from the northern flank of Sunnin. Near Bufkeiya the river constituted by the union of these

two branches is joined by a third stream flowing from the western flank of Sunnin with a westerly course, and

from this point the Lycus pursues its way in the same general direction down a magnificent gorge to the

Mediterranean. Both banks are lofty, but especially that to the south, where one of Lebanon's great roots

strikes out far, and dips, a rocky precipice, into the bosom of the deep.[55] Low in the depths of the gorge the

mad torrent dashes over its rocky bed in sheets of foam, its banks fringed with oleander, which it bathes with

its spray. Above rise jagged precipices of white limestone, crowned far overhead by many a convent and

The Damour or Tamyras drains the western flank of Lebanon to the south of Jebel Sunnin (about Lat. 33�

45�), the districts known as Menassif and Jourd Arkoub, about Barouk and DeirelKamar. It collects the

waters from an area of about 110 square miles, and carries them to the sea in a course which is a little north

of west, reaching it halfway between Khan Khulda (Heldua) and Nebbi Younas. The scenery along its banks

The NahrelAuly or Bostrenus rises from a source to the northeast of Barouk, and flows in a nearly

straight course to the southwest for a distance of nearly thirtyfive miles, when it is joined by a stream from

Jezzin, which flows into it from the southeast. On receiving this stream, the Auly turns almost at a right

angle, and flows to the west down the fine alluvial track called Merj Bisry, passing from this point through

comparatively low ground, and between swelling hills, until it reaches the sea two miles to the north of

The Zaherany repeats on a smaller scale the course of the Bostrenus. It rises near Jerj�'a from the western

flank of Jebel Rihan, the southern extremity of the Lebanon range, and flows at first to the southwest. The

source is "a fine large fountain bursting forth with violence, and with water enough for a mill race."[57] From

this the river flows in a deep valley, brawling and foaming along its course, through tracts of green grass

shaded by black walnuttrees for a distance of about five miles, after which, just opposite Jerj�'a, it breaks

through one of the spurs from Rihan by a magnificent chasm. The gorge is one "than which there are few

deeper or more savage in Lebanon. The mountains on each side rise up almost precipitously to the height of

two or three thousand feet above the stream, that on the northern bank being considerably the higher. The

steep sides of the southern mountain are dotted with shrub, oak, and other dwarf trees."[58] The river

descends in its chasm still in a southwest direction until, just opposite Arab Salim, it "turns round the

precipitous corner or bastion of the southern Rihan into a straight valley," and proceeds to run due south for a

short distance. Meeting, however, a slight swell of ground, which blocks what would seem to have been its

natural course, the river "suddenly turns west," and breaking through a low ridge by a narrow ravine, pursues

its way by a course a little north of west to the Mediterranean, which it enters about midway between Sidon

and Sarepta.[59] The length of the stream, including main windings, is probably not more than thirtyfive

We have spoken of the numerous promontories, terminations of spurs from the mountains, which break the

low coastline into fragments, and go down precipitously into the sea. Of these there are two between Tyre

and Acre, one known as the RaselAbiad or "White Headland," and the other as the RasenNakura. The

former is a cliff of snowwhite chalk interspersed with black flints, and rises perpendicularly from the sea to

the height of three hundred feet.[60] The road, which in some places impends over the water, has been cut

with great labour through the rock, and is said by tradition to have been the work of Alexander the Great.

Previously, both here and at the RasenNakura, the ascent was by steps, and the passes were known as the

Climaces Tyriorum, or "Staircases of the Tyrians." Another similar precipice guards the mouth of the Lycus

on its south side and has been engineered with considerable skill, first by the Egyptians and then by the

Romans.[61] North of this, at Djouni, the coast road "traverses another pass, where the mountain, descending

to the water, has been cut to admit it."[62] Still further north, between Byblus and Tripolis, the bold

promontory known to the ancients as Theuprosopon, and now called the RaseshShakkah, is still

unconquered, and the road has to quit the shore and make its way over the spur by a "wearisome ascent"[63]

at some distance inland. Again, "beyond the Tamyras the hills press closely on the sea,"[64] and there is "a

rocky and difficult pass, along which the path is cut for some distance in the rock."[65]

The effect of this conformation of the country was, in early times, to render Phoenicia untraversable by a

hostile army, and at the same time to interpose enormous difficulties in the way of land communication

among the natives themselves, who must have soon turned their thoughts to the possibility of communicating

by sea. The various "staircases" were painful and difficult to climb, they gave no passage to animals, and only

light forms of merchandise could be conveyed by them. As soon as the first rude canoe put forth upon the

placid waters of the Mediterranean, it must have become evident that the saving in time and labour would be

great if the sea were made to supersede the land as the ordinary line of communication.

The main characteristics of the country were, besides its inaccessibility, its picturesqueness and its

productiveness. The former of these two qualities seems to have possessed but little attraction for man in his

primitive condition. Beauties of nature are rarely sung of by early poets; and it appears to require an educated

eye to appreciate them. But productiveness is a quality the advantages of which can be perceived by all. The

eyes which first looked down from the ridge of Bargylus or Lebanon upon the wellwatered, well wooded,

and evidently fertile tract between the mountain summits and the sea, if they took no note of its marvellous

and almost unequalled beauty, must at any rate have seen that here was one of earth's most productive

gardensemphatically a "good land," that might well content whosoever should be so fortunate as to possess

it. There is nothing equal to it in Western Asia. The Damascene oasis, the lower valley of the Orontes, the

Ghor or Jordan plain, the woods of Bashan, and the downs of Moab are fertile and attractive regions; but they

are comparatively narrow tracts and present little variety; each is fitted mainly for one kind of growth, one

class of products. Phoenicia, in its long extent from Mount Casius to Joppa, and in its combination of low

alluvial plain, rich valley, sunny slopes and hills, virgin forests, and high mountain pasturage, has soils and

situations suited for productions of all manner of kinds, and for every growth, from that of the lowliest herb

to that of the most gigantic tree. In the next section an account of its probable products in ancient times will

be given; for the present it is enough to note that Western Asia contained no region more favoured or more

fitted by its general position, its formation, and the character of its soil, to become the home of an important

Climate of PhoeniciaVarietiesClimate of the coast, in the south, in the northClimate of the more

fruittreesHerbs, flowers, and garden vegetablesZoologyLand animalsBirdsMarine and

The long extent of the Phoenician coast, and the great difference in the elevation of its various parts, give it a

great diversity of climate. Northern Phoenicia is many degrees colder than southern; and the difference is still

more considerable between the coast tracts and the more elevated portions of the mountain regions. The

greatest heat is experienced in the plain of Sharon,[1] which is at once the most southern portion of the

country, and the part most remote from any hills of sufficient elevation to exert an important influence on the

temperature. Neither Carmel on the north, nor the hills of Samaria on the east, produce any sensible effect on

the climate of the Sharon lowland. The heat in summer is intense, and except along the river courses the tract

is burnt up, and becomes little more than an expanse of sand. As a compensation, the cold in winter is very

moderate. Snow scarcely ever falls, and if there is frost it is shortlived, and does not penetrate into the

Above Carmel the coast tract is decidedly less hot than the region south of it, and becomes cooler and cooler

as we proceed northwards. Northern Phoenicia enjoys a climate that is delightful, and in which it would be

difficult to suggest much improvement. The summer heat is scarcely ever too great, the thermometer rarely

exceeding 90� of Fahrenheit,[3] and often sinking below 70�. Refreshing showers of rain frequently fall, and

the breezes from the north, the east, and the southeast, coming from high mountain tracts which are in part

snow clad, temper the heat of the sun's rays and prevent it from being oppressive. The winter temperature

seldom descends much below 50�; and thus the orange, the lemon and the datepalm flourish in the open air,

and the gardens are bright with flowers even in December and January. Snow falls occasionally, but it rarely

lies on the ground for more than a few days, and is scarcely ever so much as a foot deep. On the other hand,

rain is expected during the wintertime, and the entire line of coast is visited for some months with severe

storms and gales, accompanied often by thunder and violent rain,[4] which strew the shore with wrecks and

turn even insignificant mountain streams into raging torrents. The storms come chiefly from the west and

northwest, quarters to which the harbours on the coast are unfortunately open.[5] Navigation consequently

suffers interruption; but when once the winter is past, a season of tranquillity sets in, and for many months of

the yearat any rate from May to October[6]the barometer scarcely varies, the sky is unclouded, and rain

As the traveller mounts from the coast tract into the more elevated regions, the climate sensibly changes. An

hour's ride from the plains, when they are most sultry, will bring him into a comparatively cool region, where

the dashing spray of the glacier streams is borne on the air, and from time to time a breeze that is actually

cold comes down from the mountaintops.[7] Shade is abundant, for the rocks are often perpendicular, and

overhand the road in places, while the dense foliage of cedars, or pines, or walnuttrees, forms an equally

effectual screen against the sun's noonday rays. In winter the uplands are, of course, cold. Severe weather

prevails in them from November to March;[8] snow falls on all the high ground, while it rains on the coast

and in the lowlands; the passes are blocked; and Lebanon and Bargylus replenish the icy stories which the

The vegetable productions of Phoenicia may be best considered under the several heads of trees, shrubs,

herbs, flowers, fruittrees, and garden vegetables. The chief trees were the palmtree, the sycamore, the

maritime pine, and the plane in the lowlands; in the highlands the cedar, Aleppo pine, oak, walnut, poplar,

acacia, shumac, and carob. We have spoken of the former abundance of the palm. At present it is found in

comparatively few places, and seldom in any considerable numbers. It grows singly, or in groups of two or

three, at various points of the coast from Tripolis to Acre, but is only abundant in a few spots more towards

the south, as at Haifa, under Carmel, where "fine datepalms" are numerous in the gardens,[9] and at Jaffa,

where travellers remark "a broad belt of two or three miles of datepalms and orangegroves laden with

fruit."[10] The wood was probably not much used as timber except in the earliest times, since Lebanon

afforded so many kinds of trees much superior for building purposes. The datepalm was also valued for its

fruit, though the produce of the Phoenician groves can never have been of a high quality.

The sycamore, or sycaminefig, is a darkfoliaged tree, with a gnarled stem when it is old;[11] it grows

either singly or in clumps, and much more resembles in appearance the English oak than the terebinth does,

which has been so often compared to it. The stem is short, and sends forth wide lateral branches forking out

in all directions, which renders the tree very easy to climb. It bears a small fig in great abundance, and

probably at all seasons, which, however, is "tasteless and woody,"[12] though eaten by the inhabitants. The

sycamore is common along the Phoenician lowland, but is a very tender tree and will not grow in the

The planetree, common in Asia Minor, is not very frequent either in Phoenicia or Palestine. It occurs,

however, on the middle course of the Litany, where it breaks through the roots of Lebanon,[13] and also in

many of the valleys[14] on the western flank of the mountain. The maritime pine (Pinus maritama) extends in

forests here and there along the shore,[15] and is found of service in checking the advance of the sand dunes,

Of the upland trees the most common is the oak. There are three species of oak in the country. The most

prevalent is an evergreen oak (Quercus pseudococcifera), sometimes mistaken by travellers for a holly,

sometimes for an ibex, which covers in a low dense bush many miles of the hilly country everywhere, and

occasionally becomes a large tree in the Lebanon valleys,[16] and on the flanks of Casius and Bargylus.

Another common oak is Quercus �gilops, a much smaller and deciduous tree, very stouttrunked, which

grows in scattered groups on Carmel and elsewhere, "giving a parklike appearance to the landscape."[17]

The third kind is Quercus infectoria, a galloak, also deciduous, and very conspicuous from the large number

of bright, chestnutcoloured, viscid galls which it bears, and which are now sometimes gathered for

Next to the oak may be mentioned the walnut, which grows to a great size in sheltered positions in the

Lebanon range, both upon the eastern and upon the western flank;[19] the poplar, which is found both in the

mountains[20] and in the low country, as especially about Beyrout;[21] the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis),

of which there are large woods in Carmel, Lebanon, and Bargylus,[22] while in Casius there is an enormous

forest of them;[23] and the carob (Ceratonia siliqua), or locusttree, a densefoliaged tree of a bright lucid

green hue, which never grows in clumps or forms woods, but appears as an isolated tree, rounded or oblong,

and affords the best possible shade.[24] In the vicinity of Tyre are found also large tamarisks, maples,

But the tree which is the glory of Phoenicia, and which was by far the most valuable of all its vegetable

productions, is, of course, the cedar. Growing to an immense height, and attaining an enormous girth, it

spreads abroad its huge flat branches hither and thither, covering a vast space of ground with its "shadowing

shroud,"[26] and presenting a most majestic and magnificent appearance. Its timber may not be of firstrate

quality, and there is some question whether it was really used for the masts of their ships by the

Phoenicians,[27] but as building material it was beyond a doubt most highly prized, answering sufficiently

for all the purposes required by architectural art, and at the same time delighting the sense of smell by its

aromatic odour. Solomon employed it both for the Temple and for his own house;[28] the Assyrian kings cut

it and carried it to Nineveh;[29] Herod the Great used it for the vast additions that he made to Zerubbabel's

temple;[30] it was exported to Egypt and Asia Minor; the Ephesian Greeks constructed of cedar, probably of

cedar from Lebanon, the roof of their famous temple of Diana.[31] At present the wealth of Lebanon in

cedars is not great, but the four hundred which form the grove near the source of the Kadisha, and the many

scattered cedar woods in other places, are to be viewed as remnants of one great primeval forest, which

originally covered all the upper slopes on the western side, and was composed, if not exclusively, at any rate

predominantly, of cedars.[32] Cultivation, the need of fuel, and the wants of builders, have robbed the

mountain of its primitive bright green vest, and left it either bare rock or terraced garden; but in the early

times of Phoenicia, the true Lebanon cedar must undoubtedly have been its chief forest tree, and have stood

to it as the pine to the Swiss Alps and the chestnut to the mountains of North Italy.

Of shrubs, below the rank of trees, the most important are the lentisk (Pistachia lentiscus), the bay, the

arbutus (A. andrachne), the cypress, the oleander, the myrtle, the juniper, the barberry, the styrax (S.

officinalis), the rhododendron, the bramble, the caper plant, the smallleaved holly, the prickly pear, the

honeysuckle, and the jasmine. Myrtle and rhododendron grow luxuriantly on the flanks of Bargylus, and are

more plentiful than any other shrubs in that region.[33] Eastern Lebanon has abundant scrub of juniper and

barberry;[34] while on the western slopes their place is taken by the bramble, the myrtle, and the

clematis.[35] The lentisk, which rarely exceeds the size of a low bush, is conspicuous by its dark evergreen

leaves and numerous small red berries;[36] the arbutusnot our species, but a far lighter and more

ornamental shrub, the Arbutus andrachnebears also a bright red fruit, which colours the thickets;[37] the

styrax, famous for yielding the gum storax of commerce, grows towards the east end of Carmel, and is a very

large bush branching from the ground, but never assuming the form of a tree; it has small downy leaves,

white flowers like orange blossoms, and round yellow fruit, pendulous from slender stalks, like cherries.[38]

Travellers in Phoenicia do not often mention the caper plant, but it was seen by Canon Tristram hanging from

the fissures of the rock, in the cleft of the Litany,[39] amid myrtle and bay and clematis. The smallleaved

holly was noticed by Mr. Walpole on the western flank of Bargylus.[40] The prickly pear is not a native of

Asia, but has been introduced from the New World. It has readily acclimatised itself, and is very generally

The fruittrees of Phoenicia are numerous, and grow most luxuriantly, but the majority have no doubt been

introduced from other countries, and the time of their introduction is uncertain. Five, however, may be

reckoned as either indigenous or as cultivated at any rate from a remote antiquitythe vine, the olive, the

datepalm, the walnut, and the fig. The vine is most widely spread. Vineyards cover large tracts in the

vicinity of all the towns; they climb up the sides of Carmel, Lebanon, and Bargylus,[42] hang upon the edge

of precipices, and greet the traveller at every turn in almost every region. The size of individual vines is

extraordinary. "Stephen Schultz states that in a village near Ptolema�s (Acre) he supped under a large vine,

the stem of which measured a foot and a half in diameter, its height being thirty feet; and that the whole plant,

supported on trellis, covered an area of fifty feet either way. The bunches of grapes weighed from ten to

twelve pounds and the berries were like small plums."[43] The olive in Phoenicia is at least as old as the

Exodus, for it was said of Asher, who was assigned the more southern part of that country"Let him be

acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil."[44] Olives at the present day clothe the slopes of

Lebanon and Bargylus above the vine region,[45] and are carried upward almost to the very edge of the bare

rock. They yield largely, and produce an oil of an excellent character. Fine olivegroves are also to be seen

on Carmel,[46] in the neighbourhood of Esfia. The datepalm has already been spoken of as a tree,

ornamenting the landscape and furnishing timber of tolerable quality. As a fruittree it is not greatly to be

prized, since it is only about Haifa and Jaffa that it produces dates,[47] and those of no high repute. The

walnut has all the appearance of being indigenous in Lebanon, where it grows to a great size,[48] and bears

abundance of fruit. The fig is also, almost certainly, a native; it grows plentifully, not only in the orchards

about towns, but on the flanks of Lebanon, on Bargylus, and in the northern Phoenician plain.[49]

The other fruittrees of the present day are the mulberry, the pomegranate, the orange, the lemon, the lime,

the peach, the apricot, the plum, the cherry, the quince, the apple, the pear, the almond, the pistachio nut, and

the banana. The mulberry is cultivated largely on the Lebanon[50] in connection with the growth of

silkworms, but is not valued as a fruittree. The pomegranate is far less often seen, but it is grown in the

gardens about Saida,[51] and the fruit has sometimes been an article of exportation.[52] The orange and

lemon are among the commonest fruits, but are generally regarded as comparatively late introductions. The

lime is not often noticed, but obtains mention in the work of Mr. Walpole.[53] The peach and apricot are for

the most part standard trees, though sometimes trained on trellises.[54] They were perhaps derived from

Mesopotamia or Persia, but at what date it is quite impossible to conjecture. Apples, pears, plums, cherries,

quinces, are not unlikely to have been indigenous, though of course the present species are the result of long

and careful cultivation. The same may be said of the almond and the pistachio nut. The banana is a

comparatively recent importation. It is grown along the coast from Jaffa as far north as Tripolis, and yields a

Altogether, Phoenicia may be pronounced a land of fruits. Hasselquist says,[56] that in his time Sidon grew

pomegranates, apricots, figs, almonds, oranges, lemons, and plums in such abundance as to furnish annually

several shiploads for export, while D'Arvieux adds to this list pears, peaches, cherries, and bananas.[57]

Lebanon alone can furnish grapes, olives, mulberries, figs, apples, apricots, walnuts, cherries, peaches,

lemons, and oranges. The coast tract adds pomegranates, limes, and bananas. It has been said that Carmel, a

portion of Phoenicia, is "the garden of Eden run wild;"[58] but the phrase might be fitly applied to the entire

Of herbs possessing some value for man, Phoenicia produces sage, rosemary, lavender, rue, and

wormwood.[59] Of flowers she has an extraordinary abundance. In early spring (March and April) not only

the plains, but the very mountains, except where they consist of bare rock, are covered with a variegated

carpet of the loveliest hues[60] from the floral wealth scattered over them. Bulbous plants are especially

numerous. Travellers mention hyacinths, tulips, ranunculuses, gladioli, anemones, orchises, crocuses of

several kinds blue and yellow and white, arums, amaryllises, cyclamens, besides heaths, jasmine,

honeysuckle, clematis, multiflora roses, rhododendrons, oleander, myrtle, astragalus, hollyhocks, convolvuli,

valerian, red linum, pheasant's eye, guelder roses, antirrhinums, chrysanthemums, blue campanulas, and

mandrakes. The orchises include "Ophrys atrata, with its beelike lip, another like the spider orchis, and a

third like the man orchis;"[61] the cyclamens are especially beautiful, "nestling under every stone and lavish

of their loveliness with graceful tufts of blossoms varying in hue from purest white to deepest purple

pink."[62] The multiflora rose is not common, but where it grows "covers the banks of streams with a sheet

of blossom;"[63] the oleanders fringe their waters with a line of ruby red; the mandrake (Mandragora

officinalis) is "one of the most striking plants of the country, with its flat disk of very broad primroselike

leaves, and its central bunch of dark blue bellshaped blossom."[64] Ferns also abound, and among them is

The principal garden vegetables grown at the present day are melons, cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins, turnips,

carrots, and radishes.[66] The kinds of grain most commonly cultivated are wheat, barley, millet, and maize.

There is also an extensive cultivation of tobacco, indigo, and cotton, which have been introduced from abroad

in comparatively modern times. Oil, silk, and fruits are, however, still among the chief articles of export; and

the present wealth of the country is attributable mainly to its groves and orchards, its olives, mulberries, figs,

The zoology of Phoenicia has not until recently attracted very much attention. At present the list of land

animals known to inhabit it is short,[67] including scarcely more than the bear, the leopard or panther, the

wolf, the hy�na, the jackal, the fox, the hare, the wild boar, the ichneumon, the gazelle, the squirrel, the rat,

and the mole. The present existence of the bear within the limits of the ancient Phoenicia has been

questioned,[68] but the animal has been seen in Lebanon by Mr. Porter,[69] and in the mountains of Galilee

by Canon Tristram.[70] The species is the Syrian bear (Ursus syriacus), a large and fierce beast, which,

though generally frugivorous, will under the presser of hunger attack both men and animals. Its main habitat

is, no doubt, the less accessible parts of Lebanon; but in the winter it will descend to the villages and gardens,

where it often does much damage.[71] The panther or leopard has, like the bear, been seen by Mr. Porter in

the Lebanon range;[72] and Canon Tristram, when visiting Carmel, was offered the skin of an adult

leopard[73] which had probably been killed in that neighbourhood. Anciently it was much more frequent in

Phoenicia and Palestine than it is at present, as appears by the numerous notices of it in Scripture.[74]

Wolves, hy�nas, and jackals are comparatively common. They haunt not only Carmel and Lebanon, but

many portions of the coast tract. Canon Tristram obtained from Carmel "the two largest hy�nas that he had

ever seen,"[75] and fell in with jackals in the vicinity.[76] Wolves seem to be more scarce, though anciently

The favourite haunts of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Phoenicia are Carmel[77] and the deep valleys on the

western slope of Lebanon. The valley of the Adonis (Ibrahim) is still noted for them,[78] but, except on

Carmel, they are not very abundant. Foxes and hares are also somewhat rare, and it is doubtful whether

rabbits are to be found in any part of the country;[79] ichneumons, which are tolerably common, seem

sometimes to be mistaken for them. Gazelles are thought to inhabit Carmel,[80] and squirrels, rats, and moles

are common. Bats also, if they may be counted among landanimals, are frequent; they belong, it is probable,

If the fauna of Phoenicia is restricted so far as landanimals are concerned, it is extensive and varied in

respect of birds. The list of known birds includes two sorts of eagle (Circa�tos gallicus and Aquila

n�vio�des), the osprey, the vulture, the falcon, the kite, the honeybuzzard, the marshharrier, the

sparrowhawk, owls of two kinds (Ketupa ceylonensis and Athene meridionalis), the grey shrike (Lanius

excubitor), the common cormorant, the pigmy cormorant (Gr�culus pygm�us), numerous seagulls, as the

Adriatic gull (Larus melanocephalus), Andonieri's gull, the herringgull, the RedSeagull (Larus

ichthyoa�tos), and others; the gullbilled tern (Sterna anglica), the Egyptian goose, the wild duck, the

W., the Greek partridge (Caccabis saxatilis), the waterhen, the corncrake or landrail, the coot, the

waterouzel, the francolin; plovers of three kinds, green, golden, and Kentish; dotterels of two kinds, red

throated and Asiatic; the Manx shearwater, the flamingo, the heron, the common kingfisher, and the black

and white kingfisher of Egypt, the jay, the woodpigeon, the rockdove, the blue thrush, the Egyptian fantail

(Drymoeca gracilis), the redshank, the wheatear (Saxicola libanotica), the common lark, the Persian horned

lark, the cisticole, the yellowbilled Alpine chough, the nightingale of the East (Ixos xanthopygius), the

robin, the brown linnet, the chaffinch; swallows of two kinds (Hirundo cahirica and Hirundo rufula); the

meadow bunting; the Lebanon redstart, the common and yellow waterwagtails, the chiffchaff, the coletit,

the Russian tit, the siskin, the nuthatch, and the willow wren. Of these the most valuable for the table are the

partridge, the francolin, and the W.. The Greek partridge is "a fine redlegged bird, much larger than

our redlegged partridge, and very much better eating, with white flesh, and nearly as heavy as a

pheasant."[82] The francolin or black partridge is also a delicacy; and the W., which is identical with

The fish of Phoenicia, excepting certain shellfish, are little known, and have seldom attracted the attention

of travellers. The Mediterranean, however, where it washes the Phoenician coast, can furnish excellent

mullet,[83] while most of the rivers contain freshwater fish of several kinds, as the Blennius lupulus, the

Scaphiodon capo�ta, and the Anguilla microptera.[84] All of these fish may be eaten, but the quality is

On the other hand, to certain of the shellfish of Phoenicia a great celebrity attaches. The purple dye which

gave to the textile fabrics of the Phoenicians a worldwide reputation was prepared from certain shellfish

which abounded upon their coast. Four existing species have been regarded as more or less employed in the

manufacture, and it seems to be certain, at any rate, that the Phoenicians derived the dye from more shellfish

than one. The four are the Buccinum lapillus of Pliny,[85] which is the Purpura lapillus of modern naturalists;

the Murex trunculus; the Murex brandaris; and the Helix ianthina. The Buccinum derives its name from the

form of the shell, which has a wide mouth, like that of a trumpet, and which after one or two twists terminates

in a pointed head.[86] The Murex trunculus has the same general form as the Buccinum; but the shell is more

rough and spinous, being armed with a number of long thin projections which terminate in a sharp point.[87]

The Murex brandaris is a closely allied species, and "one of the most plentiful on the Phoenician coast."[88]

It is unlikely that the ancients regarded it as a different shell from Murex trunculus. The Helix ianthina has a

wholly different character. It is a sort of seasnail, as the name helix implies, is perfectly smooth, "very

delicate and fragile, and not more than about threequarters of an inch in diameter."[89] All these shellfish

contain a sac or bag full of colouring matter, which is capable of being used as a dye. It is quite possible that

they were all, more or less, made use of by the Phoenician dyers; but the evidence furnished by existing

remains on the Tyrian coast is strongly in favour of the Murex brandaris as the species principally

The mineral treasures of Phoenicia have not, in modern times, been examined with any care. The Jura

limestone, which forms the substratum of the entire region, cannot be expected to yield any important mineral

products. But the sandstone, which overlies it in places, is "often largely impregnated with iron," and some

strata towards the southern end of Lebanon are said to produce "as much as ninety per cent. of pure iron

ore."[91] An ochrous earth is also found in the hills above Beyrout, which gives from fifty to sixty per cent.

of metal.[92] Coal, too, has been found in the same locality, but it is of bad quality, and does not exist in

sufficient quantity to form an important product. Limestone, both cretaceous and siliceous, is plentiful, as are

sandstone, trap and basalt; while porphyry and greenstone are also obtainable.[93] Carmel yields crystals of

quarts and chalcedony,[94] and the fine sand about Tyre and Sidon is still such as would make excellent

glass. But the main productions of Phoenicia, in which its natural wealth consisted, must always have been

vegetable, rather than animal or mineral, and have consisted in its timber, especially its cedars and pines; its

fruits, as olives, figs, grapes, and, in early times, dates; and its garden vegetables, melons, gourds, pumpkins,

Semitic origin of the PhoeniciansCharacteristics of the Semites Place of the Phoenicians within the

Semitic groupConnected linguistically with the Israelites and the AssyroBabylonians Original seat of

the nation, Lower BabyloniaSpecial characteristics of the Phoenician peopleIndustry and perseverance

Audacity in enterprisePliability and adaptabilityAcuteness of intellectBusiness capacityCharge

The Phoenician people are generally admitted to have belonged to the group of nations known as Semitic.

This group, somewhat irrelevantly named, since the descent of several of them from Shem is purely

problematic, comprises the Assyrians, the later Babylonians, the Aram�ans or Syrians, the Arabians, the

Moabites, the Phoenicians, and the Hebrews. A single and very marked type of language belongs to the entire

group, and a character of homogeneity may, with certain distinctions, be observed among all the various

members composing it. The unity of language is threefold: it may be traced in the roots, in the inflections,

and in the general features of the syntax. The roots are, as a rule, bilateral or trilateral, composed (that is) of

two or three letters, all of which are consonants. The consonants determine the general sense of the words,

and are alone expressed in the primitive writing; the vowel sounds do but modify more or less the general

sense, and are unexpressed until the languages begin to fall into decay. The roots are, almost all of them,

more or less physical and sensuous. They are derived in general from an imitation of nature. "If one looked

only to the Semitic languages," says M. Renan,[1] "one would say, that sensation alone presided over the first

acts of the human intellect, and that language was primarily nothing but a mere reflex of the external world. If

we run through the list of Semitic roots, we scarcely meet with a single one which does not present to us a

sense primarily material, which is then transferred, by transitions more or less direct and immediate, to things

which are intellectual." Derivative words are formed from the roots by a few simple and regular laws. The

noun is scarcely inflected at all; but the verb has a marvellous wealth of conjugations, calculated to express

excellently well the external relations of ideas, but altogether incapable of expressing their metaphysical

relations, from the want of definitely marked tenses and moods. Inflections in general have a half

agglutinative character, the meaning and origin of the affixes and suffixes being palpable. Syntax scarcely

exists, the construction of sentences having such a general character of simplicity, especially in narrative, that

one might compare it with the na�ve utterances of an infant. The utmost endeavour of the Semites is to join

words together so as to form a sentence; to join sentences is an effort altogether beyond them. They employ

the {lexis eiromene} of Aristotle,[2] which proceeds by accumulating atom on atom, instead of attempting

The common traits of character among Semitic nations have been summed up by one writer under five

heads:1. Pliability combined with iron fixity of purpose; 2. Depth and force; 3. A yearning for dreamy

ease; 4. Capacity for the hardest work; and 5. Love of abstract thought.[3] Another has thought to find them

in the following list:1. An intuitive monotheism; 2. Intolerance; 3. Prophetism; 4. Want of the philisophic

and scientific faculties; 5. Want of curiosity; 6. Want of appreciation of mimetic art; 7. Want of capacity for

true political life.[4] According to the latter writer, "the Semitic race is to be recognized almost entirely by

negative characteristics; it has no mythology, no epic poetry, no science, no philosophy, no fiction, no plastic

arts, no civil life; everywhere it shows absence of complexity; absence of combination; an exclusive

sentiment of unity."[5] It is not very easy to reconcile these two views, and not very satisfactory to regard a

race as "characterised by negatives." Agreement should consist in positive features, and these may perhaps be

found, first, in strength and depth of the religious feeling, combined with firm belief in the personality of the

Deity; secondly, in dogged determination and "iron fixity of purpose;" thirdly, in inventiveness and skill in

the mechanical arts and other industries; fourthly, in "capacity for hard work;" and, fifthly, in a certain

adaptability and pliability, suiting the race for expansion and for commerce. All these qualities are perhaps

not conspicuous in all the branches of the Semites, but the majority of them will be found united in all, and in

It is primarily on account of their language that the Phoenicians are regarded as Semites. When there are no

historical grounds for believing that a nation has laid aside its own original form of speech, and adopted an

alien dialect, language, if not a certain, is at least a very strong, evidence of ethnic character.

Counterevidence may no doubt rebut the prima facie presumption; but in the case of the Phoenicians no

counterevidence is producible. They belong to exactly that geographic zone in which Semitism has always

had its chief seat; they cannot be shown to have been ever so circumstanced as to have had any inducement to

change their speech; and their physical character and mental characteristics would, by themselves, be almost

The place which the Phoenicians occupy within the Semitic group is a question considerably more difficult to

determine. By local position they should belong to the western, or Aramaic branch, rather than to the eastern,

or AssyroBabylonian, or to the southern, or Arab. But the linguistic evidence scarcely lends itself to such a

view, while the historic leads decidedly to an opposite conclusion. There is a far closer analogy between the

Palestinian group of languagesPhoenician, Hebrew, Moabite, and the AssyroBabylonian, than between

either of these and the Aramaic. The Aramaic is scanty both in variety of grammatical forms and in

vocabulary; the Phoenician and Assyro Babylonian are comparatively copious.[6] The Aramaic has the

character of a degraded language; the AssyroBabylonian and the Phoenician are modelled on a primitive

type.[7] In some respects Phoenician is even closer to AssyroBabylonian than Hebrew ise.g. in preferring

The testimony of history to the origin of the Phoenicians is the following. Herodotus tells us that both the

Phoenicians themselves, and the Persians best acquainted with history and antiquities, agreed in stating that

the original settlements of the Phoenician people were upon the Erythr�an Sea (Persian Gulf), and that they

had migrated from that quarter at a remote period, and transferred their abode to the shores of the

Mediterranean.[9] Strabo adds that the inhabitants of certain islands in the Persian Gulf had a similar

tradition, and showed temples in their cities which were Phoenician in character.[10] Justin, or rather Trogus

Pompeius, whom he abbreviated, writes as follows:"The Syrian nation was founded by the Phoenicians,

who, being disturbed by an earthquake, left their native land, and settled first of all in the neighbourhood of

the Assyrian Lake, and subsequently on the shore of the Mediterranean, where they built a city which they

called Sidon on account of the abundance of the fish; for the Phoenicians call a fish sidon."[11] The

"Assyrian lake" of this passage is probably the Bahr Nedjif, or "Sea of Nedjif," in the neighbourhood of the

ancient Babylon, a permanent sheet of water, varying in its dimensions at different seasons, but generally

about forty miles long, and from ten to twenty broad.[12] Attempts have been made to discredit this entire

story, but the highest living authority on the subject of Phoenicia and the Phoenicians adopts it as almost

certainly true, and observes:"The tradition relative to the sojourn of the Phoenicians on the borders of the

Erythr�an Sea, before their establishment on the coast of the Mediterranean, has thus a new light thrown

upon it. It appears from the labours of M. Movers, and from the recent discoveries made at Nineveh and

Babylon, that the civilisation and religion of Phoenicia and Assyria were very similar. Independently of this,

the majority of modern critics admit it as demonstrated that the primitive abode of the Phoenicians ought to

be placed upon the Lower Euphrates, in the midst of the great commercial and maritime establishments of the

If we pass from the probable origin of the Phoenician people, and their place in the Semitic group, to their

own special characteristics, we shall find ourselves upon surer ground, though even here there are certain

points which are debateable. The following is the account of their general character given by a very high

"The Phoenicians form, in some respects, the most important fraction of the whole group of antique nations,

notwithstanding that they sprang from the most obscure and insignificant families. This fraction, when

settled, was constantly exposed to inroad by new tribes, was utterly conquered and subjected by utter

strangers when it had taken a great place among the nations, and yet by industry, by perseverance, by

acuteness of intellect, by unscrupulousness and wait of faith, by adaptability and pliability when necessary,

and dogged defiance at other times, by total disregard of the rights of the weaker, they obtained the foremost

place in the history of their times, and the highest reputation, not only for the things that they did, but for

many that they did not. They were the first systematic traders, the first miners and metallurgists, the greatest

inventors (if we apply such a term to those who kept an everwatchful lookout for the inventions of others,

and immediately applied them to themselves with some grand improvements on the original idea); they were

the boldest mariners, the greatest colonisers, who at one time held not only the gorgeous East, but the whole

of the then halfcivilised West in fee who could boast of a form of government approaching to

constitutionalism, who of all nations of the time stood highest in practical arts and sciences, and into whose

laps there flowed an unceasing stream of the world's entire riches, until the day came when they began to care

for nothing else, and the enjoyment of material comforts and luxuries took the place of the thirst for and

search after knowledge. Their piratical prowess and daring was undermined; their colonies, grown old

enough to stand alone, fell away from them, some after a hard fight, others in mutual agreement or silently;

and the nations in whose estimation and fear they had held the first place, and who had been tributary to

them, disdained them, ignored them, and finally struck them utterly out of the list of nations, till they

The prominent qualities in this description would seem to be industry and perseverance, audacity in

enterprise, adaptability and pliability, acuteness of intellect, unscrupulousness, and want of good faith. The

Phoenicians were certainly among the most industrious and persevering of mankind. The accounts which we

have of them from various quarters, and the remains which cover the country that they once inhabited,

sufficiently attest their unceasing and untiring activity through almost the whole period of their existence as a

nation. Always labouring in their workshops at home in mechanical and �sthetic arts, they were at the same

time constantly seeking employment abroad, ransacking the earth for useful or beautiful commodities,

building cities, constructing harbours, founding colonies, introducing the arts of life among wild nations,

mining and establishing fisheries, organising lines of land traffic, perpetually moving from place to place, and

leaving wherever they went abundant proofs of their diligence and capacity for hard work. From Thasos in

the East, where Herodotus saw "a large mountain turned topsyturvy by the Phoenicians in their search for

gold,"[15] to the Scilly Islands in the West, where workings attributable to them are still to be seen, all the

metalliferous islands and coast tracts bear traces of Phoenician industry in tunnels, adits, and airshafts, while

manufactured vessels of various kinds in silver, bronze, and terracotta, together with figures and gems of a

Phoenician type, attest still more widely their manufacturing and commercial activity.

Audacity in enterprise can certainly not be denied to the adventurous race which, from the islands and coasts

of the Eastern Mediterranean, launched forth upon the unknown sea in fragile ships, affronted the perils of

waves and storms, and still more dreaded "monsters of the deep,"[16] explored the recesses of the stormy

Adriatic and inhospitable Pontus, steered their perilous course amid all the islets and rocks of the �gean,

along the ironbound shores of Thrace, Euboea, and Laconia, first into the Western Mediterranean basin, and

then through the Straits of Gibraltar into the wild and boundless Atlantic, with its mighty tides, its huge

rollers, its blinding rains, and its frequent fogs. Without a chart, without a compass, guided only in their

daring voyages by their knowledge of the stars, these bold mariners penetrated to the shores of Scythia in one

direction; to Britain, if not even to the Baltic, in another; in a third to the Fortunate Islands; while, in a fourth,

they traversed the entire length of the Red Sea, and entering upon the Southern Ocean, succeeded in doubling

the Cape of Storms two thousand years before Vasco di Gama, and in effecting the circumnavigation of

Africa.[17] And, wild as the seas were with which they had to deal, they had to deal with yet wilder men.

Except in Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece, and perhaps Italy, they came in contact everywhere with savage races;

they had to enter into close relations with men treacherous, bloodthirsty, covetousmen who were almost

always thieves, who were frequently cannibals, sometimes wreckerswho regarded foreigners as a cheap

and very delicious kind of food. The pioneers of civilisation, always and everywhere, incur dangers from

which ordinary mortals would shrink with dismay; but the earliest pioneers, the first introducers of the

elements of culture among barbarians who had never heard of it, must have encountered far greater peril than

others from their ignorance of the ways of savage man, and a want of those tremendous weapons of attack

and defence with which modern explorers take care to provide themselves. Until the invention of gunpowder,

the arms of civilised menswords, and spears, and javelins, and the likewere scarcely a match for the

cunningly devised weaponsboomerangs, and blowpipes, and poisoned arrows, and lassoes[18]of the

The adaptability and pliability of the Phoenicians was especially shown in their power of obtaining the

favourable regard of almost all the peoples and nations with which they came into contact, whether civilised

or uncivilised. It is most remarkable that the Egyptians, intolerant as they usually were of strangers, should

have allowed the Phoenicians to settle in their southern capital, Memphis, and to build a temple and inhabit a

quarter there.[19] It is also curious and interesting that the Phoenicians should have been able to ingratiate

themselves with another most exclusive and selfsufficing people, viz. the Jews. Hiram's friendly dealings

with David and Solomon are well known; but the continued alliance between the Phoenicians and the

Israelites has attracted less attention. Solomon took wives from Phoenicia;[20] Ahab married the daughter of

Ithobalus, king of Sidon;[21] Phoenicia furnished timber for the second Temple;[22] Isaiah wound up his

prophecy against Tyre with a consolation;[23] our Lord found faith in the SyroPhoenician woman;[24] in

the days of Herod Agrippa, Tyre and Sidon still desired peace with Jud�a, "because their country was

nourished by the king's country."[25] And similarly Tyre had friendly relations with Syria and Greece, with

Mesopotamia and Assyria, with Babylonia and Chald�a. At the same time she could bend herself to meet the

wants and gain the confidence of all the varieties of barbarians, the rude Armenians, the wild Arabs, the

barbarous tribes of northern and western Africa, the rough Iberi, the passionate Gauls, the painted Britons, the

coarse Sards, the fierce Thracians, the filthy Scyths, the savage races of the Caucasus. Tribes so timid and

distrustful as those of Tropical Africa were lured into peaceful and friendly relations by the artifice of a

"dumb commerce,"[26] and on every side untamed man was softened and drawn towards civilisation by a

If the Phoenicians are to be credited with acuteness of intellect, it must be limited to the field of practical

enquiry and discovery. Whatever may be said with regard to the extent and variety of their literaturea

subject which will be treated in another chapterit cannot be pretended that humanity owes to them any

important conquests of a scientific or philosophic character. Herodotus, who admires the learning of the

Persians,[27] the science of the Babylonians,[28] and the combined learning and science of the

Egyptians,[29] limits his commendation of the Phoenicians to their skill in navigation, in mechanics, and in

works of art.[30] Had they made advances in the abstract, or even in the mixed, sciences, in mathematics, or

astronomy, or geometry, in logic or metaphysics, either their writings would have been preserved, or at least

the Greeks would have made acknowledgments of being indebted to them.[31] But it is only in the field of

practical matters that any such acknowledgments are made. The Greeks allow themselves to have been

indebted to the Phoenicians for alphabetic writing, for advances in metallurgy, for improvements in

shipbuilding, and navigation, for much geographic knowledge, for exquisite dyes, and for the manufacture of

glass. There can be no doubt that the Phoenicians were a people of great practical ability, with an intellect

quick to devise means to ends, to scheme, contrive, and execute, and with a happy knack of perceiving what

was practically valuable in the inventions of other nations, and of appropriating them to their own use, often

with improvements upon the original idea. But they were not possessed of any great genius or originality.

They were, on the whole, adapters rather than inventors. They owed their idea of alphabetic writing to the

Accadians,[32] their weights and measures to Babylon,[33] their shipbuilding probably to Egypt,[34] their

early architecture to the same country,[35] their mimetic art to Assyria, to Egypt, and to Greece. They were

not poets, or painters, or sculptors, or great architects, much less philosophers or scientists; but in the

practical arts, and even in the practical sciences, they held a high place, in almost all of them equalling, and in

We should be inclined also to assign to the Phoenicians, as a special characteristic, a peculiar capacity for

business. This may be said, indeed, to be nothing more than acuteness of intellect applied in a particular way.

To ourselves, however, it appears to be, in some sort, a special gift. As, beyond all question, there are many

persons of extremely acute intellect who have not the slightest turn for business, or ability for dealing with it,

so we think there are nations, to whom no one would deny high intellectual power, without the capacity in

question. In its most perfect form it has belonged but to a small number of nationsto the Phoenicians, the

Venetians, the Genoese, the English, and the Dutch. It implies, not so much high intellectual power, as a

combination of valuable, yet not very admirable, qualities of a lower order. Industry, perseverance,

shrewdness, quickness of perception, power of forecasting the future, power of organisation, boldness,

promptness, are among the qualities needed, and there may be others discoverable by the skilful analyst. All

these met in the Phoenicians, and met in the proportions that were needed for the combination to take full

Whether unscrupulousness and want of good faith are rightly assigned to the Phoenicians as characteristic

traits, is, at the least, open to doubt. The Latin writers, with whom the reproach contained in the expression

"Punica fides" originated, are scarcely to be accepted as unprejudiced witnesses, since it is in most instances a

necessity that they should either impute "bad faith" to the opposite side, or admit that there was "bad faith" on

their own. The aspersions of an enemy are entitled to little weight. The cry of "perfide Albion" is often heard

in the land of one of our near neighbours; but few Englishmen will admit the justice of it. It may be urged in

favour of the Phoenicians that longcontinued commercial success is impossible without fairdealing and

honesty; that where there is commercial fair dealing and honesty, those qualities become part and parcel of

the national character, and determine national policy; and, further, that in almost every one of the instances of

bad faith alleged, there is at the least a doubt, of which the accused party ought to have the benefit. At any

rate, let it be remembered that the charges made affect the LibyPhoenicians alone, and not the Phoenicians

of Asia, with whom we are here primarily concerned, and that we cannot safely, or equitably, transfer to a

Physically, the Phoenicians appear to have resembled the Assyrians and the Jews. They had large frames

strongly made, welldeveloped muscles, curled beards, and abundant hair. In their features they may have

borne a resemblance, but probably not a very strong resemblance, to the Cypriots,[36] who were a mixed

people recruited from various quarters.[37] In complexion they belonged to the white race, but were rather

sallow than fair. Their hair was generally dark, though it may have been sometimes red. Some have regarded

the name "Phoenician" as indicating that they were of a red or redbrown colour;[38] but it is better to regard

the appellation as having passed from the country to its people, and as applied to the country by the Greeks

Importance of the cities in PhoeniciaTheir names and relative eminenceCities of the first

rankSidonTyreArvad or Aradus MarathusGebal or ByblusTripolisCities of the second

Phoenicia, like Greece, was a country where the cities held a position of extreme importance. The nation was

not a centralised one, with a single recognised capital, like Jud�a, or Samaria, or Syria, or Assyria, or

Babylonia. It was, like Greece, a congeries of homogeneous tribes, who had never been amalgamated into a

single political entity, and who clung fondly to the idea of separate independence. Tyre and Sidon are often

spoken of as if they were metropolitical cities; but it may be doubted whether there was ever a time when

either of them could claim even a temporary authority over the whole country. Each, no doubt, from time to

time, exercised a sort of hegemony over a certain number of the inferior cities; but there was no organised

confederacy, no obligation of any one city to submit to another, and no period, as far as our knowledge

extends, at which all the cities acknowledged a single one as their mistress.[1] Between Tyre and Sidon there

was especial jealousy, and the acceptance by either of the leadership of the other, even temporarily, was a

According to the geographers, the cities of Phoenicia, from Laodicea in the extreme north to Joppa at the

extreme south, numbered about twentyfive. These were Laodicea, Gabala, Balanea, Paltos; Aradus, with its

dependency Antaradus; Marathus; Simyra, Orthosia, and Arka; Tripolis, Calamus, Trieris, and Botrys;

Byblus or Gebal; Aphaca; Berytus; Sidon, Sarepta, and Ornithonpolis; Tyre and Ecdippa; Accho and

Porphyreon; Dor and Joppa. Of the twentyfive a certain number were, historically and politically,

insignificant; for instance, Gabala, Balanea, Paltos, Orthosia, Calamus, Trieris, Botrys, Sarepta,

Ornithonpolis, Porphyreon. Sarepta is immortalised by the memory of its pious widow,[2] and Orthosia has a

place in history from its connection with the adventures of Trypho;[3] but the rest of the list are little more

than "geographical expressions." There remain fifteen important cities, of which six may be placed in the first

rank and nine in the secondthe six being Tyre, Sidon, Aradus, Byblus or Gebal, Marathus, and Tripolis; the

nine, Laodicea, Simyra, Arka, Aphaca, Berytus, Ecdippa, Accho, Dor, and Joppa. It will be sufficient in the

There are some grounds for considering Sidon to have been the most ancient of the Phoenician towns. In the

Book of Genesis Sidon is called "the eldest born of Canaan,"[4] and in Joshua, where Tyre is simply a

"fenced city" or fort,[5] it is "Great Zidon."[6] Homer frequently mentions it,[7] whereas he takes no notice

of Tyre. Justin makes it the first town which the Phoenicians built on arriving at the shores of the

Mediterranean.[8] The priority of Sidon in this respect was, however, not universally acknowledged, since

Tyre claims on some of her coins to have been "the mothercity of the Sidonians,"[9] and Marathus was also

regarded as a city of the very highest antiquity.[10] The city stood in Lat. 33� 34� nearly, on the flat plain

between the mountains and the shore, opposite a small promontory which projects into the sea towards the

west, and is flanked towards the northwest and north by a number of rocky islands. The modern town of

Sa�da stands close upon the shore, occupying the greater part of the peninsula and a portion of the plain on

which it abuts; but the ancient city is found to have been situated entirely in the plain, and its most western

traces are almost half a mile from the nearest point of the present walls.[11] The modern Sa�da has clustered

itself about what was the principal port of the ancient town, which lay north of the promontory, and was well

protected from winds, on the west by the principal island, which has a length of 250 yards, and on the north

by a long range of islets and reefs, extending in a northeasterly direction a distance of at least 600 yards. An

excellent roadstead was thus formed by nature, which art early improved into a small but commodious

harbour, a line of wall being carried out from the coast northwards to the most easterly of the islets, and the

only unprotected side of the harbour being thus securely closed. There is reason to believe that this work was

completed anterior to the time of Alexander,[12] and was therefore due to the Phoenicians themselves, who

were not blind to the advantages of closed harbours over open roadsteads. They seem also to have

strengthened the natural barrier towards the north by a continuous wall of huge blocks along the reefs and the

Besides this excellent harbour, 500 yards long by 200 broad, Sidon possessed on the southern side of the

peninsula a second refuge for its ships, less safe, but still more spacious. This was an oval basin, 600 yards

long from north to south, and nearly 400 broad from east to west, wholly surrounded by land on three sides,

the north, the east, and the south, but open for the space of about 200 yards towards the west. In fine weather

this harbour was probably quite as much used as the other; it was protected from all the winds that were

commonly prevalent, and offered a long stretch of sandy shore free from buildings on which vessels could be

It is impossible to mark out the enceinte of the ancient town, or indeed to emplace it with any exactitude.

Only scanty and scattered remains are left here and there between the modern city and the mountains. There

is, however, towards the south an extensive necropolis,[13] which marks perhaps the southern limits of the

city, while towards the east the hills are penetrated by a number of sepulchural grottoes, and tombs of various

kinds, which were also probably outside the walls. Were a northern necropolis to be discovered, some idea

would be furnished of the extent of the city; but at present the plain has been very imperfectly examined in

this direction. It is from the southern necropolis that the remarkable inscription was disinterred which first

established beyond all possibility of doubt the fact that the modern Sa�da is the representative of the ancient

Twenty miles to the south of Sidon was the still more important city the double cityof Tzur or Tyre.

Tzur signifies "a rock," and at this point of the Syrian coast (Lat. 33� 17�) there lay at a short distance from

the shore a set of rocky islets, on the largest of which the original city seems to have been built. Indentations

are so rare and so shallow along this coast, that a maritime people naturally looked out for littoral islands, as

affording under the circumstances the best protection against boisterous winds; and, as in the north Aradus

was early seized and occupied by Phoenician settlers, so in the south the rock, which became the heart of

Tyre, was seized, fortified, covered with buildings, and converted from a bare stony eminence into a town. At

the same time, or not much later, a second town grew up on the mainland opposite the isle; and the two

together were long regarded as constituting a single city. After the time of Alexander the continental town

went to decay; and the name of Pal�Tyrus was given to it,[15] to distinguish it from the still flourishing city

The islands of which we have spoken formed a chain running nearly in parallel to the coast. They were some

eleven or twelve in number. The southern extremity of the chain was formed by three, the northern by seven,

small islets.[16] Intermediate between these lay two islands of superior size, which were ultimately converted

into one by filling up the channel between them. A further enlargement was effected by means of

substructions thrown out into the sea, probably on two sides, towards the east and towards the south. By these

means an area was produced sufficient for the site of a considerable town. Pliny estimated the circumference

of the island Tyre at twentytwo stades,[17] or somewhat more than two miles and a half. Modern

measurements make the actual present area one of above 600,000 square yards.[18] The shape was an

irregular trapezium, 1,400 yards along its western face, 800 yards along its southern one, 600 along the face

The whole town was surrounded by a lofty wall, the height of which, on the side which faced the mainland,

was, we are told, a hundred and fifty feet.[19] Towards the south the foundations of the wall were laid in the

sea, and may still be traced.[20] They consist of huge blocks of stone strengthened inside by a conglomerate

of very hard cement. The wall runs out from the southeastern corner of what was the original island, in a

direction a little to the south of west, till it reaches the line of the western coast, when it turns at a sharp angle,

and rejoins the island at its southwestern extremity. At present sea is found for some distance to the north of

the wall, and this fact has been thought to show that originally it was intended for a pier or quay, and the

space within it for a harbour;[21] but the latest explorers are of opinion that the space was once filled up with

masonry and rubbish, being an artificial addition to the island, over which, in the course of time, the sea has

Like Sidon, Tyre had two harbours, a northern and a southern. The northern, which was called the

"Sidonian," because it looked towards Sidon, was situated on the east of the main island, towards the northern

end of it. On the west and south the land swept round it in a natural curve, effectually guarding two sides;

while the remaining two were protected by art. On the north a double line of wall was carried out in a

direction a little south of east for a distance of about three hundred yards, the space between the two lines

being about a hundred feet. The northern line acted as a sort of breakwater, the southern as a pier. This last

terminated towards the east on reaching a ridge of natural rock, and was there met by the eastern wall of the

harbour, which ran out in a direction nearly due north for a distance of 250 yards, following the course of two

reefs, which served as its foundation. Between the reefs was a space of about 140 feet, which was left open,

but could be closed, if necessary, by a boom or chain, which was kept in readiness. The dimensions of this

northern harbour are thought to have been about 370 yards from north to south, by about 230 from east to

west,[23] or a little short of those which have been assigned to the northern harbour of Sidon. Concerning the

southern harbour there is considerable difference of opinion. Some, as Kenrick and M. Bertou, place it due

south of the island, and regard its boundary as the line of submarine wall which we have already described

and regarded as constituting the southern wall of the town. Others locate it towards the southeast, and think

that it is now entirely filled up. A canal connected the two ports, so that vessels could pass from the one to the

The most remarkable of the Tyrian buildings were the royal palace, which abutted on the southern wall of the

town, and the temples dedicated to Baal, Melkarth, Agenor, and Astarte or Ashtoreth.[24] The probable

character of the architecture of these buildings will be hereafter considered. With respect to their

emplacement, it would seem by the most recent explorations that the temple of Baal, called by the Greeks

that of the Olympian Zeus, stood by itself on what was originally a separate islet at the southwestern corner

of the city,[25] while that of Melkarth occupied a position as nearly as possible central,[26] and that of

Agenor was placed near the point in which the island terminates toward the north.[27] The houses of the

inhabitants were closely crowded together, and rose to the height of several storeys.[28] There was an open

space for the transaction of business within the walls towards the east, called Eurychorus by those

Phoenicians who wrote their histories in Greek.[29] The town was full of dyeing establishments, which made

The population of the island Tyre, when it was captured by Alexander, seems to have been about forty

thousand souls.[31] As St. Malo, a city less than onethird of the size, is known to have had at one time a

population of twelve thousand,[32] the number, though large for the area, would seem not to be incredible.

Of Pal�Tyrus, or the continental Tyre, no satisfactory account can be given, since it has absolutely left no

remains, and the classical notices on the subject are exceedingly scanty. At different periods of its history, its

limits and extent probably varied greatly. Its position was nearly opposite the island, and in the early times it

must have been, like the other coast towns, strongly fortified; but after its capture by Alexander the walls do

not seem to have been restored, and it became an open straggling town, extending along the shore from the

river Leontes (Litany) to RaselAin, a distance of seven miles or more. Pliny, who wrote when its boundary

could still be traced, computed the circuit of Pal�Tyrus and the island Tyre together at nineteen Roman

miles,[33] the circuit of the island by itself being less than three miles. Its situation, in a plain of great

fertility, at the foot of the southwestern spurs of Lebanon, and near the gorge of the Litany, was one of great

beauty. Water was supplied to it in great abundance from the copious springs of RaselAin, which were

received into a reservoir of an octagonal shape, sixty feet in diameter, and inclosed within walls eighteen feet

in height,[34] whence they were conveyed northwards to the heart of the city by an aqueduct, whereof a part

The most important city of Phoenicia towards the north was Arvad, or Aradus. Arvad was situated, like Tyre,

on a small island off the Syrian coast, and lay in Lat. 34� 48� nearly. It was distant from the shore about two

miles and a half. The island was even smaller than that which formed the nucleus of Tyre, being only about

800 yards, or less than half a mile in length, by 500 yards, or rather more than a quarter of a mile in

breadth.[35] The axis of the island was from northwest to southeast. It was a bare rock, low and flat,

without water, and without any natural soil. The iron coast was surrounded on three sides, the north, the west,

and the south, by a number of rocks and small islets, which fringed it like the trimming of a shawl. Its

Phoenician occupiers early converted this debatable territory, half sea half shore, into solid land, by filling up

the interstices between the rocks with squared stones and a solid cement as hard as the rock itself, which

remains to this day.[36] The northeastern portion, which has a length of 150 yards by a breadth of 125, is

perfectly smooth and almost flat, but with a slight slope towards the east, which is thought to show that it was

used as a sort of dry dock, on which to draw up the lighter vessels, for safety or for repairs.[37] The western

and southern increased the area for housebuilding. Anciently, as at Tyre, the houses were built very close

together, and had several storeys,[38] for the purpose of accommodating a numerous population. The island

was wholly without natural harbour; but on the eastern side, which faced the mainland, and was turned away

from the prevailing winds, the art and industry of the inhabitants constructed two ports of a fair size. This was

effected by carrying out from the shore three piers at right angles into the sea, the central one to a distance of

from seventy to a hundred yards, and the other two very nearly as farand thus forming two rectangular

basins, one on either side of the central pier, which were guarded from winds on three sides, and only open

towards the east, a quarter from which the winds are seldom violent, and on which the mainland, less than

three miles off, forms a protection. The construction of the central pier is remarkable. It is formed of massive

blocks of sandstone, which are placed transversely, so that their length forms the thickness of the pier, and

their ends the wall on either side. On both sides of the wall are quays of concrete.[39]

The line of the ancient enceinte may still be traced around the three outer sides of the island. It is a gigantic

work, composed of stones from fifteen to eighteen feet long, placed transversely, like those of the centre pier,

and in two places still rising to the height of five or six courses (from thirty to forty feet).[40] The blocks are

laid side by side without mortar; they are roughly squared, and arranged generally in regular courses; but

sometimes two courses for a while take the place of one.[41] There is a want of care in the arrangement of the

blocks, joints in one course being occasionally directly over joints in the course below it. The stones are

without any bevel or ornamentation of any kind. They have been quarried in the island itself, and the beds of

rock from which they were taken may be seen at no great distance. At one point in the western side of the

island, the native rock itself has been cut into the shape of the wall, and made to take the place of the squared

stones for the distance of about ten feet.[42] A moat has also been cut along the entire western side, which,

with its glacis, served apparently to protect the wall from the fury of the waves.[43]

We know nothing of the internal arrangements of the ancient town beyond the fact of the closeness and

loftiness of the houses. Externally Aradus depended on her possessions upon the mainland both for water and

for food. The barren rock could grow nothing, and was moreover covered with houses. Such rainwater as fell

on the island was carefully collected and stored in tanks and reservoirs,[44] the remains of which are still to

be seen. But the ordinary supply of water for daily consumption was derived in time of peace from the

opposite coast. When this supply was cut off by an enemy Aradus had still one further resource. Midway in

the channel between the island and the continent there burst out at the bottom of the sea a fresh water spring

of great strength; by confining this spring within a hemisphere of lead to which a leathern pipe was attached

the much needed fluid was raised to the surface and received into a vessel moored upon the spot, whence

supplies were carried to the island.[45] The phenomenon still continues, though the modern inhabitants are

On the mainland Aradus possessed a considerable tract, and had a number of cities subject to her. Of these

Strabo enumerates six, viz. Paltos, Balanea, Carnuswhich he calls the naval station of Aradus Enydra,

Marathus, and Simyra.[47] Marathus was the most important of these. Its name recalls the "Brathu" of

PhiloByblius[48] and the "Martu" of the early Babylonian inscriptions,[49] which was used as a general

term by some of the primitive monarchs almost in the sense of "Syria." The word is still preserved in the

modern "M'rith" or "Amrith," a name attached to some extensive ruins in the plain south east of Aradus,

which have been carefully examined by M. Renan.[50] Marathus was an ancient Phoenician town, probably

one of the most ancient, and was always looked upon with some jealousy by the Aradians, who ultimately

destroyed it and partitioned out the territory among their own citizens.[51] The same fate befell Simyra,[52] a

place of equal antiquity, the home probably of those Zemarites who are coupled with the Arvadites in

Genesis.[53] Simyra appears as "Zimirra" in the Assyrian inscriptions, where it is connected with Arka,[54]

which was not far distant. Its exact site, which was certainly south of Amrith, seems to be fixed by the name

Sumrah, which attaches to some ruins in the plain about a mile and a half north of the Eleutherus

(NahrelKebir) and within a mile of the sea.[55] The other townsPaltos, Balanea, Carnus,[56] and

Enydra were in the more northern portion of the plain, as was also Antaradus, now Tortosa, where there

are considerable remains, but of a date long subsequent to the time of Phoenician ascendancy.

Of the remaining Phoenician cities the most important seems to have been Gebal, or Byblus. Mentioned

under the name of Gubal in the Assyrian inscriptions as early as the time of Jehu[57] (ab. B.C. 840), and

glanced at even earlier in the Hebrew records, which tell of its inhabitants, the Giblites,[58] Gebal is found as

a town of note in the time of Alexander the Great,[59] and again in that of Pompey.[60] The traditions of the

Phoenicians themselves made it one of the most ancient of the cities; and the historian Philo, who was a

native of the place, ascribes its foundation to Kronos or Saturn.[61] It was an especially holy city, devoted in

the early times to the worship of Beltis,[62] and in the later to that of Adonis.[63] The position is marked

beyond all reasonable doubt by the modern Jebe�l, which retains the original name very slightly modified,

and answers completely to the ancient descriptions. The town lies upon the coast, in Lat. 34� 10� nearly,

about halfway between Tripolis and Berytus, four miles north of the point where the Adonis river (now the

Ibrahim) empties itself into the sea. There is a "small but wellsheltered port,"[64] formed mainly by two

curved piers which are carried out from the shore towards the north and south, and which leave between them

only a narrow entrance. The castle occupies a commanding position on a hill at a little distance from the

shore, and has a keep built of bevelled stones of a large size. Several of them measure from fifteen to

eighteen feet in length, and are from five to six feet thick.[65] They were probably quarried by Giblite

Tripolis, situated halfway between Byblus and Aradus, was not one of the original Phoenician cities, but was

a joint colony from the three principal settlements, Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus.[66] The date of its foundation,

and its native Phoenician name, are unknown to us: conjecture hovers between Hosah, Mahalliba, Uznu, and

Siannu, maritime towns of Phoenicia known to the Assyrians,[67] but unmentioned by any Greek author. The

situation was a promontory, which runs out towards the northwest, in Lat. 34� 27� nearly, for the distance of

a mile, and is about half a mile wide. The site is "well adapted for a haven, as a chain of seven small islands,

running out to the northwest, affords shelter in the direction from which the most violent winds blow."[68]

The remotest of these islands is ten miles distant from the shore.[69] We are told that the colonists who

founded Tripolis did not intermix, but had their separate quarters of the town assigned to them, each

surrounded by its own wall, and lying at some little distance one from the other.[70] There are no present

traces of this arrangement, which seems indicative of distrust; but some remains have been found of a wall

which was carried across the isthmus on the land side.[71] Tripolis is now Tarabolus.

Aphaca, the only inland Phoenician town of any importance, is now Afka, and is visited by most travellers

and tourists. It was situated in a beautiful spot at the head of the Adonis river,[72] a sacred stream fabled to

run with blood once a year, at the festival which commemorated the selfmutilation of the Naturegod

Adonis. Aphaca was a sort of Delphi, a collection of temples rather than a town. It was dedicated especially

to the worship of the Syrian goddess, Ashtoreth or Venus, sometimes called Beltis or Baaltis, whose orgies

were of so disgracefully licentious a character that they were at last absolutely forbidden by Constantine. At

present there are no remains on the ancient site except one or two ruins of edifices decidedly Roman in

character.[73] Nor is the gorge of the Adonis any richer in ancient buildings. There was a time when the

whole valley formed a sort of "Holy Land,"[74] and at intervals on its course were shown "Tombs of

Adonis,"[75] analogous to the artificial "Holy Sepulchres" of many European towns in the middle ages. All,

however, have disappeared, and the traveller looks in vain for any traces of that curious cult which in ancient

times made Aphaca and its river one of the most noted of the holy spots of Syria and a favourite resort of

Twentythree miles south of Byblus was Berytus, which disputed with Byblus the palm of antiquity.[76]

Berytus was situated on a promontory in Lat. 33� 54�, and had a port of a fair size, protected towards the west

by a pier, which followed the line of a ridge of rocks running out from the promontory towards the north. It

was not of any importance during the flourishing Phoenician period, but grew to greatness under the

Romans,[77] when its harbour was much improved, and the town greatly extended.[78] By the time of

Justinian it had become the chief city of Phoenicia, and was celebrated as a school of law and science.[79]

The natural advantages of its situation have caused it to retain a certain importance, and in modern times it

has drawn to itself almost the whole of the commerce which Europe maintains with Syria.

Arka, or Arqa, the home of the Arkites of Genesis,[80] can never have been a place of much consequence. It

lies at a distance of four miles from the shore, on one of the outlying hills which form the skirts of Lebanon,

in Lat. 34� 33, Long. 33� 44� nearly. The towns nearest to it were Orthosia, Simyra, and Tripolis. It was of

sufficient consequence to be mentioned in the Assyrian Inscriptions,[81] though not to attract the notice of

Ecdippa, south of Tyre, in Lat. 33� 1�, is no doubt the scriptural Achzib,[82] which was made the northern

boundary of Asher at the division of the Holy Land among the twelve tribes. The Assyrian monarchs speak of

it under the same name, but mention it rarely, and apparently as a dependency of Sidon.[83] The old name, in

Still further to the south, five miles from Ecdippa, and about twenty two miles from Tyre, lay Akko or

Accho, at the northern extremity of a wide bay, which terminates towards the south in the promontory of

Carmel. Next to the Bay of St. George, near Beyrout, this is the best natural roadstead on the Syrian coast;

and this advantage, combined with its vicinity to the plain of Esdraelon, has given to Accho at various

periods of history a high importance, as in some sense "the key of Syria." The Assyrians, in their wars with

Palestine and Egypt, took care to conquer and retain it.[84] When the Ptolemies became masters of the tract

between Egypt and Mount Taurus, they at once saw its value, occupied it, strengthened its defences, and gave

it the name of Ptolema�s. The old appellation has, however, reasserted itself; and, as Acre, the city played an

important part in the Crusades, in the Napoleonic attempt on Egypt, and in the comparatively recent

expedition of Ibrahim Pasha. It had a small port of its own to the southeast of the promontory on which it

stood, which, like the other ports of the ancient Phoenicia, is at the present time almost wholly sanded up.[85]

But its roadstead was of more importance than its port, and was used by the Persians as a station for their

South of Accho and south of Carmel, close upon the shore, which is here low and flat, was Dor, now Tantura,

the seat of a kingdom in the time of Joshua,[87] and allotted after its conquest to Manasseh.[88] Here

Solomon placed one of his purveyors,[89] and here the great Assyrian monarch Tiglathpileser II. likewise

placed a "governor," about B.C. 732, when he reduced it.[90] Dor was one of the places where the shellfish

which produced the purple dye were most abundant, and remained in the hands of the Phoenicians during all

the political changes which swept over Syria and Palestine to a late period.[91] It had fallen to ruin, however,

The extreme Phoenician city on the south was Japho or Joppa. It lay in Lat. 32� 2�, close to the territory of

Dan,[93] but continued to be held by the Phoenicians until the time of the Maccabees,[94] when it became

Jewish. The town was situated on the slope of a low hill near the sea, and possessed anciently a tolerable

harbour, from which a trade was carried on with Tartessus.[95] As the seaport nearest to Jerusalem, it was

naturally the chief medium of the commerce which was carried on between the Phoenicians and the Jews.

Thither, in the time of Solomon, were brought the floats of timber cut in Lebanon for the construction of the

Temple and the royal palace; and thither, no doubt, were conveyed "the wheat, and the barley, and the oil,

and the wine," which the Phoenicians received in return for their firs and cedars.[96] A similar exchange of

commodities was made nearly five centuries later at the same place, when the Jews returned from the

captivity under Zerubbabel.[97] In Roman times the foundation of C�sar�a reduced Joppa to insignificance;

yet it still, as Jaffa or Y�fa, retains a certain amount of trade, and is famous for its palm groves and gardens.

Joppa towards the south was balanced by Ramantha, or Laodicea, towards the north. Fifty miles north of

Aradus and Antaradus (Tortosa), in Lat. 35� 30� nearly, occupying the slope of a hill facing the sea, with

chalky cliffs on either side, that, like those of Dover, whiten the sea, and with Mount Casius in the

background, lay the most northern of all the Phoenician cities in a fertile and beautiful territory.[98] The

original appellation was, we are told, Ramantha,[99] a name intended probably to mark the lofty situation of

the place;[100] but this appellation was forced to give way to the Greek term, Laodicea, when Seleucus

Nicator, having become king of Syria, partially rebuilt Ramantha and colonised it with Greeks.[101] The

coins of the city under the Seleucid� show its semiGreek, semi Phoenician character, having legends in

both languages. One of these, in the Phoenician character, is read as l'Ladika am b'Canaan, i.e. "of Laodicea,

a metropolis in Canaan," and seems to show that the city claimed not only to be independent, but to have

founded, and to hold under its sway, a number of smaller towns.[102] It may have exercised a dominion over

the entire tract from Mount Casius to Paltos, where the dominion of Aradus began. Laodicea is now Latakia,

and is famous for the tobacco grown in the neighbourhood. It still makes use of its ancient port, which would

be fairly commodious if it were cleared of the sand that at present chokes it.[103]

It has been said that Phoenicia was composed of "three worlds" with distinct characteristics;[104] but perhaps

the number of the "worlds" should be extended to five. First came that of Ramantha, reaching from the Mons

Casius to the river Badas, a distance of about fifty miles, a remote and utterly sequestered region, into which

neither Assyria nor Egypt ever thought of penetrating. Commerce with Cyprus and southern Asia Minor was

especially open to the mariners of this region, who could see the shores of Cyprus without difficulty on a

clear day. Next came the "world" of Aradus, reaching along the coast from the Badas to the Eleutherus,

another stretch of fifty miles, and including the littoral islands, especially that of Ruad, on which Aradus was

built. This tract was less sequestered than the more northern one, and contains traces of having been subjected

to influences from Egypt at an early period. The gap between Lebanon and Bargylus made the Aradian

territory accessible from the Coelesyrian valley; and there is reason to believe that one of the roads which

Egyptian and Assyrian conquest followed in these parts was that which passed along the coast as far as the

Eleutherus and then turned eastward and northeastward to Emesa (Hems) and Hamath. It must have been

conquerors marching by this line who set up their effigies at the mouth of the NahrelKelb, and those who

pursued it would naturally make a point of reducing Aradus. Thus this second Phoenician "world" has not the

isolated character of the first, but shows marks of Assyrian, and still more of early Egyptian, influence. The

third Phoenician "world" is that of Gebal or Byblus. Its limits would seem to be the Eleutherus on the north,

and on the south the Tamyras, which would allow it a length of a little above eighty miles. This district, it has

been said, preserved to the last days of paganism a character which was original and well marked. Within its

limits the religious sentiment had more intensity and played a more important part in life than elsewhere in

Phoenicia. Byblus was a sort of Phoenician Jerusalem. By their turn of mind and by the language which they

spoke, the Byblians or Giblites seem to have been, of all the Phoenicians, those who most resembled the

Hebrews. King Jehavmelek, who probably reigned at Byblus about B.C. 400, calls himself "a just king," and

prays that he may obtain favour in the sight of God. Later on it was at Byblus, and in the valleys of the

Lebanon depending on it, that the inhabitants celebrated those mysteries of Astarte, together with that

orgiastic worship of Adonis or Tammuz, which were so popular in Syria during the whole of the

GrecoRoman period.[105] The fourth Phoenician "world" was that of Tyre and Sidon, beginning at the

Tamyras and ending with the promontory of Carmel. Here it was that the Phoenician character developed

especially those traits by which it is commonly known to the world at largea genius for commerce and

industry, a passion for the undertaking of long and perilous voyages, an adaptability to circumstances of all

kinds, and an address in dealing with wild tribes of many different kinds which has rarely been equalled and

never exceeded. "All that we are about to say of Phoenicia," declares the author recently quoted, "of its rapid

expansion and the influence which it exercised over the nations of the West, must be understood especially of

Tyre and Sidon. The other towns might furnish sailors to man the Tyrian fleet or merchandise for their cargo,

but it was Sidon first and then (with even more determination and endurance) Tyre which took the initiative

and the conduct of the movement; it was the mariners of these two towns who, with eyes fixed on the setting

sun, pushed their explorations as far as the Pillars of Hercules, and eventually even further."[106] The last

and least important of the Phoenician "worlds" was the southern one, extending sixty miles from Carmel to

Joppaa tract from which the Phoenician character was well nigh trampled out by the feet of strangers ever

passing up and down the smooth and featureless region, along which lay the recognised line of route between

Circumstances which led the Phoenicians to coloniseTheir colonies best grouped geographically1.

Colonies of the Eastern Mediterraneanin Cyprus, Citium, Amathus, Curium, Paphos, Salamis,

Ammochosta, Tamisus, and Soli;in Cilicia, Tarsus;in Lycia, Phaselis;in Rhodes, Lindus, Ialysus,

Camirus;in Crete, and the Cyclades;in the Northern Egean; 2. In the Central and Western

Mediterraneanin Africa, Utica, HippoZaritis, Hippo Regius, Carthage, Hadrumetum, Leptis Minor,

Leptis Major, and Thapsus;in Sicily, Motya, Eryx, Panormus, Solocis;between Sicily and Africa,

Cossura, Gaulos, and Melita;in Sardinia, Caralis, Nora, Sulcis, and Tharros;in the Balearic Isles;in

Spain, Malaca, Sex, Abdera. 3. Outside the Straits of Gibraltar; in Africa, Tingis, and Lixus; in Spain,

The narrowness of the territory which the Phoenicians occupied the military strength of their neighbours

towards the north and towards the south, and their own preference of maritime over agricultural pursuits,

combined to force them, as they began to increase and multiply, to find a vent for their superfluous

population in colonies. The military strength of Philistia and Egypt barred them out from expansion upon the

south; the wild savagery of the mountain races in Casius, northern Bargylus, and Amanus was an effectual

barrier towards the north; but before them lay the open Mediterranean, placid during the greater portion of the

year, and conducting to a hundred lands, thinly peopled, or even unoccupied, where there was ample room for

any number of immigrants. The trade of the Phoenicians with the countries bordering the Eastern

Mediterranean must be regarded as established long previously to the time when they began to feel cramped

for space; and thus, when that time arrived, they had no difficulty in finding fresh localities to occupy, except

such as might arise from a too abundant amplitude of choice. Right in front of them lay, at the distance of not

more than seventy miles, visible from Casius in clear weather,[1] the large and important island, once known

as Chittim,[2] and afterwards as Cyprus, which played so important a part in the history of the East from the

time of Sargon and Sennacherib to that of Bragadino and Mustapha Pasha. To the right, well visible from

Cyprus, was the fertile tract of Cilicia Campestris, which led on to the rich and picturesque regions of

Pamphylia, Lycia, and Caria. From Caria stretched out, like a string of steppingstones between Asia and

Europe, the hundred islets of the �gean, Cyclades, and Sporades, and others, inviting settlers, and conducting

to the large islands of Crete and Euboea, and the shores of Attica and the Peloponnese. It is impossible to

trace with any exactness the order in which the Phoenician colonies were founded. A thousand incidental

circumstances a thousand capricesmay have deranged what may be called the natural or geographical

order, and have caused the historical order to diverge from it; but, on the whole, probably something like the

geographical order was observed; and, at any rate, it will be most convenient, in default of sufficient data for

an historical arrangement, to adopt in the present place a geographic one, and, beginning with those nearest to

Phoenicia itself in the Eastern Mediterranean, to proceed westward to the Straits of Gibraltar, reserving for

The nearest, and probably the first, region to attract Phoenician colonies was the island of Cyprus. Cyprus lies

in the corner of the Eastern Mediterranean formed by the projection of Asia Minor from the Syrian shore. Its

mountain chains run parallel with Taurus, and it is to Asia Minor that it presents its longer flank, while to

Phoenicia it presents merely one of its extremities. Its length from east to west is 145 miles, its greatest width

about sixty miles.[3] Two strongly marked mountain ranges form its most salient features, the one running

close along the north coast from Cape Kormaciti to Cape S. Andreas; the other nearly central, but nearer the

south, beginning at Cape Renaouti in the west and terminating at Cape Greco. The mountain ranges are

connected by a tract of high ground towards the centre, and separated by two broad plains,[4] towards the

east and west. The eastern plain is the more important of the two. It extends along the course of the Pedi�us

from Leucosia, or Nicosia, the present capital, to Salamis, a distance of thirtyfive miles, and is from five to

twelve miles wide. The fertility of the soil was reckoned in ancient times to equal that of Egypt.[5] The

western plain, that of Morfou, is much smaller, and is watered by a less important river. The whole island,

when it first became known to the Phoenicians, was well wooded.[6] Lovely glens opened upon them, as they

sailed along its southern coast, watered by clear streams from the southern mountainrange, and shaded by

thick woods of pine and cedar, the latter of which are said to have in some cases attained a greater size even

than those of the Lebanon.[7] The range was also prolific of valuable metals.[8] Gold and silver were found

in places, but only in small quantities; iron was yielded in considerable abundance; but the chief supply was

that of copper, which derived its name from that of the island.[9] Other products of the island were wheat of

excellent quality; the rich Cyprian wine which retains its strength and flavour for well nigh a century, the

henna dye obtained from the plant called copher or cyprus, the Lawsonia alba of modern botany; valuable

pigments of various kinds, red, yellow, green, and amber; hemp and flax; tar, boxwood,[10] and all the

materials requisite for shipbuilding from the heavy timbers needed for the keel to the lightest spar and the

The earliest of the Phoenician settlements in Cyprus seem to have lain upon its southern coast. Here were

Citium, Amathus, Curium, and Paphus, the Pal�paphus of the geographers, which have all yielded abundant

traces of a Phoenician occupation at a very distant period. Citium, now Larnaka, was on the western side of a

deep bay, which indents the more eastern portion of the southern coast, between the promontories of Citi and

Pyla. It is sheltered from all winds except the southeast, and continues to the present day the chief port of

the island. The Phoenician settlers improved on the natural position by the formation of an artificial basin,

enclosed within piers, the lines of which may be traced, though the basin itself is sanded up.[12] A plain

extends for some distance inland, on which the palmtree flourishes, and which is capable of producing

excellent crops of wheat.[13] Access to the interior is easy; for the mountain range sinks as it proceeds

eastward, and between Citium and Dali (Idalium), on a tributary of the Pedi�us, is of small elevation. There

are indications that the Phoenicians did not confine themselves to the coast, but penetrated into the interior,

and even settled there in large numbers. Idalium, sixteen miles northwest of Citium, and Golgi (Athi�nau),

ten miles nearly due north of the same, show traces of having supported for a considerable time a large

Phoenician population,[14] and must be regarded as outposts advanced from Citium into the mountains for

trading, and perhaps for mining purposes. Idalium (Dali) has a most extensive Phoenician necropolis; the

interments have a most archaic character; and their Phoenician origin is indicated both by their close

resemblance to interments in Phoenicia proper and by the discovery, in connection with them, of Phoenician

inscriptions.[15] At Golgi the remains scarcely claim so remote an antiquity. They belong to the time when

Phoenician art was dominated by a strong Egyptian influence, and when it also begins to have a partially

Hellenic character. Some critics assign them to the sixth, or even to the fifth century, B.C.[16]

West of Citium, also upon the south coast, and in a favourable situation for trade with the interior, was

Amathus. The name Amathus has been connected with "Hamath;"[17] but there is no reason to suppose that

the Hamathites were Phoenicians. Amathus, which Stephen of Byzantium calls "a most ancient Cyprian

city,"[18] was probably among the earliest of the Phoenician settlements in the island. It lay in the bay

formed by the projection of Cape Gatto from the coast, and, like Citium, looked to the southeast. Westward

and southwestward stretched an extensive plain, fertile and wellwatered, shaded by carob and

olivetrees,[19] whilst towards the north were the rich copper mines from which the Amathusians derived

much of their prosperity. The site has yielded a considerable amount of Phoenician remainstombs,

sarcophagi, vases, bowls, pater� and statuettes.[20] Many of the tombs resemble those at Idalium; others are

stone chambers deeply buried in the earth. The mimetic art shows Assyrian and Egyptian influence, but is

essentially Phoenician, and of great interest. Further reference will be made to it in the Chapter on the

Still further to the west, in the centre of the bay enclosed between the promontories of Zeugari and Boosoura,

was the colony of Curium, on a branch of the river Kuras. Curium lay wholly open to the south

westerngales, but had a long stretch of sandy shore towards the southeast, on which vessels could be

drawn up. The town was situated on a rocky elevation, 300 feet in height, and was further defended by a

strong wall, a large portion of which may still be traced.[21] The richest discovery of Phoenician ornaments

and objects of art that has yet been made took place at Curium, where, in the year 1874, General Di Cesnola

happened upon a set of "Treasure Chambers" containing several hundreds of rings, gems, necklaces,

bracelets, armlets, ear rings, bowls, basins, jugs, pater�, in the precious metals, which have formed the

principal material for all recent disquisitions on the true character and excellency of Phoenician art.

Commencing with works of which the probable date is the fifteenth or sixteenth century B.C., and descending

at least as far as the best Greek period[22] (B.C. 500 400), embracing, moreover, works which are purely

Assyrian, purely Egyptian, and purely Greek, this collection has yet so predominant a Phoenician character as

to mark Curium, notwithstanding the contrary assertions of the Greeks themselves,[23] for a thoroughly

Phoenician town. And the history of the place confirms this view, since Curium sided with Amathus and the

Persians in the war of Onesilus.[24] No doubt, like most of the other Phoenician cities in Cyprus, it was

Hellenised gradually; but there must have been many centuries during which it was an emporium of

Where the southern coast of Cyprus begins to trend to the northwest, and a river of some size, the Bocarus

or Diorizus, reaches the sea, stood the Phoenician settlement of Paphos, founded (as was said[25]) by

Cinyras, king of Byblus. Here was one of the most celebrated of all the temples of Astart� or Ashtoreth,[26]

the Phoenician NatureGoddess; and here ruled for many centuries the sacerdotal class of the Cinyrid�. The

remains of the temple have been identified, and will be described in a future chapter. They have the massive

Among other Phoenician settlements in Cyprus were, it is probable, Salamis, Ammochosta (now Famagosta),

Tamasus, and Soli. Salamis must be regarded as originally Phoenician on account of the name, which cannot

be viewed as anything but another form of the Hebrew "Salem," the alternative name of Jerusalem.[27]

Salamis lay on the eastern coast of the island at the mouth of the main river, the Pedi�us. It occupied the

centre of a large bay which looked towards Phoenicia, and would naturally be the place where the

Phoenicians would first land. There is no natural harbour beyond that afforded by the mouth of the Pedi�us,

but a harbour was easily made by throwing out piers into the bay; and of this, which is now sanded up, the

outline may be traced.[28] There are, however, no remains, either at Salamis or in the immediate

neighbourhood, which can claim to be regarded as Phoenician; and the glories of the city belong to the

Ammochosta was situated within a few miles of Salamis, towards the south.[29] Its first appearance in

history belongs to the reign of Esarhaddon (B.C. 680), when we find it in a list of ten Cyprian cities, each

having its own king, who acknowledged for their suzerain the great monarch of Assyria.[30] Soon afterwards

it again occurs among the cities tributary to Asshurbanipal.[31] Otherwise we have no mention of it in

Phoenician times. As Famagosta it was famous in the wars between the Venetians and the Turks.

Tamasus, or Tamassus, was an inland city, and the chief seat of the mining operations which the Phoenicians

carried on in the island in search of copper.[32] It lay a few miles to the west of Idalium (Dali), on the

northern flank of the southern mountain chain. The river Pedi�us flowed at its feet. Like Ammochosta, it

appears among the Cyprian towns which in the seventh century B.C. were tributary to the Assyrians.[33] The

Soli lay upon the coast, in the recess of the gulf of Morfou.[34] The fiction of its foundation by Philocyprus

at the suggestion of Solon[35] is entirely disproved by the occurrence of the name in the Assyrian lists of

Cyprian towns a century before Solon's time. Its sympathies were with the Phoenician, and not with the

Hellenic, population of the island, as was markedly shown when it joined with Amathus and Citium in calling

to Artaxerxes for help against Evagoras.[36] The city stood on the left bank of the river Clarius, and covered

the northern slope of a low hill detached from the main range, extending also over the low ground at the foot

of the hill to within a short distance of the shore, where are to be seen the remains of the ancient harbour. The

soil in the neighbourhood is very rich, and adapted for almost any kind of cultivation.[37] In the mountains

The northern coast of the island between Capes Cormaciti and S. Andreas does not seem to have attracted the

Phoenicians, though there are some who regard Lapethus and Cerynia as Phoenician settlements.[38] It is a

rockbound shore of no very tempting aspect, behind which the mountain range rises up steeply. Such

Phoenician emigrants as held their way along the Salaminian plain and, rounding Cape S. Andreas, passed

into the channel that separates Cyprus from the mainland, found the coast upon their right attract them far

more than that upon their left, and formed settlements in Cilicia which ultimately became of considerable

importance. The chief of these was Tars or Tarsus, probably the Tarshish of Genesis,[39] though not that of

the later Books, a Phoenician city, which has Phoenician characters upon its coins, and worshipped the

supreme Phoenician deity under the title of "Baal Tars," "the Lord of Tarsus."[40] Tarsus commanded the

rich Cilician plain up to the very roots of Taurus, was watered by the copious stream of the Cydnus, and had

at its mouth a commodious harbour. Excellent timber for shipbuilding grew on the slopes of the hills

bounding the plain, and the river afforded a ready means of floating such timber down to the sea. Cleopatra's

ships are said to have been derived from the Cilician forests, which Antony made over to her for the

purpose.[41] Other Phoenician settlements upon the Cilician coast were, it is probable, Soli, Celenderis, and

Pursuing their way westward, in search of new abodes, the emigrants would pass along the coast, first of

Pamphylia and then of Lycia. In Pamphylia there is no settlement that can be with confidence assigned to

them; but in Lycia it would seem that they colonised Phaselis, and perhaps other places. The mountain which

rises immediately behind Phaselis was called "Solyma;"[42] and a very little to the south was another

mountain known as "Phoenicus."[43] Somewhat further to the west lies the cape still called Cape

Phineka,[44] in which the root Phoenix ({phoinix}) is again to be detected. A large district inland was named

Cabalis or Cabalia,[45] or (compare Phoen. and Heb. gebal, mod. Arab. jebel) the "mountain" country.

Phaselis was situated on a promontory projecting southeastward into the Mediterranean,[46] and was

reckoned to have three harbours,[47] which are marked in the accompanying chart. Of these the principal one

was that on the western side of the isthmus, which was formed by a stone pier carried out for more than two

hundred yards into the sea, and still to be traced under the water.[48] The other two, which were of smaller

size, lay towards the east. The Phoenicians were probably tempted to make a settlement at the place, partly by

the three ports, partly by the abundance of excellent timber for shipbuilding which the neighbourhood

furnishes. "Between Phaselis and Cape Avora, a little north of it," says a modern traveller, "a belt of large and

From Lycia the Asiatic coast westward and northwestward was known as Caria; and here Phoenician

settlements appear to have been numerous. The entire country was at any rate called Phoenic� by some

authors.[50] But the circumstances do not admit of our pointing out any special Phoenician settlements in this

quarter, which early fell under almost exclusive Greek influence. There are ample grounds, however, for

believing that the Phoenicians colonised Rhodes at the southwestern angle of Asia Minor, off the Carian

coast. According to Conon,[51] the earliest inhabitants of Rhodes were the Heliades, whom the Phoenicians

expelled. The Phoenicians themselves were at a later date expelled by the Carians, and the Carians by the

Greeks. Ergeias, however, the native historian, declared[52] that the Phoenicians remained, at any rate in

some parts of the island, until the Greeks drove them out. Ialysus was, he said, one of their cities. Dictys

Cretensis placed Phoenicians, not only in Ialysus, but in Camirus also.[53] It is the conclusion of Kenrick that

"the Phoenician settlement in Rhodes was the first which introduced civilisation among the primeval

inhabitants, and that they maintained their ascendancy till the rise of the naval power of the Carians. These

new settlers reduced the Phoenicians to the occupancy of three principal towns"i.e. Lindus, Ialysus, and

Camirus; but "from these too they were expelled by the Dorians, or only allowed to remain at Ialysus as the

hereditary priesthood of their native god."[54] Rhodes is an island about onefourth the size of Cyprus, with

its axis from the northeast to the southwest. It possesses excellent harbours, accessible from all

quarters,[55] and furnishing a secure shelter in all weathers. The fertility of the soil is great; and the

remarkable history of the island shows the importance which attaches to it in the hands of an enterprising

people. Turkish apathy has, however, succeeded in reducing it to insignificance.

The acquisition of Rhodes led the stream of Phoenician colonisation onwards in two directions,

southwestward and northwestward. South westward, it passed by way of Carpathus and Casus to Crete,

and then to Cythera; northwestward, by way of Chalcia, Telos, and Astypal�a, to the Cyclades and

Sporades. The presence of the Phoenicians in Crete is indicated by the haven "Phoenix," where St. Paul's

conductors hoped to have wintered their ship;[56] by the town of Itanus, which was named after a Phoenician

founder,[57] and was a staple of the purple trade,[58] and by the existence near port Phoenix of a town

called "Araden." Leben, on the south coast, near Cape Leo, seems also to have derived its name from the

Semitic word for "lion."[59] Crete, however, does not appear to have been occupied by the Phoenicians at

more than a few points, or for colonising so much as for trading purposes. They used its southern ports for

refitting and repairing their ships, but did not penetrate into the interior, must less attempt to take possession

of the whole extensive territory. It was otherwise with the smaller islands. Cythera is said to have derived its

name from the Phoenician who colonised it, and the same is also reported of Melos.[60] Ios was, we are told,

originally called Phoenic�;[61] Anaph� had borne the name of Membliarus, after one of the companions of

Cadmus;[62] Oliarus, or Antiparos, was colonised from Sidon.[63] Thera's earliest inhabitants were of the

Phoenician race;[64] either Phoenicians or Carians had, according to Thucydides,[65] colonised in remote

times "the greater part of the islands of the �nean." There was a time when probably all the �gean islands

were Phoenician possessions, or at any rate acknowledged Phoenician influence, and Siphnus gave its gold,

its silver,[66] and its lead,[67] Cythera its shellfish,[68] Paros its marble, Melos its sulphur and its alum,[69]

Nisyrus its millstones,[70] and the islands generally their honey,[71] to increase the wealth and advance the

From the Sporades and Cyclades the advance was easy to the islands of the Northern �gean, Lemnos,

Imbrus, Thasos, and Samothrace. The settlement of the Phoenicians in Thasos is attested by Herodotus, who

says that the Tyrian Hercules (Melkarth) was worshipped there,[72] and ascribes to the Phoenicians extensive

mining operations on the eastern shores of the island between �nyra and Coenyra.[73] A Phoenician

occupation of Lemnos, Imbrus, and Samothrace is indicated by the worship in those islands of the

Cabeiri,[74] who were undoubtedly Phoenician deities. Whether the Phoenicians passed from these islands to

the Thracian mainland, and worked the goldmines of Mount Pang�us in the vicinity of Philippi, may

perhaps be doubtful, but such seems to have been the belief of Strabo and Pliny.[75] Strabo also believed that

there had been a Semitic element in the population of Euboea which had been introduced by Cadmus;[76]

and a Phoenician settlement in Boeotia was the current tradition of the Greek writers upon primitive times,

The further progress of the Phoenician settlements northward into the Propontis and the Euxine is a point

whereon different opinions may be entertained. Pronectus, on the Bithynian, and Amastris, on the

Paphlagonian coast, have been numbered among the colonies of the Phoenicians by some;[78] while others

have gone so far as to ascribe to them the colonisation of the entire countries of Bithynia, Mariandynia, and

Paphlagonia.[79] The story of the Argonauts may fairly be held to show[80] that Phoenician enterprise early

penetrated into the stormy and inhospitable sea which washes Asia Minor upon the north, and even reached

its deepest eastern recess; but it is one thing to sail into seas, and, landing where the natives seem friendly, to

traffic with the dwellers on themit is quite another thing to attempt a permanent occupation of portions of

their coasts. To do so often provokes hostility, and puts a stop to trade instead of encouraging it. The

Phoenicians may have been content to draw their native products from the barbarous tribes of Northern Asia

Minor and Western Thracenay, even of Southern Scythiawithout risking the collisions that might have

As with the Black Sea, so with the Adriatic, the commercial advantages were not sufficient to tempt the

Phoenicians to colonise. From Crete and Cythera they sent their gaze afar, and fixed it midway in the

Mediterranean, at the western extremity of the eastern basin, on the shores of Sicily, and the vast projection

from the coast of North Africa which goes forth to meet them. They knew the harbourless character of the

African coast west of Egypt, and the dangers of the Lesser and Greater Syrtes. They knew the fertility of the

Tunisian projection, the excellence of its harbours, and the prolificness of the large island that lay directly

opposite. Here were the tracts where they might expand freely, and which would richly repay their

occupation of them. It was before the beginning of the eleventh century B.C.perhaps some centuries

beforethat the colonisation of North Africa by the Phoenicians was taken in hand:[81] and about the same

time, in all probability, the capes and isles about Sicily were occupied,[82] and Phoenician influence in a

In North Africa the first colony planted is said to have been Utica. Utica was situated a little to the west of

Carthage, at the mouth of the Mejerda or Bagradas river.[83] It stood on a rocky promontory which ran out

into the sea eastward, and partially protected its harbour. At the opposite extremity, towards the north, ran out

another promontory, the modern Ras Sidi AlielMekki, while the mouth of the harbour, which faced to the

southeast, was protected by some islands. At present the deposits of the Mejerda have blocked up almost the

whole of this ancient port, and the rocky eminence upon which the city stood looks down on three sides upon

a broad alluvial plain, through which the Mejerda pursues a tortuous course to the sea.[84] The remains of the

ancient town, which occupy the promontory and a peninsula projecting from it, include a necropolis, an

amphitheatre, a theatre, a castle, the ruins of a temple, and some remains of baths; but they have nothing

about them bearing any of the characteristics of Phoenician architecture, and belong wholly to the Roman or

postRoman period. The neighbourhood is productive of olives, which yield an excellent oil; and in the hills

towards the southwest are veins of lead, containing a percentage of silver, which are thought to bear traces

Near Utica was founded, probably not many years later, the settlement of HippoZaritis, of which the name

still seems to linger in the modern Bizerta. HippoZaritis stood on the west bank of a natural channel, which

united with the sea a considerable lagoon or salt lake, lying south of the town. The channel was kept open by

an irregular flux and reflux, the water of the lake after the rainy season flowing off into the sea, and that of

the sea, correspondingly, in the dry season passing into the lake.[86] At the present time the lake is

extraordinarily productive of fish,[87] and the sea outside yields coral;[88] but otherwise the advantages of

Two degrees further to the west, on a hill overlooking the sea, and commanding a lovely prospect over the

verdant plain at its base, watered by numerous streams, was founded the colony of Hippo Regius, memorable

as having been for fiveandthirty years the residence of St. Augustine. The Phoenicians were probably

attracted to the site by the fertility of the soil, the unfailing supplies of water, and the abundant timber and

rich iron ore of the neighbouring mountains.[89] Hippo Regius is now Bona, or rather has been replaced by

that town, which lies about a mile and a half north of the ancient Hippo, close upon the coast, in the fertile

tract formed by the soil brought down by the river Seybouse. The old harbour of Hippo is filled up, and the

remains of the ancient city are scanty; but the lovely gardens and orchards, which render Bona one of the

most agreeable of Algerian towns, sufficiently explain and justify the Phoenician choice of the site.[90]

In the same bay with Utica, further to the south, and near its inner recess, was founded, nearly three centuries

after Utica, the most important of all the Phoenician colonies, Carthage. The advantages of the locality are

indicated by the fact that the chief town of Northern Africa, Tunis, has grown up within a short distance of

the site. It combined the excellences of a sheltered situation, a good soil, defensible eminences, and harbours

which a little art made all that was to be desired in ancient times and with ancient navies. These basins, partly

natural, partly artificial, still exist;[91] but their communication with the sea is blocked up, as also is the

channel which connected the military harbour with the harbours of commerce. The remains of the ancient

town are mostly beneath the surface of the soil, but modern research has uncovered a portion of them, and

brought to light a certain number of ruins which belong probably to the very earliest period. Among these are

walls in the style called "Cyclopian," built of a very hard material, and more than thirtytwo feet thick, which

seem to have surrounded the ancient Byrsa or citadel, and which are still in places sixteen feet high.[92] The

Roman walls found emplaced above these are of far inferior strength and solidity. An extensive necropolis

Another early and important Phoenician settlement in these parts was Hadrumetum or Adrymes,[93] which

seems to be represented by the modern So�sa. Hadrumetum lay on the eastern side of the great Tunisian

projection, near the southern extremity of a large bay which looks to the east, and is now known as the Gulf

of Hammamet. Its position was upon the coast at the edge of the vast plain called at present the "Sahel of

So�sa," which is sandy, but immensely productive of olive oil. "Millions of olivetrees," it is said, "cover the

tract,"[94] and the present annual exportation amounts to 40,000 hectolitres.[95] Ancient remains are few, but

the Cothon, or circular harbour, may still be traced, and in the necropolis, which almost wholly encircles the

town, many sepulchral chambers have been found, excavated in the chalk, closely resembling in their

South of Hadrumetum, at no great distance, was Leptis Minor, now Lemta. The gulf of Hammamet

terminates southwards in the promontory of Monastir, between which and Ras Dimas is a shallow bay

looking to the northeast. Here was the Lesser Leptis, so called to distinguish it from the larger city of the

same name between the Lesser and the Greater Syrtis; it was, however, a considerable town, as appears from

its remains. These lie along the coast for two miles and a half in Lat. 35� 43�, and include the ruins of an

aqueduct, of a theatre, of quays, and of jetties.[96] The neighbourhood is suited for the cultivation of the

The Greater Leptis (Leptis Major) lay at a considerable distance from the Lesser one. Midway in the low

African coast which intervenes between the Tunisian projection and the Cyrenaic one, about Long. 14� 22� E.

of Greenwich, are ruins, near a village called Lebda, which, it is generally agreed, mark the site of this

ancient city. Leptis Major was a colony from Sidon, and occupied originally a small promontory, which

projects from the coast in a northeasterly direction, and attains a moderate elevation above the plain at its

base. Towards the mainland it was defended by a triple line of wall still to be traced, and on the seaside by

blocks of enormous strength, which are said to resemble those on the western side of the island of

Aradus.[97] In Roman times the town, under the name of Neapolis,[98] attained a vast size, and was adorned

with magnificent edifices, of which there are still numerous remains. The neighbourhood is rich in

palmgroves and olivegroves,[99] and the Cinyps region, regarded by Herodotus as the most fertile in

Ten miles east, and a little south of Leptis Minor,[101] was Thapsus, a small town, but one of great strength,

famous as the scene of Julius C�sar's great victory over Cato.[102] It occupied a position close to the

promontory now known as Ras Dimas, in Lat. 35� 39�, Long. 11� 3�, and was defended by a triple enclosure,

whereof considerable remains are still existing. The outermost of the three lines appears to have consisted of

little more than a ditch and a palisaded rampart, such as the Romans were accustomed to throw up whenever

they pitched a camp in their wars; but the second and third were more substantial. The second, which was

about forty yards behind the first, was guarded by a deeper ditch, from which rose a perpendicular stone wall,

battlemented at top. The third, forty yards further back, resembled the second, but was on an enlarged scale,

and the wall was twenty feet thick.[103] Such triple enclosures are thought to be traceable in other

Phoenician settlements also;[104] but in no case are the remains so perfect as at Thapsus. The harbour, which

lay south of the town, was protected from the prevalent northern and northeastern winds by a huge mole or

jetty, carried out originally to a distance of 450 yards from the shore, and still measuring 325 yards. The

foundation consists of piles driven into the sand, and placed very close together; but the superstructure is a

stone wall thirtyfive feet thick, and still rising to a height of ten feet above the surface of the water.[105]

It is probable that there were many other early Phoenician settlements on the North African seaboard; but

those already described were certainly the most important. The fertile coast tract between Hippo Regius and

the straits is likely to have been occupied at various points from an early period. But none of these small

trading settlements attained to any celebrity; and thus it is unnecessary to go into particulars respecting them.

In Sicily the permanent Phoenician settlements were chiefly towards the west and the northwest. They

included Motya, Eryx, Panormus (Palermo), and Soloeis. That the Phoenicians founded Motya, Panormus,

and Soloeis is distinctly stated by Thucydides;[106] while Eryx is proved to have been Phoenician by its

remains. Motya, situated on a littoral island less than half a mile from the western shore, in Lat. 38� nearly,

has the remains of a wall built of large stones, uncemented, in the Phoenician manner,[107] and carried, like

the western wall of Aradus, so close to the coast as to be washed by the waves. It is said by Diodorus to have

been at one time a most flourishing town.[108] The coins have Phoenician legends.[109]

Eryx lay about seven miles to the northeast of Motya, in a very strong position. Mount Eryx (now Mount

Giuliano), on which it was mainly built, rises to the height of two thousand feet above the plain,[110] and,

being encircled by a strong wall, was rendered almost impregnable. The summit was levelled and turned into

a platform, on which was raised the temple of Astarte or Venus.[111] An excellent harbour, formed by Cape

Drepanum (now Trapani), lay at its base. There were springs of water within the walls which yielded an

unfailing supply. The walls were of great strength, and a considerable portion of them is still standing, and

attests the skill of the Phoenician architects. The blocks in the lower courses are mostly of a large size, some

of them six feet long, or more, and bear in many cases the wellknown Phoenician masonmarks.[112] They

are laid without cement, like those of Aradus and Sidon, and recall the style of the Aradian builders, but are at

once less massive and arranged with more skill. The breadth of the wall is about seven feet. At intervals it is

flanked by square towers projecting from it, which are of even greater strength than the curtain between them,

and which were carried up to a greater height. The doorways in the wall are numerous, and are of a very

archaic character, being either covered in by a single long stone lintel or else terminating in a false arch.[113]

The commercial advantages of Eryx were twofold, consisting in the produce of the sea as well as in that of

the shore. The shore is well suited for the cultivation of the vine,[114] while the neighbouring sea yields

Panormus (now Palermo) occupies a site almost unequalled by any other Mediterranean city, a site which has

conferred upon it the title of "the happy," and has rendered it for above a thousand years the most important

place in the island. "There is no town in Europe which enjoys a more delicious climate, none so charming to

look on from a distance, none more delightfully situated in a nest of verdure and flowers. Its superb

mountains, with their bare flanks pierced along their base with grottoes, enclose a marvellous garden, the

famous 'Shell of Gold,' in the midst of which are seen the numerous towers and domes, the fanlike foliage of

the palms, the spreading branches of the pines, and Mount Reale on the south towering over all with its vast

mass of convents and churches."[116] The harbour lies open to the north; but the Phoenician settlers, here as

elsewhere, no doubt made artificial ports by means of piers and moles, which have, however, disappeared on

this muchfrequented site, where generation after generation has been continually at work building and

destroying. Panormus has left us no antique remains beyond its coins, which are abundant, and show that the

native name of the settlement was Mahanath.[117] Mahanath was situated about forty miles east of Eryx, on

Solus, or Soloeis, the Soluntum of the Romans (now Solanto), lay on the eastern side of the promontory

(Cape Zafferana) which shuts in the bay of Palermo on the right. It stood on a slope at the foot of a lofty hill,

overlooking a small round port, and was fortified by a wall of large squared blocks of stone,[118] which may

be still distinctly traced. The site has yielded sarcophagi of an unmistakably Phoenician character,[119] and

other objects of a high antiquity which recall the Phoenician manner;[120] but the chief remains belong to the

The islands in the strait which separates the North African coast from Sicily were also colonised by the

Phoenicians. These were three in number, Cossura (now Pantellaria), Gaulos (now Gozzo), and Melita (now

Malta). Cossura, the most western of the three, lay about midway in the channel, but nearer to the African

coast, from which it is distant not more than about thirtyfive miles. It is a mass of igneous rock, which was

once a volcano, and which still abounds in hot springs and in jets of steam.[121] There was no natural

harbour of any size, but the importance of the position was such that the Phoenicians felt bound to occupy the

island, if only to prevent its occupation by others. The soil was sterile; but the coins, which are very

numerous,[122] give reason to suppose that the rocks were in early times rich in copper.

Gaulos (now Gozzo) forms, together with Malta and some islets, an insular group lying between the eastern

part of Sicily and the Lesser Syrtis. It is situated in Lat. 36� 2�, Long. 12� 10� nearly, and is distant from

Sicily only about fifty miles. The colonisation of the island by the Phoenicians, asserted by Diodorus,[123] is

entirely borne out by the remains, which include a Phoenician inscription of some length,[124] coins with

Phoenician legends,[125] and buildings, believed to be temples, which have Phoenician characteristics.[126]

Some of the blocks of stone employed in their construction have a length of nearly twenty feet,[127] with a

width and height proportionate; and all are put together without cement or mortar of any kind. A conical

stone of the kind known to have been used by the Phoenicians in their worship was found in one of the

temples.[128] Gaulos had a port which was reckoned sufficiently commodious, and which lay probably

Melita, or Malta, which lies at a short distance from Gozzo, to the southeast, is an island of more than

double the size, and of far greater importance. It possesses in La Valetta one of the best harbours, or rather

two of the best harbours, in the world. All the navies of Europe could anchor comfortably in the "great port"

to the east of the town. The western port is smaller, but is equally well sheltered. Malta has no natural product

of much importance, unless it be the honey, after which some think that it was named.[129] The island is

almost treeless, and the light powdery soil gives small promise of fertility. Still, the actual produce, both in

cereals and in green crops, is large; and the oranges, especially those known as mandarines, are of superior

quality. Malta also produced, in ancient as in modern times, the remarkable breed of small dogs[130] which

is still held in such high esteem. But the Phoenician colonisation must have taken place rather on account of

From Sicily and North Africa the tide of emigration naturally and easily flowed on into Sardinia, which is

distant, from the former about 150 and from the latter about 115 miles. The points chosen by the Phoenician

settlers lay in the more open and level region of the south and the southwest, and were all enclosed within a

line which might be drawn from the coast a little east of Cagliari to the northern extremity of the Gulf of

Oristano.[131] The tract includes some mountain groups, but consists mainly of the long and now marshy

plain, called the "Campidano," which reaches across the island from Cagliari on the southern to Oristano on

the western coast. This plain, if drained, would be by far the most fertile part of the island; and was in ancient

times exceedingly productive in cereals, as we learn from Diodorus.[132] The mountains west of it,

especially those about Iglesias, contain rich veins of copper and of lead, together with a certain quantity of

silver.[133] Good harbours exist at Cagliari, at Oristano, and between the island of S. Antioco and the

western shore. It was at these points especially that the Phoenicians made their settlements, the most

important of which were Caralis (Cagliari), Nora, Sulcis, and Tharros. Caralis, or Cagliari, the present capital,

lies at the bottom of a deep bay looking southwards, and has an excellent harbour, sheltered in all weathers.

There are no remains of Phoenician buildings; but the neighbourhood yields abundant specimens of

Phoenician art in the shape of tombs, statuettes, vases, bottles, and the like.[134] Caralis was probably the

first of the settlements made by the Phoenicians in Sardinia; it would attract them by its harbour, its mines,

and the fertility of its neighbourhood. From Caralis they probably passed to Nora, which lay on the same bay

to the southwest; and from Nora they rounded the southwestern promontory of Sardinia, and established

themselves on the small island now known as the Isola di San Antioco, where they built a town which they

called Sulchis or Sulcis.[135] Sulcis has yielded votive tablets of the Phoenician type, tombs, vases, The

island was productive of lead, and had an excellent harbour towards the north, and another more open one

towards the south. Finally, midway on the west coast, at the northern extremity of the Gulf of Oristano, the

Phoenicians occupied a small promontory which projects into the sea southwards and there formed a

settlement which became known as Tharras or Tharros.[137] Very extensive remains, quite unmistakably

Phoenician, including tombs, cippi, statuettes in metal and clay, weapons, and the like, have been found on

The passage would have been easy from Sardinia to Corsica, which is not more than seven miles distant from

it; but Corsica seems to have possessed no attraction for the Phoenicians proper, who were perhaps deterred

from colonising it by its unhealthiness, or by the savagery of its inhabitants. Or they may have feared to

provoke the jealousy of the Tyrrhenians, off whose coast the island lay, and who, without having any

colonising spirit themselves, disliked the too near approach of rivals.[139] At any rate, whatever the cause, it

seems to have been left to the Carthaginians, to bring Corsica within the range of Phoenician influence; and

even the Carthaginians did little more than hold a few points on its shores as stations for their ships.[140]

If from Sardinia the Phoenicians ventured on an exploring voyage westward into the open Mediterranean, a

day's sail would bring them within sight of the eastern Balearic Islands, Minorca and Majorca. The sierra of

Majorca rises to the height of between 3,000 and 4,000 feet,[141] and can be seen from a great distance. The

occupation of the islands by "the Phoenicians" is asserted by Strabo,[142] but we cannot be sure that he does

not mean Phoenicians of Africa, i.e. Carthaginians. Still, on the whole, modern criticism inclines to the belief

that, even before the foundation of Carthage, Phoenician colonisation had made its way into the Balearic

Islands, directly, from the Syrian coast.[143] Some restingplaces between the middle Mediterranean and

Southern Spain must have been a necessity; and as the North African coast west of Hippo offered no good

harbours, it was necessary to seek them elsewhere. Now Minorca has in Port Mahon a harbour of almost

unsurpassed excellence,[144] while in Majorca there are fairly good ports both at Palma and at Aleudia.[145]

Ivica is less well provided, but there is one of some size, known as Pormany (i.e. "Porta magna"), on the

western side of the island, and another, much frequented by fishingboats,[146] on the south coast near Ibiza.

The productions of the Balearides were not, perhaps, in the early times of much importance, since the islands

are not, like Sardinia, rich in metals, nor were the inhabitants sufficiently civilised to furnish food supplies or

native manufactures in any quantity. If, then, the Phoenicians held them, it must have been altogether for the

The colonies of the Mediterranean have now been, all of them, noticed, excepting those which lay upon the

south coast of Spain. Of these the most important were Malaca (now Malaga), Sex or Sexti, and Abdera (now

Adra). Malaca is said by Strabo to have been "Phoenician in its plan,"[147] Abdera is expressly declared by

him to have been "a Phoenician settlement,"[148] while Sexti has coins which connect it with early

Phoenician legends.[149] The mountain range above Malaca was anciently rich in goldmines;[150] Sexti

was famous for its salt pans;[151] Abdera lay in the neighbourhood of productive silver mines.[152] These

were afterwards worked from Carthagena, which was a late Carthaginian colony, founded by Asdrubal, the

uncle of Hannibal. Malaga and Carthagena (i.e. NewTown) had wellsheltered harbours; but the ports of

Outside the Straits of Gibraltar, on the shores of the Atlantic, were two further sets of Phoenician colonies,

situated respectively in Africa and in Spain. The most important of those in Africa were Tingis (now

Tangiers) and Lixus (now Chemmish), but besides these there were a vast number of staples ({emporia})

without names,[153] spread along the coast as far as Cape Non, opposite the Canary Islands. Tingis, a second

Gibraltar, lay nearly opposite that wonderful rock, but a little west of the narrowest part of the strait. It had a

temple of the Tyrian Hercules, said to have been older than that at Gades;[154] and its coins have Phoenician

legends.[155] The town was situated on a promontory running out to the northeast at the extremity of a

semicircular bay about four miles in width, and thus possessed a harbour not to be despised, especially on

such a coast. The country around was at once beautiful and fertile, dotted over with palms, and well

calculated for the growth of fruit and vegetables. The Atlas mountains rose in the background, with their

picturesque summits, while in front were seen the blue Mediterranean, with its crisp waves merging into the

wilder Atlantic, and further off the shores of Spain, lying like a blue film on the northern horizon.[156]

While Tingis lay at the junction of the two seas, on the northern African coast, about five miles east of Cape

Spartel, Lixus was situated on the open Atlantic, forty miles to the south of that cape, on the West African

coast, looking westward towards the ocean. The streams from Atlas here collect into a considerable river,

known now as the WadyelKhous, and anciently as the Lixus.[157] The estuary of this river, before

reaching the sea, meanders through the plain of Sidi Oueddar, from time to time returning upon itself, and

forming peninsulas, which are literally almost islands.[158] From this plain, between two of the great bends

made by the stream, rose in one place a rocky hill; and here the Phoenicians built their town, protecting it

along the brow of the hill with a strong wall, portions of which still remain in place.[159] The blocks are

squared, carefully dressed, and arranged in horizontal courses, without any cement. Some of them are as

much as eleven feet long by six feet or somewhat more in height. The wall was flanked at the corners by

square towers, and formed a sort of irregular hexagon, above a mile in circumference.[160] A large building

within the walls seems to have been a temple;[161] and in it was found one of those remarkable conical

stones which are known to have been employed in the Phoenician worship. The estuary of the river formed a

tolerably safe harbour for the Phoenician ships, and the valley down which the river flows gave a ready

In Spain, outside the Pillars of Hercules, the chief Phoenician settlements were Tartessus, Agadir or Gades,

and Belon. Tartessus has been regarded by some as properly the name of a country rather than a town;[162]

but the statements of the Greek and Roman geographers to the contrary are too positive to be disregarded.

Tartessus was a town in the opinions of Scymnus Chius, Strabo, Mela, Pliny, Festus Avienus, and

Pausanias,[163] who could not be, all of them, mistaken on such a point. It was a town named from, or at any

rate bearing the same name with, an important river of southern Spain,[164] probably the Guadalquivir. It

was not Gades, for Scymnus Chius mentions both cities as existing in his day;[165] it was not Carteia, for it

lay west of Gades, while Carteia lay east. Probably it occupied, as Strabo thought, a small island between two

arms of the Guadalquivir, and gradually decayed as Gades rose to importance. It certainly did not exist in

Strabo's time, but five or six centuries earlier it was a most flourishing place.[166] If it is the Tarshish of

Scripture, its prosperity and importance must have been even anterior to the time of Solomon, whose "navy

of Tarshish" brought him once in every three years "gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and

peacocks."[167] The south of Spain was rich in metallic treasures, and yielded gold, silver, copper, iron, lead,

and tin;[168] trade along the west coast of Africa would bring in the ivory and apes abundant in that region;

while the birds called in our translation of the Bible "peacocks" may have been guineafowl. The country on

either side of the Guadalquivir to a considerable distance took its name from the city, being called

Tartessis.[169] It was immensely productive. "The wide plains through which the Guadalquiver flows

produced the finest wheat, yielding an increase of a hundredfold; the oil and the wine, the growth of the hills,

were equally distinguished for their excellence. The wood was not less remarkable for its fineness than in

modern times, and had a native colour beautiful without dye."[170] Nor were the neighbouring sea and

stream less bountiful. The tunny was caught in large quantities off the coast, shellfish were abundant and of

unusual size,[171] while huge eels were sometimes taken by the fishermen, which, when salted, formed an

Gades is said to have been founded by colonists from Tyre a few years anterior to the foundation of Utica by

the same people.[173] Utica, as we have seen, dated from the twelfth century before Christ. The site of Gades

combined all the advantages that the Phoenicians desired for their colonies. Near the mouth of the Guadalete

there detaches itself from the coast of Spain an island eleven miles in length, known now as the "Isla de

Leon," which is separated from the mainland for half its length by a narrow but navigable channel, while to

this there succeeds on the north an ample bay, divided into two portions, a northern and a southern.[174] The

southern, or interior recess, is completely sheltered from all winds; the northern lies open to the west, but is

so full of creeks, coves, and estuaries as to offer a succession of fairly good ports, one or other of which

would always be accessible. The southern half of the island is from one to four miles broad; but the northern

consists of a long spit of land running out to the north west, in places not more than a furlong in width, but

expanding at its northern extremity to a breadth of nearly two miles. The long isthmus, and the peninsula in

which it ends, have been compared to the stalk and blossom of a flower.[175] The flower was the ancient

Gades, the modern Cadiz. The Phoenician occupation of the site is witnessed to by Strabo, Diodorus,

Scymnus Chius, Mela, Pliny, Velleius Paterculus, �lian and Arrian,[176] and is further evidenced by the

numerous coins which bear the legend of "Agadir" in Phoenician characters.[177] But the place itself retains

no traces of the Phoenician occupation. The famous temple of Melkarth, with its two bronze pillars in front

bearing inscriptions, has wholly perished, as have all other vestiges of the ancient buildings. This is the result

of the continuous occupation of the site, which has been built on successively by Phoenicians, Carthaginians,

Romans, Vandals, Moors, and Spaniards. The space is somewhat confined, and the houses in ancient times

were, we are told, closely crowded together,[178] as they were at Aradus and Tyre. But the advantages of the

harbour and the productiveness of the vicinity more than made up for this inconvenience. Gades may have

been, as Cadiz is now said to be, "a mere silver plate set down upon the edge of the sea,"[179] but it was the

natural centre of an enormous traffic. It had easy access by the valley of a large stream to the interior with its

rich mineral and vegetable products; it had the command of two seas, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; it

trained its sailors to affront greater perils than any which the Mediterranean offers; and it enjoyed naturally

by its position an almost exclusive commerce with the Northern Atlantic, with the western coasts of Spain

Compared with Gades and Tartessus, Belon was an insignificant settlement. Its name[180] and coins[181]

mark it as Phoenician, but it was not possessed of any special advantages of situation. The modern Bolonia, a

We have reached now the limits of Phoenician colonisation towards the West. While their trade was carried,

especially from Gades, into Luisitania and Gall�cia on the one hand, and into Northwestern Africa on the

other, reaching onward past these districts to Gaul and Britain, to the Senegal and Gambia, possibly to the

Baltic and the Fortunate Islands, the range of their settlements was more circumscribed. As, towards the

northeast, though their trade embraced the regions of Colchis and Thrace, of the Tauric Chersonese, and

Southern Scythia, their settlements were limited to the �gean and perhaps the Propontis, so westward they

seem to have contented themselves with occupying a few points of vantage on the Spanish and West African

coasts, at no great distance from the Straits, and from these stations to have sent out their commercial navies

to sweep the seas and gather in the products of the lands which lay at a greater distance. The actual extent of

their trade will be considered in a later chapter. We have been here concerned only with their permanent

settlements or colonies. These, it has been seen, extended from the Syrian coast to Cyprus, Cilicia, Rhodes,

Crete, the islands and shores of the �gean and Propontis, the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa, the

Balearic Islands, Southern Spain, and Northwestern Africa as far south as Cape Non. The colonisation was

not so continuous as the Greek, nor was it so extensive in one direction,[183] but on the whole it was wider,

and it was far bolder and more adventurous. The Greeks, as a general rule, made their advances by slow

degrees, stealing on from point to point, and having always friendly cities near at hand, like an army that rests

on its supports. The Phoenicians left long intervals of space between one settlement and another, boldly

planted them on barbarous shores, where they had nothing to rely on but themselves, and carried them into

regions where the natives were in a state of almost savagery. The commercial motive was predominant with

them, and gave them the courage to plunge into wild seas and venture themselves among even wilder men.

With the Greeks the motive was generally political, and a safe home was sought, where social and civil life

Origin of the architecture in rock dwellingsSecond style, a combination of the native rock with the

ordinary wallLater on, the use of the native rock, discardedEmployment of huge blocks of stone in the

early wallsAbsence of cementBevelling Occurrence of Cyclopian wallsSeveral architectural

AmrithPhoenician templesTemple of PaphosAdjuncts to templesMuseum of GolgiTreasure

chambers of CuriumWalls of Phoenician townsPhoenician tombsExcavated chambersChambers

BurdjelBezz�kThe Kabr HiramThe two M�gh�zil Tomb with protected entrancePhoenician

ornamentationPillars and their capitalsCornices and mouldingsPavements in mosaic and

The architecture of the Phoenicians began with the fashioning of the native rockso abundant in all parts of

the country where they had settled themselvesinto dwellings, temples, and tombs. The calcareous

limestone, which is the chief geological formation along the Syrian coast, is worked with great ease; and it

contains numerous fissures and caverns,[1] which a very moderate amount of labour and skill is capable of

converting into fairly comfortable dwellingplaces. It is probable that the first settlers found a refuge for a

time in these natural grottos, which after a while they proceeded to improve and enlarge, thus obtaining a

practical power of dealing with the material, and an experimental knowledge of its advantages and defects.

But it was not long before these simple dwellings ceased to content them, and they were seized with an

ambition to construct more elaborate edificesedifices such as they must have seen in the lands through

which they had passed on their way from the shores of the Persian Gulf to the seaboard of the Mediterranean.

They could not at once, however, divest themselves of their acquired habits, and consequently, their earliest

buildings continued to have, in part, the character of rock dwellings, while in part they were constructions of

the more ordinary and regular type. The remains of a dwellinghouse at Amrith,[2] the ancient Marathus,

offer a remarkable example of this intermixture of styles. The rock has been cut away so as to leave standing

two parallel walls 33 yards long, 19 feet high, and 2 12 feet thick, which are united by transverse partywalls

formed in the same way.[3] Windows and doorways are cut in the walls, some square at top, some arched. At

the two ends the main walls were united partly by the native rock, partly by masonry. The northern wall was

built of masonry from the very foundation, the southern consisted for a portion of its height of the native

rock, while above that were several courses of stones carrying it up further. At Aradus and at Sidon,

similarly, the town walls are formed in many places of native rock, squared and smoothed, up to a certain

height, after which courses of stone succeed each other in the ordinary fashion. It is as if the Phoenician

builders could not break themselves of an inveterate habit, and rather than disuse it entirely submitted to an

Another striking example of the mixed system is found at a little distance from Amrith, in the case of a

building which appears to have been a shrine, tabernacle, or sanctuary. The site is a rocky platform, about a

mile from the shore. Here the rock has been cut away to a depth varying from three to six yards, and a

rectangular court has been formed, 180 feet long by 156 feet wide, in the centre of which has been left a

single block of the stone, still of one piece with the court, which rises to a height of ten feet, and forms the

basis or pedestal of the shrine itself.[4] The shrine is built of a certain number of large blocks, which have

been quarried and brought to the spot; it has a stone roof with an entablature, and attains an elevation above

the court of not less than twentyseven feet. The dimensions of the shrine are small, not much exceeding

From constructions of this mixed character the transition was easy to buildings composed entirely of detached

stones put together in the ordinary manner. Here, what is chiefly remarkable in the Phoenician architecture is

the tendency to employ, especially for the foundations and lower courses of buildings, enormous blocks.

When the immovable native rock is no longer available, the resource is to make use of vast masses of stone,

as nearly immovable as possible. The most noted example is that of the substructions which supported the

platform whereon stood the Temple of Jerusalem, which was the work of the Phoenician builders whom

Hiram lent to Solomon.[6] These substructions, laid bare at their base by the excavations of the Palestine

Exploration Fund, are found to consist of blocks measuring from fifteen to twentyfive feet in length, and

from ten to twelve feet in height. The width of the blocks at the angles of the wall, where alone it can be

measured, is from twelve to eighteen feet. At the southwest angle no fewer than thirtyone courses of this

massive character have been counted by the recent explorers, who estimate the weight of the largest block at

A similar method of construction is found to have prevailed at Tyre, at Sidon, at Aradus, at Byblus, at Leptis

Major, at Eryx, at Motya, at Gaulos, and at Lixus on the West African coast. The blocks employed do not

reach the size of the largest discovered at Jerusalem, but still are of dimensions greatly exceeding those of

most builders, varying, as they do, from six feet to twenty feet in length, and being often as much as seven or

eight feet in breadth and height. As the building rises, the stones diminish in size, and the upper courses are

often in no way remarkable. Stones of various sizes are used, and often the courses are not regular, but one

runs into another. A tower in the wall of Eryx is a good specimen of this kind of construction.[8]

Where the stones are small, mortar has been employed by the builders, but where they are of a large size, they

are merely laid side by side in rows or courses, without mortar or cement of any kind, and remain in place

through their own mass and weight. In the earliest style of building the blocks are simply squared,[9] and the

wall composed of them presents a flat and level surface, or one only broken by small and casual irregularities;

but, when their ideas became more advanced, the Phoenicians preferred that style of masonry which is

commonly regarded as peculiarly, if not exclusively, theirs[10]the employment of large blocks with deeply

bevelled edges. The bevel is a depression round the entire side of the stone, which faces outwards, and may

be effected either by a sloping cut which removes the rightangle from the edge, or by two cuts, one

perpendicular and the other horizontal, which take out from the edge a rectangular bar or plinth. The

Phoenician bevelling is of this latter kind, and is generally accompanied by an artificial roughening of the

surface inside the bevel, which offers a strong contrast to the smooth and even surface of the bevel itself.[11]

The style is highly ornamental and effective, particularly where a large space of wall has to be presented to

Occasionally, but very rarely, and only (so far as appears) in their remoter dependencies, the Phoenicians

constructed their buildings in the rude and irregular way, which has been called Cyclopian, employing

unhewn polygonal blocks of various sizes, and fitting them roughly together. The temples discovered in

A peculiarity in Phoenician architecture, connected with the preference for enormous blocks over stones of a

moderate size, is the frequent combination in a single mass of distinct architectural members; for instance, of

the shaft and capital of pillars, of entire pediments with a portion of the wall below them, and of the walls of

monuments with the cornice and architrave. M. Renan has made some strong remarks on this idiosyncrasy.

"In the Grecian style," he says, "the beauty of the wall is a main object with the architect, and the wall derives

its beauty from the divisions between the stones, which observe symmetrical laws, and are in agreement with

the general lines of the edifice. In a style of this kind the stones of a wall have, all of them, the same

dimension, and this dimension is determined by the general plan of the building; or else, as in the kind of

work which is called 'pseudisodomic,' the very irregularity of the courses is governed by a law of symmetry.

The stones of the architrave, the metopes, the triglyphs, are, all of them, separate blocks, even when it would

have been perfectly easy to have included in a single block all these various members. Such facts, as one

observes frequently in Syria, where three or four architectural members are brought out from a single block,

would have appeared to the Greeks monstrous, since they are the negation of all logic."[14]

In cannot be denied that the habit of preferring large to small blocks, even in monuments of a very moderate

size, involved the Phoenician architects in awkwardnesses and anomalies, which offend a cultivated taste; but

it should be remembered, on the other hand, that massiveness in the material conduces greatly to stability,

and that, in lands where earthquakes are frequent, as they are along all the Mediterranean shores, not many

monuments would have survived the lapse of three thousand years had the material employed been of a less

Among the Phoenician constructions, of which it is possible to give some account at the present day, without

drawing greatly on the imagination, are their shrines, their temples, the walls of their towns, and, above all,

their tombs. Recent researches in Phoenicia Proper, in Cyprus, Sicily, Africa, and the smaller Mediterranean

islands, have brought to light numerous remains previously unknown; the few previously known remains

have been carefully examined, measured, and in some cases photographed; and the results have been made

accessible to the student in numerous wellillustrated publications. When Movers and Kenrick published

their valuable works on the history of Phoenicia, and the general characteristics of the Phoenician people, it

was quite impossible to do more than form conjectures concerning their architecture from a few coins, and a

few descriptions in ancient writers. It is now a matter of comparatively little difficulty to set before the public

descriptions and representations which, if they still leave something to be desired in the way of completeness,

are accurate, so far as they go, and will give a tolerably fair idea of the architectural genius of the people.

One very complete and two ruined shrines have been found in Phoenicia Proper, in positions and of a

character which, in the judgment of the best antiquaries, mark them as the work of the ancient people. All

these are situated on the mainland, near the site of Marathus, which lay nearly opposite the island of Ruad,

the ancient Aradus. The shrine which is complete, or almost complete, bears the name of "the Maabed" or

"Temple." Its central position, in the middle of an excavated court, and its mixed construction, partly of

native rock and partly of quarried stone, have been already described. It remains to give an account of the

shrine or tabernacle itself.[15] This is emplaced upon the mass of rock left to receive it midway in the court,

and is a sort of cell, closed in on three sides by walls, and open on one side, towards the north. The cell is

formed of four quarried blocks, which are laid one over the other. These are nearly of the same size, and

similarly shaped, each of them enclosing the cell on three sides, towards the east, the south, and the west. The

fourth, which is larger than any of the others, constitutes the roof. It is a massive stone, carefully cut, which

projects considerably in front of the rest of the building, and is ornamented towards the top with a cornice and

string course, extending along the four sides.[16] Internally the roof is scooped into a sort of shallow vault.

The height of the shrine proper is about seventeen feet, and the elevation of the entire structure above the

court in which it stands appears to be about twentyseven feet. M. Renan conjectures that the projecting

portion of the roof had originally the support of two pillars, which may have been either of wood, of stone, or

of metal, and notes that there are two holes in the basement stone, into which the bottoms of the pillars were

probably inserted.[17] He imagines that the court was once enclosed completely by the construction of a wall

at its northern end, and that the water from a spring, which still rises within the enclosure, was allowed to

overflow the entire space, so that the shrine looked down upon a basin or shallow lake and glassed itself in

the waters.[18] An image of a deity may have stood in the cell under the roof, dimly visible to the worshipper

The two ruined tabernacles lie at no great distance from the complete one, which has just been described. One

of them is so injured that its plan is irrecoverable; but M. Renan carefully collected and measured the

fragments of the other, and thus obtained sufficient data for its restoration.[19] It was, he believes, a

monolithic chamber, with a roof slightly vaulted, like that of the Maabed, having a length of eight feet, a

breadth of five, and a height of about ten feet, and ornamented externally with a very peculiar cornice. This

consisted of a series of carvings, representing the fore part of an ur�us or basilisk serpent, uprearing itself

against the wall of the shrine, which were continued along the entire front of the chamber. There was also an

internal ornamentation of the roof, consisting of a winged circle of an Egyptian charactera favourite

subject with the Phoenician artists[20]the circle having an ur�us erect on either side of it, and also of

another winged figure which appeared to represent an eagle.[21] The monolithic chamber was emplaced upon

a block of stone, ten feet in length and breadth, and six feet in height, which itself stood upon a much smaller

stone, and overhung it on all sides. A flight of six steps, cut in the upper block at either side, gave access to

the chamber, which, however, as it stood in a pool of water, must have been approached by a boat. The entire

Some other ruined shrines have been found in the more distant of the Phoenician settlements, and

representations of them are common upon the stel�, set up in temples as votive offerings. On these last the

ur�us cornice is frequently repeated, and the figure of a goddess sometimes appears, standing between the

pillars which support the front of the shrine.[22] There is a decided resemblance between the Phoenician

shrines and the small Egyptian temples, which have been called mammeisi, the chief difference being that the

latter are for the most part peristylar.[23] M. Renan says of the Maabed, or main shrine at

Amrith:"L'aspect g�n�ral de l'�difice est Egyptian, mais avec une certaine part d'originalit�. Le bandeau et

la corniche sur les quatre c�t�s de la stalle sup�riere en sont le seul ornement. Cette simplicit�, cette s�v�rit�

de style, jointes � l'id�e de force et de puissance qu'�veillent les dimensions �normes des mat�riaux employ�s,

sont des caract�res que nous avons d�j� signal�s dans les monumens fun�raires d'Amrith."[24]

From the shrines of the Phoenicians we may now pass to their temples, of which, however, the remains are,

unfortunately, exceedingly scanty. Of real temples, as distinct from shrines, Phoenicia Proper does not

present to us so much as a single specimen. To obtain any idea of them, we must quit the mother country, and

betake ourselves to the colonies, especially to those island colonies which have been less subjected than the

mainland to the destructive ravages of barbarous conquerors, and the iconoclasm of fanatical populations. It

is especially in Cyprus that we meet with extensive remains, which, if not so instructive as might have been

The temple of Paphos, according to the measurements of General Di Cesnola,[25] was a rectangular building,

221 feet long by 167 feet wide, built along its lower corners of large blocks of stone, but probably continued

above in an inferior material, either wood or unbaked brick.[26] The four cornerstones are still standing in

their proper places, and give the dimensions without a possibility of mistake. Nothing is known of the

internal arrangements, unless we attach credit to the views of the savant Gerhard, who, in the early years of

the present century, constructed a plan from the reports of travellers, in which he divided the building into a

nave and two aisles, with an antechapel in front, and a sacrarium at the further extremity.[27] M. Gerhard

also added, beyond the sacrarium, an apse, of which General Di Cesnola found no traces, but which may

possibly have disappeared in the course of the sixty years which separated the observations of M. Gerhard's

informants from the researches of the later traveller. The arrangement into a nave and two aisles is, to a

certain extent, confirmed by some of the later Cyprian coins, which certainly represent Cyprian temples, and

probably the temple of Paphos.[28] The floor of the temple was, in part at any rate, covered with mosaic.[29]

This large building, which extended over an area of 36,800 square feet, was emplaced within a sacred court,

surrounded by a peribolus, or wall of enclosure, built of even larger blocks than the temple itself, and entered

by at least one huge doorway. The width of this entrance, situated near a corner of the western wall, was

nearly eighteen feet.[30] On one side of it were found still fixed in the wall the sockets for the bolts on which

the door swung, in length six inches, and of proportionate width and depth. The peribolus was rectangular,

like the temple, and was built in lines parallel to it. The longer sides measured 690 and the shorter 530 feet.

One block, which was of blue granite and must have come either from Asia Minor or from Egypt, measured

fifteen feet ten inches in length, with a width of seven feet eleven inches, and a depth of two feet five

inches.[31] It is thought that the court was probably surrounded by a colonnade or cloister,[32] though no

traces have been at present observed either of the pillars which must have supported such a cloister or of the

rafters which must have formed its roof. Ponds,[33] fountains, shrubberies, gardens, groves of trees, probably

covered the open space between the cloister and the temple, while wellshaded walks led across it from the

If we allow ourselves to indulge our fancy for a brief space, and to complete the temple according to the idea

which the coins above represented naturally suggest, we may suppose that it did, in fact, consist of a nave,

two aisles, and a cell, or "holy of holies," the nave being of superior height to the aisles, and rising in front

into a handsome fa�ade, like the western end of a cathedral flanked by towers. Through the open doorway

between the towers might be seen dimly the sacred cone or pillar which was emblematic of deity; on either

side the eye caught the ends of the aisles, not more than half the height of the towers, and each crowned with

a strongly projecting cornice, perhaps ornamented with a row of ur�i. In front of the two aisles, standing by

themselves, were twin columns, like Jachin and Boaz before the Temple of Solomon. The aisles were

certainly roofed: whether the nave also was covered in, or whether, like the Greek hyp�thral temples, it lay

open to the blue vault of heaven, is perhaps doubtful. The walls of the buildings, after a few courses of hewn

stone, were probably of wood, perhaps of cedar, enriched with the precious metals, and the pavement was

adorned with a mosaic of many colours, "white, yellow, red, brown, and rose."[34] Outside the temple was a

mass of verdure. "In the sacred precinct, and in its dependencies, all breathed of voluptuousness, all spoke to

the senses. The air of the place was full of perfumes, full of soft and caressing sounds. There was the murmur

of rills which flowed over a carpet of flowers; there was, in the foliage above, the song of the nightingale, and

the prolonged and tender cooing of the dove; there were, in the groves around, the tones of the flute, the

instrument which sounds the call to pleasure, and summons to the banquet chamber the festive procession and

the bridal train. Beneath the shelter of tents, or of light booths with walls formed by the skilful interlacing of

a green mass of boughs, through which the myrtle and the laurel spread their odours, dwelt the fair slaves of

the goddess, those whom Pindar called, in the drinkingsong which he composed for Theoxenus of Corinth,

'the handmaids of persuasion.'"[35] Here and there in the precincts, sacred processions took their prescribed

way; ablutions were performed; victims led up to the temple; votive offerings hung on the trees; festal

dances, it may be, performed; while in the cloister which skirted the peribolus, dealers in shrines and images

chaffered with their customers, erotic poets sang their lays, lovers whispered, fortunetellers plied their trade,

and a throng of pilgrims walked lazily along, or sat on the ground, breathing in the soft, moist air, feasting

their eyes upon the beauty of upspringing fountain and flowering shrub, and lofty tree, while their ears drank

in the cadences of the falling waters, the song of the birds, and the gay music which floated lightly on the

Phoenician temples had sometimes adjuncts, as cathedrals have their chapterhouses and muniment rooms,

which were at once interesting and important. There has been discovered at Athi�nau in Cyprusthe

supposed site of Golgia ruined edifice, which some have taken for a temple,[36] but which appears to have

been rather a repository for votive offerings, a sort of ecclesiastical museum. A picture of the edifice, as he

conceives it to have stood in its original condition, has been drawn by one of its earliest visitants. "The

building," he says,[37] "was constructed of sundried bricks, forming four walls, the base of which rested

upon a substruction of solid stonework. The walls were covered, as are the houses of the Cypriot peasants of

today, with a stucco which was either white or coloured, and which was impenetrable by rain. Wooden

pillars with stone capitals supported internally a pointed roof, which sloped at a low angle. It formed thus a

sort of terrace, like the roofs that we see in Cyprus at the present day. This roof was composed of a number of

wooden rafters placed very near each other, above which was spread a layer of rushes and coarse mats,

covered with a thick bed of earth well pressed together, equally effective against the entrance of moisture and

against the sun's rays. Externally the building must have presented a very simple appearance. In the interior,

which received no light except from the wide doorways in the walls, an immovable and silent crowd of

figures in stone, with features and garments made more striking by the employment of paint, surrounded, as

with a perpetual worship, the mystic cone. Stone lamps, shaped like diminutive temples, illumined in the

corners the grinning exvotos which hung upon the walls, and the curious pictures with which they were

accompanied. Grotesque basreliefs adorned the circuit of the edifice, where the slanting light was reflected

from the white and polished pavementstones."[38] In length and breadth the chamber measured sixty feet by

thirty; the thickness of the basement wall was three feet.[39] Midway between the side walls stood three rows

of large square pedestalsregularly spaced, and dividing the interior into four vistas or avenues, which some

critics regard as bases for statues, and some as supports for the pillars which sustained the roof.[40] Two

stone capitals of pillars were found within the area of the chamber; and it is conjectured that the entire

disappearance of the shafts may be accounted for by their having been of wood,[41] the employment of

wooden shafts with stone bases and capitals being common in Cyprus at the present time.[42] Against each of

the four walls was a row of pedestals touching each other, which had certainly been bases for statues, since

the statues were found lying, mostly broken, in front of them. The figures varied greatly in size, some being

colossal, others mere statuettes. Most probably all were votive offerings, presented by those who imagined

that they had been helped by the god of the temple to which the chamber belonged, as an indication of their

gratitude. The number of pedestals found along one of the walls was seventytwo,[43] and the original

Another Cyprian temple, situated at Curium, not far from Paphos, contained a very remarkable crypt, which

appears to have been used as a treasurehouse.[44] It was entered by means of a flight of steps which

conducted to a low and narrow passage cut in the rock, and giving access to a set of three similar

semicircular chambers, excavated side by side, and separated one from another by doors. Beyond the third

of these, and at right angles to it, was a fourth somewhat smaller chamber, which gave upon a second passage

that it was found impossible to explore.[45] The three principal chambers were fourteen feet six inches in

height, twentythree feet long, and twentyone feet broad. The fourth was a little smaller,[46] and shaped

somewhat irregularly. All contained plate and jewels of extraordinary richness, and often of rare

workmanship. "The treasure found," says M. Perrot, "surpassed all expectation, and even all hope. Never had

such a discovery been made of such a collection of precious articles, where the material was of the richest,

and the specimens of different styles most curious. There were many bracelets of massive gold, and among

them two which weighed a pound apiece, and several others of a weight not much short of this. Gold was met

with in profusion under all manner of formsfingerrings, earrings, amulets, flasks, small bottles,

hairpins, heavy necklaces. Silver was found in even greater abundance, both in ornaments and in vessels;

besides which there were articles in electrum, which is an amalgam of silver with gold. Among the stones

met with were rockcrystals, carnelians, onyxes, agates, and other hard stones of every variety; and further

there were paste jewels, cylinders in soft stone, statuettes in burnt clay, earthen vases, and also many objects

in bronze, as lamps, tripods, candelabra, chairs, vases, arms, A certain amount of order reigned in the

repository. The precious objects in gold were collected together principally in the first chamber. The second

contained the silver vessels, which were arranged along a sort of shelf cut in the rock, at the height of about

eight inches above the floor. Unfortunately the oxydation of these vessels had proceeded to such lengths, that

only a very small number could be extracted from the mass, which for the most part crumbled into dust at the

touch of a finger. The third chamber held lamps and fibul� in bronze, vases in alabaster, and, above all, the

groups and vessels modelled in clay; while the fourth was the repository of the utensils in bronze, and of a

certain number which were either in copper or in iron. In the further passage, which was not completely

In the construction of the walls of their towns, especially of those which were the most ancient, the feature

which is most striking at first sight is that on which some remarks have already been made, the attachment of

the lower portion of the wall to the soil from which the wall springs. At Sidon, at Aradus, and at

SemarGebeil, the enceinte which protected the town consisted, up to the height of ten or twelve feet, of

native rock, cut to a perpendicular face, upon which were emplaced several courses of hewn stone. The

principle adopted was to utilise the rock as far as possible, and then to supplement what was wanting by a

superstructure of masonry. Large blocks of stone, shaped to fit the upper surface of the rock, were laid upon

it, generally endways, that is, with their smallest surface outwards, their length forming the thickness of the

wall, which was sometimes as much as fifteen or twenty feet.[48] The massive blocks, once placed, were

almost immovable, and it was considered enough to lay them side by side, without clamps or mortar, since

their own weight kept them in place. It was not thought of much consequence whether the joints of the

courses coincided or not; though care was taken that, if a coincidence occurred in two courses, it should not

be repeated in the third.[49] The elevation of walls does not seem to have often exceeded from thirty to forty

feet, though Diodorus makes the walls of Carthage sixty feet high,[50] and Arrian gives to the wall of Tyre

which faced the continent the extraordinary height of a hundred and fifty feet.[51]

If we may generalise from the most perfect specimens of Phoenician townwalls that are still fairly traceable,

as those of Eryx and Lixus,[52] we may lay it down, that such walls were usually flanked, at irregular

intervals, by square or rectangular towers, which projected considerably beyond the line of the curtain. The

towers were of a more massive construction than the wall itself, especially in the lower portion, where vast

blocks were common. The wall was also broken at intervals by gates, some of which were posterns, either

arched or covered in by flat stones,[53] while others were of larger dimensions, and were protected, on one

side or on both, by bastions. The sites of towns were commonly eminences, and the line of the walls followed

the irregularities of the ground, crowning the slopes where they were steepest. Sometimes, as at Carthage and

Thapsus, where the wall had to be carried across a flat space, the wall of defence was doubled, or even

tripled. The restorations of Daux[54] contain, no doubt, a good deal that is fanciful; but they give, probably, a

fair idea of the general character of the socalled "triple wall" of certain Phoenician cities. The outer line, or

{proteikhisma}, was little more than an earthwork, consisting of a ditch, with the earth from it thrown up

inwards, crowned perhaps at top with a breastwork of masonry. The second line was far more elaborate.

There was first a ditch deeper than the outer one, while behind this rose a perpendicular battlemented wall to

the height, from the bottom of the ditch, of nearly forty feet. In the thickness of the wall, which was not much

less than the height, were chambers for magazines and cisterns, while along the top, behind the parapet, ran a

platform, from which the defenders discharged their arrows and other missiles against the enemy. Further

back, at the distance of about thirty yards, came the main line of defence, which in general character

resembled the second, but was loftier and stronger. There was, first, a third ditch (or moat, if water could be

introduced), and behind it a wall thirtyfive feet thick and sixty feet high, pierced by two rows of embrasures

from which arrows could be discharged, and having a triple platform for the defenders. This wall was kept

entirely clear of the houses of the town, and the different storeys could be reached by sloping ascents or

internal staircases. It was flanked at intervals by square towers, somewhat higher than the walls, which

projected sufficiently for the defenders to enfilade the assailants when they approached the base of the

The tombs of the Phoenicians were, most usually, underground constructions, either simple excavations in

the rock, or subterranean chambers, built of hewn stone, at the bottom of sloping passages, or perpendicular

shafts, which gave access to them. The simpler kinds bear a close resemblance to the sepulchres of the Jews.

A chamber is opened in the rock, in the sides of which are hollowed out, horizontally, a number of caverns or

loculi, each one intended to receive a corpse.[55] If more space is needed, a passage is made from one of the

sides of the chamber to a certain distance, and then a second chamber is excavated, and more loculi are

formed; and the process is repeated as often as necessary. But chambers thus excavated were apt to collapse,

especially if the rock was of the soft and friable nature so common in Phoenicia Proper and in Cyprus; on

which account, in such soils, the second kind of tomb was preferred, sepulchural chambers being solidly

built,[56] either singly or in groups, each made to hold a certain number of sarcophagi. The most remarkable

tombs of this class are those found at Amathus, on the south coast of Cyprus, by General Di Cesnola. They

lie at the depth of from forty to fiftyfive feet below the surface of the soil,[57] and are square chambers,

built of huge stones, carefully squared, some of them twenty feet in length, nine in breadth, and three in

thickness, and even averaging a length of fourteen feet.[58] Two shapes occur. Some of the tombs are almost

perfect cubes, the upright walls rising to a height of twelve or fifteen feet, and being then covered in by three

or four long slabs of stone. Others resemble huts, having a gable at either end, and a sloping roof formed of

slabs which meet and support each other. A squared doorway, from five to six feet in height, gives entrance

to the tombs at one end, and has for ornament a fourfold fillet, which surrounds it on three sides. Otherwise,

ornamentation is absent, the stonework of both walls and roofs being absolutely plain and bare. Internally the

chambers present the same naked appearance, walls and roofs being equally plain, and the floor paved with

The grouped chambers are of several kinds. Sometimes there are two chambers only, one opening directly

into the other, and not always similarly roofed. Occasionally, groups of three are found, and there are

examples of groups of four. In these instances, the exact symmetry is remarkable. A single doorway of the

usual character gives entrance to a nearly square chamber, the exact dimensions of which are thirteen feet

four inches by twelve feet two inches. Midway in the side and opposite walls are three other doorways, each

of them three foot six inches in width, which lead into exactly similar square chambers, having a length of

Chambers of the character here described contain in almost every instance stone sarcophagi. These are ranged

along the walls, at a little distance from them. The chambers commonly contain two or three; but sometimes

one sarcophagus is superimposed upon another, and in this way the number occasionally reaches to six.[60]

Mostly, the sarcophagi are plain, or nearly so, but are covered over with a sloping lid. Sometimes, however,

they are elaborately carved, and constitute works of art, which are of the highest value. An account will be

given of the most remarkable of these objects in the chapter on Phoenician �sthetic Art.

Another distinct type of Phoenician tomb is that which is peculiar to NeaPaphos, and which is thought by

some to have been employed exclusively by the High Priests of the great temple there.[61] The peculiarity of

these burialplaces is, that the sepulchral chambers are adjuncts of a quadrangular court open to the sky, and

surrounded by a colonnade supported on pillars.[62] The court, the colonnade, the pillars, the entablature, and

the chambers, with their niches for the dead, are all equally cut out of the rock, as well as the passage by

which the court is entered, at one corner of the quadrangle. The columns are either square or rounded, the

rounded ones having capitals resembling those of the Doric order; and the entablature is also a rough

imitation of the Doric triglyphs, and gutt�. The entrances to the sepulchral chambers are under the colonnade,

behind the pillars;[63] and the chambers contain, beside niches, a certain number of bases for sarcophagi, but

no sarcophagi have been found in them. The quadrangle is of a small size, not more than about eighteen feet

Thus far we have described that portion of the sepulchral architecture of the Phoenicians which is most

hidden from sight, lying, as it does, beneath the surface of the soil. With tombs of this quiet character the

Phoenicians were ordinarily contented. They were not, however, wholly devoid of those feelings with respect

to their dead which have caused the erection, in most parts of the world, of sepulchral monuments intended to

attract the eye, and to hand on to later ages the memory of the departed. Well acquainted with Egypt, they

could not but have been aware from the earliest times of those massive piles which the vanity of Egyptian

monarchs had raised up for their own glorification on the western side of the valley of the Nile; nor in later

days could such monuments have escaped their notice as the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus[64] or the Tomb of

the Maccabees.[65] Accordingly, we find them, at a very remote period, not merely anxious to inter their

dead decently and carefully in rock tombs or subterranean chambers of massive stone, but also wishful upon

occasions to attract attention to the last restingplaces of their great men, by constructions which showed

themselves above the ground, and had some architectural pretensions. One of these, situated near Amrith, the

ancient Marathus, is a very curious and peculiar structure. It is known at the present day as the

BurdjelBezz�k,[66] and was evidently constructed to be, like the pyramids, at once a monument and a

tomb. It is an edifice, built of large blocks of stone, and rising to a height of thirtytwo feet above the plain at

its base, so contrived as to contain two sepulchral chambers, the one over the other. Externally, the monument

is plain almost to rudeness, being little more than a cubic mass, broken only by two doorways, and having for

its sole ornament a projecting cornice in front. Internally, there is more art and contrivance. The chambers are

very carefully constructed, and contain a number of niches intended to receive sarcophagi, the lower having

accommodation for three and the upper for twelve bodies.[67] It is thought that originally the cubic mass,

which is all that now remains, was surmounted by a pyramidical roof, many stones from which were found

by M. Renan among the d�bris that were scattered around. The height of the monument was thus increased by

perhaps onehalf, and did not fall much short of sixtyfive feet.[68] The cornice, which is now seen on one

side only, and which is there imperfect, originally, no doubt, encircled the entire edifice.

The other constructions erected by the Phoenicians to mark the resting places of their dead are simple

monuments erected near, and generally over, the tombs in which the bodies are interred. The best known is

probably that in the vicinity of Tyre, which the natives call the KabrHiram, or "Tomb of Hiram."[69] No

great importance can be attached to this name, which appears to be a purely modern one;[70] but the

monument is undoubtedly ancient, perhaps as ancient as any other in Phoenicia.[71] It is composed of eight

courses of huge stones superimposed one upon another,[72] the blocks having in some cases a length of

eleven or twelve feet, with a breadth of seven or eight, and a depth of three feet. The courses retreat slightly,

with the exception of the fifth, which projects considerably beyond the line of the fourth and still more

beyond that of the sixth. The whole effect is less that of a pyramid than of a stel� or pillar, the width at top

being not very much smaller than that at the base. The monument is a solid mass, and is not a square but a

rectangular oblong, the broader sides measuring fourteen feet and the narrower about eight feet six inches.

Two out of the eight courses are of the nature of substructions, being supplemental to the rock, which

supplies their place in part; and it is only recently that they have been brought to light by means of

excavation. Hence the earlier travellers speak of the monument as having no more than six courses. The

present height above the soil is a little short of twentyfive feet. A flight of steps cut in the rock leads down

from the monument to a sepulchral chamber, which, however, contains neither sepulchral niche nor

But the most striking of the Phoenician sepulchral monuments are to be found in the north of Phoenicia, and

not in the south, in the neighbourhood, not of Tyre and Sidon, but of Marathus and Aradus. Two of them,

known as the M�gh�zil,[73] form a group which is very remarkable, and which, if we may trust the

restoration of M. Thobois,[74] must have had considerable architectural merit. Situated very near each other,

on the culminating point of a great plateau of rock, they dominate the country far and wide, and attract the

eye from a long distance. One seems to have been in much simpler and better taste than the other. M. Renan

calls it "a real masterpiece, in respect of proportion, of elegance, and of majesty."[75] It is built altogether in

three stages. First, there is a circular basement story flanked by four figures of lions, attached to the wall

behind them, and only showing in front of it their heads, their shoulders, and their fore paws. This basement,

which has a height of between seven and eight feet, is surmounted by a cylindrical tower in two stages, the

lower stage measuring fourteen and the upper, which is domed, ten feet. The basement is composed of four

great stones, the entire tower above it is one huge monolith. An unusual and very effective ornamentation

crowns both stages of the tower, consisting of a series of gradines at top with square machicolations below.

The other monument of the pair, distant about twenty feet from the one already described, is architecturally

far less happy. It is composed of four members, viz. a low plinth for base, above this a rectangular pedestal,

surmounted by a strong band or cornice; next, a monolithic cylinder, without ornaments, which contracts

slightly as it ascends; and, lastly, a pentagonal pyramid at the top. The pedestal is exceedingly rough and

unfinished; generally, the workmanship is rude, and the different members do not assort well one with

another. Still it would seem that the two monuments belong to the same age and are parts of the same

plan.[76] Their lines are parallel, as are those of the subterranean apartments which they cover, and they

stand within a single enclosure. Whether the same architect designed them both it is impossible to determine,

but if so he must have been one of the class of artists who have sometimes happy and sometimes unhappy

Both the M�gh�zil are superimposed upon subterranean chambers, containing niches for bodies, and reached

by a flight of steps cut in the rock, the entrance to which is at some little distance from the monuments.[77]

But there is nothing at all striking or peculiar in the chambers, which are without ornament of any kind.

Another tomb, in the vicinity of the M�gh�zil, is remarkable chiefly for the care taken to shelter and protect

the entrance to the set of chambers which it covers.[78] The monument is a simple one. A square monolith,

crowned by a strong cornice, stands upon a base consisting of two steps. Above the cornice is another

monolith, the lower part squared and the upper shaped into a pyramid. The upper part of the pyramid has

crumbled away, but enough remains to show the angle of the slope, and to indicate for the original erection a

height of about twenty feet. At the distance of about ten yards from the base of the monument is a second

erection, consisting of two tiers of large stones, which roof in the entrance to a flight of eighteen steps. These

steps lead downwards to a sloping passage, in which are sepulchral niches, and thence into two chambers, the

inner one of which is almost directly under the main monument. Probably, a block of stone, movable but

removed with difficulty, originally closed the entrance at the point where the steps begin. This stone

ordinarily prevented ingress, but when a fresh corpse was to be admitted, or funeral ceremonies were to be

Phoenician architects were, as a general rule, exceedingly sparing in the use of ornament. Neither the pillar,

nor the arch, much less the vault, was a feature in their principal buildings, which affected straight lines,

rightangles, and a massive construction, based upon the Egyptian. The pillar came ultimately to be adopted,

to a certain extent, from the Greeks; but only the simplest forms, the Doric and Ionic, were in use, if we

except certain barbarous types which the people invented for themselves. The true arch was scarcely known

in Phoenicia, at any rate till Roman times, though false arches were not infrequent in the gateways of towns

and the doors of houses.[80] The external ornamentation of buildings was chiefly by cornices of various

kinds, by basement mouldings, by carvings about doorways,[81] by hemispherical or pyramidical roofs, and

by the use of bevelled stones in the walls. The employment of animal forms in external decoration was

exceedingly rare; and the half lions of the circular M�gh�zil of Amrith are almost unique.

In internal ornamentation there was greater variety. Pavements were sometimes of mosaic, and glowed with

various colours;[82] sometimes they were of alabaster slabs elaborately patterned. Alabaster slabs also, it is

probable, adorned the walls of temples and houses, excepting where woodwork was employed, as in the

Temple of Solomon. There is much richness and beauty in many of the slabs now in the Phoenician

collection of the Louvre,[83] especially in those which exhibit the forms of sphinxes or griffins. Many of the

patterns most affected are markedly Assyrian in character, as the rosette, the palm head, the intertwined

ribbons, and the rows of gradines which occur so frequently. Even the Sphinxes are rather Assyrian than

Egyptian in character; and exhibit the recurved wings, which are never found in the valley of the Nile. In

almost all the forms employed there is a modification of the original type, sufficient to show that the

On the whole the architecture must be pronounced wanting in originality and in a refined taste. What M.

Renan says of Phoenician art in general[84] is especially true of Phoenician architecture. "Phoenician art,

which issued, as it would seem, originally from mere troglodytism, was, from the time when it arrived at the

need of ornament, essentially an art of imitation. That art was, above all, industrial; that art never raised itself

for its great public monuments to a style that was at once elegant and durable. The origin of Phoenician

architecture was the excavated rock, not the column, as was the case with the Greeks. The wall replaced the

excavated rock after a time, but without wholly losing its character. There is nothing that leads us to believe

that the Phoenicians knew how to construct a keyed vault. The monolithic principle which dominated the

Phoenician and Syrian art, even after it had taken Greek art for its model, is the exact contrary of the Hellenic

style. Greek architecture starts from the principle of employing small stones, and proclaims the principal

loudly. At no time did the Greeks extract from Pentelicus blocks at all comparable for size with those of

Baalbek or of Egypt; they saw no use in doing so; on the contrary, with masses of such enormity, which it is

desired to use in their entirety, the architect is himself dominated; the material, instead of being subordinate

to the design of the edifice, runs counter to the design and contradicts it. The monuments on the Acropolis of

Athens would be impossible with blocks of the size usual in Syria."[85] Thus there is always something

heavy, rude, and coarse in the Phoenician buildings, which betray their troglodyte origin by an overmassive

There is also a want of originality, more especially in the ornamentation. Egypt, Assyria, and Greece have

furnished the "motives" which lie at the root of almost all the decorative art that is to be met with, either in

the mother country or in the colonies. Winged disks, ur�i, scarabs, sphinxes, have been adopted from Egypt;

Assyria has furnished gradines, lotus blossoms, rosettes, the palmtree ornament, the ribbon ornament, and

the form of the lion; Greece has supplied pillars, pediments, festoons, and chim�ras. Native talent has

contributed little or nothing to the ornamentation of buildings, if we except the modification of the types

Finally, there is a want of combination and general plan in the Phoenician constructions where they fall into

groups. "This is sensibly felt," according to M. Renan, "at Amrith, at KabrHiram, and at Umel Awamid.

In the remains still visible in these localities there are many fine ideas, many beautiful details; but they do not

fall under any general dominant plan, as do the buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. One seems to see a set

of people who are fond of working in stone for its own sake, but who do not care to arrive at a mutual

understanding in order to produce in common a single work, since they do not know that it is the conception

of a grand whole which constitutes greatness in art. Hence the incompleteness of the monuments; there is not

a tomb to which the relations of the deceased have deemed it fitting to give the finishing touches; there is

everywhere a certain egotism, like that which in later times prevented the Mussulman monuments from

enduring. A passing pleasure in art does not induce men to finish, since finishing requires a certain stiffness

of will. In general, the ancient Phoenicians appear to have had the spirit of sculptors rather than of architects.

They did not construct in great masses, but every one laboured on his own account. Hence there was no exact

measurement, and no symmetry. Even the capitals of the columns at UmelAwamid are not alike; in the

Recent discoveries of Phoenician artistic remainsPhoenician sculptureStatues and bustsAnimal

formsBasreliefsHercules and GeryonScenes on sarcophagiPhoenicians metal castings Jachin

and BoazSolomon's "Molten Sea"Solomon's lavers Statuettes in bronzeEmbossed work upon cups

and pater�Cup of Pr�nesteIntaglios on cylinders and gemsPhoenician painting Tinted

Phoenician �sthetic art embraced sculpture, metalcasting, intaglio, and painting to a small extent. Situated

as the Phoenicians were, in the immediate neighbourhood of nations which had practised from a remote

antiquity the imitation of natural forms, and brought into contact by their commercial transactions with

others, with whom art of every kind was in the highest esteemadroit moreover with their hands, clever,

active, and above all else practicalit was scarcely possible that they should not, at an early period in their

existence as a nation, interest themselves in what they found so widely appreciated, and become themselves

ambitious of producing such works as they saw everywhere produced, admired, and valued. The mere

commercial instinct would lead them to supply a class of goods which commanded a high price in the world's

markets; while it is not to be supposed that they were, any more than other nations, devoid of those �sthetic

propensities which find a vent in what are commonly called the "fine arts," or less susceptible of that natural

pleasure which successful imitation evokes from all who find themselves capable of it. Thus, we might have

always safely concluded, even without any material evidence of it, that the Phoenicians had an art of their

own, either original or borrowed; but we are now able to do more than this. Recent researches in Phoenicia

Proper, in Cyprus, in Sardina, and elsewhere, have recovered such a mass of Phoenician artistic remains, that

it is possible to form a tolerably complete idea of the character of their �sthetic art, of its methods, its aims,

Phoenician sculpture, even at its best, is somewhat rude. The country possesses no marble, and has not even

any stone of a fine grain. The cretaceous limestone, which is the principal geological formation, is for the

most part so pierced with small holes and so thickly sown with fossil shells as to be quite unsuited for the

chisel; and even the better blocks, which the native sculptors were careful to choose, are not free from these

defects, and in no case offer a grain that is satisfactory. To meet these difficulties, the Phoenician sculptor

occasionally imported his blocks either from Egypt or from the volcanic regions of Taurus and Amanus;[1]

but it was not until he had transported himself to Cyprus, and found there an abundance of a soft, but fairly

smooth, compact, and homogeneous limestone, that he worked freely, and produced either statues or

basreliefs in any considerable number.[2] The Cyprian limestone is very easy to work. "It is a whitish stone

when it comes out of the quarry, but by continued exposure to the air the tone becomes a greyish yellow,

which, though a little dull, is not disagreeable to the eye. The nail can make an impression on it, and it is

worked by the chisel much more easily and more rapidly than marble. But it is in the plastic arts as in

literature and poetrywhat costs but little trouble has small chance of enduring. The Cyprian limestone is

too soft to furnish the effects and the contrasts which marble offers, so to speak, spontaneously; it is

incapable of receiving the charming polish which makes so strong an opposition to the dark shadows of the

parts where the chisel has scooped deep. The chisel, whatever efforts it may make and however laboriously it

may be applied, cannot impress on such material the strong and bold touches which indicate the osseous

structure, and make the muscles and the veins show themselves under the epidermis in Greek statuary. The

sculptor's work is apt to be at once finikin and lax; it wants breadth, and it wants decision. Moreover, the

material, having little power of resistance, retains but ill what the chisel once impressed; the more delicate

markings and the more lifelike touches that it once received, it loses easily through friction or exposure to

rough weather. A certain number of the sculptured figures found by M. Di Cesnola at Athi�nau were

discovered under conditions that were quite peculiar, having passed from the shelter of a covered chamber to

that of a protecting bed of dust, which had hardened and adhered to their surfaces; and these figures had

preserved an unusual freshness, and seem as if just chiselled; but, saving these exceptions, the Cypriot figures

have their angles rounded, and their projections softened down. It is like a page of writing, where the ink,

before it had time to dry, preserving its sharpness of tone, has been absorbed by the blotting paper and has

Another striking defect in the Phoenician, or at any rate in the CyprioPhoenician, sculpture, and one that

cannot be excused on account of any inherent weakness in the material, is the thinness and flatness of the

greater part of the figures. The sculptor seems to have been furnished by the stonecutter, not so much with

solid blocks of stone, as with tolerably thick slabs.[4] These he fashioned carefully in front, and produced

statues, which, viewed in front, are lifelike and fairly satisfactory. But to the sides and back of the slab he

paid little attention, not intending that his work should be looked at from all quarters, but that the spectator

should directly face it. The statues were made to stand against walls,[5] or in niches, or back to back, the

heels and backs touching;[6] they were not, properly speaking, works in the round, but rather alti relievi a

little exaggerated, not actually part of the wall, but laid closely against it. A striking example of this kind of

work may be seen in a figure now at New York, which appears to represent a priest, whereof a front view is

given by Di Cesnola in his "Cyprus," and a side view by Perrot and Chipiez in their "History of Ancient Art."

The head and neck are in good proportion, but the rest of the figure is altogether unduly thin, while for some

This fault is less pronounced in some statues than in others, and from a certain number of the statuettes is

wholly absent. This is notably the case in a figure found at Golgi, which represents a female arrayed in a long

robe, the ample folds of which she holds back with one hand, while the other hand is advanced, and seems to

have held a lotus flower. Three graceful tresses fall on either side of the neck, round which is a string of

beads or pearls, with an amulet as pendant; while a long veil, surmounted by a diadem, hangs from the back

of the head. This statue is in no respect narrow or flat, as may be seen especially from the side view given by

Di Cesnola;[7] but it is short and inelegant, though not wanting in dignity; and it is disfigured by sandalled

feet of a very disproportionate size, which stand out offensively in front. The figure has been viewed as a

representation of the goddess Astarte or Ashtoreth;[8] but the identification can scarcely be regarded as more

The general defects of Phoenician statuary, besides want of finish and flatness, are a stiff and conventional

treatment, recalling the art of Egypt and Assyria, a want of variety, and a want of life. Most of the figures

stand evenly on the two feet, and have the arms pendant at the two sides, with the head set evenly, neither

looking to the right nor to the left, while even the arrangement of the drapery is one of great uniformity. In

the points where there is any variety, the variety is confined within very narrow limits. One foot may be a

little advanced;[9] one arm may be placed across the breast, either as confined by the robe,[10] or as holding

something, e.g. a bird or a flower.[11] In female figures both arms may be laid along the thighs,[12] or both

be bent across the bosom, with the hands clasping the breasts,[13] or one hand may be so placed, and the

other depend in front.[14] The hair and beard are mostly arranged with the utmost regularity in crisp curls,

resembling the Assyrian; where tresses are worn, they are made to hang, whatever their number, with exact

uniformity on either side.[15] Armlets and bracelets appear always in pairs, and are exactly similar; the two

sides of a costume correspond perfectly; and in the groups the figures have, as nearly as possible, the same

Repose is no doubt the condition of human existence which statuary most easily and most naturally

expresses; and few things are more obnoxious to a refined taste than that sculpture which, like that of

Roubiliac, affects movement, fidget, flutter, and unquiet. But in the Phoenician sculpture the repose is

overdone; except in the expression of faces, there is scarcely any life at all. The figures do nothing; they

simply stand to be looked at. And they stand stiffly, sometimes even awkwardly, rarely with anything like

elegance or grace. The heads, indeed, have life and vigour, especially after the artists have become

acquainted with Greek models;[16] but they are frequently too large for the bodies whereto they are attached,

and the face is apt to wear a smirk that is exceedingly disagreeable. This is most noticeable in the Cypriot

series, as will appear by the accompanying representations; but it is not confined to them, since it reappears in

Phoenician statues are almost always more or less draped. Sometimes nothing is worn besides the short tunic,

or shenti, of the Egyptians, which begins below the navel and terminates at the knee.[17] Sometimes there is

added to this a closefitting shirt, like a modern "jersey," which has short sleeves and clings to the figure, so

that it requires careful observation to distinguish between a statue thus draped and one which has the shenti

only.[18] But there are also a number of examples where the entire figure is clothed from the head to the

ankles, and nothing is left bare but the face, the hands, and the feet. A cap, something like a Phrygian bonnet,

covers the head; a longsleeved robe reaches from the neck to the ankles, or sometimes rests upon the feet;

and above this is a mantle or scarf thrown over the left shoulder, and hanging down nearly to the knees.

Ultimately a drapery greatly resembling that of the Greeks seems to have been introduced; a long cloak, or

chlamys, is worn, which falls into numerous folds, and is disposed about the person according to the taste and

fancy of the wearer, but so as to leave the right arm free.[19] Statues of this class are scarcely distinguishable

Phoenician sculptors in the round did not very often indulge in the representation of animal forms. The lion,

however, was sometimes chiselled in stone, either partially, as in a block of stone found by M. Renan at

UmelAwamid, or completely, as in a statuette brought by General Di Cesnola from Cyprus. The

representations hitherto discovered have not very much merit. We may gather from them that the sculptors

were unacquainted with the animal itself, had never seen the king of beasts sleeping in the shade or stretching

himself and yawning as he awoke, or walking along with a haughty and majestic slowness, or springing with

one bound upon his prey, but had simply studied without much attention or interest the types furnished them

by Egyptian or Assyrian artists, who were familiar with the beast himself. The representations are

consequently in every case feeble and conventional; in some they verge on the ridiculous. What, for instance,

can be weaker than the figure above given from the great work of Perrot and Chipiez, with its

goodhumoured face, its tongue hanging out of its mouth, its tottering forelegs, and its general air of

imbecility? The lioness' head represented in the same work is better, but still leaves much to be desired,

falling, as it does, very far behind the best Assyrian models. Nor were the sculptors much more successful in

their mode of expressing animals with whose forms they were perfectly well acquainted. The sheep carried

on the back of a shepherd, brought from Cyprus and now in the museum of New York, is a very illshaped

sheep, and the doves so often represented are very poor doves.[20] They are just recognisable, and that is the

most that can be said for them. A dog in stone,[21] found at Athi�nau, is somewhat better, equally the dogs of

the Egyptians and Assyrians. On the other hand, the only fully modelled horses that have been found are

The reliefs of the Phoenicians are very superior to their statues. They vary in their character from almost the

lowest kind of relief to the highest. On dresses, on shields, on slabs, and on some sarcophagi it is much higher

than is usual even in Greece. A basrelief of peculiar interest was discovered at Athi�nau by General Di

Cesnola, and has been represented both by him and by the Italian traveller Ceccaldi.[23] It represents

Hercules capturing the cattle of Geryon from the herdsman Eurytion, and gives us reason to believe that that

myth was a native Phoenician legend adopted by the Greeks, and not a Hellenic one imported into Phoenicia.

The general character of the sculpture is archaic and Assyrian; nor is there a trace of Greek influence about it.

Hercules, standing on an elevated block of stone at the extreme left, threatens the herdsman, who responds by

turning towards him, and making a menacing gesture with his right hand, while in his left, instead of a club,

he carries an entire tree. His hair and beard are curled in the Assyrian fashion, while his figure, though short,

is strong and muscular. In front of him are his cattle, mixed up in a confused and tangled mass, some young,

but most of them full grown, and amounting to the number of seventeen. They are in various attitudes, and

are drawn with much spirit, recalling groups of cattle in the sculptures of Assyria and Egypt, but surpassing

any such group in the vigour of their life and movement. Above, in an upper field or plain, divided from the

under one by a horizontal line, is the triple headed dog, Orthros, running full speed towards Hercules, and

scarcely checked by the arrow which has met him in mid career, and entered his neck at the point of junction

between the second and the third head.[24] The basrelief is three feet two inches in length, and just a little

short of two feet in height. It served to ornament a huge block of stone which formed the pedestal of a

A sarcophagus, on which the relief is low, has been described and figured by Di Cesnola,[26] who discovered

it in the same locality as the sculpture which has just engaged our attention. The sarcophagus, which had a lid

guarded by lions at the four corners, was ornamented at both ends and along both sides by reliefs. The four

scenes depicted appear to be distinct and separate. At one end Perseus, having cut off Medusa's head and

placed it in his wallet, which he carries behind him by means of a stick passed over his shoulder, departs

homewards followed by his dog. Medusa's body, though sunk upon one knee, is still upright, and from the

bleeding neck there spring the forms of Chrysaor and Pegasus. At the opposite end of the tomb is a biga

drawn by two horses, and containing two persons, the charioteer and the owner, who is represented as

bearded, and rests his hand upon the chariotrim. The horse on the right hand, which can alone be distinctly

seen, is well proportioned and spirited. He is impatient and is held in by the driver, and prevented from

proceeding at more than a foot's pace. On the longer sides are a hunting scene, and a banqueting scene. In a

wooded country, indicated by three tall trees, a party, consisting of five individuals, engages in the pleasures

of the chase. Four of the five are accoutred like Greek soldiers; they wear crested helmets, cuirasses, belts,

and a short tunic ending in a fringe: the arms which they carry are a spear and a round buckler or shield. The

fifth person is an archer, and has a lighter equipment; he wears a cloth about his loins, a short tunic, and a

round cap on his head. The design forms itself into two groups. On the right two of the spearmen are engaged

with a wild boar, which they are wounding with their lances; on the left the two other spearmen and the

archer are attacking a wild bull. In the middle a cock separates the two groups, while at the two extremities

two animal forms, a horse grazing and a dog trying to make out a scent, balance each other. The fourth side

of the sarcophagus presents us with a banqueting scene. On four couches, much like the Assyrian,[27] are

arranged the banqueters. At the extreme right the couch is occupied by a single person, who has a long beard

and extends a winecup towards an attendant, a naked youth, who is advancing towards him with a winejug

in one hand, and a ladle or strainer in the other. The three other couches are occupied respectively by three

couples, each comprising a male and a female. The male figure reclines in the usual attitude, half sitting and

half lying, with the left arm supported on two pillows;[28] the female sits on the edge of the couch, with her

feet upon a footstool. The males hold winecups; of the females, one plays upon the lyre, while the two

others fondle with one hand their lover or husband. A fourth female figure, erect in the middle between the

second and third couches, plays the double flute for the delectation of the entire party. All the figures, except

the boy attendant, are decently draped, in robes with many folds, resembling the Greek. At the side of each

couch is a table, on which are spread refreshments, while at the extreme left is a large bowl or amphora, from

which the winecups may be replenished. This is placed under the shade of a tree, which tells us that the

No one can fail to see, in this entire series of sculptures, the dominant influence of Greece. While the form of

the tomb, and the lions that ornament the covering, are unmistakably CyprioPhoenician, the reliefs contain

scarcely a feature which is even Oriental; all has markedly the colouring and the physiognomy of Hellenism.

Yet Cyprian artists probably executed the work. There are little departures from Greek models, which

indicate the "barbarian" workman, as the introduction of trees in the backgrounds, the shape of the furniture,

the recurved wings of the Gorgon, and the idea of hunting the wild bull. But the figures, the proportions, the

draperies, the attitudes, the chariot, the horse, are almost pure Greek. There is a grace and ease in the

modelling, an elegance, a variety, to which Asiatic art, left to itself, never attained. The style, however, is not

that of Greece at its best, but of archaic Greece. There is something too much of exact symmetry, both in the

disposition of the groups and in the arrangement of the accessories; nay, even the very folds of the garments

are overstiff and regular. All is drawn in exact profile; and in the composition there is too much of balance

and correspondence. Still, a new life shows itself through the scenes. There is variety in the movements; there

is grace and suppleness in the forms; there is lightness in the outline, vigour in the attitudes, and beauty

spread over the whole work. It cannot be assigned an earlier date than the fifth century B.C., and is most

probably later,[30] since it took time for improved style to travel from the headcentres of Greek art to the

remoter provinces, and still more time for it to percolate through the different layers of Greek society until it

We may contrast with the refined work of the Athi�nau sarcophagus the far ruder, but more genuinely native,

designs of a tomb of the same kind found on the site of Amathus.[31] On this sarcophagus, the edges of

which are most richly adorned with patterning, there are, as upon the other, four reliefs, two of them

occupying the sides and two the ends. Those at the ends are curious, but have little artistic merit. They

consist, in each case, of a caryatid figure four times repeated, representations, respectively, of Astart� and of

a pygmy god, who, according to some, is Bes, and, according to others, Melkarth or Esmun.[32] The figures

of Astart� are rude, as are generally her statues.[33] They have the hair arranged in three rows of crisp curls,

the arms bent, and the hands supporting the breasts. The only ornament worn by them is a double necklace of

pearls or round beads. The representations of the pygmy god have more interest. They remind us of what

Herodotus affirms concerning the Phoenician pataikoi, which were used for the figureheads of ships,[34]

and which he compares to the Egyptian images of Phthah, or Ptah, the god of creation. They are ugly dwarf

figures, with a large misshapen head, a bushy beard, short arms, fat bodies, a short striped tunic, and thick

clumsy legs. Only one of the four figures is at present complete, the sarcophagus having been entered by

The work at the sides is much superior to that at the ends. The two panels represent, apparently, a single

scene. The scene is a procession, but whether funeral or military it is hard to decide.[35] First come two

riders on horseback, wearing conical caps and close fitting jerkins; they are seated on a species of saddle,

which is kept in place by a board girth passing round the horse's belly, and by straps attached in front. The

two cavaliers are followed by four big�. The first contains the principal personages of the composition, who

sits back in his car, and shades himself with a parasol, the mark of high rank in the East, while his charioteer

sits in front of him and holds the reins. The second car has three occupants; the third two; and the fourth also

two, one of whom leans back and converses with the footmen, who close the procession. These form a group

of three, and seem to be soldiers, since they bear shield and spear; but their costume, a loose robe wrapped

round the form, is rather that of civilians. The horses are lightly caparisoned, with little more than a

headstall and a collar; but they carry on their heads a conspicuous fanlike crest.[36] MM. Perrot and

Chipiez thus sum up their description of this monument:"Both in the ornamentation and in the sculpture

properly socalled there is a mixture of two traditions and two inspirations, diverse one from the other. The

persons who chiselled the figures in the procession which fills the two principal sides of the sarcophagus

were the pupils of Grecian statuaries; they understood how to introduce variety into the attitudes of those

whom they represented, and even into the movements of the horses. Note, in this connection, the steeds of the

two cavaliers in front; one of them holds up his head, the other bends it towards the ground. The draperies are

also cleverly treated, especially those of the foot soldiers who bring up the rear, and resemble in many

respects the costume of the Greeks. On the other hand, the types of divinity, repeated four times at the two

ends of the monument, have nothing that is Hellenic about them, but are borrowed from the Pantheon of

Phoenicia. Even in the procession itself the train of horsemen, footmen, and chariots, which is certainly the

sculptor's true subjectthere are features which recall the local customs and usages of the East. The conical

caps of the two cavaliers closely resemble those which we see on the heads of many of the Cyprian statues;

the parasol which shades the head of the great person in the first biga is the symbol of Asiatic royalty; lastly,

the fan shaped plume which rises above the heads of all the chariot horses is an ornament that one sees in

the same position in Assyria and in Lycia, whensoever the sculptor desires to represent horses magnificently

Sarcophagi recently exhumed in the vicinity of Sidon are said to be adorned with reliefs superior to any

previously known specimens of Phoenician art. As, however, no drawings or photographs of these sculptures

have as yet reached Western Europe, it will perhaps be sufficient in this place to direct attention to the

descriptions of them which an eyewitness has published in the "Journal de Beyrout."[38] No trustworthy

critical estimate can be formed from mere descriptions, and it will therefore be necessary to reserve our

judgment until the sculptures themselves, or correct representations of them, are accessible.

The metal castings of the Phoenicians, according to the accounts which historians give of them, were of a

very magnificent and extraordinary character. The Hiram employed by Solomon in the ornamentation of the

Temple at Jerusalem, who was a native of Tyre,[39] designed and executed by his master's orders a number

of works in metal, which seem to have been veritable masterpieces. The strangest of all were the two pillars

of bronze, which bore the names of "Jachin" and "Boaz,"[40] and stood in front of the Temple porch, or

possibly under it.[41] These pillars, with their capitals, were between thirtyfour and thirtyfive feet high,

and had a diameter of six feet.[42] They were cast hollow, the bronze whereof they were composed having a

uniform thickness of three inches,[43] or thereabouts. Their ornamentation was elaborate. A sort of

chainwork covered the "belly" or lower part of the capitals,[44] while above and below were representations

of pomegranates in two rows, probably at the top and bottom of the "belly," the number of the pomegranates

upon each pillar being two hundred.[45] At the summit of the whole was a sort of "lilywork"[46] or

imitation of the lotus blossom, a "motive" adopted from Egypt. Various representations of the pillars have

been attempted in works upon Phoenician art, the most remarkable being those designed by M. Chipiez, and

published in the "Histoire de l'Art dans l'Antiquit�."[47] Perhaps, however, there is more to be said in favour

The third great work of metallurgy which Hiram constructed for Solomon was "the molten sea."[48] This was

an enormous bronze basin, fifteen feet in diameter, supported on the backs of twelve oxen, grouped in sets of

three.[49] The basin stood fourteen or fifteen feet above the level of the Temple Court,[50] and was a vast

reservoir, always kept full of water, for the ablutions of the priests. There was an ornamentation of "knops" or

"gourds," in two rows, about the "brim" of the reservoir; and it must have been supplied in its lower part with

a set of stopcocks, by means of which the water could be drawn off when needed. Representations of the

"molten sea" have been given by Mangeant, De Vog��, Thenius, and others; but all of them are, necessarily,

conjectural. The design of Mangeant is reproduced in the preceding representation. It is concluded that the

oxen must have been of colossal size in order to bear a proper proportion to the basin, and not present the

Next in importance to these three great works were ten minor ones, made for the Jewish Temple by the same

artist. These were lavers mounted on wheels,[52] which could be drawn or pushed to any part of the Temple

Court where water might be required. The lavers were of comparatively small size, capable of containing

only onefiftieth part[53] of the contents of the "molten sea," but they were remarkable for their

ornamentation. Each was supported upon a "base;" and the bases, which seem to have been panelled,

contained, in the different compartments, figures of lions, oxen, and cherubim,[54] either single or in groups.

On the top of the base, which seems to have been square, was a circular stand or socket, a foot and a half in

height, into which the laver or basin fitted.[55] This, too, was panelled, and ornamented with embossed work,

representing lions, cherubim, and palm trees.[56] Each base was emplaced upon four wheels, which are said

to have resembled chariot wheels, but which were molten in one piece, naves, spokes, and felloes

together.[57] A restoration by M. Mangeant, given by Perrot and Chipiez in the fourth volume of their

Hiram is also said to have made for Solomon a number of pots, shovels, basins, fleshhooks, and other

instruments,[58] which were all used in the Temple service; but as no description is given of any of these

works, even their general character can only be conjectured. We may, however, reasonably suppose them not

to have differed greatly from the objects of a similar description found in Cyprus by General Di Cesnola.[59]

From the conjectural, which may amuse, but can scarcely satisfy, the earnest student, it is fitting that we

should now pass to the known and actual. Phoenician metalwork of various descriptions has been found

recently in Phoenicia Proper, in Cyprus, and in Sardinia; and, though much of it consists of works of utility or

of mere personal adornment, which belong to another branch of the present enquiry, there is a considerable

portion which is more or less artistic and which rightly finds its place in the present chapter. The Phoenicians,

though they did not, so far as we know, attempt with any frequency the production, in bronze or other metal,

of the fullsized human form,[60] were fond of fabricating, especially in bronze, the smaller kinds of figures

which are known as "figurines" or "statuettes." They also had a special talent for producing embossed

metalwork of a highly artistic character in the shape of cups, bowls, and dishes or pater�, whereon scenes of

various kinds were represented with a vigour and precision that are quite admirable. Some account of these

The statuettes commence with work of the rudest kind. The Phoenician sites in Sardinia have yielded in

abundance grotesque figures of gods and men,[61] from three or four to six or eight inches high, which must

be viewed as Phoenician productions, though perhaps they were not the best works which Phoenician artists

could produce, but such as were best suited to the demands of the Sardinian market. The savage Sards would

not have appreciated beauty or grace; but to the savage mind there is something congenial in grotesqueness.

Hence gods with four arms and four eyes,[62] warriors with huge horns projecting from their helmets,[63]

tall forms of extraordinary leanness,[64] figures with abnormally large heads and hands,[65] huge noses,

projecting eyes, and various other deformities. For the home consumption statuettes of a similar character

were made; but they were neither so rude nor so devoid of artistic merit. There is one in the Louvre, which

was found at Tortosa, in Northern Phoenicia, approaching nearly to the Sardinian type, while others have less

exaggeration, and seem intended seriously. In Cyprus bronzes of a higher order have been discovered.[66]

One is a figure of a youth, perhaps �sculapius, embracing a serpent; another is a female form of much

elegance, which may have been the handle of a vase or jug; it springs from a grotesque bracket, and

terminates in a bar ornamented at either end with heads of animals. The complete bronze figure found near

Curium, which is supposed to represent Apollo and is figured by Di Cesnola,[67] is probably not the

The embossed work upon cups and pater� is sometimes of great simplicity, sometimes exceedingly

elaborate. A patera of the simplest kind was found by General Di Cesnola in the treasury of Curium and is

figured in his work.[68] At the bottom of the dish, in the middle, is a rosette with twentytwo petals

springing from a central disk; this is surrounded by a ring whereon are two wavy lines of ribbon intertwined.

Four deer, with strongly recurved horns, spaced at equal intervals, stand on the outer edge of the ring in a

walking attitude. Behind them and between them are a continuous row of tall stiff reeds terminating in

blossoms, which are supposed to represent the papyrus plant. The reeds are thirtytwo in number. We may

compare with this the medallion at the bottom of a cup found at C�re in Italy, which has been published by

Grifi.[69] Here, on a chequered ground, stands a cow with two calves, one engaged in providing itself with its

natural sustenance, the other disporting itself in front of its dam. In the background are a row of alternate

papyrus blossoms and papyrus buds bending gracefully to the right and to the left, so as to form a sort of

framework to the main design. Above the cow and in front of the papyrus plants two birds wing their flight

A bronze bowl, discovered at Idalium (Dali) in Cyprus,[70] is, like these specimens, Egyptian in its motive,

but is more ambitious in that it introduces the human form. On a throne of state sits a goddess, draped in a

long striped robe which reaches to the feet, and holding a lotus flower in her right hand and a ball or apple in

her left. Bracelets adorn her wrists and anklets her feet. Behind her stands a band of three instrumental

performers, all of them women, and somewhat variously costumed: the first plays the double pipe, the second

performs on a lyre or harp, the third beats the tambourine. In front of the goddess is a table or altar, to which

a votary approaches bringing offerings. Then follows another table whereon two vases are set; finally comes

a procession of six females, holding hands, who are perhaps performing a solemn dance. Behind them are a

row of lotus pillars, the supports probably of a temple, wherein the scene takes place. The human forms in

this design are illproportioned, and very rudely traced. The heads and hands are too large, the faces are

grotesque, and the figures wholly devoid of grace. Mimetic art is seen clearly in its first stage, and the

Phoenician artist who has designed the bowl has probably fallen short of his Egyptian models.

Animal and human forms intermixed occur on a silver patera found at Athi�nau, which is more complicated

and elaborate than the objects hitherto described, but which is, like them, strikingly Egyptian.[71] A small

rosette occupies the centre; round it is, apparently, a pond or lake, in which fish are disporting themselves;

but the fish are intermixed with animal and human formsa naked female stretches out her arms after a cow;

a man clothed in a shenti endeavours to seize a horse. The pond is edged by papyrus plants, which are

alternately in blossom and in bud. A zigzag barrier separates this central ornamentation from that of the outer

part of the dish. Here a marsh is represented in which are growing papyrus and other waterplants. Aquatic

birds swim on the surface or fly through the tall reeds. Four boats form the chief objects in this part of the

field. In one, which is fashioned like a bird, there sits under a canopy a grandee, with an attendant in front and

a rower or steersman at the stern. Behind him, in a second boat, is a band consisting of three undraped

females, one of whom plays a harp and another a tambourine, while the third keeps time with her hands. A

man with a puntpole directs the vessel from the stern. In the third boat, which has a freight of winejars, a

cook is preparing a bird for the grandee's supper. The fourth boat contains three rowers, who possibly have

the vessel of the grandee in tow. The first and second boats are separated by two prancing steeds, the second

and third by two cows, the third and fourth by a chariot and pair. It is difficult to explain the mixture of the

aquatic with the terrestrial in this piece; but perhaps the grandee is intended to be enjoying himself in a

marshy part of his domain, where he might ride, drive, or boat, according to his pleasure. The whole scene is

rather Egyptian than Phoenician or Cypriot, and one cannot help suspecting that the patera was made for an

There is a patera at Athens,[72] almost certainly Phoenician, which may well be selected to introduce the

more elaborate and complicated of the Phoenician works of art in this class. It has been figured,[73] and

carefully described by MM. Perrot and Chipiez in these terms: "The medallion in the centre is occupied by

a rosette with eight points. The zone outside this, in which are distributed the personages represented, is

divided into four compartments by four figures, which correspond to each other in pairs. They lift themselves

out of a trelliswork, bounded on either side by a light pillar without a base. The capitals which crown the

pillars recall those of the Ionic order, but the abacus is much more developed. A winged globe, stretching

from pillar to pillar, roofs in this sort of little chapel; each is the shrine of a divinity. One of the divinities is

that nude goddess, clasping her breasts with her hands, whom we have already met with in the Phoenician

world more than once; the other is a bearded personage, whose face is framed in by his abundant hair; he

appears to be dressed in a closefitting garment, made of a material folded in narrow plaits. We do not know

what name to give the personage. Each of the figures is repeated twice. The rest of the field is occupied by

four distinct subjects, two of them being scenes of adoration. In one may be recognised the figure of

IsisAthor, seated on a sort of camp stool, and giving suck to the young Horus;[74] on an altar in front of

the goddess is placed the disk of the moon, enveloped (as we have seen it elsewhere) by a crescent which

recalls the moon's phases. Behind the altar stands a personage whose sex is not defined; the right hand, which

is raised, holds a patera, while the left, which falls along the hip, has the ankh or crux ansata. Another of the

scenes corresponds to this, and offers many striking analogies. The altar indeed is of a different form, but it

supports exactly the same symbols. The goddess sits upon a throne with her feet on a footstool; she has no

child; in one hand she holds out a cup, in the other a lotus blossom. The personage who confronts her wears a

conical cap, and is clothed, like the worshipper of the corresponding representation, in a long robe pressed

close to the body by a girdle � cordeli�re; he has also the crux ansata, and holds in the right hand an object the

character and use of which I am unable to conjecture. We may associate with these two scenes of homage and

worship another representation in which there figure three musicians. The instruments are the same as

usualthe lyre, the tambourine, and the double pipe; two of the performers march at a steady pace; the third,

the one who beats the metal(?) disk, dances, as he plays, with much vigour and spirit. In the last compartment

we come again upon a group that we have already met with in one of the cups from Idalium.[75] . . . A

beardless individual, clothed in the shenti, has put his foot upon the body of a griffin, which, in struggling

against the pressure, flings its hind quarters into the air in a sort of wild caper; the conqueror, however, holds

it fast by the plume of feathers which rises from its head, and plunges his sword into its halfopen beak. It is

this group, drawn in relief, and on a larger scale, that we meet with for a second time on the Athenian patera;

but in this case the group is augmented by a second personage, who takes part in the struggle. This is an old

man with a beard who is armed with a formidable pike. Both the combatants wear conical caps upon their

heads, similar to those which we have noticed as worn by a number of the statues from Cyprus; but the cap of

the righthand personage terminates in a button, whereto is attached a long appendage, which looks like the

tail of an ox." The Egyptian character of much of this design is incontestable. The ankh, the lotus blossom in

the hand, the winged disk, are purely Egyptian forms; the Isis Athor with Horus in her lap speaks for itself;

and the worshipper in front of Isis has an unmistakably Egyptian head dress. But the contest with the winged

griffin is more Assyrian than Egyptian; the seat whereon Isis sits recalls a wellknown Assyrian type;[76]

one of the altars has a distinctly Assyrian character, while the band of musicians, the Astart� figures standing

in their shrines, and the pillars which support, and frame in, the shrines are genuine Phoenician contributions.

Artistically this patera is much upon a par with those from Dali and Athi�nau, which have been already

Our space will not admit of our pursuing this subject much further. We cannot give descriptions of all the

twenty pater�,[77] pronounced by the best critics to be Phoenician, which are contained in the museums of

Europe and America. Excellent representations of most of these works of art will be found in Longp�rier's

"Mus�e Napol�on III.," in M. ClermontGanneau's "Imagerie Ph�nicienne," and in the "Histoire de l'Art dans

l'Antiquit�" of MM. Perrot et Chipiez. The bowls brought from Larnaca, from Curium, and from Amathus are

especially interesting.[78] We must, however, conclude our survey with a single specimen of the most

elaborate kind of patera; and, this being the case, we cannot hesitate to give the preference to the famous

"Cup of Pr�neste," which has been carefully figured and described in two of the three works above cited.[79]

The cup in question consists of a thin plate of silver covered over with a layer of gold; its greatest diameter is

seven inches and three fifths. The under or outside is without ornament; the interior is engraved with a

number of small objects in low relief. In the centre, and surrounded by a circle of beads, there is a subject to

which we shall presently have to return. The zone immediately outside this medallion, which is not quite an

inch in width, is filled with a string of eight horses, all of them proceeding at a trot, and following each other

to the right. Over each horse two birds fly in the same direction. The horses' tails are extraordinarily

conventional, consisting of a stem with branches, and resembling a conventional palm branch. Outside this

zone there is an exterior and a wider one, which is bounded on its outer edge by a huge snake, whose scaly

length describes an almost exact circle, excepting towards the tail, where there are some slight sinuosities.

This serpent, whose head reaches and a little passes the thin extremity of the tail, is "drawn," says M.

ClermontGanneau, "with the hand of a master."[80] It has been compared[81] with the wellknown

Egyptian and Phoenician symbol for the {kosmos} or universe, which was a serpent with its tail in its mouth.

"Naturally," he continues,[82] "the outer zone by its very position offers the greatest room for development.

The artist is here at his ease, and having before him a field relatively so vast, has represented on it a series of

scenes, remarkably alike for the style of their execution, the diversity of their subjectmatter, the number of

the persons introduced, and the nature of the acts which they accomplish. . . . The scenes, however, are not, as

some have imagined, a series of detached fantastic subjects, arbitrarily chosen and capriciously grouped, a

mere confused m�l�e of men, animals, chariots, and other objects; on the contrary, they form a little history, a

plastic idyll, a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is a narrative divided into nine scenes." (1) An

armed hero, mounted in a car driven by a charioteer, quits in the morning a castle or fortified town. He is

going to hunt, and carries his bow in his left hand. Over his head is an umbrella, the badge of his high rank,

and his defence against the midday sun. A quiver hangs at the side of his chariot. He wears a conical cap,

while the driver has his head bare, and leans forwards over the front of the car, seeming to shake the reins,

and encourage the horses to mend their pace. (2) After the car has proceeded a certain distance, the hunter

espies a stag upon a rocky hill. He stops his chariot, gets down, and leaving the driver in charge of the

vehicle, ensconces himself behind a tree, and thus screened lets fly an arrow against the quarry, which strikes

it midway in the chest. (3) Weak and bleeding copiously, the stag attempts to escape; but the hunter pursues

and takes possession of him without having to shoot a second time. (4) The hour is come now for a rest. The

sportsman has reached a wood, in which datebearing palms are intermingled with trees of a different kind.

He fastens his game to one of them, and proceeds to the skinning and the disembowelling. Meanwhile, his

attendant detaches the horses from the car, relieves them of their harness, and proceeds to feed them from a

portable manger. The car, left to itself, is tilted back, and stands with its pole in the air. (5) Food and drink

having been prepared and placed on two tables, or altars, the hunter, seated on a throne under the shadow of

his umbrella, pours a libation to the gods. They, on their part, scent the feast and draw near, represented by

the sun and moona winged disk, and a crescent embracing a full orb. The feast is also witnessed by a spirit

of evil, in the shape of a huge baboon or cynocephalous ape, who from a cavern at the foot of a wooded

mountain, whereon a stag and a hare are feeding, furtively surveys the ceremony. (6) Remounting his chariot

the hunter sets out on his return home, when the baboon quits his concealment, and rushes after him,

threatening him with a huge stone. Hereupon a winged deity descends from heaven, and lifting into the air

chariot, horses, charioteer, and hunter, enfolds them in an embrace and saves them. (7) The ape, baffled,

pursues his way; the chariot is replaced on the earth. The hunter prepares his bow, places an arrow on the

string, and hastily pursues his enemy, who is speedily overtaken and thrown to the ground by the horses. (8)

The hunter dismounts, puts his foot upon the prostrate ape, and gives him the coup de gr�ce with a heavy axe

or mace. A bird of prey hovers near, ready to descend upon the carcase. (9) The hero remounts his chariot,

We have now to return to the medallion which forms the centre of the cup. Within a circle of pearls or beads,

similar to that separating the two zones, is a round space about two inches in diameter, divided into two

compartments by a horizontal line. In the upper part are contained three human figures, and the figure of a

dog. At the extreme left is a prisoner with a beard and long hair that falls upon his shoulders. His entire body

is naked. Behind him his two arms are brought together, tied by a cord, and then firmly attached to a post. His

knees are bent, but do not reach the ground, and his feet are placed with their soles uppermost against the post

at its base. The attitude is one which implies extreme suffering.[84] In front of the prisoner, occupying the

centre of the medallion, is the main figure of the upper compartment, a warrior, armed with a spear, who

pursues the third figure, a fugitive, and seems to be thrusting his spear into the man's back. Both have long

hair, but are beardless; and wear the shenti for their sole garment. Between the legs of the main figure is a

dog of the jackal kind, which has his teeth fixed in the heels of the fugitive, and arrests his flight. Below, in

the second compartment, are two figures only, a man and a dog. The man is prostrate, and seems to be

crawling along the ground, the dog stands partly on him, and appears to be biting his left heel. The

interpretation which M. ClermontGanneau gives to this entire scene lacks the probability which attaches to

his explanation of the outer scene. He suggests that the prisoner is the hunter of the other scene, plundered

and bound by his charioteer, who is hastening away, when he is seized by his master's dog and arrested in his

flight. The dog gnaws off his right foot and then attacks the left, while the fugitive, in order to escape his

tormentor, has to crawl along the ground. But M. ClermontGanneau himself distrusts his interpretation,[85]

while he has convinced no other scholar of its soundness. Judicious critics will be content to wait the further

researches which he promises, whereby additional light may perhaps be thrown on this obscure matter.

In its artistic character the "cup of Pr�neste" claims a high place among the works of art probably or certainly

assignable to the Phoenicians. The relief is high; the forms, especially the animal ones, are spirited and

wellproportioned. The horses are especially good. As M. ClermontGanneau says, "their forms and their

movements are indicated with a great deal of precision and truth."[86] They show also a fair amount of

variety; they stand, they walk, they trot, they gallop at full speed, always truthfully and naturally. The stag,

the hare, and the dog are likewise well portrayed; the ape has less merit; he is too human, too like a mere

unkempt savage. The human forms are about upon a par with those of the Assyrians and Egyptians, which

have evidently served for their models, the Assyrian for the outer zone, the Egyptian for the medallion. The

encircling snake, as already observed, is a masterpiece. There is no better drawing in any of the other pater�.

The intaglios of the Phoenicians are either on cylinders or on gems, and can rarely be distinguished, unless

they are accompanied by an inscription, from the similar objects obtained in such abundance from Babylonia

and Assyria. They reproduce, with scarcely any variation, the mythological figures and emblems native to

those countriesthe forms of gods and priests, of spirits of good and evil, of kings contending with lions, of

sacred trees, winged circles, and the like scarcely ever introducing any novelty. The greater number of the

cylinders are very rudely cut. They have been worked simply by means of a splinter of obsidian,[87] and are

barbarous in execution, though interesting to the student of archaic art. The subjoined are specimens. No. 1

represents a fourwinged genius of the Assyrian type, bearded, and clad in a short tunic and a long robe,

seizing with either hand a winged griffin, or spirit of evil, and reducing them to subjection. In the field,

towards the two upper corners, are the same four Phoenician characters, twice repeated; they designate, no

doubt, the owner of the cylinder, which he probably used as a seal, and are read as Harkhu.[88] No. 2, which

is better cut than No. 1, represents a king of the Persian (Ach�menian) type,[89] who stands between two

rampant lions, and seizes each by the forelock. Behind the second lion is a sacred tree of a type that is not

uncommon; and behind the tree is an inscription, which has been read as l'Balet�n i.e. "(the seal) of

Baletan."[90] This cylinder was found recently in the Lebanon.[91] Nos. 3 and 4 come from Salamis in

Cyprus, where they were found by M. Alexandre Di Cesnola,[92] the brother of the General. No. 3 represents

a robed figure holding two nondescript animals by the hind legs; the creatures writhe in his grasp, and turn

their heads towards him, as though wishing to bite. The remainder of the field is filed with detached objects,

scattered at randomtwo human forms, a griffin, two heads of oxen, a bird, two balls, three crosses, a

sceptre, The forms are, all of them, very rudely traced. No. 4 resembles in general character No. 3, but is even

ruder. Three similar robed figures hold each other's hands and perhaps execute a dance around some religious

object. Two heads of oxen or cows, with a disk between their horns, occupy the spaces intervening between

the upper parts of the figures. In the lower portion of the field, the sun and moon fill the middle space, the

sun, moon, and five planets the spaces to the right and to the left. Another cylinder from the same place (No.

5)[93] is tolerably well designed and engraved. It shows us two persons, a man and a woman, in the act of

presenting a dove to a female, who is probably the goddess Astart�, and who willingly receives it at their

hands. Behind Astart� a seated lion echoes the approval of the goddess by raising one of his fore paws, while

On another cylinder, which is certainly Phoenician, a rude representation of a sacred tree occupies the central

position. To the left stands a worshipper with the right hand upraised, clad in a very common Assyrian dress.

Over the sacred tree is a coarse specimen of the winged circle or disk, with head and tail, and fluttering ends

of ribbon.[94] On either side stand two winged genii, dressed in long robes, and tall stiff caps, such as are

often seen on the heads of Persians in the Persepolitan sculptures, and on the darics.[95] In the field is a

Phoenician inscription, which is read as {...} or Irphael ben Hor'adad, "Irphael, the son of Horadad."[96]

Phoenician cylinders are in glass, green serpentine, cornaline, black h�matite, steatite, and green jasper.[97]

They are scratched rather than deeply cut, and cannot be said ever to attain to any considerable artistic

beauty. Those which have been here given are among the best; and they certainly fall short, both in design

The gems, on the other hand, are in many cases quite equal to the Assyrian. There is one of special merit,

which has been pronounced "an exquisite specimen of Phoenician lapidary art,"[98] figured by General Di

Cesnola in his "Cyprus."[99] Two men in regular Assyrian costume, standing on either side of a "Sacred

Tree," grasp, each of them, a branch of it. Above is a winged circle, with the wings curved so as to suit the

shape of the gem. Below is an ornament, which is six times repeated, like the blossom of a flower; and below

this is a trelliswork. The whole is cut deeply and sharply. Its Phoenician authorship is assured by its being an

almost exact repetition of a group upon the silver patera found at Amathus.[100]

Of other gems equally well engraved the following are specimens. No. 1 is a scarab of cornaline found by M.

de Vog�� in Phoenicia Proper.[101] Two male figures in Assyrian costume face each other, their advanced

feet crossing. Both hold in one hand the ankh or symbol of life. One has in the left hand what is thought to be

a lotus blossom. The other has the right hand raised in the usual attitude of adoration. Between the figures,

wherever there was space for them, are Phoenician characters, which are read as {...}, or l'Bekai.e. "(the

seal) of Beka."[102] No. 2, which has been set in a ring, is one of the many scarabs brought by General Di

Cesnola from Cyprus.[103] It contains the figure of a hind, suckling her fawn, and is very delicately carved.

The hind, however, is in an impossible attitude, the forelegs being thrown forwards, probably in order to

prevent them from interfering with the figure of the fawn. Above the hind is an inscription, which appears to

be in the Cyprian character, and which gives (probably) the name of the owner. No. 3 introduces us to

domestic life. A grand lady, of Tyre perhaps or Sidon,[104] by name Akhotmelek, seated upon an elegant

throne, with her feet upon a footstool, and dressed in a long robe which envelops the whole of her figure,

receives at the hands of a female attendant a bowl or wine cup, which the latter has just filled from an

oenocho� of elegant shape, still held in her left hand. The attendant wears a striped robe reaching to the feet,

and over it a tunic fastened round the waist with a belt. Her hair flows down on her shoulders, while that of

her mistress is confined by a band, from which depends an ample veil, enveloping the cheeks, the back of the

head, and the chin. We are told that such veils are still worn in the Phoenician country.[105] An inscription,

in a late form of the Phoenician character, surrounds the two figures, and is read as {...} or l'Akhotmelek

ishat Joshua(?) i.e. "(the seal) of Akhotmelek, wife of Joshua."[106] No. 4 contains the figure of a lion,

cut with much spirit. MM. Perrot et Chipiez say of it"Among the numerous representations of lions that

have been discovered in Phoenicia, there is none which can be placed on a par with that on the scarab bearing

the name of 'Ashenel: small as it is, this lion has something of the physiognomy of those magnificent ones

which we have borrowed from the basreliefs of the Assyrians. Still, the intaglio is in other respects

decidedly Phoenician and not Assyrian. Observe, for instance, the beetle with the wings expanded, which fills

up the lower part of the field; this is a motive borrowed from Egypt, which a Ninevite lapidary would

certainly not have put in such a place."[107] The Phoenician inscription takes away all doubt as to the

nationality. It reads as {...}, or 'Ashen�l, and no doubt designates the owner. No. 5 is beautifully engraved on

a chalcedony. It represents a stag attacked by a griffin, which has jumped suddenly on its back. The drawing

is excellent, both of the real and of the imaginary animal, and leaves nothing to be desired. The inscription,

which occupies the upper part of the field to the right, is in Cyprian characters, and shows that the gem was

There are some Phoenician gems which are interesting from their subject matter without being especially

good as works of art. One of these contains a representation of two men fighting.[109] Both are armed with

two spears, and both carry round shields or bucklers. The warrior to the right wears a conical helmet, and is

thought to be a native Cyprian;[110] he carries a shield without an umbo or boss. His adversary on the left

wears a loose cap, or hood, the {pilos apages} of Herodotus,[111] and has a prominent umbo in the middle of

his shield. He probably represents a Persian, and appears to have received a wound from his antagonist,

which is causing him to sink to the ground. This gem was found at Curium in Cyprus by General Di Cesnola.

Another, found at the same place, exhibits a warrior, or a hunter, going forth to battle or to the chase in his

chariot.[112] A large quiver full of arrows is slung at each side of his car. The warrior and his horse (one only

is seen) are rudely drawn, but the chariot is very distinctly made out, and has a wheel of an Assyrian type.

The Salaminians of Cyprus were famous for their war chariots,[113] of which this may be a representation.

The island of Sardinia has furnished a prodigious number of Phoenician seals. A single private collection

contains as many as six hundred.[114] They are mostly scarabs, and the type of them is mostly Egyptian.

Sometimes they bear the forms of Egyptian gods, as Horus, or Thoth, or Anubis;[115] sometimes cartouches

with the names of kings as Menkara, Thothmes III., Amenophis III., Seti I., [116] sometimes mere sacred

emblems, as the winged ur�us, the disk between two ur�i,[117] and the like. Occasionally there is the

representation of a scene with which the Egyptian basreliefs have made us familiar:[118] a warrior has

caught hold of his vanquished and kneeling enemy by a lock of his hair, and threatens him with an axe or

mace, which he brandishes above his head. Or a lion takes the place of the captive man, and is menaced in the

same way. Human figures struggling with lions, and lions killing wild bulls, are also common;[119] but the

Phoenician painting was not, like Egyptian, displayed upon the walls of temples, nor was it, like Greek, the

production of actual pictures for the decoration of houses. It was employed to a certain extent on statues, not

so as to cover the entire figure, but with delicacy and discretion, for the marking out of certain details, and the

emphasising of certain parts of the design.[120] The hair and beard were often painted a brownish red; the

pupil of the eye was marked by means of colour; and robes had often a border of red or blue. Statuettes were

tinted more generally, whole vestments being sometimes coloured red or green,[121] and a gay effect being

produced, which is said to be agreeable and harmonious.[122] But the nearest approach to painting proper

which was made by the Phoenicians was upon their vessels in clay, in terracotta, and in alabaster. Here,

though, the ornamentation was sometimes merely by patterns or bands,[123] there were occasionally real

attempts to depict animal and human forms, which, if not very successful, still possess considerable interest.

The noble amphora from Curium, figured by Di Cesnola,[124] contains above forty representations of horses,

and nearly as many of birds. The shape of the horse is exceedingly conventional, the whole form being

attenuated in the highest degree; but the animal is drawn with spirit, and the departure from nature is clearly

intentional. In the animals that are pasturing, the general attitude is well seized; the movement is exactly that

of the horse when he stretches his neck to reach and crop the grass.[125] In the birds there is equal spirit and

greater truth to nature: they are in various attitudes, preening their feathers, pecking the ground, standing with

head erect in the usual way. Other vases contain figures of cows, goats, stags, fish and birds of various kinds,

while one has an attempt at a hippopotamus. The attempts to represent the human form are certainly not

happy; they remind us of the more ambitious efforts of Chinese and Japanese art.

Phoenician textile fabrics, embroidered or dyedAccount of the chief Phoenician dyeMollusks from

which the purple was obtained Mode of obtaining themMode of procuring the dye from them Process

of dyeingVariety of the tintsManufacture of glass Story of its inventionThree kinds of Phoenician

glass 1. Transparent colourless glass2. Semitransparent coloured glass3. Opaque glass, much like

porcelainDescription of objects in glassMethods pursued in the manufacturePhoenician ceramic

artEarliest specimensVases with geometrical designs Incised patterningLater effortsUse of

enamelGreat amphora of CuriumPhoenician ceramic art disappointingOrdinary metallurgy

Phoenicia was celebrated from a remote antiquity for the manufacture of textile fabrics. The materials which

she employed for them were wool, linen yarn, perhaps cotton, and, in the later period of her commercial

prosperity, silk. The "white wool" of Syria was supplied to her in abundance by the merchants of

Damascus,[1] and wool of lambs, rams, and goats seems also to have been furnished by the more distant parts

of Arabia.[2] Linen yarn may have been imported from Egypt, where it was largely manufactured, and was of

excellent quality;[3] while raw silk is said to have been "brought to Tyre and Berytus by the Persian

merchants, and there both dyed and woven into cloaks."[4] The price of silk was very high, and it was

customary in Phoenicia to intermix the precious material either with linen or with cotton;[5] as is still done to

a certain extent in modern times. It is perhaps doubtful whether, so far as the mere fabric of stuffs was

concerned, the products of the Phoenician looms were at all superior to those which Egypt and Babylonia

furnished, much less to those which came from India, and passed under the name of Sindones. Two things

gave to the Phoenician stuffs that high reputation which caused them to be more sought for than any others;

and these were, first, the brilliancy and beauty of their colours, and, secondly, the delicacy with which they

were in many instances embroidered. We have not much trace of Phoenician embroidery on the

representations of dresses that have come down to us; but the testimony of the ancients is unimpeachable,[6]

and we may regard it as certain that the art of embroidery, known at a very early date to the Hebrews,[7] was

cultivated with great success by their Phoenician neighbours, and under their auspices reached a high point of

perfection. The character of the decoration is to be gathered from the extant statues and basreliefs, from the

representations on pater�, on cups, dishes, and gems. There was a tendency to divide the surface to be

ornamented into parallel stripes or bands, and to repeat along the line a single object, or two alternately.

Rosettes, monsters of various kinds, winged globes with ur�i, scarabs, sacred trees, and garlands or blossoms

of the lotus were the ordinary "motives."[8] Occasionally human figures might be introduced, and animal

forms even more frequently; but a stiff conventionalism prevailed, the same figures were constantly repeated,

The brilliancy and beauty of the Phoenician coloured stuffs resulted from the excellency of their dyes. Here

we touch a second branch of their industrial skill, for the principal dyes used were originally invented and

continuously fabricated by the Phoenicians themselves, not imported from any foreign country. Nature had

placed along the Phoenician coast, or at any rate along a great portion of it, an inexhaustible supply of certain

shellfish, or molluscs, which contained as a part of their internal economy a colouring fluid possessing

remarkable, and indeed unique, qualities. Some account has been already given of the species which are

thought to have been anciently most esteemed. They belong, mainly, to the two allied families of the Murex

and the Buccinum or Purpura. Eight species of the former, and six of the latter, having their habitat in the

Mediterranean, have been distinguished by some naturalists;[9] but two of the former only, and one of the

latter, appear to have attracted the attention of the Phoenicians. The Murex brandaris is now thought to have

borne away the palm from all the others; it is extremely common upon the coast; and enormous heaps of the

shells are found, especially in the vicinity of Tyre, crushed and brokenthe d�bris, as it would seem, cast

away by the manufacturers of old.[10] The Murex trunculus, according to some, is just as abundant, in a

crushed state, in the vicinity of Sidon, great banks of it existing, which are a hundred yards long and several

yards thick.[11] It is a more spinous shell than the M. brandaris, having numerous projecting points, and a

generally rough and rugged appearance. The Purpura employed seems to have been the P. lapillus, a mollusc

not confined to the Mediterranean, but one which frequents also our own shores, and was once turned to

some account in Ireland.[12] The varieties of the P. lapillus differ considerably. Some are nearly white, some

greyish, others buff striped with brown. Some, again, are smooth, others nearly as rough as the Murex

trunculus. The Helix ianthina, which is included by certain writers among the molluscs employed for dyeing

purposes by the Phoenicians,[13] is a shell of a completely different character, smooth and delicate, much

resembling that of an ordinary land snail, and small compared to the others. It is not certain, however, that the

helix, though abounding in the Eastern Mediterranean,[14] ever attracted the notice of the Phoenicians.

The molluscs needed by the Phoenician dyers were not obtained without some difficulty. As the

Mediterranean has no tides, it does not uncover its shores at low water like the ocean, or invite man to rifle

them. The coveted shellfish, in most instances, preferred tolerably deep water; and to procure them in any

quantity it was necessary that they should be fished up from a depth of some fathoms. The mode in which

they were captured was the following. A long rope was let down into the sea, with baskets of reeds or rushes

attached to it at intervals, constructed like our lobstertraps or eelbaskets, with an opening that yielded

easily to pressure from the outside, but resisted pressure from the inside, and made escape, when once the

trap was entered, impossible. The baskets were baited with mussels or frogs, both of which had great

attractions for the Purpur�, and were seized and devoured with avidity. At the upper end of the rope was

attached to a large piece of cork, which, even when the baskets were full, could not be drawn under water. It

was usual to set the traps in the evening, and after waiting a night, or sometimes a night and a day, to draw

them up to the surface, when they were generally found to be full of the coveted shellfish.[15]

There were two ways in which the dye was obtained from the molluscs. Sometimes a hole was broken in the

side of the shell, and the fish taken out entire.[16] The sac containing the colouring matter, which is a sort of

vein, beginning at the head of the animal, and following the tortuous line of the body as it twists through the

spiral shell,[17] was then carefully extracted, either while the mollusc was still alive, or as soon as possible

after death, as otherwise the quality of the dye was impaired. This plan was pursued more especially with the

larger species of Purpur�, where the sac attained a certain size; while with a smaller kinds a different method

was followed. In their case no attempt was made to extract the sac, but the entire fish was crushed, together

with its shell, and after salt had been added in the proportion of twenty ounces to a hundred pounds of the

pulp, three days were allowed for maceration; heat was then applied, and when, by repeated skimming, the

coarse particles had been removed, the dye was left in a liquid state at the bottom. It was necessary that the

vessel in which this final process took place should be of lead, and not of bronze or iron, since those metals

The colouring matter contained in the sac of the Purpur� is a liquid of a creamy consistency, and of a

yellowishwhite hue. On extraction, it is at first decidedly yellow; then after a little time it becomes green;

and, finally, it settles into some shade of violet or purple. Chemical analysis has shown that in the case of the

Murex trunculus the liquid is composed of two elementary substances, one being cyanic acid, which is of a

blue or azure colour, and the other being purpuric oxide, which is a bright red.[19] In the case of the Murex

brandaris one element only has been found: it is an oxide, which has received the name of oxyde tyrien.[20]

No naturalist has as yet discovered what purpose the liquid serves in the economy, or in the preservation, of

the animal; it is certainly not exuded, as sepia is by the cuttlefish, to cloud the water in the neighbourhood,

Concerning the Phoenician process of dyeing, the accounts which have come down to us are at once confused

and incomplete. Nothing is said with respect to their employment of mordants, either acid or alkali, and yet it

is almost certain that they must have used one or the other, or both, to fix the colours, and render them

permanent. The gamins of Tyre employ to this day mordants of each sort;[21] and an alkali derived from

seaweed is mentioned by Pliny as made use of for fixing some dyes,[22] though he does not distinctly tell us

that it was known to the Phoenicians or employed in fixing the purple. What we chiefly learn from this writer

as to the dyeing process is[23]first, that sometimes the liquid derived from the murex only, sometimes that

of the purpura or buccinum only, was applied to the material which it was wished to colour, while the most

approved hue was produced by an application of both dyes separately. Secondly, we are told that the material,

whatever it might be, was steeped in the dye for a certain number of hours, then withdrawn for a while, and

afterwards returned to the vat and steeped a second time. The best Tyrian cloths were called Dibapha, i.e.

"twice dipped;" and for the production of the true "Tyrian purple" it was necessary that the dye obtained from

the Buccinum should be used after that from the Murex had been applied. The Murex alone gave a dye that

was firm, and reckoned moderately good; but the Buccinum alone was weak, and easily washed out.

The actual tints produced from the shellfish appear to have ranged from blue, through violet and purple, to

crimson and rose.[24] Scarlet could not be obtained, but was yielded by the cochineal insect. Even for the

brighter sorts of crimson some admixture of the cochineal dye was necessary.[25] The violet tint was not

generally greatly prized, though there was a period in the reign of Augustus when it was the fashion;[26]

redder hues were commonly preferred; and the choicest of all is described as "a rich, dark purple, the colour

of coagulated blood."[27] A deep crimson was also in request, and seems frequently to be intended when the

A third industry greatly affected by the Phoenicians was the manufacture of glass. According to Pliny,[28]

the first discovery of the substance was made upon the Phoenician coast by a body of sailors whom he no

doubt regarded as Phoenicians. These persons had brought a cargo of natrum, which is the subcarbonate of

soda, to the Syrian coast in the vicinity of Acre, and had gone ashore at the mouth of the river Belus to cook

their dinner. Having lighted a fire upon the sand, they looked about for some stones to prop up their cooking

utensils, but finding none, or none convenient for the purpose, they bethought themselves of utilising for the

occasion some of the blocks of natrum with which their ship was laden. These were placed close to the fire,

and the heat was sufficient to melt a portion of one of them, which, mixing with the siliceous sand at its base,

produced a stream of glass. There is nothing impossible or even very improbable in this story; but we may

question whether the scene of it is rightly placed. Glass was manufactured in Egypt many centuries before the

probable date of the Phoenician occupation of the Mediterranean coast; and, if the honour of the invention is

to be assigned to a particular people, the Egyptians would seem to have the best claim to it. The process of

glassblowing is represented in tombs at Beni Hassan of very great antiquity,[29] and a specimen of

Egyptian glass is in existence bearing the name of a Usurtasen, a king of the twelfth dynasty.[30] Natrum,

moreover, was an Egyptian product, well known from a remote date, being the chief ingredient used in the

various processes of embalming.[31] Phoenicia has no natrum, and not even any vegetable alkali readily

procurable in considerable quantity. There may have been an accidental discovery of glass in Phoenicia, but

priority of discovery belonged almost certainly to Egypt; and it is, upon the whole, most probable that

Phoenicia derived from Egypt her knowledge both of the substance itself and of the method of making it.

Still, there can be no doubt that the manufacture was one on which the Phoenicians eagerly seized, and which

they carried out on a large scale and very successfully. Sidon, according to the ancients,[32] was the chief

seat of the industry; but the best sand is found near Tyre, and both Tyre and Sarepta also seem to have been

among the places where glassworks were early established. At Sarepta extensive banks of d�bris have been

found, consisting of broken glass of many colours, the waste beyond all doubt of a great glass

manufactory;[33] at Tyre, the traces of the industry are less extensive,[34] but on the other hand we have

historical evidence that it continued to be practised there into the middle ages.[35]

The glass produced by the Phoenicians was of three kinds: first, transparent colourless glass, which the eye

could see through; secondly, translucent coloured glass, through which light could pass, though the eye could

not penetrate it so as to distinguish objects; and, thirdly, opaque glass, scarcely distinguishable from

porcelain. Transparent glass was employed for mirrors, round plates being cast, which made very tolerable

lookingglasses,[36] when covered at the back by thin sheets of metal, and also for common objects, such as

vases, urns, bottles, and jugs, which have been yielded in abundance by tombs of a somewhat late date in

Cyprus.[37] No great store, however, seems to have been set upon transparency, in which the Oriental eye

saw no beauty; and the objects which modern research has recovered under this head at Tyre, in Cyprus, and

elsewhere, seem the work of comparatively rude artists, and have little �sthetic merit. The shapes, however,

The most beautiful of the objects in glass produced by the Phoenicians are the translucent or

semitransparent vessels of different kinds, most of them variously coloured, which have been found in

Cyprus, at Camirus in Rhodes, and on the Syrian coast, near Beyrout and elsewhere.[38] These comprise

small flasks or bottles, from three to six inches long, probably intended to contain perfumes; small jugs

(oenocho�) from three inches in height to five inches; vases of about the same size; amphor� pointed at the

lower extremity; and other varieties. They are coloured, generally, either in longitudinal or in horizontal

stripes and bands; but the bands often deviate from the straight line into zigzags, which are always more or

less irregular, like the zigzags of the Norman builders, while sometimes they are deflected into crescents, or

other curves, as particularly one resembling a willowleaf. The colours are not very vivid, but are pleasing

and wellcontrasted; they are chiefly fivewhite, blue, yellow, green, and a purplish brown. Red scarcely

appears, except in a very pale, pinkish form; and even in this form it is uncommon. Blue, on the other hand, is

greatly affected, being sometimes used in the patterns, often taken for the ground, and occasionally, in two

tints, forming both groundwork and ornamentation.[39] It is not often that more than three hues are found on

the same vessel, and sometimes the hues employed are only two. There are instances, however, and very

The colours were obtained, commonly, at any rate, from metallic oxides. The ordinary blue employed is

cobalt, though it is suspected that there was an occasional use of copper. Copper certainly furnished the

greens, while manganese gave the brown, which shades off into purple and into black. The beautiful milky

white which forms the ground tint of some vases is believed to have been derived from the oxide of tin, or

else from phosphate of chalk. It is said that the colouring matter of the patterns does not extend through the

entire thickness of the glass, but lies only on the outer surface, being a later addition to the vessels as first

Translucent coloured glass was also largely produced by the Phoenicians for beads and other ornaments, and

also for the imitation of gems. The huge emerald of which Herodotus speaks,[41] as "shining with great

brilliancy at night" in the temple of Melkarth at Tyre, was probably a glass cylinder, into which a lamb was

introduced by the priests. In Phoenician times the pretended stone is quite as often a glass paste as a real gem,

and the case is the same with the scarabs so largely used as seals. In Phoenician necklaces, glass beads

alternate frequently with real agates, onyxes, and crystals; while sometimes glass in various shapes is the only

material employed. A necklace found at Tharros in Sardinia, and now in the collection of the Louvre, which

is believed to be of Phoenician manufacture, is composed of above forty beads, two cylinders, four pendants

representing heads of bulls, and one representing the face of a man, all of glass.[42] Another, found by M.

Renan in Phoenicia itself, is made up of glass beads imitating pearls, intermixed with beads of cornaline and

Another class of glass ornaments consists of small flat plaques or plates, pierced with a number of fine holes,

which appear to have been sewn upon garments. These are usually patterned, sometimes with spirals,

sometimes with rosettes, occasionally, though rarely, with figures. Messrs. Perrot and Chipiez represent one

in their great work upon ancient art,[44] where almost the entire field is occupied by a winged griffin,

standing upright on its two hind legs, and crowned with a striped cap, or turban.

Phoenician opaque glass is comparatively rare, and possesses but little beauty. It was rendered opaque in

various ways. Messrs. Perrot and Chipiez found that in a statue of Serapis, which they analysed, the glass was

mixed with bronze in the proportions of ten to three. An opaque material of a handsome red colour was thus

The methods pursued by the Phoenician glassmanufacturers were probably much the same as those which

are still employed for the production of similar objects, and involved the use of similar implements, as the

blowpipe, the lathe, and the graver. The materials having been procured, they were fused together in a

crucible or meltingpot by the heat of a powerful furnace. A blowpipe was then introduced into the viscous

mass, a portion of which readily attached itself to the implement, and so much glass was withdrawn as was

deemed sufficient for the object which it was designed to manufacture. The blower then set to work, and blew

hard into the pipe until the glass at its lower extremity began to expand and gradually took a pearshaped

form, the material partially coolling and hardening, but still retaining a good deal of softness and pliability.

While in this condition, it was detached from the pipe, and modelled with pincers or with the hand into the

shape required, after which it was polished, and perhaps sometimes cut by means of the turninglathe. Sand

and emery were the chief polishers, and by their help a surface was produced, with which little fault could be

found, being smooth, uniform, and brilliant. Thus the vessel was formed, and if no further ornament was

required, the manufacture was completea jug, vase, alabastron, amphora, was produced, either transparent

or of a single uniform tint, which might be white, blue, brown, green, according to the particular oxide which

had been thrown, with the silica and alkali, into the crucible. Generally, however, the manufacturer was not

content with so simple a product: he aimed not merely at utility, but at beauty, and proceeded to adorn the

work of his handswhatever it waswith patterns which were for the most part in good taste and highly

pleasing. These patterns he first scratched on the outer surface of the vessel with a graving tool; then, when

he had made his depressions deep enough, he took threads of coloured glass, and having filled up with the

threads the depressions which he had made, he subjected the vessel once more to such a heat that the threads

were fused, and attached themselves to the ground on which they had been laid. In melting they would

generally more than fill the cavities, overflowing them, and protruding from them, whence it was for the most

part necessary to repeat the polishing process, and to bring by means of abrasion the entire surface once more

into uniformity. There are cases where this has been incompletely done and where the patterns project; there

are others where the threads have never thoroughly melted into the ground, and where in the course of time

they have partially detached themselves from it; but in general the fusion and subsequent polishing have been

all that could be wished, and the patterns are perfectly level with the ground and seem one with it.[46]

The running of liquid glass into moulds, so common nowadays, does not seem to have been practised by the

Phoenicians, perhaps because their furnaces were not sufficiently hot to produce complete liquefaction.

Butif this was sothe pressure of the viscous material into moulds cannot have been unknown, since we

have evidence of the existence of moulds,[47] and there are cases where several specimens of an object have

evidently issued from a single matrix.[48] Beads, cylinders, pendants, scarabs, amulets, were probably, all of

them, made in this way, sometimes in translucent, sometimes in semiopaque glass, as perhaps were also the

The ceramic art of the Phoenicians is not very remarkable. Phoenicia Proper is deficient in clay of a superior

character, and it was probably a very ordinary and coarse kind of pottery that the Phoenician merchants of

early times exported regularly in their trading voyages, both inside and outside the Mediterranean. We hear of

their carrying this cheap earthenware northwards to the Cassiterides or Scilly Islands,[49] and southwards to

the isle of Cern�, which is probably Arguin, on the West African coast;[50] nor can we doubt that they

supplied it also to the uncivilised races of the Mediterraneanthe Illyrians, Ligurians, Sicels, Sards,

Corsicans, Spaniards, Libyans. But the fragile nature of the material, and its slight value, have caused its

entire disappearance in the course of centuries, unless in the shape of small fragments; nor are these

fragments readily distinguishable from those whose origin is different. Phoenicia Proper has furnished no

earthen vessels, either whole or in pieces, that can be assigned to a time earlier than the GrecoRoman

period,[51] nor have any such vessels been found hitherto on Phoenician sites either in Sardinia, or in

Corsica, or in Spain, or Africa, or Sicily, or Malta, or Gozzo. The only places that have hitherto furnished

earthen vases or other vessels presumably Phoenician are Jerusalem, Camirus in Rhodes, and Cyprus; and it

is from the specimens found at these sites that we must form our estimate of the Phoenician pottery.

The earliest specimens are of a moderately good clay, unglazed. They are regular in shape, being made by the

help of a wheel, and for the most part not inelegant, though they cannot be said to possess any remarkable

beauty. Many are without ornament of any kind, being apparently mere jars, used for the storing away of oil

or wine; they have sometimes painted or scratched upon them, in Phoenician characters, the name of the

maker or owner. A few rise somewhat above the ordinary level, having handles of some elegance, and being

painted with designs and patterns, generally of a geometrical character. A vase about six inches high, found at

Jerusalem, has, between horizontal bands, a series of geometric patterns, squares, octagons, lozenges,

triangles, pleasingly arranged, and painted in brown upon a ground which is of a dull grey. At the top are two

rude handles, between which runs a line of zigzag, while at the bottom is a sort of stand or base. The shape

Another vase of a similar character to this, but superior in many respects, was found by General Di Cesnola at

Dali (Idalium), and is figured in his "Cyprus."[53] This vase has the shape of an urn, and is ornamented with

horizontal bands, except towards the middle, where it has its greatest diameter, and exhibits a series of

geometric designs. In the centre is a lozenge, divided into four smaller lozenges by a St. Andrew's cross;

other compartments are triangular, and are filled with a chequer of black and white, resembling the squares of

a chessboard. Beyond, on either side, are vertical bands, diversified with a lozenge ornament. Two hands

succeed, of a shape that is thought to have "a certain elegance."[54] There is a rim, which might receive a

cover, at top, and at bottom a short pedestal. The height of the vase is about thirteen inches.

In many of the Cyprian vases having a geometric decoration, the figures are not painted on the surface but

impressed or incised. Messrs. Perrot and Chipiez regard this form of ornamentation as the earliest; but the

beauty and finish of several vases on which it occurs is against the supposition. There is scarcely to be found,

even in the range of Greek art, a more elegant form than that of the jug in black clay brought by General Di

Cesnola from Alambra and figured both in his "Cyprus"[55] and in the "Histoire de l'Art."[56] Yet its

ornamentation is incised. If, then, incised patterning preceded painted in Phoenicia, at any rate it held its

ground after painting was introduced, and continued in vogue even to the time when Greek taste had largely

The finest Phoenician efforts in ceramic art resemble either the best Egyptian or the best Greek. As the art

advanced, the advantage of a rich glaze was appreciated, and specimens which seem to be Phoenician have

all the delicacy and beauty of the best Egyptian fa�ence. A cup found at Idalium, plain on the outside, is

covered internally with a green enamel, on which are patterns and designs in black.[57] In a medallion at the

bottom of the cup is the representation of a marshy tract overgrown with the papyrus plant, whereof we see

both the leaves and blossoms, while among them, rushing at full speed, is the form of a wild boar. The rest of

the ornamentation consists chiefly of concentric circles; but between two of the circles is left a tolerably

broad ring, which has a pattern consisting of a series of broadish leaves pointing towards the cup's centre.

The most splendid of all the Cyprian vases was found at Curium, and has been already represented in this

volume. It is an amphora of large dimensions, ornamented in part with geometrical designs, in part with

compartments, in which are represented horses and birds. The form, the designs, and the general

physiognomy of the amphora are considered to be in close accordance with Athenian vases of the most

antique school. The resemblance is so great that some have supposed the vase to have been an importation

from Attica into Cyprus;[58] but such conjectures are always hazardous; and the principal motives of the

design are so frequent on the Cyprian vases, that the native origin of the vessel is at least possible, and the

Still, on the whole, the Cyprian ceramic art is somewhat disappointing. What is original in it is either

grotesque, as the vases in the shape of animals,[59] or those crowned by human heads,[60] or those again

which have for spout a female figure pouring liquid out of a jug.[61] What is superior has the appearance of

having been borrowed. Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek art, each in turn, furnished shapes, designs, and

patterns to the Phoenician potters, who readily adopted from any and every quarter the forms and decorations

which hit their fancy. Their fancy was, predominantly, for the bizarre and the extravagant. Vases in the shape

of helmets, in the shape of barrels, in the shape of human heads,[62] have little fitness, and in the Cyprian

specimens have little beauty; the mixture of Assyrian with Egyptian forms is incongruous; the birds and

beasts represented are drawn with studied quaintness, a quaintness recalling the art of China and Japan. If

there is elegance in some of the forms, it is seldom a very pronounced elegance; and, where the taste is best,

the suspicion continually arises that a foreign model has been imitated. Moreover, from first to last the art

makes little progress. There seems to have been an arrest of development.[63] The early steps are taken, but

at a certain point stagnation sets in; there is no further attempt to improve or advance; the artists are content

to repeat themselves, and reproduce the patterns of the past. Perhaps there was no demand for ceramic art of a

higher order. At any rate, progress ceases, and while Greece was rising to her grandest efforts, Cyprus, and

Besides their ornamental metallurgy, which has been treated of in a former chapter, the Phoenicians largely

employed several metals, especially bronze and copper, in the fabrication of vessels for ordinary use, of

implements, arms, toilet articles, furniture, The vessels include pater�, bowls, jugs, amphor�, and cups;[64]

the implements, hatchets, adzes, knives, and sickles;[65] the arms, spearheads, arrowheads, daggers,

battleaxes, helmets, and shields;[66] the toilet articles, mirrors, handbells, buckles, candlesticks, [67] the

furniture, tall candelabra, tripods, and thrones.[68] The bronze is of an excellent quality, having generally

about nine parts of copper to one of tin; and there is reason to believe that by the skilful tempering of the

Phoenician metallurgists, it attained a hardness which was not often given it by others. The Cyprian shields

were remarkable. They were of a round shape, slightly convex, and instead of the ordinary boss, had a long

projecting cone in the centre. An actual shield, with the cone perfect, was found by General Di Cesnola at

Amathus,[69] and a projection of the same kind is seen in several of the Sardinian bronze and terracotta

statuettes.[70] Shields were sometimes elaborately embossed, in part with patterning, in part with animal and

vegetable forms.[71] Helmets were also embossed with care, and sometimes inscribed with the name of the

Some remains of swords, probably Phoenician, have been found in Sardinia. They vary from two feet seven

inches to four feet two inches in length.[73] The blade is commonly straight, and very thick in the centre, but

tapers off on both sides to a sharp edge. The point is blunt, so that the intention cannot have been to use the

weapon both for cutting and thrusting, but only for the former. It would scarcely make such a clean cut as a

modern broadsword, but would no doubt be equally effectual for killing or disabling. Another weapon, found

in Sardinia, and sometimes called a sword, is more properly a knife or dagger. In length it does not exceed

seven or eight inches, and of this length more than a third is occupied by the handle.[74] Below the handle

the blade broadens for about an inch or an inch and a half; after this it contracts, and tapers gently to a sharp

The bronze articles of the toilet recovered by recent researches in Cyprus and elsewhere are remarkable. The

handle of a mirror found in Cyprus, and now in the Museum of New York, possesses considerable merit. It

consists mainly of a female figure, naked, and standing upon a frog.[76] In her hands she holds a pair of

cymbals, which she is in the act of striking together. A ribbon, passed over her left shoulder, is carried

through a ring, from which hangs a seal. On her arms and shoulders appear to have stood two lions, which

formed side supports to the mirror that was attached to the figure's head. If the face of the cymbalplayer

cannot boast of much beauty, and her figure is thought to "lack distinction," still it is granted that the tout

ensemble of the work was not without originality, and may have possessed a certain amount of elegance.[77]

Some candlesticks found in the Treasury of Curium,[78] and a tripod from the same place, seem to deserve a

short notice. The candlesticks stand upon a sort of short pillar as a base, above which is the blossom of a

flower inverted, a favourite Phoenician ornament.[79] From this rises the lampstand, composed of three

leaves, which curl outwards, and support between them a ring into which the bottom of the lamp fitted. The

tripod[80] is more elaborate. The legs, which are fluted, bulge considerably at the top, after which they bend

inwards, and form a curve like one half of a Cupid's bow. To retain them in place, they are joined together by

a sort of crossbar, about halfway in their length; while, to keep them steady, they are made to rest on large

flat feet. The circular hoop which they support is of some width, and is ornamented along its entire course

with a zigzag. From the hoop depend, halfway in the spaces between the legs, three rings, from each of

Besides copper and bronze, the Phoenicians seem to have worked in lead and iron, but only to a small extent.

Iron ore might have been obtained in some parts of their own country, but appears to have been principally

derived from abroad, especially from Spain.[81] It was worked up chiefly, so far as we know, into arms

offensive and defensive. The sword of Alexander, which he received as a gift from the king of Citium,[82]

was doubtless in this metal, which is the material of a sword found at Amathus, and of numerous

arrowheads.[83] We are also told that Cyprus furnished the iron breastplates worn by Demetrius

Poliorcetes;[84] and in preHomeric times it was a PhoenicianCinyraswho gave to Agamemnon his

breastplate of steel, gold, and tin.[85] That more remains of iron arms and implements have not been found

on Phoenician sites is probably owing to the rapid oxydisation of the metal, which consequently decays and

disappears. The Hiram who was sent to assist Solomon in building and furnishing the Temple of Jerusalem

was, we must remember, "skilful to work," not only "in gold, and silver, and bronze," but also "in iron."[86]

Lead was largely furnished to the Phoenicians by the Scilly Islands,[87] and by Spain.[88] It has not been

found in any great quantity on Phoenician sites, but still appears occasionally. Sometimes it is a solder

uniting stone with bronze;[89] sometimes it exists in thin sheets, which may have been worn as

ornaments.[90] In Phoenicia Proper it has been chiefly met with in the shape of coffins,[91] which are

apparently of a somewhat late date. They are formed of several sheets placed one over the other and then

soldered together. There is generally on the lid and sides of the coffin an external ornamentation in a low

relief, wherein the myth of Psych� is said commonly to play a part; but the execution is mediocre, and the

Earliest navigation by means of rafts and canoesModel of a very primitive boatPhoenician vessel of the

time of SargonPhoenician biremes in the time of SennacheribPhoenician pleasure vessels and merchant

shipsSuperiority of the Phoenician wargalleys Excellence of the arrangementsPat�ciEarly

navigation cautious Increasing boldnessFurthest venturesExtent of the Phoenician land

commerceWitness of EzekielWares importedCaravans Description of the land tradeSea trade of

Phoenicia1. With her own colonies2. With foreignersMediterranean and Black Sea tradeNorth

Atlantic tradeTrade with the West Coast of Africa and the CanariesTrade in the Red Sea and Indian

The first attempts of the Phoenicians to navigate the sea which washed their coast were probably as clumsy

and rude as those of other primitive nations. They are said to have voyaged from island to island, in their

original abodes within the Persian Gulf, by means of rafts.[1] When they reached the shores of the

Mediterranean, it can scarcely have been long ere they constructed boats for fishing and coasting purposes,

though no doubt such boats were of a very rude construction. Probably, like other races, they began with

canoes, roughly hewn out of the trunk of a tree. The torrents which descended from Lebanon would from

time to time bring down the stems of fallen trees in their floodtime; and these, floating on the Mediterranean

waters, would suggest the idea of navigation. They would, at first, be hollowed out with hatchets and adzes,

or else with fire; and, later on, the canoes thus produced would form the models for the earliest efforts in

shipbuilding. The great length, however, would soon be found unnecessary, and the canoe would give place

to the boat, in the ordinary acceptation of the term. There are models of boats among the Phoenician remains

which have a very archaic character,[2] and may give us some idea of the vessels in which the Phoenicians of

the remoter times braved the perils of the deep. They have a keel, not ill shaped, a rounded hull, bulwarks, a

beak, and a high seat for the steersman. The oars, apparently, must have been passed through interstices in the

From this rude shape the transition was not very difficult to the bark represented in the sculptures of

Sargon,[3] which is probably a Phoenician one. Here four rowers, standing to their oars, impel a vessel

having for prow the head of a horse and for stern the tail of a fish, both of them rising high above the water.

The oars are curved, like golf or hockeysticks, and are worked from the gunwale of the bark, though there is

no indication of rowlocks. The vessel is without a rudder; but it has a mast, supported by two ropes which are

fastened to the head and stern. The mast has neither sail nor yard attached to it, but is crowned by what is

called a "crow's nest"a bellshaped receptacle, from which a slinger or archer might discharge missiles

A vessel of considerably greater size than this, but of the same class impelled, that is, by one bank of oars

onlyis indicated by certain coins, which have been regarded by some critics as Phoenician, by others as

belonging to Cilicia.[5] These have a low bow, but an elevated stern; the prow exhibits a beak, while the stern

shows signs of a steering apparatus; the number of the oars on each side is fifteen or twenty. The Greeks

called these vessels triaconters or penteconters. They are represented without any mast on the coins, and thus

About the time of Sennacherib (B.C. 700), or a little earlier, some great advances seem to have been made by

the Phoenician shipbuilders. In the first place, they introduced the practice of placing the rowers on two

different levels, one above the other; and thus, for a vessel of the same length, doubling the number of the

rowers. Ships of this kind, which the Greeks called "biremes," are represented in Sennacherib's sculptures as

employed by the inhabitants of a Phoenician city, who fly in them at the moment when their town is captured,

and so escape their enemy.[6] The ships are of two kinds. Both kinds have a double tier of rowers, and both

are guided by two steering oars thrust out from the stern; but while the one is still without mast or sail, and is

rounded off in exactly the same way both at stem and stern, the other has a mast, placed about midship, a

yard hung across it, and a sail close reefed to the yard, while the bow is armed with a long projecting beak,

like a ploughshare, which must have been capable of doing terrible damage to a hostile vessel. The rowers, in

both classes of ships, are represented as only eight or ten upon a side; but this may have arisen from artistic

necessity, since a greater number of figures could not have been introduced without confusion. It is thought

that in the beaked vessel we have a representation of the Phoenician wargalley; in the vessel without a beak,

A painting on a vase found in Cyprus exhibits what would seem to have been a pleasurevessel.[8] It is

unbeaked, and without any sign of oars, except two paddles for steering with. About midship is a short mast,

crossed by a long spar or yard, which carries a sail, closely reefed along its entire length. The yard and sail

are managed by means of four ropes, which are, however, somewhat conventionally depicted. Both the head

and stern of the vessel rise to a considerable height above the water, and the stern is curved, very much as in

According to the Greek writers, Phoenician vessels were mainly of two kinds, merchant ships and

warvessels.[9] The merchant ships were of a broad, round make, what our sailors would call "tubs,"

resembling probably the Dutch fishingboats of a century ago. They were impelled both by oars and sails,

but depended mainly on the latter. Each of them had a single mast of moderate height, to which a single sail

was attached;[10] this was what in modern times is called a "square sail," a form which is only well suited for

sailing with when the wind is directly astern. It was apparently attached to the yard, and had to be hoisted

together with the yard, along which it could be closely reefed, or from which it could be loosely shaken out. It

was managed, no doubt, by ropes attached to the two lower corners, which must have been held in the hands

of sailors, as it would have been most dangerous to belay them. As long as the wind served, the merchant

captain used his sail; when it died away, or became adverse, he dropped yard and sail on to his deck, and

Merchant ships had, commonly, small boats attached to them, which afforded a chance of safety if the ship

foundered, and were useful when cargoes had to be landed on a shelving shore.[11] We have no means of

knowing whether these boats were hoisted up on deck until they were wanted, or attached to the ships by

The wargalleys of the Phoenicians in the early times were probably of the class which the Greeks called

triaconters or penteconters, and which are represented upon the coins. They were long open rowboats, in

which the rowers sat, all of them, upon a level, the number of rowers on either side being generally either

fifteen or twentyfive. Each galley was armed at its head with a sharp metal spike, or beak, which was its

chief weapon of offence, vessels of this class seeking commonly to run down their enemy. After a time these

vessels were superseded by biremes, which were decked, had masts and sails, and were impelled by rowers

sitting at two different elevations, as already explained. Biremes were ere long superseded by triremes, or

vessels with three banks of oars, which are said to have been invented at Corinth,[12] but which came into

use among the Phoenicians before the end of the sixth century B.C.[13] In the third century B.C. the

Carthaginians employed in war quadriremes, and even quinqueremes; but there is no evidence of the

The superiority of the Phoenician ships to others is generally allowed, and was clearly shown when Xerxes

collected his fleet of twelve hundred and seven triremes against Greece. The fleet included contingents from

Phoenicia, Cyprus, Egypt, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia, Caria, Ionia, �olis, and the Greek settlements about the

Propontis.[14] When it reached the Hellespont, the great king, anxious to test the quality of his ships and

sailors, made proclamation for a grand sailing match, in which all who liked might contend. Each contingent

probablyat any rate, all that prided themselves on their nautical skillselected its best vessel, and entered

it for the coming race; the king himself, and his grandees and officers, and all the army, stood or sat along the

shore to see: the race took place, and was won by the Phoenicians of Sidon.[15] Having thus tested the

nautical skill of the various nations under his sway, the great king, when he ventured his person upon the

A remarkable testimony to the excellence of the Phoenician ships with respect to internal arrangements is

borne by Xenophon, who puts the following words into the mouth of Ischomachus, a Greek:[17] "I think that

the best and most perfect arrangement of things that I ever saw was when I went to look at the great

Phoenician sailingvessel; for I saw the largest amount of naval tackling separately disposed in the smallest

stowage possible. For a ship, as you well know, is brought to anchor, and again got under way, by a vast

number of wooden implements and of ropes and sails the sea by means of a quantity of rigging, and is armed

with a number of contrivances against hostile vessels, and carries about with it a large supply of weapons for

the crew, and, besides, has all the utensils that a man keeps in his dwellinghouse, for each of the messes. In

addition, it is laden with a quantity of merchandise which the owner carries with him for his own profit. Now

all the things which I have mentioned lay in a space not much bigger than a room which would conveniently

hold ten beds. And I remarked that they severally lay in a way that they did not obstruct one another, and did

not require anyone to search for them; and yet they were neither placed at random, nor entangled one with

another, so as to consume time when they were suddenly wanted for use. Also, I found the captain's assistant,

who is called 'the lookout man,' so well acquainted with the position of all the articles, and with the number

of them, that even when at a distance he could tell where everything lay, and how many there were of each

sort, just as anyone who has learnt to read can tell the number of letters in the name of Socrates and the

proper place for each of them. Moreover, I saw this man, in his leisure moments, examining and testing

everything that a vessel needs when at sea; so, as I was surprised, I asked him what he was about, whereupon

he replied'Stranger, I am looking to see, in case anything should happen, how everything is arranged in the

ship, and whether anything is wanting, or is inconveniently situated; for when a storm arises at sea, it is not

possible either to look for what is wanting, or to put to right what is arranged awkwardly.'"

Phoenician ships seem to have been placed under the protection of the Cabeiri, and to have had images of

them at their stem or stern or both.[18] These images were not exactly "figureheads," as they are sometimes

called. They were small, apparently, and inconspicuous, being little dwarf figures, regarded as amulets that

would preserve the vessel in safety. We do not see them on any representations of Phoenician ships, and it is

possible that they may have been no larger than the bronze or glazed earthenware images of Phthah that are

so common in Egypt. The Phoenicians called them pittuchim, "sculptures,"[19] whence the Greek {pataikoi}

The navigation of the Phoenicians, in early times, was no doubt cautious and timid. So far from venturing out

of sight of land, they usually hugged the coast, ready at any moment, if the sea or sky threatened, to change

their course and steer directly for the shore. On a shelving coast they were not at all afraid to run their ships

aground, since, like the Greek vessels, they could be easily pulled up out of reach of the waves, and again

pulled down and launched, when the storm was over and the sea calm once more. At first they sailed, we may

be sure, only in the daytime, casting anchor at nightfall, or else dragging their ships up upon the beach, and so

awaiting the dawn. But after a time they grew more bold. The sea became familiar to them, the positions of

coasts and islands relatively one to another better known, the character of the seasons, the signs of unsettled

or settled weather, the conduct to pursue in an emergency, better apprehended. They soon began to shape the

course of their vessels from headland to headland, instead of always creeping along the shore, and it was not

perhaps very long before they would venture out of sight of land, if their knowledge of the weather satisfied

them that the wind might be trusted to continue steady, and if they were well assured of the direction of the

land that they wished to make. They took courage, moreover, to sail in the night, no less than in the daytime,

when the weather was clear, guiding themselves by the stars, and particularly by the Polar star,[20] which

they discovered to be the star most nearly marking the true north. A passage of Strabo[21] seems to show

thatin the later times at any ratethey had a method of calculating the rate of a ship's sailing, though what

the method was is wholly unknown to us. It is probable that they early constructed charts and maps, which

The Phoenicians for some centuries confined their navigation within the limits of the Mediterranean, the

Propontis, and the Euxine, land locked seas, which are tideless and far less rough than the open ocean. But

before the time of Solomon they had passed the Pillars of Hercules, and affronted the dangers of the

Atlantic.[22] Their frail and small vessels, scarcely bigger than modern fishingsmacks, proceeded

southwards along the West African coast, as far as the tract watered by the Gambia and Senegal, while

northwards they coasted along Spain, braved the heavy seas of the Bay of Biscay, and passing Cape

Finisterre, ventured across the mouth of the English Channel to the Cassiterides. Similarly, from the West

African shore, they boldly steered for the Fortunate Islands (the Canaries), visible from certain elevated

points of the coast, though at 170 miles distance. Whether they proceeded further, in the south to the Azores,

Madeira, and the Cape de Verde Islands, in the north to the coast of Holland, and across the German Ocean to

the Baltic, we regard as uncertain. It is possible that from time to time some of the more adventurous of their

traders may have reached thus far; but their regular, settled, and established navigation did not, we believe,

extend beyond the Scilly Islands and coast of Cornwall to the northwest, and to the southwest Cape Non

The commerce of the Phoenicians was carried on, to a large extent, by land, though principally by sea. It

appears from the famous chapter of Ezekiel[23] which describes the riches and greatness of Tyre in the sixth

century B.C., that almost the whole of Western Asia was penetrated by the Phoenician caravans, and laid

Translating this glorious burst of poetry into prose, we find the following countries mentioned as carrying on

an active trade with the Phoenician metropolis:Northern Syria, Syria of Damascus, Judah and the land of

Israel, Egypt, Arabia, Babylonia, Assyria, Upper Mesopotamia,[24] Armenia,[25] Central Asia Minor, Ionia,

Cyprus, Hellas or Greece,[26] and Spain.[27] Northern Syria furnishes the Phoenician merchants with butz,

which is translated "fine linen," but is perhaps rather cotton,[28] the "treewool" of Herodotus; it also

supplies embroidery, and certain precious stones, which our translators have considered to be coral, emeralds,

and rubies. Syria of Damascus gives the "wine of Helbon"that exquisite liquor which was the only sort that

the Persian kings would condescend to drink[29] and "white wool," the dainty fleeces of the sheep and

lambs that fed on the upland pastures of Hermon and Antilibanus. Judah and the land of Israel supply corn of

superior quality, called "corn of Minnith" corn, i.e. produced in the rich Ammonite country[30]together

with pannag, an unknown substance, and honey, and balm, and oil. Egypt sends fine linen, one of her best

known products[31]sometimes, no doubt, plain, but often embroidered with bright patterns, and employed

as such embroidered fabrics were also in Egypt,[32] for the sails of pleasureboats. Arabia provides her

spices, cassia, and calamus (or aromatic reed), and, beyond all doubt, frankincense,[33] and perhaps

cinnamon and ladanum.[34] She also supplies wool and goat's hair, and cloths for chariots, and gold, and

wrought iron, and precious stones, and ivory, and ebony, of which the last two cannot have been productions

of her own, but must have been imported from India or Abyssinia.[35] Babylonia and Assyria furnish

"wrappings of blue, embroidered work, and chests of rich apparel."[36] Upper Mesopotamia partakes in this

traffic.[37] Armenia gives horses and mules. Central Asia Minor (Tubal and Meshech) supplies slaves and

vessels of brass, and the Greeks of Ionia do the like. Cyprus furnishes ivory, which she must first have

imported from abroad.[38] Greece Proper sends her shellfish, to enable the Phoenician cities to increase

their manufacture of the purple dye.[39] Finally, Spain yields silver, iron, tin, and leadthe most useful of

With the exception of Egypt, Ionia, Cyprus, Hellas, and Spain, the Phoenician intercourse with these places

must have been carried on wholly by land. Even with Egypt, wherewith the communication by sea was so

facile, there seems to have been also from a very early date a land commerce. The land commerce was in

every case carried on by caravans. Western Asia has never yet been in so peaceful and orderly condition as to

dispense prudent traders from the necessity of joining together in large bodies, well provisioned and well

armed, when they are about to move valuable goods any considerable distance. There have always been

robbertribes in the mountain tracts, and thievish Arabs upon the plains, ready to pounce on the insufficiently

protected traveller, and to despoil him of all his belongings. Hence the necessity of the caravan traffic. As

early as the time of Joseph probably about B.C. 1600we find a company of the Midianites on their way

from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.[41]

Elsewhere we hear of the "travelling companies of the Dedanim,"[42] of the men of Sheba bringing their gold

and frankincense;[43] of a multitude of camels coming up to Palestine with wood from Kedar and

Nebaioth.[44] Heeren is entirely justified in his conclusion that the land trade of the Phoenicians was

conducted by "large companies or caravans, since it could only have been carried on in this way."[45]

The nearest neighbours of the Phoenicians on the land side were the Jews and Israelites, the Syrians of

Damascus, and the people of Northern Syria, or the Orontes valley and the tract east of it. From the Jews and

Israelites the Phoenicians seem to have derived at all times almost the whole of the grain which they were

forced to import for their sustenance. In the time of David and Solomon it was chiefly for wheat and barley

that they exchanged the commodities which they exported,[46] in that of Ezekiel it was primarily for "wheat

of Minnith;"[47] and a similar trade is noted on the return of the Jews from the captivity,[48] and in the first

century of our era.[49] But besides grain they also imported from Palestine at some periods wine, oil, honey,

balm, and oak timber.[50] Western Palestine was notoriously a land not only of corn, but also of wine, of

olive oil, and of honey, and could readily impart of its superfluity to its neighbour in time of need. The oaks

of Bashan are very abundant, and seem to have been preferred by the Phoenicians to their own oaks as the

material of oars.[51] Balm, or basalm, was a product of the land of Gilead,[52] and also of the lower Jordan

From the Damascene Syrians we are told that Phoenicia imported "wine of Helbon" and "white wool."[54]

The "wine of Helbon" is reasonably identified with that {oinos Khalubonios} which is said to have been the

favourite beverage of the Persian kings.[55] It was perhaps grown in the neighbourhood of Aleppo.[56] The

"white wool" may have been furnished by the sheep that cropped the slopes of the Antilibanus, or by those

fed on the fine grass which clothes most of the plain at its base. The fleece of these last is, according to

Heeren,[57] "the finest known, being improved by the heat of the climate, the continual exposure to the open

air, and the care commonly bestowed upon the flocks." From the Syrian wool, mixed perhaps with some

other material, seems to have been woven the fabric known, from the city where it was commonly made,[58]

According to the existing text of Ezekiel,[59] Syria Proper "occupied in the fairs" of Phoenicia with cotton,

with embroidered robes, with purple, and with precious stones. The valley of the Orontes is suitable for the

cultivation of cotton; and embroidered robes would naturally be produced in the seat of an old civilisation,

which Syria certainly was. Purple seems somewhat out of place in the enumeration; but the Syrians may have

gathered the murex on their seaboard between Mt. Casius and the Gulf of Issus, and have sold what they

collected in the Phoenician market. The precious stones which Ezekiel assigns to them are difficult of

identification, but may have been furnished by Casius, Bargylus, or Amanus. These mountains, or at any rate

Casius and Amanus, are of igneous origin, and, if carefully explored, would certainly yield gems to the

investigator. At the same time it must be acknowledged that Syria had not, in antiquity, the name of a

gemproducing country; and, so far, the reading of "Edom" for "Aram," which is preferred by many,[60] may

The commerce of the Phoenicians with Egypt was ancient, and very extensive. "The wares of Egypt" are

mentioned by Herodotus as a portion of the merchandise which they brought to Greece before the time of the

Trojan War.[61] The Tyrians had a quarter in the city of Memphis assigned to them,[62] probably from an

early date. According to Ezekiel, the principal commodity which Egypt furnished to Phoenicia was "fine

linen"[63]especially the linen sails embroidered with gay patterns, which the Egyptian nobles affected for

their pleasureboats. They probably also imported from Egypt natron for their glassworks, papyrus for their

documents, earthenware of various kinds for exportation, scarabs and other seals, statuettes and figures of

gods, amulets, and in the later times sarcophagi.[64] Their exports to Egypt consisted of wine on a large

scale,[65] tin almost certainly, and probably their peculiar purple fabrics, and other manufactured articles.

The Phoenician trade with Arabia was of especial importance, since not only did the great peninsula itself

produce many of the most valuable articles of commerce, but it was also mainly, if not solely, through Arabia

that the Indian market was thrown open to the Phoenician traders, and the precious commodities obtained for

which Hindustan has always been famous. Arabia is par excellence the land of spices, and was the main

source from which the ancient world in general, and Phoenicia in particular, obtained frankincense,

cinnamon, cassia, myrrh, calamus or sweetcane, and ladanum.[66] It has been doubted whether these

commodities were, all of them, the actual produce of the country in ancient times, and Herodotus has been in

some degree discredited, but perhaps without sufficient reason. He is supported to a considerable extent by

Theophrastus, the disciple of Aristotle, who says:[67] "Frankincense, myrrh, and cassia grow in the Arabian

districts of Saba and Hadramaut; frankincense and myrrh on the sides or at the foot of mountains, and in the

neighbouring islands. The trees which produce them grow sometimes wild, though occasionally they are

cultivated; and the frankincensetree grows sometimes taller than the tree producing the myrrh." Modern

authorities declare the frankincensetree (Boswellia thurifera) to be still a native of Hadramaut;[68] and there

is no doubt that the myrrhtree (Balsamodendron myrrha) also grows there. If cinnamon and cassia, as the

terms are now understood, do not at present grow in Arabia, or nearer to Phoenicia than Hindustan, it may be

that they have died out in the former country, or our modern use of the terms may differ from the ancient one.

On the other hand, it is no doubt possible that the Phoenicians imagined all the spices which they obtained

from Arabia to be the indigenous growth of the country, when in fact some of them were importations.

Next to her spices, Arabia was famous for the production of a superior quality of wool. The Phoenicians

imported this wool largely. The flocks of Kedar are especially noted,[69] and are said to have included both

sheep and goats.[70] It was perhaps a native woollen manufacture, in which Dedan traded with Tyre, and

which Ezekiel notices as a trade in "cloths for chariots."[71] Goat's hair was largely employed in the

production of coverings for tents.[72] Arabia also furnished Phoenicia with gold, with precious stones, with

ivory, ebony, and wrought iron.[73] The wrought iron was probably from Yemen, which was celebrated for

its manufacture of sword blades. The gold may have been native, for there is much reason to believe that

anciently the Arabian mountain ranges yielded gold as freely as the Ethiopian,[74] with which they form one

system; or it may have been imported from Hindustan, with which Arabia had certainly, in ancient times,

constant communication. Ivory and ebony must, beyond a doubt, have been Arabian importations. There are

two countries from which they may have been derived, India and Abyssinia. It is likely that the commercial

Of Phoenician imports into Arabia we have no account; but we may conjecture that they consisted principally

of manufactured goods, cotton and linen fabrics, pottery, implements and utensils in metal, beads, and other

ornaments for the person, and the like. The nomadic Arabs, leading a simple life, required but little beyond

what their own country produced; there was, however, a town population[76] in the more southern parts of

the peninsula, to which the elegancies and luxuries of life, commonly exported by Phoenicia, would have

The Phoenician trade with Babylonia and Assyria was carried on probably by caravans, which traversed the

Syrian desert by way of Tadmor or Palmyra, and struck the Euphrates about Circesium. Here the route

divided, passing to Babylon southwards along the course of the great river, and to Nineveh eastwards by way

of the Khabour and the Sinjar mountainrange. Both countries seem to have supplied the Phoenicians with

fabrics of extraordinary value, rich in a peculiar embroidery, and deemed so precious that they were packed

in chests of cedarwood, which the Phoenician merchants must have brought with them from Lebanon.[77]

The wares furnished by Assyria were in some cases exported to Greece,[78] while no doubt in others they

were intended for home consumption. They included cylinders in rock crystal, jasper, hematite, steatite, and

other materials, which may sometimes have found purchasers in Phoenicia Proper, but appear to have been

specially affected by the Phoenician colonists in Cyprus.[79] On her part Phoenicia must have imported into

Assyria and Babylonia the tin which was a necessary element in their bronze; and they seem also to have

found a market in Assyria for their own most valuable and artistic bronzes, the exquisite embossed pater�

which are among the most precious of the treasures brought by Sir Austen Layard from Nineveh.[80]

The nature of the Phoenician trade with Upper Mesopotamia is unknown to us; and it is not impossible that

their merchants visited Haran,[81] rather because it lay on the route which they had to follow in order to

reach Armenia than because it possessed in itself any special attraction for them. Gallnuts and manna are

almost the only products for which the region is celebrated; and of these Phoenicia herself produced the one,

while she probably did not need the other. But the natural route to Armenia was by way of the Coelesyrian

valley, Aleppo and Carchemish, to Haran, and thence by Amida or Diarbekr to Van, which was the capital of

Armenia supplied the Phoenicians with "horses of common and of noble breeds,"[82] and also with

mules.[83] Strabo says that it was a country exceedingly well adapted for the breeding of the horse,[84] and

even notes the two qualities of the animal that it produced, one of which he calls "Nis�an," though the true

"Nis�an plain" was in Media. So large was the number of colts bred each year, and so highly were they

valued, that, under the Persian monarchy the Great King exacted from the province, as a regular item of its

tribute, no fewer than twenty thousand of them annually.[85] Armenian mules seem not to be mentioned by

any writer besides Ezekiel; but mules were esteemed throughout the East in antiquity,[86] and no country

would have been more likely to breed them than the mountain tract of Armenia, the Switzerland of Western

Armenia adjoined the country of the Moschi and Tibarenithe Meshech and Tubal of the Bible. These

tribes, between the ninth and the seventh centuries B.C., inhabited the central regions of Asia Minor and the

country known later as Cappadocia. They traded with Tyre in the "persons of men" and in "vessels of brass"

or copper.[87] Copper is found abundantly in the mountain ranges of these parts, and Xenophon remarks on

the prevalence of metal vessels in the portion of the region which he passed throughthe country of the

Carduchians.[88] The traffic in slaves was one in which the Phoenicians engaged from very early times. They

were not above kidnapping men, women, and children in one country and selling them into another;[89]

besides which they seem to have frequented regularly the principal slave marts of the time. They bought such

Jews as were taken captive and sold into slavery by the neighbouring nations,[90] and they looked to the

Moschi and Tibareni for a constant supply of the commodity from the Black Sea region.[91] The Caucasian

tribes have always been in the habit of furnishing slavegirls to the harems of the East, and the Thracians,

who were not confined to Europe, but occupied a great part of Asia Minor, regularly trafficked in their

Such was the extent of the Phoenician land trade, as indicated by the prophet Ezekiel, and such were, so far as

is at present known, the commodities interchanged in the course of it. It is quite possible nay,

probablethat the trade extended much further, and certain that it must have included many other articles of

commerce besides those which we have mentioned. The sources of our information on the subject are so few

and scanty, and the notices from which we derive our knowledge for the most part so casual, that we may be

sure what is preserved is but a most imperfect record of what wasfragments of wreck recovered from the

sea of oblivion. It may have been a Phoenician caravan route which Herodotus describes as traversed on one

occasion by the Nasamonians,[93] which began in North Africa and terminated with the Niger and the city of

Timbuctoo; and another, at which he hints as lying between the coast of the Lotuseaters and Fezzan.[94]

Phoenician traders may have accompanied and stimulated the slave hunts of the Garamantians,[95] as Arab

traders do those of the Central African nations at the present day. Again, it is quite possible that the

Phoenicians of Memphis designed and organised the caravans which, proceeding from Egyptian Thebes,

traversed Africa from east to west along the line of the "Salt Hills," by way of Ammon, Augila, Fezzan, and

the Tuarik country to Mount Atlas.[96] We can scarcely imagine the Egyptians showing so much enterprise.

But these lines of traffic can be ascribed to the Phoenicians only by conjecture, history being silent on the

The sea trade of the Phoenicians was still more extensive than their land traffic. It is divisible into two

branches, their trade with their own colonists, and that with the natives of the various countries to which they

penetrated in their voyages. The colonies sent out from Phoenicia were, except in the single instance of

Carthage, trading settlements, planted where some commodity or commodities desired by the

mothercountry abounded, and were intended to secure to the mothercountry the monopoly of such

commodity or commodities. For instance, Cyprus was colonised for the sake of its copper mines and its

timber; Cilicia and Lycia for their timber only; Thasos for its gold mines; Salamis and Cythera for the purple

trade; Sardinia and Spain for their numerous metals; North Africa for its fertility and for the trade with the

interior. Phoenicia expected to derive, primarily, from each colony the commodity or commodities which had

caused the selection of the site. In return she supplied the colonists with her own manufactured articles; with

fabrics in linen, wool, cotton, and perhaps to some extent in silk; with every variety of pottery, from dishes

and jugs of the plainest and most simple kind to the most costly and elaborate vases and amphor�; with metal

utensils and arms, with gold and silver ornaments, with embossed shields and pater�, with fa�nce and glass,

and also with any foreign products or manufactures that they desired and that the countries within the range

of her influence could furnish. Phoenicia must have imported into Cyprus, to suit a peculiar Cyprian taste, the

Egyptian statuettes, scarabs, and rings,[97] and the Assyrian and Babylonian cylinders, which have been

found there. The tin which she brought from the Cassiterides she distributed generally, for she did not

discourage her colonists from manufacturing for themselves to some extent. There was probably no colony

which did not make its own bronze vessels of the commoner sort and its own coarser pottery.

In her trade with the nations who peopled the coasts of the Mediterranean, the Propontis, and the Black Sea,

Phoenicia aimed primarily at disposing to advantage of her own commodities, secondarily at making a profit

in commodities which she had obtained from other countries, and thirdly on obtaining commodities which

she might dispose of to advantage elsewhere. Where the nations were uncivilised, or in a low condition of

civilisation, she looked to making a large profit by furnishing them at a cheap rate with all the simplest

conveniences of life, with their pottery, their implements and utensils, their clothes, their arms, the ornaments

of their persons and of their houses. Underselling the native producers, she soon obtained a monopoly of this

kind of trade, drove the native products out of the market, and imposed her own instead, much as the

manufacturers of Manchester, Birmingham, and the Potteries impose their calicoes, their cutlery, and their

earthenware on the savages of Africa and Polynesia. Where culture was more advanced, as in Greece and

parts of Italy,[98] she looked to introduce, and no doubt succeeded in introducing, the best of her own

productions, fabrics of crimson, violet, and purple, painted vases, embossed pater�, necklaces, bracelets,

rings"cunning work" of all manner of kinds[99] mirrors, glass vessels, and smellingbottles. At the

same time she also disposed at a profit of many of the wares that she had imported from foreign countries,

which were advanced in certain branches of art, as Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, possibly India. The muslins

and ivory of Hindustan, the shawls of Kashmir, the carpets of Babylon, the spices of Araby the Blest, the

pearls of the Persian Gulf, the fa�ence and the papyrus of Egypt, would be readily taken by the more civilised

of the Western nations, who would be prepared to pay a high price for them. They would pay for them partly,

no doubt, in silver and gold, but to some extent also in their own manufactured commodities, Attica in her

ceramic products, Corinth in her "brass," Etruria in her candelabra and engraved mirrors,[100] Argos in her

highly elaborated ornaments.[101] Or, in some cases, they might make return out of the store wherewith

nature had provided them, Euboea rendering her copper, the Peloponnese her "purple," Crete her timber, the

Outside the Pillars of Hercules the Phoenicians had only savage nations to deal with, and with these they

seem to have traded mainly for the purpose of obtaining certain natural products, either peculiarly valuable or

scarcely procurable elsewhere. Their trade with the Scilly Islands and the coast of Cornwall was especially

for the procuring of tin. Of all the metals, tin is found in the fewest places, and though Spain seems to have

yielded some anciently,[102] yet it can only have been in small quantities, while there was an enormous

demand for tin in all parts of the old world, since bronze was the material almost universally employed for

arms, tools, implements, and utensils of all kinds, while tin is the most important, though not the largest,

element in bronze. From the time that the Phoenicians discovered the Scilly Islandsthe "Tin Islands"

(Cassiterides), as they called them it is probable that the tin of the civilised world was almost wholly

derived from this quarter. Eastern Asia, no doubt, had always its own mines, and may have exported tin to

some extent, in the remoter times, supplying perhaps the needs of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. But, after the

rich stores of the metal which our own islands possess were laid open, and the Phoenicians with their

extensive commercial dealings, both in the West and in the East, became interested in diffusing it, British tin

probably drove all other out of use, and obtained the monopoly of the markets wherever Phoenician influence

prevailed. Hence the trade with the Cassiterides was constant, and so highly prized that a Phoenician captain,

finding his ship followed by a Roman vessel, preferred running it upon the rocks to letting a rival nation learn

the secret of how the tinproducing coast might be approached in safety.[103] With the tin it was usual for

the merchants to combine a certain amount of lead and a certain quantity of skins or hides; while they gave in

exchange pottery, salt, and articles in bronze, such as arms, implements, and utensils for cooking and for the

If the Phoenicians visited, as some maintain that they did,[105] the coasts of the Baltic, it must have been for

the purpose of obtaining amber. Amber is thrown up largely by the waters of that landlocked sea, and at

present especially abounds on the shore in the vicinity of Dantzic. It is very scarce elsewhere. The

Phoenicians seem to have made use of amber in their necklaces from a very early date;[106] and, though they

might no doubt have obtained it by landcarriage across Europe to the head of the Adriatic, yet their

enterprise and their commercial spirit were such as would not improbably have led them to seek to open a

direct communication with the amberproducing region, so soon as they knew where it was situated. The

dangers of the German Ocean are certainly not greater than those of the Atlantic; and if the Phoenicians had

sufficient skill in navigation to reach Britain and the Fortunate Islands, they could have found no very serious

difficulty in penetrating to the Baltic. On the other hand, there is no direct evidence of their having penetrated

so far, and perhaps the Adriatic trade may have supplied them with as much amber as they needed.

The trade of the Phoenicians with the west coast of Africa had for its principal objects the procuring of ivory,

of elephant, lion, leopard, and deerskins, and probably of gold. Scylax relates that there was an established

trade in his day (about B.C. 350) between Phoenicia and an island which he calls Cerne, probably Arguin, off

the West African coast. "The merchants," he says,[107] "who are Phoenicians, when they have arrived at

Cerne, anchor their vessels there, and after having pitched their tents upon the shore, proceed to unload their

cargo, and to convey it in smaller boats to the mainland. The dealers with whom they trade are Ethiopians;

and these dealers sell to the Phoenicians skins of deer, lions, panthers, and domestic animalselephants'

skins also, and their teeth. The Ethiopians wear embroidered garments, and use ivory cups as drinking

vessels; their women adorn themselves with ivory bracelets; and their horses also are adorned with ivory. The

Phoenicians convey to them ointment, elaborate vessels from Egypt, castrated swine(?), and Attic pottery and

cups. These last they commonly purchase [in Athens] at the Feast of Cups. These Ethiopians are eaters of

flesh and drinkers of milk; they make also much wine from the vine; and the Phoenicians, too, supply some

wine to them. They have a considerable city, to which the Phoenicians sail up." The river on which the city

It will be observed that Scylax says nothing in this passage of any traffic for gold. We can scarcely suppose,

however, that the Phoenicians, if they penetrated so far south as this, could remain ignorant of the fact that

West Africa was a goldproducing country, much less that, being aware of the fact, they would fail to utilise

it. Probably they were the first to establish that "dumb commerce" which was afterwards carried on with so

much advantage to themselves by the Carthaginians, and whereof Herodotus gives so graphic an account.

"There is a country," he says,[108] "in Libya, and a nation, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, which the

Carthaginians are wont to visit, where they no sooner arrive than forthwith they unlade their wares, and

having disposed them after an orderly fashion along the beach, there leave them, and returning aboard their

ships, raise a great smoke. The natives, when they see the sample, come down to the shore, and laying out to

view so much gold as they think the wares are worth, withdraw to a distance. The Carthaginians upon this

come ashore again and look. If they think the gold to be enough, they take it and go their way; but if it does

not seem to them sufficient, they go aboard ship once more, and wait patiently. Then the others approach and

add to their gold, till the Carthaginians are satisfied. Neither party deals unfairly by the other: for they

themselves never touch the gold till it comes up to the worth of their goods, nor do the natives ever carry off

The nature of the Phoenician trade with the Canaries, or Fortunate Islands, is not stated by any ancient author,

and can only be conjectured. It would scarcely have been worth the Phoenicians' while to convey timber to

Syria from such a distance, or we might imagine the virgin forests of the islands attracting them.[109] The

large breed of dogs from which the Canaries derived their later name[110] may perhaps have constituted an

article of export even in Phoenician times, as we know they did later, when we hear of their being conveyed

to King Juba;[111] but there is an entire lack of evidence on the subject. Perhaps the Phoenicians frequented

the islands less for the sake of commerce than for that of watering and refitting the ships engaged in the

African trade, since the natives were less formidable than those who inhabited the mainland.[112]

There was one further direction in which the Phoenicians pushed their maritime trade, not perhaps

continuously, but at intervals, when their political relations were such as to give them access to the sea which

washed Asia on the south and on the southeast. The nearest points at which they could embark for the

purpose of exploring or utilising the great tract of ocean in this quarter were the inner recesses of the two

deep gulfs known as the Persian and the Arabian. It has been thought by some[113] that there were times in

their history when the Phoenicians had the free use of both these gulfs, and could make the startingpoint of

their eastern explorations and trading voyages either a port on one of the two arms into which the Red Sea

divides towards the north, or a harbour on the Persian Gulf near its north western extremity. But the latter

supposition rests upon grounds which are exceedingly unsafe and uncertain. That the Phoenicians migrated at

some remote period from the shores of the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean may be allowed to be highly

probable; but that, after quitting their primitive abodes and moving off nearly a thousand miles to the

westward, they still maintained a connection with their early settlements and made them centres for a trade

with the Far East, is as improbable a hypothesis as any that has ever received the sanction of men of learning

and repute. The Babylonians, through whose country the connection must have been kept up, were

themselves traders, and would naturally keep the Arabian and Indian traffic in their own hands; nor can we

imagine them as brooking the establishment of a rival upon their shores. The Arabians were more friendly;

but they, too, would have disliked to share their carrying trade with a foreign nation. And the evidence

entirely fails to show that the Phoenicians, from the time of their removal to the Mediterranean, ever launched

a vessel in the Persian Gulf, or had any connection with the nations inhabiting its shores, beyond that

maintained by the caravans which trafficked by land between the Phoenician cities and the men of Dedan and

It was otherwise with the more western gulf. There, certainly, from time to time, the Phoenicians launched

their fleets, and carried on a commerce which was scarcely less lucrative because they had to allow the

nations whose ports they used a participation in its profits. It is not impossible that, occasionally, the

Egyptians allowed them to build ships in some one or more of their Red Sea ports, and to make such port or

ports the headquarters of a trade which may have proceeded beyond the Straits of Babelmandeb and

possibly have reached Zanzibar and Ceylon. At any rate, we know that, in the time of Solomon, two harbours

upon the Red Sea were open to themviz. Eloth and EzionGeberboth places situated in the inner recess

of the Elanitic Gulf, or Gulf of Akaba, the more eastern of the two arms into which the Red Sea divides.

David's conquest of Edom had put these ports into the possession of the Israelites, and the friendship between

Hiram and Solomon had given the Phoenicians free access to them. It was the ambition of Solomon to make

the Israelites a nautical people, and to participate in the advantages which he perceived to have accrued to

Phoenicia from her commercial enterprise. Besides sharing with the Phoenicians in the trade of the

Mediterranean,[115] he constructed with their help a fleet at EzionGeber upon the Red Sea,[116] and the

two allies conjointly made voyages to the region, or country, called Ophir, for the purpose of procuring

precious stones, gold, and almugwood.[117] Ophir is, properly speaking, a portion of Arabia,[118] and

Arabia was famous for its production of gold,[119] and also for its precious stones.[120] Whether it likewise

produced almugtrees is doubtful;[121] and it is quite possible that the joint fleet went further than Ophir

proper, and obtained the "almugwood" from the east coast of Africa, or from India. The Somauli country

might have been as easily reached as Southeastern Arabia, and if India is considerably more remote, yet

there was nothing to prevent the Phoenicians from finding their way to it.[122] We have, however, no direct

evidence that their commerce in the Indian Ocean ever took them further than the Arabian coast, about E.

Surface gathering of metals, anterior to miningEarliest known mining operationsEarliest Phoenician

mining in Phoenicia Proper Mines of CyprusPhoenician mining in Thasos and Thracein Sardiniain

SpainExtent of the metallic treasures there Phoenician methods not unlike those of the present

dayUse of shafts, adits, and galleriesRoof of mines propped or arched Ores crushed, pounded, and

The most precious and useful of the metals lie, in many places, so near the earth's surface that, in the earliest

times, mining is unneeded and therefore unpractised. We are told that in Spain silver was first discovered in

consequence of a great fire, which consumed all the forests wherewith the mountains were clothed, and lasted

many days; at the end of which time the surface of the soil was found to be intersected by streams of silver

from the melting of the superficial silver ore through the intense heat of the conflagration. The natives did not

know what to do with the metal, so they bartered it away to the Phoenician traders, who already frequented

their country, in return for some wares of very moderate value.[1] Whether this tale be true or no, it is certain

that even at the present day, in what are called "new countries," valuable metals often show themselves on the

surface of the soil, either in the form of metalliferous earths, or of rocks which shine with spangles of a

metallic character, or occasionally, though rarely, of actual masses of pure ore, sometimes encrusted with an

oxide, sometimes bare, bright, and unmistakable. In modern times, whenever there is a rush into any gold

regionwhether California, or Australia, or South Africathe early yield is from the surface. The first

comers scratch the ground with a knife or with a pickaxe, and are rewarded by discovering "nuggets" of

greater or less dimensions; the next flight of goldfinders search the beds of the streams; and it is not until the

supply from these two sources begins to fail that mining, in the proper sense of the term, is attempted.

The earliest mining operations, whereof we have any record, are those conducted by the Egyptian kings of the

fourth, fifth and twelfth dynasties, in the Sinaitic region. At two places in the mountains between Suez and

Mount Sinai, now known as the Wady Magharah and SarabitelKhadim, copper was extracted from the

bosom of the earth by means of shafts laboriously excavated in the rocks, under the auspices of these early

Pharaohs.[2] Hence at the time of the Exodus the process of mining was familiar to the Hebrews, who could

thus fully appreciate the promise,[3] that they were about to be given "a good land""a land whose stones

were iron, and out of whose hills they might dig brass." The Phoenicians, probably, derived their first

knowledge of mining from their communications with the Egyptians, and no doubt first practised the art

within the limits of their own territoryin Lebanon, Casius, and Bargylus. The mineral stores of these

regions were, however, but scanty, and included none of the more important metals, excepting iron. The

Phoenicians were thus very early in their history driven afield for the supply of their needs, and among the

principal causes of their first voyages of discovery must be placed the desire of finding and occupying

regions which contained the metallic treasures wherein their own proper country was deficient.

It is probable that they first commenced mining operations on a large scale in Cyprus. Here, according to

Pliny,[4] copper was first discovered; and though this may be a fable, yet here certainly it was found in great

abundance at a very early time, and was worked to such an extent, that the Greeks knew copper, as distinct

from bronze, by no other name than that of {khalkos Kuprios}, whence the Roman �s Cyprium, and our own

name for the metal. The principal mines were in the southern mountain range, near Tamasus,[5] but there

were others also at Amathus, Soli, and Curium.[6] Some of the old workings have been noticed by modern

travellers, particularly near Soli and Tamasus,[7] but they have neither been described anciently nor

examined scientifically in modern times. The ore from which the metal was extracted is called chalcitis by

Pliny,[8] and may have been the "chalcocite" of our present metallurgical science, which is a sulphide

containing very nearly eighty per cent. of copper. The brief account which Strabo gives of the mines of

Tamasus shows that the ore was smelted in furnaces which were heated by wood fires. We gather also from

That the Phoenicians conducted mining operations in Thasos we know from Herodotus,[9] and from other

writers of repute[10] we learn that they extended these operations to the mainland opposite. Herodotus had

himself visited Thasos, and tells us that the mines were on the eastern coast of the island, between two places

which he calls respectively �nyra and Coenyra. The metal sought was gold, and in their quest of it the

Phoenicians had, he says, turned an entire mountain topsyturvy. Here again no modern researches seem to

have been made, and nothing more is known than that at present the natives obtain no gold from their soil, do

not seek for it, and are even ignorant that their island was ever a goldproducing region.[11] The case is

almost the same on the opposite coast, where in ancient times very rich mines both of gold and silver

abounded,[12] which the Phoenicians are said to have worked, but where at the present day mining enterprise

is almost at a standstill, and only a very small quantity of silver is produced.[13]

Sardinia can scarcely have been occupied by the Phoenicians for anything but its metals. The southern and

southwestern parts of the island, where they made their settlements, were rich in copper and lead; and the

position of the cities seems to indicate the intention to appropriate these metals. In the vicinity of the lead

mines are enormous heaps of scori�, mounting up apparently to a very remote era.[14] The scori� are not so

numerous in the vicinity of the copper mines, but "pigs" of copper have been found in the island, unlike any

of the Roman period, which are perhaps Phoenician, and furnish specimens of the castings into which the

metal was run, after it had been fused and to some extent refined. The weight of the pigs is from twentyeight

to thirtyseven kilogrammes.[15] Pigs of lead have also been found, but they are less frequent.

But all the other mining operations of the Phoenicians were insignificant compared with those of which the

theatre was Spain. Spain was the Peru of the ancient world, and surpassed its modern rival, in that it produced

not only gold and silver, but also copper, iron, tin, and lead. Of these metals gold was the least abundant. It

was found, however, as gold dust in the bed of the Tagus;[16] and there were mines of it in Gallicia,[17] in

the Asturias, and elsewhere. There was always some silver mixed with it, but in one of the Gallician mines

the proportion was less than three per cent. Elsewhere the proportion reached to ten or even twelve and a half

per cent.; and, as there was no known mode of clearing the gold from it, the produce of the Gallician mine

was in high esteem and greatly preferred to that of any other. Silver was yielded in very large quantities.

"Spain," says Diodorus Siculus,[18] "has the best and most plentiful silver from mines of all the world." "The

Spanish silver," says Pliny,[19] "is the best." When the Phoenicians first visited Spain, they found the metal

held in no esteem at all by the natives. It was the common material of the cheapest drinking vessels, and was

readily parted with for almost anything that the merchants chose to offer. Much of it was superficial, but the

veins were found to run to a great depth; and the discovery of one vein was a sure index of the near vicinity

of more.[20] The output of the Spanish silver mines during the Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman

periods was enormous, and cannot be calculated; nor has the supply even yet failed altogether. The iron and

copper of Spain are also said to have been exceedingly abundant in ancient times,[21] though, owing to the

inferior value of the metals, and to their wider distribution, but little is recorded with regard to them. Its tin

and lead, on the other hand, as being metals found in comparatively few localities, receive not infrequent

mention. The Spanish tin, according to Posidonius, did not crop out upon the surface,[22] but had to be

obtained by mining. It was produced in some considerable quantity in the country of the Artabri, to the north

of Lusitania,[23] as well as in Lusitania itself, and in Gallicia;[24] but was found chiefly in small particles

intermixed with a dark sandy earth. Lead was yielded in greater abundance; it was found in Cantabria, in

B�tica, and many other places.[25] Much of it was mixed with silver, and was obtained in the course of the

operations by means of which silver was smelted and refined.[26] The mixed metal was called galena.[27]

Lead, however, was also found, either absolutely pure,[28] or so nearly so that the alloy was inappreciable,

and was exported in large quantities, both by the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, and also by the Romans.

It was believed that the metal had a power of growth and reproduction, so that if a mine was deserted for a

while and then reopened, it was sure to be found more productive than it was previously.[29] The fact seems

to be simply that the supply is inexhaustible, since even now Spain furnishes more than half the lead that is

consumed by the rest of Europe. Besides the ordinary metals, Spain was capable of yielding an abundance of

quicksilver;[30] but this metal seems not to have attracted the attention of the Phoenicians, who had no use

The methods employed by the Phoenicians to obtain the metals which they coveted were not, on the whole,

unlike those which continue in use at the present day. Where surface gold was brought down by the streams,

the ground in their vicinity, and such portions of their beds as could be laid bare, were searched by the spade;

any earth or sand that was seen to be auriferous was carefully dug out and washed, till the earthy particles

were cleared away, and only the gold remained. Where the metal lay deeper, perpendicular shafts were sunk

into the ground to a greater or less depthsometimes, if we may believe Diodorus,[31] to the depth of half a

mile or more; from these shafts horizontal adits were carried out at various levels, and from the adits there

branched lateral galleries, sometimes at right angles, sometimes obliquely, which pursued either a straight or

a tortuous course.[32] The veins of metal were perseveringly followed up, and where faults occurred in them,

filled with trap,[33] or other hard rock, the obstacle was either tunnelled through or its flank turned, and the

vein still pursued on the other side. As the danger of a fall of material from the roofs of the adits and galleries

was well understood, it was customary to support them by means of wooden posts, or, where the material was

sufficiently firm, to arch them.[34] Still, from time to time, falls would occur, with great injury and loss of

life to the miners. Nor was there much less danger where a mountain was quarried for the sake of its metallic

treasures. Here, too, galleries were driven into the mountainside, and portions of it so loosened that after a

time they detached themselves and fell with a loud crash into a mass of d�bris.[35] It sometimes happened

that, as the workings proceeded, subterranean springs were tapped, which threatened to flood the mine, and

put an end to its further utilisation. In such cases, wherever it was possible, tunnels were constructed, and the

water drained off to a lower level.[36] In the deeper mines this, of course, could not be done, and such

workings had to be abandoned, until the invention of the Archimedes' screw (ab. B.C. 220190), when the

water was pumped up to the surface, and so got rid of.[37] But before this date Phoenicia had ceased to exist

as an independent country, and the mines that had once been hers were either no longer worked, or had

When the various ores were obtained, they were first of all crushed, then pounded to a paste; after which, by

frequent washings, the non metallic elements were to a large extent eliminated, and the metallic ones alone

left. These, being collected, were placed in crucibles of white clay,[38] which were then submitted to the

action of a furnace heated to the melting point. This point could only be reached by the use of the bellows.

When it was reached, the impurities which floated on the top of the molten metal were skimmed off, or the

metal itself allowed, by the turning of a cock, to flow from an upper crucible into a lower one. For greater

purity the melting and skimming process was sometimes repeated; and, in the case of gold, the skimmings

were themselves broken up, pounded, and again submitted to the melting pot.[39] The use of quicksilver,

however, being unknown, the gold was never wholly freed from the alloy of silver always found in it, nor

The Romans and Carthaginians worked their mines almost wholly by slave labour; and very painful pictures

are drawn of the sufferings undergone by the unhappy victims of a barbarous and wasteful system.[41] The

gangs of slaves, we are told, remained in the mines night and day, never seeing the sun, but living and dying

in the murky and foetid atmosphere of the deep excavations. It can scarcely be hoped that the Phoenicians

were wiser or more merciful. They had a large command of slave labour, and would naturally employ it

where the work to be done was exceptionally hard and disagreeable. Moreover, the Carthaginians, their

colonists, are likely to have kept up the system, whatever it was, which they found established on succeeding

to the inheritance of the Phoenician mines, and the fact that they worked them by means of slaves makes it

When the metals were regarded as sufficiently cleansed from impurities, they were run into moulds, which

took the form of bars, pigs, or ingots. Pigs of copper and lead have, as already observed, been found in

Sardinia which may well belong to Phoenician times. There is also in the museum of Truro a pig of tin,

which, as it differs from those made by the Romans, Normans, and later workers, has been supposed to be

Phoenician.[43] Ingots of gold and silver have not at present been found on Phoenician localities; but the

Persian practice, witnessed to by Herodotus,[44] was probably adopted from the subject nation, which

confessedly surpassed all the others in the useful arts, in commerce, and in practical sagacity.

Strength of the religious sentiment among the PhoeniciansProofs First stage of the religion,

monotheisticSecond stage, a polytheism within narrow limitsWorship of Baalof Ashtorethof El or

Oncaof Tanithof BeltisThird stage marked by introduction of foreign deitiesCharacter of the

Phoenician worshipAltars and sacrificeHymns of praise, temples, and votive offeringsWide

prevalence of human sacrifice and of licentious orgiesInstitution of the GalliExtreme corruption of the

later religionViews held on the subject of a future life Piety of the great mass of the people earnest,

There can be no doubt that the Phoenicians were a people in whose minds religion and religious ideas

occupied a very prominent place. Religiousness has been said to be one of the leading characteristics of the

Semitic race;[1] and it is certainly remarkable that with that race originated the three principal religions, two

of which are the only progressive religions, of the modern world. Judaism, Christianity, and

Mohammedanism all arose in Western Asia within a restricted area, and from nations whose Semitic origin is

unmistakable. The subject of ethnic affinities and differences, of the transmission of qualities and

characteristics, is exceedingly obscure; but, if the theory of heredity be allowed any weight at all, there

should be no difficulty in accepting the view that particular races of mankind have special leanings and

Still, the religiousness of the Phoenicians does not rest on any � priori arguments, or considerations of what is

likely to have been. Here was a nation among whom, in every city, the temple was the centre of attraction,

and where the piety of the citizens adorned every temple with abundant and costly offerings. The monarchs

who were at the head of the various states showed the greatest zeal in continually maintaining the honour of

the gods, repaired and beautified the sacred buildings, and occasionally added to their kingly dignity the

highly esteemed office of High Priest.[2] The coinage of the country bore religious emblems,[3] and

proclaimed the fact that the cities regarded themselves as under the protection of this or that deity. Both the

kings and their subjects bore commonly religious namesnames which designated them as the worshippers

or placed them under the tutelage of some god or goddess. Abdalonim, Abdastartus, Abdosiris, Abdemon

(which is properly AbdEsmun), Abdimilkut, were names of the former kind, Abibaal (= "Baal is my

father"), Ithobal (= "with him is Baal"), Baleazar or Baalazur (= "Baal protects"), names of the latter. The

Phoenician ships carried images of the gods[4] in the place of figureheads. Wherever the Phoenicians went,

they bore with them their religion and their worship; in each colony they planted a temple or temples, and

everywhere throughout their wide dominion the same gods were worshipped with the same rites and with the

In considering the nature of the Phoenician religion, we must distinguish between its different stages. There is

sufficient reason to believe that originally, either when they first occupied their settlements upon the

Mediterranean or before they moved from their primitive seats upon the shores of the Persian Gulf, the

Phoenicians were Monotheists. We must not look for information on this subject to the pretentious work

which Philo of Byblus, in the first or second century of our era, put forth with respect to the "Origines" of his

countrymen, and attributed to Sanchoniatho;[5] we must rather look to the evidence of language and fact,

records which may indeed be misread, but which cannot well be forged or falsified. These will show us that

in the earliest times the religious sentiment of the Phoenicians acknowledged only a single deitya single

mighty power, which was supreme over the whole universe. The names by which they designated him were

El, "great;" Ram or Rimmon, "high;" Baal, "Lord;" Melek or Molech, "King;" Eliun, "Supreme;" Adonai,

"My Lord;" Belsamin, "Lord of Heaven," and the like.[6] Distinct deities could no more be intended by

such names as these than by those under which God is spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures, several of them

identical with the Phoenician namesEl or Elohim, "great;" Jehovah, "existing;" Adonai, "my Lord;"

Shaddai, "strong;" El Eliun,[7] "the supreme Great One." How far the Phoenicians actually realised all that

their names properly imply, whether they went so far as to divest God wholly of a material nature, whether

they viewed Him as the Creator, as well as the Lord, of the world, are problems which it is impossible, with

the means at present at our disposal, to solve. But they certainly viewed Him as "the Lord of Heaven,"[8] and,

if so, no doubt also as the Lord of earth; they believed Him to be "supreme" or "the Most High;" and they

realised his personal relation to each one of his worshippers, who were privileged severally to address Him as

Adonai"my Lord." It may be presumed that at this early stage of the religion there was no idolatry; when

One God alone is acknowledged and recognised, the feeling is naturally that expressed in the Egyptian hymn

of praise "He is not graven in marble; He is not beheld; His abode is unknown; there is no building that

can contain Him; unknown is his name in heaven; He doth not manifest his forms; vain are all

But this happy state of things did notperhaps we may say, could not in the early condition of the human

intelligence, last long. Fallen man, left to himself, very soon corrupts his way upon the earth; his hands deal

with wickedness; and, in a little while, "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil

continually."[10] When he becomes conscious to himself of sin, he ceases to be able to endure the thought of

One Perfect Infinite Being, omnipotent, everpresent, who reads his heart, who is "about his path, and about

his bed, and spies out all his ways."[11] He instinctively catches at anything whereby he may be relieved

from the intolerable burden of such a thought; and here the imperfection of language comes to his aid. As he

has found it impossible to express in any one word all that is contained in his idea of the Divine Being, he has

been forced to give Him many names, each of them originally expressive of some one of that Being's

attributes. But in course of time these words have lost their forcetheir meaning has been forgottenand

they have come to be mere proper names, designative but not significative. Here is material for the perverted

imagination to work upon. A separate being is imagined answering to each of the names; and so the nomina

become numina.[12] Many gods are substituted for one; and the idea of God is instantly lowered. The gods

have different spheres. No god is infinite; none is omnipotent, none omnipresent; therefore none omniscient.

The aweful, terrible nature of God is got rid of, and a company of angelic beings takes its place, none of them

In its second stage the religion of Phoenicia was a polytheism, less multitudinous than most others, and one in

which the several divinities were not distinguished from one another by very marked or striking features. At

the head of the Pantheon stood a god and a goddessBaal and Ashtoreth. Baal, "the Lord," or

Baalsamin,[13] "the Lord of Heaven," was compared by the Greeks to their Zeus, and by the Romans to

their Jupiter. Mythologically, he was only one among many gods, but practically he stood alone; he was the

chief of the gods, the main object of worship, and the great ruler and protector of the Phoenician people.

Sometimes, but not always, he had a solar character, and was represented with his head encircled by rays.[14]

Baalbek, which was dedicated to him, was properly "the city of the Sun," and was called by the Greeks

Heliopolis. The solar character of Baal is, however, far from predominant, and as early as the time of Josiah

we find the Sun worshipped separately from him,[15] no doubt under a different name. Baal is, to a

considerable extent, a city god. Tyre especially was dedicated to him; and we hear of the "Baal of Tyre"[16]

and again of the "Baal of Tarsus."[17] Essentially, he was the embodiment of the generative principle in

nature"the god of the creative power, bringing all things to life everywhere."[18] Hence, "his statue rode

upon bulls, for the bull was the symbol of generative power; and he was also represented with bunches of

grapes and pomegranates in his hand,"[19] emblems of productivity. The sacred conical stones and pillars

dedicated in his temples[20] may have had their origin in a similar symbolism. As polytheistic systems had

always a tendency to enlarge themselves, Baal had no sooner become a separate god, distinct from El, and

Rimmon, and Molech, and Adonai, than he proceeded to multiply himself, and from Baal became

Baalim,[21] either because the local BaalsBaalTzur, BaalSidon, BaalTars, BaalLibnan,

BaalHermonwere conceived of as separate deities, or because the aspects of BaalBaal as SunGod,

Baal as Lord of Heaven, Baal as lord of flies,[22], so viewed, and grew to be distinct objects of worship. In

later times he was identified with the Egyptian Ammon, and worshipped as BaalHammon.

Baal is known to have had temples at Baalbek, at Tyre, at Tarsus, at Agadir[23] (Gades), in Sardinia,[24] at

Carthage, and at Ekron. Though not at first worshipped under a visible form, he came to have statues

dedicated to him,[25] which received the usual honours. Sometimes, as already observed, his head was

encircled with a representation of the solar rays; sometimes his form was assimilated to that under which the

Egyptians of later times worshipped their Ammon. Seated upon a throne and wrapped in a long robe, he

presented the appearance of a man in the flower of his age, bearded, and of solemn aspect, with the carved

horn of a ram on either side of his forehead. Figures of rams also supported the arms of his throne on either

The female deity whose place corresponded to that of Baal in the Phoenician Pantheon, and who was in a

certain sense his companion and counterpart, was Ashtoreth or Astarte. As Baal was the embodiment of the

generative principle in nature, so was Ashtoreth of the receptive and productive principle. She was the great

naturegoddess, the Magna Mater, regent of the stars, queen of heaven, giver of life, and source of woman's

fecundity.[27] Just as Baal had a solar, so she had a lunar aspect, being pictured with horns upon her head

representative of the lunar crescent.[28] Hence, as early as the time of Moses, there was a city on the eastern

side of Jordan, named after her, Ashtoreth Karnaim,[29] or "Astarte of the two horns." Her images are of

many forms. Most commonly she appears as a naked female, with long hair, sometimes gathered into tresses,

and with her two hands supporting her two breasts.[30] Occasionally she is a mother, seated in a comfortable

chair, and nursing her babe.[31] Now and then she is draped, and holds a dove to her breast, or else she takes

an attitude of command, with the right hand raised, as if to bespeak attention. Sometimes, on the contrary, her

figure has that modest and retiring attitude which has caused it to be described by a distinguished

arch�ologist[32] as "the Phoenician prototype of the Venus de Medici." The Greeks and Romans, who

identified Baal determinately with their Zeus or Jupiter, found it very much more difficult to fix on any single

goddess in their Pantheon as the correspondent of Astarte. Now they made her Hera or Juno, now Aphrodite

or Venus, now Athene, now Artemis, now Selene, now Rhea or Cybele. But her aphrodisiac character was

certainly the one in which she most frequently appeared. She was the goddess of the sexual passion, rarely,

however, represented with the chaste and modest attributes of the Grecian AphroditeUrania, far more

commonly with those coarser and more repulsive ones which characterise Aphrodite Pandemos.[33] Her

temples were numerous, though perhaps not quite so numerous as those of Baal. The most famous were those

at Sidon, Aphaca, AshtorethKarnaim, Paphos, Pessinus, and Carthage. At Sidon the kings were sometimes

her highpriests;[34] and her name is found as a frequent element in Phoenician personal names, royal and

other: e.g.Astartus, Abdastartus, Del�astartus, Amashtoreth, Bodoster, Bostor,

The other principal Phoenician deities were El, Melkarth, Dagon, Hadad, Adonis, Sydyk, Eshmun, the

Cabeiri, Onca, Tanith, Tanata, or Anaitis, and Baalith, Baaltis, or Beltis. El, or Il, originally a name of the

Supreme God, became in the later Phoenician mythology a separate and subordinate divinity, whom the

Greeks compared to their Kronos[35] and the Romans to their Saturn. El was the special god of Gebal or

Byblus,[36] and was worshipped also with peculiar rites at Carthage.[37] He was reckoned the son of Uranus

and the father of Beltis, to whom he delivered over as her especial charge the city of Byblus.[38] Numerous

tales were told of him. While reigning on earth as king of Byblus, or king of Phoenicia, he had fallen in love

with a nymph of the country, called Anobret, by whom he had a son named Ieoud. This son, much as he

loved him, when great dangers from war threatened the land, he first invested with the emblems of royalty,

and then sacrificed.[39] Uranus (Heaven) married his sister Ge (Earth), and Il or Kronos was the issue of this

marriage, as also were Dagon, B�tylus, and Atlas. Ge, being dissatisfied with the conduct of her husband,

induced her son Kronos to make war upon him, and Kronos, with the assistance of Hermes, overcame

Uranus, and having driven him from his kingdom succeeded to the imperial power. Besides sacrificing Ieoud,

Kronos murdered another of his sons called Sadid, and also a daughter whose name is not given. Among his

wives were Astarte, Rhea, Dion�, Eimarmen�, and Hora, of whom the first three were his sisters.[40] There is

no need to pursue this mythological tangle. If it meant anything to the initiated, the meaning is wholly lost;

and the stories, gravely as they are related by the ancient historian, to the modern, who has no key to them,

Originally, Melkarth would seem to have been a mere epithet, representing one aspect of Baal. The word is

formed from the two roots melek and kartha[41] (= Heb. kiriath, "city"), and means "King of the City," or

"City King," which Baal was considered to be. But the two names in course of time drifted apart, and

Melicertes, in Philo Byblius, has no connection at all with Baalsamin.[42] The Greeks, who identified Baal

with their Zeus, viewed Melkarth as corresponding to their Heracles, or Hercules; and the later Phoenicians,

catching at this identification, represented Melkarth under the form of a huge muscular man, with a lion's skin

and sometimes with a club.[43] Melkarth was especially worshipped at Tyre, of which city he was the

tutelary deity, at Thasos, and at Gades. Herodotus describes the temple of Hercules at Tyre, and attributes to

it an antiquity of 2,300 years before his own time.[44] He also visited a temple dedicated to the same god at

Thasos.[45] With Gades were connected the myths of Hercules' expedition to the west, of his erection of the

pillars, his defeat of Chrysaor of the golden sword, and his successful foray upon the flocks and herds of the

triple Geryon.[46] Whether these legends were Greek or Phoenician in origin is uncertain; but the

Phoenicians, at any rate, adopted them, and here have been lately found on Phoenician sites representations

both of Geryon himself,[47] and the carrying off by Hercules of his cattle.[48] The temple of Heracles at

Gades is mentioned by Strabo[49] and others. It was on the eastern side of the island, where the strait

between the island and the continent was narrowest. Founded about B.C. 1100, it continued to stand to the

time of Silius Italicus, and, according to the tradition, had never needed repair.[50] An unextinguished fire

had burnt upon its altar for thirteen hundred years; and the worship had remained unchangedno image

profaned the Holy of Holies, where the god dwelt, waited on by barefooted priests with heads shaved,

clothed in white linen robes, and vowed to celibacy.[51] The name of the god occurs as an element in a

certain small number of Phoenician names of mene.g. Bomilcar, Himilcar, AbdMelkarth, and the like.

Dagon appears in scripture only as a Philistine god,[52] which would not prove him to have been

acknowledged by the Phoenicians; but as Philo of Byblus admits him among the primary Phoenician deities,

making him a son of Uranus, and a brother of Il or Kronis,[53] it is perhaps right that he should be allowed a

place in the Phoenician list. According to Philo, he was the god of agriculture, the discoverer of wheat, and

the inventor of the plough.[54] Whether he was really represented, as is commonly supposed,[55] in the form

of a fish, or as half man and half fish, is extremely doubtful. In the Hebrew account of the fall of Dagon's

image before the Ark of the Covenant at Ashdod there is no mention made of any "fishy part;" nor is there

anything in the Assyrian remains to connect the name Dagon, which occurs in them, with the remarkable

figure of a fishgod so frequent in the bas reliefs. That figure would seem rather to represent, or symbolise,

either Hea or Nin. The notion of Dagon's fishy form seems to rest entirely on an etymological basison the

fact, i.e. that dag means "fish," in Hebrew. In Assyrian, however, kha is "fish," and not dag; while in Hebrew,

though dag is "fish," dagan is "corn." It may be noted also that the Phoenician remains contain no

representation of a fish deity. On the whole, it is perhaps best to be content with the account of Philo, and to

regard the Phoenician Dagon as a "Zeus Arotrios"a god presiding over agriculture and especially

worshipped by husbandmen. The name, however, does not occur in the Phoenician remains which have come

Hadad, like Dagon, obtains his right to be included in the list of Phoenician deities solely from the place

assigned to him by Philo. Otherwise he would naturally be viewed as an Aramean god, worshipped especially

in AramZobah, and in Syria of Damascus.[56] In Syria, he was identified with the sun;[57] and it is possible

that in the Phoenician religion he was the SunGod, worshipped (as we have seen) sometimes independently

of Baal. His image was represented with the solar rays streaming down from it towards the earth, so as to

indicate that the earth received from him all that made it fruitful and abundant.[58] Macrobius connects his

name with the Hebrew chad, "one;" but this derivation is improbable.[59] Philo gives him the title of "King

of Gods," and says that he reigned conjointly with Astarte and Demaro�s,[60] but this does not throw much

light on the real Phoenician conception of him. The local name, Hadadrimmon,[61] may seem to connect

him with the god Rimmon, likewise a Syrian deity,[62] and it is quite conceivable that the two words may

have been alternative names of the same god, just as Phoebus and Apollo were with the Greeks. We may

conjecture that the Sun was worshipped under both names in Syria, while in Phoenicia Hadad was alone

made use of. The worship of Baal as the Sun, which tended to prevail ever more and more, ousted Hadad

Adonis was probably, like Hadad, originally a sungod; but the myths connected with him gave him, at any

rate in the late Phoenician times, a very distinct and definite personality. He was made the son of Cinryas, a

mythic king of Byblus,[63] and the husband of Astarte or Ashtoreth. One day, as he chased the wild boar in

Lebanon, near the sources of the river of Byblus, the animal which he was hunting turned upon him, and so

gored his thigh that he died of the wound. Henceforth he was mourned annually. At the turn of the summer

solstice, the anniversary of his death, all the women of Byblus went in a wild procession to Aphaca, in the

Lebanon, where his temple stood, and wept and wailed on account of his death. The river, which his blood

had once actually stained, turned red to show its sympathy with the mourners, and was thought to flow with

his blood afresh. After the "weeping for Tammuz"[64] had continued for a definite time, the mourning

terminated with the burial of an image of the god in the sacred precinct. Next day Adonis was supposed to

return to life; his image was disinterred and carried back to the temple with music and dances, and every

circumstance of rejoicing.[65] Wild orgies followed, and Aphaca became notorious for scenes to which it will

be necessary to recur hereafter. The Adonis myth is generally explained as representing either the perpetually

recurrent decay and recovery of nature, or the declension of the Sun as he moves from the summer to the

winter constellations, and his subsequent return and reappearance in all his strength. But myths obtained a

powerful hold on ancient imaginations, and the worshippers of Adonis probably in most cases forgot the

symbolical character of his cult, and looked on him as a divine or heroic personage, who had actually gone

through all the adventures ascribed to him in the legend. Hence the peculiarly local character of his worship,

Sydyk, "Justice," or, the "Just One,"[66] whose name corresponds to the Hebrew Zadok or Zedek, appears in

the Phoenician mythology especially as the father of Esmun and the Cabeiri. Otherwise he is only known as

the son of Magus (!) and the discoverer of salt.[67] It is perhaps his name which forms the final element in

Melchizedek, Adonizedek,[68] and the like. We have no evidence that he was really worshipped by the

Esmun, on the other hand, the son of Sydyk, would seem to have been an object of worship almost as much

as any other deity. He was the special god of Berytus,[69] but was honoured also in Cyprus, at Sidon, at

Carthage, in Sardinia, and elsewhere.[70] His name forms a frequent element in Phoenician names, royal and

other:e.g. Esmunazar, Esmun nathan, HanEsmun, NetsibEsmun, AbdEsmun, According to

Damascius,[71] he was the eighth son of Sydyk, whence his name, and the chief of the Cabeiri. Whereas they

were dwarfish and misshapen, he was a youth of most beautiful appearance, truly worthy of admiration. Like

Adonis, he was fond of hunting in the woods that clothe the flanks of Lebanon, and there he was seen by

Astrono�, the Phoenician goddess, the mother of the gods (in whom we cannot fail to recognise Astarte), who

persecuted him with her attentions to such an extent that to escape her he was driven to the desperate resource

of self emasculation. Upon this the goddess, greatly grieved, called him P�an, and by means of quickening

warmth brought him back to life, and changed him from a man into a god, which he thenceforth remained.

The Phoenicians called him Esmun, "the eighth," but the Greeks worshipped him as Asclepius, the god of

healing, who gave life and health to mankind. Some of the later Phoenicians regarded him as identical with

the atmosphere, which, they said, was the chief source of health to man.[72] But it is not altogether clear that

The seven other Cabeiri, or "Great Ones," equally with Esmun the sons of Sydyk, were dwarfish gods who

presided over navigation,[74] and were the patrons of sailors and ships. The special seat of their worship in

Phoenicia Proper was Berytus, but they were recognised also in several of the Phoenician settlements, as

especially in Lemnos, Imbrus, and Samothrace.[75] Ships were regarded as their invention,[76] and a

sculptured image of some one or other of them was always placed on every Phoenician wargalley, either at

the stern or stem of the vessel.[77] They were also viewed as presiding over metals and metallurgy,[78]

having thus some points of resemblance to the Greek Heph�stus and the Latin Vulcan. Pigmy and misshapen

gods belong to that fetishism which has always had charms for the Hamitic nations; and it may be suspected

that the Phoenicians adopted the Cabeiri from their Canaanite predecessors, who were of the race of

Ham.[79] The connection between these pigmy deities and the Egyptian Phthah, or rather PhthahSokari, is

unmistakable, and was perceived by Herodotus.[80] Clay pigmy figurines found on Phoenician sites[81] very

closely resemble the Egyptian images of that god; and the coins attributed to Cossura exhibit a similar

dwarfish form, generally carrying a hammer in the right hand.[82] An astral character has been attached by

some writers to the Cabeiri,[83] but chiefly on account of their number, which is scarcely a sufficient proof.

Several Greek writers speak of a Phoenician goddess corresponding to the Grecian Athene,[84] and some of

them say that she was named Onga or Onca.[85] The Phoenician remains give us no such name; but as Philo

Byblius has an "Athene" among his Phoenician deities, whom he makes the daughter of Il, or Kronos, and the

queen of Attica,[86] it is perhaps best to allow Onca to retain her place in the Phoenician Pantheon. Philo

says that Kronos by her advice shaped for himself out of iron a sword and a spear; we may therefore presume

that she was a war goddess (as was PallasAthene among the Greeks), whence she naturally presided over

The worship of a goddess, called Tanath or Tanith, by the later Phoenicians, is certain, since, besides the

evidence furnished by the name AbdTanith, i.e. "Servant of Tanith,"[88] the name Tanith itself is distinctly

read on a number of votive tablets brought from Carthage, in a connection which clearly implies her

recognition, not only as a goddess, but as a great goddess, the principal object of Carthaginian worship. The

"To the great [goddess], Tanith, and To our lord and master BaalHammon. The offerer is * * * * *, Son of *

Tanith is invariable placed before Baal, as though superior to him, and can be no other than the celestial

goddess (Dea coelestis), whose temple in the Roman Carthage was so celebrated.[90] The Greeks regarded

her as equivalent to their Artemis;[91] the Romans made her Diana, or Juno, or Venus.[92] Practically she

must at Carthage have taken the place of Ashtoreth. Apuleius describes her as having a lunar character, like

Ashtoreth, and calls her "the parent of all things, the mistress of the elements, the initial offspring of the ages,

the highest of the deities, the queen of the Manes, the first of the celestials, the single representative of all the

gods and goddesses, the one divinity whom all the world worships in many shapes, with varied rites, and

under a multitude of names."[93] He says that she was represented as riding upon a lion, and it is probably

her form which appears upon some of the later coins of Carthage, as well as upon a certain number of

gems.[94] The origin of the name is uncertain. Gesenius would connect it at once with the Egyptian Neith

(Nit), and with the Syrian Ana�tis or Tana�tis;[95] but the double identification is scarcely tenable, since

Ana�tis was, in Egypt, not Neith, but Anta.[96] The subject is very obscure, and requires further investigation.

Baaltis, or Beltis, was, according to Philo Byblius, the daughter of Uranus and the sister of Asthoreth or

Astarte.[97] Il made her one of his many wives, and put the city of Byblus, which he had founded, under her

special protection.[98] It is doubtful, however, whether she was really viewed by the Phoenicians as a

separate goddess, and not rather as Ashtoreth under another name. The word is the equivalent of {...}, "my

lady," a very suitable title for the supreme goddess. Beltis, indeed, in Babylonia, was distinct from Ishtar;[99]

but this fact must not be regarded as any sufficient proof that the case was the same in Phoenicia. The

Phoenician polytheism was decidedly more restricted than the Babylonian, and did not greatly affect the

needless multiplication of divinities. Baaltis in Phoenicia may be the Beltis of Babylon imported at a

comparatively late date into the country, but is more probably an alternative name, or rather, perhaps, a mere

The chief characteristic of the third period of the Phoenician religion was the syncretistic tendency,[101]

whereby foreign gods were called in, and either identified with the old national divinities, or joined with

them, and set by their side. Ammon, Osiris, Phthah, Pasht, and Athor, were introduced from Egypt, Tanith

from either Egypt or Syria, Nergal from Assyria, Beltis (Baaltis) perhaps from Babylon. The worship of

Osiris in the later times appears from such names as Abd Osir, Osirshamar, MelekOsir, and the like,[102]

and is represented on coins with Phoenician legends, which are attributed either to Malta or Gaulos.[103]

Osiris was, it would seem, identified with Adonis,[104] and was said to have been buried at Byblus;[105]

which was near the mouth of the Adonis river. His worship was not perhaps very widely spread; but there are

traces of it at Byblus, in Cyprus, and in Malta.[106] Ammon was identified with Baal in his solar

character,[107] and was generally worshipped in conjunction with Tanith, more especially at Carthage.[108]

He was represented with his head encircled by rays, and with a perfectly round face.[109] His common title

was "Lord" {...}, but in Numidia he was worshipped as "the Eternal King" {...}.[110] As the giver of all good

The Phoenicians worshipped their gods, like most other ancient nations, with prayer, with hymns of praise,

with sacrifices, with processions, and with votive offerings. We do not know whether they had any regularly

recurrent day, like the Jewish Sabbath, or Christian Sunday, on which worship took place in the temples

generally; but at any rate each temple had its festival times, when multitudes flocked to it, and its gods were

honoured with prolonged services and sacrifices on a larger scale than ordinary. Most festivals were annual,

but some recurred at shorter intervals; and, besides the festivals, there was an every day cult, which was a

duty incumbent upon the priests, but at which the private worshipper also might assist to offer prayer or

sacrifice. The ordinary sacrificial animals were oxen, cows, goats, sheep, and lambs; swine were not offered,

being regarded as unclean;[112] but the stag was an acceptable victim, at any rate on certain occasions.[113]

At all functions the priests attended in large numbers, habited in white garments of linen or cotton, and

wearing a stiff cap or mitre upon their heads:[114] on one occasion of a sacrifice Lucian counted above three

hundred engaged in the ceremony.[115] It was the duty of some to slay the victims; of others to pour

libations; of a third class to bear about pans of coal on which incense could be offered; of a fourth to attend

upon the altars.[116] The priests of each temple had at their head a Chief or High Priest, who was robed in

purple and wore a golden tiara. His office, however, continued only for a year, when another was chosen to

Ordinarily, sacrifices were offered, in Phoenicia as elsewhere, singly, and upon altars; but sometimes it was

customary to have a great holocaust. Large trees were dug up by the roots, and planted in the court of the

temple; the victims, whether goats, or sheep, or cattle of any other kind, were suspended by ropes from the

branches; birds were similarly attached, and garments, and vessels in gold and silver. Then the images of the

gods belonging to the temple were brought out, and carried in a solemn procession round the trees; after

which the trees were set on fire, and the whole was consumed in a mighty conflagration.[118] The season for

this great holocaust was the commencement of the springtime, when the goodness of Heaven in once more

causing life to spring up on every side seemed to require man's special acknowledgment.

Hymns of praise are spoken of especially in connection with this same SpringFestival.[119] Votive

offerings were continually being offered in every temple by such as believed that they had received any

benefit from any god, either in consequence of their vows, or prayers, or even by the god's spontaneous

action. The sites of temples yield numerous traces of such offerings. Sometimes they are in the shape of stone

stel� or pillars, inscribed and more or less ornamented,[120] sometimes of tablets placed within an

ornamental border, and generally accompanied by some rude sculptures;[121] more often of figures, either in

bronze or clay, which are mostly of a somewhat rude character. M. Renan observes with respect to these

figures, which are extremely numerous:"Ought we to see in these images, as has been supposed, long

series of portraits of priests and priestesses continued through several centuries? We do not think so. The

person represented in these statues appears to us to be the author of a vow or of a sacrifice made to the

divinity of the temple . . . Vows and sacrifices were very fleeting things; it might be feared that the divinity

would soon forget them. An inscription was already recognised as a means of rendering the memory of a vow

more lasting; but a statue was a momento still morenay, much more efficacious. By having himself

represented under the eyes of the divinity in the very act of accomplishing his vow, a man called to mind, as

one may say, incessantly the offering which he had made to the god, and the homage which he had rendered

him. An idea of this sort is altogether in conformity with the materialistic and selfinterested character of the

Phoenician worship, where the vow is a kind of business affair, a matter of debtor and creditor account, in

which a man stipulates very clearly what he is to give, and holds firmly that he is to be paid in return . . . We

have then, in these statues, representations of pious men, who came one after another to acquit themselves of

their debt in the presence of the divinity; in order that the latter should not forget that the debt was

discharged, they set up their images in front of the god. The image was larger or smaller, more or less

carefully elaborated, in a more or less valuable material, according to the means of the individual who

Thus far there was no very remarkable difference between the Phoenician religious system and other ancient

Oriental worships, which have a general family likeness, and differ chiefly in the names and number of the

deities, the simplicity or complication of the rites, and the greater or less power and dignity attached to the

priestly office. In these several respects the Phoenician religion seems to have leant towards the side of

simplicity, the divinities recognised being, comparatively speaking, few, priestly influence not great, and the

ceremonial not very elaborate. But there were two respects in which the religion was, if not singular, at any

rate markedly different from ordinary polytheisms, though less in the principles involved than in the extent to

which they were carried out in practice. These were the prevalence of licentious orgies and of human

sacrifice. The worship of Astarte was characterised by the one, the worship of Baal by the other. Phoenician

mythology taught that the great god, Il or El, when reigning upon earth as king of Byblus, had, under

circumstances of extreme danger to his native land, sacrificed his dearly loved son, Ieoud, as an expiatory

offering. Divine sanction had thus been given to the horrid rite; and thenceforth, whenever in Phoenicia either

public or private calamity threatened, it became customary that human victims should be selected, the nobler

and more honourable the better, and that the wrath of the gods should be appeased by taking their lives. The

mode of death was horrible. The sacrifices were to be consumed by fire; the life given by the Fire God he

should also take back again by the flames which destroy being. The rabbis describe the image of Moloch as a

human figure with a bull's head and outstretched arms;[123] and the account which they give is confirmed by

what Diodorus relates of the Carthaginian Kronos. His image, Diodorus says,[124] was of metal, and was

made hot by a fire kindled within it; the victims were placed in its arms and thence rolled into the fiery lap

below. The most usual form of the rite was the sacrifice of their childrenespecially of their eldest

sons[125]by parents. "This custom was grounded in part on the notion that children were the dearest

possession of their parents, and, in part, that as pure and innocent beings they were the offerings of atonement

most certain to pacify the anger of the deity; and further, that the god of whose essence the generative power

of nature was had a just title of that which was begotten of man, and to the surrender of their children's lives .

. . Voluntary offering on the part of the parents was essential to the success of the sacrifice; even the

firstborn, nay, the only child of the family, was given up. The parents stopped the cries of their children by

fondling and kissing them, for the victim ought not to weep; and the sound of complaint was drowned in the

din of flutes and kettledrums. Mothers, according to Plutarch,[126] stood by without tears or sobs; if they

wept or sobbed they lost the honour of the act, and their children were sacrificed notwithstanding. Such

sacrifices took place either annually or on an appointed day, or before great enterprises, or on the occasion of

In the worship of Astarte the prostitution of women, and of effeminate men, played the same part that child

murder did in the worship of Baal. "This practice," says Dr. D�llinger,[128] "so widely spread in the world of

old, the delusion that no service more acceptable could be rendered a deity than that of unchastity, was deeply

rooted in the Asiatic mind. Where the deity was in idea sexual, or where two deities in chief, one a male and

the other a female, stood in juxtaposition, there the sexual relation appeared as founded upon the essence of

the deity itself, and the instinct and its satisfaction as that in men which most corresponded with the deity.

Thus lust itself became a service of the gods; and, as the fundamental idea of sacrifice is that of the

immediate or substitutive surrender of a man's self to the deity, so the woman could do the goddess no better

service than by prostitution. Hence it was the custom [in some places] that a maiden before her marriage

should prostitute herself once in the temple of the goddess;[129] and this was regarded as the same in kind

with the offering of the firstfruits of the field." Lucian, a heathen and an eyewitness, tells us[130]"I saw

at Byblus the grand temple of the Byblian Venus, in which are accomplished the orgies relating to Adonis;

and I learnt the nature of the orgies. For the Byblians say that the wounding of Adonis by the boar took place

in their country; and, in memory of the accident, they year by year beat their breasts, and utter lamentations,

and go through the orgies, and hold a great mourning throughout the land. When the weeping is ended, first

of all, they make to Adonis the offerings usually made to a corpse; after which, on the next day, they feign

that he has come to life again, and hold a procession [of his image] in the open air. But previously they shave

their heads, like the Egyptians when an Apis dies; and if any woman refuse to do so, she must sell her beauty

during one day to all who like. Only strangers, however, are permitted to make the purchase, and the money

paid is expended on a sacrifice which is offered to the goddess." "In this way," as Dr. D�llinger goes on to

say, "they went so far at last as to contemplate the abominations of unnatural lust as a homage rendered to the

deity, and to exalt it into a regular cultus. The worship of the goddess [Ashtoreth] at Aphaca in the Lebanon

was specially notorious in this respect."[131] Here, according to Eusebius, was, so late as the time of

Constantine the Great, a temple in which the old Phoenician rites were still retained. "This," he says, "was a

grove and a sacred enclosure, not situated, as most temples are, in the midst of a city, and of marketplaces,

and of broad streets, but far away from either road or path, on the rocky slopes of Libanus. It was dedicated to

a shameful goddess, the goddess Aphrodite. A school of wickedness was this place for all such profligate

persons as had ruined their bodies by excessive luxury. The men there were soft and womanishmen no

longer; the dignity of their sex they rejected; with impure lust they thought to honour the deity. Criminal

intercourse with women, secret pollutions, disgraceful and nameless deeds, were practised in the temple,

One fruit of this system was the extraordinary institution of the Galli. The Galli were men, who made

themselves as much like women as they could, and offered themselves for purposes of unnatural lust to either

sex. Their existence may be traced in Israel and Judah,[133] as well as in Syria and Phoenicia.[134] At great

festivals, under the influence of a strong excitement, amid the din of flutes and drums and wild songs, a

number of the male devotees would snatch up swords or knives, which lay ready for the purpose, throw off

their garments, and coming forward with a loud shout, proceed to castrate themselves openly. They would

then run through the streets of the city, with the mutilated parts in their hands, and throw them into the houses

of the inhabitants, who were bound in such case to provide the thrower with all the apparel and other gear

needful for a woman.[135] This apparel they thenceforth wore, and were recognised as attached to the

worship of Astarte, entitled to reside in her temples, and authorised to take part in her ceremonies. They

joined with the priests and the sacred women at festival times in frenzied dances and other wild orgies,

shouting, and cutting themselves on the arms, and submitting to be flogged one by another.[136] At other

seasons they "wandered from place to place, taking with them a veiled image or symbol of their goddess, and

clad in women's apparel of many colours, and with their faces and eyes painted in female fashion, armed with

swords and scourges, they threw themselves by a wild dance into bacchanalian ecstasy, in which their long

hair was draggled through the mud. They bit their own arms, and then hacked themselves with their swords,

or scourged themselves in penance for a sin supposed to have been committed against the goddess. In these

scenes, got up to aid the collection of money, by long practice they contrived to cut themselves so adroitly as

It is difficult to estimate the corrupting effect upon practice and morals of a religious system which embraced

within it so many sensual and degrading elements. Where impurity is made an essential part of religion, there

the very fountain of life is poisoned, and that which should have been "a savour of life unto life"a

cleansing and regenerating influencebecomes "a savour of death unto death"an influence leading on to

the worst forms of moral degradation. Phoenician religion worked itself out, and showed its true character, in

the first three centuries after our era, at Aphaca, at Hierapolis, and at Antioch, where, in the time of Julian,

even a Libanius confessed that the great festival of the year consisted only in the perpetration of all that was

impure and shameless, and the renunciation of every lingering spark of decency.[138]

A vivid conception of another world, and of the reality of a life after death, especially if connected with a

belief in future rewards and punishments, might have done much, or at any rate something, to counteract the

effect upon morals and conduct of the degrading tenets and practices connected with the Astarte worship; but,

so far as appears, the Phoenicians had a very faint and dim conception of the life to come, and neither hoped

for happiness, nor feared misery in it. Their care for the preservation of their bodies after death, and the

provision which in some cases they are seen to have made for them,[139] imply a belief that death was not

the end of everything, and a few vague expressions in inscriptions upon tombs point to a similar

conviction;[140] but the life of the other world seems to have been regarded as something imperfect and

precarious[141]a sort of shadowy existence in a gloomy She�l, where was neither pleasure nor pain,

neither suffering nor enjoyment, but only quietness and rest. The thought of it did not occupy men's minds, or

exercise any perceptible influence over their conduct. It was a last home, whereto all must go, acquiesced in,

but neither hoped for nor dreaded. A Phoenician's feelings on the subject were probably very much those

Still their religion, such as it was, had a great hold upon the Phoenicians. Parents gave to their children,

almost always, religious names, recognising each son and daughter as a gift from heaven, or placing them

under the special protection of the gods generally, or of some single divinity. It was piety, an earnest but

mistaken piety, which so often caused the parent to sacrifice his childthe very apple of his eye and delight

of his heartthat so he might make satisfaction for the sins which he felt in his inmost soul that he had

committed. It was piety that filled the temples with such throngs, that brought for sacrifice so many victims,

that made the worshipper in every difficulty put up a vow to heaven, and caused the payment of the vows in

such extraordinary profusion. At Carthage alone there have been found many hundreds of stones, each one of

which records the payment of a vow;[143] while other sites have furnished hundreds or even thousands of ex

votosstatues, busts, statuettes, figures of animals, cylinders, seals, rings, bracelets, anklets, earrings,

necklaces, ornaments for the hair, vases, amphor�, oenocho�, pater�, jugs, cups, goblets, bowls, dishes,

models of boats and chariots indicative of an almost unexampled devotion. A single chamber in the

treasury of Curium produced more than three hundred articles in silver and silvergilt;[144] the temple of

Golgi yielded 228 votive statues;[145] sites in Sardinia scarcely mentioned in antiquity have sufficed to fill

whole museums with statuettes, rings, and scarabs. If the Phoenicians did not give evidence of the depth of

their religious feeling by erecting, like most nations, temples of vast size and magnificence, still they left in

numerous places unmistakable proof of the reality of their devotion to the unseen powers by the multiplicity,

Dress of common menDress of men of the upper classesTreatment of the hair and beardMale

ornamentsSupposed priestly costume Ordinary dress of womenArrangement of their hairFemale

Phoenician lady's toilet tableFreedom enjoyed by Phoenician womenActive habits of the menCurious

The dress of the Phoenician men, especially of those belonging to the lower orders, consisted, for the most

part, of a single closefitting tunic, which reached from the waist to a little above the knee.[1] The material

was probably either linen or cotton, and the simple garment was perfectly plain and unornamented, like the

common shenti of the Egyptians. On the head was generally worn a cap of one kind or another, sometimes

round, more often conical, occasionally shaped like a helmet. The conical headdresses seem to have often

ended in a sort of topknot or button, which recalls the headdress of a Chinese Mandarin.

Where the men were of higher rank, the shenti was ornamented. It was patterned, and parted towards the two

sides, while a richly adorned lappet, terminating in ur�i, fell down in front.[2] The girdle, from which it

depended, was also patterned, and the shenti thus arranged was sometimes a not inelegant garment. In

addition to the shenti, it was common among the upper classes to wear over the bust and shoulders a

closefitting tunic with short sleeves,[3] like a modern "jersey;" and sometimes two garments were worn, an

inner robe descending to the feet, and an outer blouse or shirt, with sleeves reaching to the elbow.[4]

Occasionally, instead of this outer blouse, the man of rank has a mantle thrown over the left shoulder, which

falls about him in folds that are sufficiently graceful.[5] The conical cap with a top knot is, with persons of

Great attention seems to have been paid to the hair and beard. Where no cap is worn, the hair clings closely to

the head in a wavy compact mass, escaping however from below the wreath or diadem, which supplies the

place of a cap, in one or two rows of crisp, rounded curls.[6] The beard has mostly a strong resemblance to

that affected by the Assyrians, and familiar to us from their sculptures. It is arranged in three, four, or five

rows of small tight curls,[7] and extends from ear to ear around the cheeks and chin. Sometimes, however, in

lieu of the many rows, we find one row only, the beard falling in tresses, which are curled at the extremity.[8]

For ornaments the male Phoenicians wore collars, which were sometimes very elaborate, armlets, bracelets,

and probably fingerrings. The collars resembled those of the Egyptians, being arranged in three rows, and

falling far over the breast.[9] The armlets seem to have been plain, consisting of a mere twist of metal, once,

twice, or thrice around the limb.[10] The royal armlets of Etyander, king of Paphos, are single twists of gold,

the ends of which only just overlap: they are plain, except for the inscription, which reads Eteadoro to Papo

basileos, or "The property of Etyander, king of Paphos."[11] Men's bracelets were similar in character. The

finger rings were either of gold or silver, and generally set with a stone, which bore a device, and which the

The most elaborate male costume which has come down to us is that of a figure found at Golgi, and believed

to represent a high priest of Ashtoreth. The conical headdress is divided into partitions by narrow stripes,

which, beginning at its lower edge, converge to a point at top. This point is crowned by the representation of

a calf's or bull's head. The main garment is a long robe reaching from the neck to the feet, "worn in much the

same manner as the peplos on early Greek female figures." Round the neck of the robe are two rows of stars

painted in red, probably meant to represent embroidery. A little below the knee is another band of

embroidery, from which the robe falls in folds or pleats, which gather closely around the legs. Above the long

robe is worn a mantle, which covers the right arm and shoulder, and thence hangs down below the right knee,

passing also in many folds from the shoulder across the breast, and thence, after a twist around the left arm,

falling down below the left knee. The treatment of the hair is remarkable. Below the rim of the cap is the

usual row of crisp curls; but besides these, there depend from behind the ears on either side of the neck three

long tresses. The feet of the figure are naked. The right hand holds a cup by its foot between the middle and

Women were, for the most part, draped very carefully from head to foot. The nude figures which are found

abundantly in the Phoenician remains[14] are figures of goddesses, especially of Astarte, who were

considered not to need the ornament, or the concealment of dress. Human female figures are in almost every

case covered from the neck to the feet, generally in garments with many folds, which, however, are arranged

very variously. Sometimes a single robe of the amplest dimensions seems to envelop the whole form, which

it completely conceals with heavy folds of drapery.[15] The long petticoat is sleeved, and gathered into a

sinus below the breasts, about which it hangs loosely. Sometimes, on the contrary, the petticoat is perfectly

plain, and has no folds.[16] Occasionally a second garment is worn over the gown or robe, which covers the

left shoulder and the lap, descending to the knees, or somewhat lower.[17] The waist is generally confined by

a girdle, which is knotted in front.[18] There are a few instances in which the feet are enclosed in sandals.[19]

The hair of women is sometimes concealed under a cap, but generally it escapes from such confinement, and

shows itself below the cap in great rolls, or in wavy masses, which flow off right and left from a parting over

the middle of the forehead.[20] Tresses are worn occasionally: these depend behind either ear in long loose

curls, which fall upon the shoulders.[21] Female heads are mostly covered with a loose hood, or cap; but

sometimes the hair is merely encircled by a band or bands, above and below which it ripples freely.[22]

Phoenician women were greatly devoted to the use of personal ornaments. It was probably from them that the

Hebrew women of Isaiah's time derived the "tinkling ornaments of the feet, the cauls, the round tires like the

moon, the chains, the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets and the ornaments of the legs, and the

headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings and nosejewels, the changeable suits of apparel,

and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the

vails,"[23] which the prophet denounces so fiercely. The excavations made on Phoenician sites have yielded

in abundance necklaces, armlets, bracelets, pendants to be worn as lockets, earrings, fingerrings,

ornaments for the hair, buckles or brooches, seals, buttons, and various articles of the toilet such as women

Women wore, it appears, three or four necklaces at the same time, one above the other.[24] A string of small

beads or pearls would closely encircle the neck just under the chin. Below, where the chest begins, would lie

a second string of larger beads, perhaps of gold, perhaps only of glass, while further down, as the chest

expands, would be rows of still larger ornaments, pendants in glass, or crystal, or gold, or agate modelled into

the shape of acorns, or pomegranates, or lotus flowers, or cones, or vases, and lying side by side to the

number of fifty or sixty. Several of the necklaces worn by the Cypriote ladies have come down to us. One is

composed of a row of one hundred and three gold beads, alternately round and oval, to the oval ones of which

are attached pendants, also in gold, representing alternately the blossom and bud of the lotus plant, except in

one instance. The central bead of all has as its pendant a human head and bust, modelled in the Egyptian

style, with the hair falling in lappets on either side of the face, and with a broad collar upon the shoulders and

the breast.[25] Another consists of sixtyfour gold beads, twentytwo of which are of superior size to the

rest, and of eighteen pendants, shaped like the bud of a flower, and delicately chased.[26] There are others

where gold beads are intermixed with small carnelian and onyx bugles, while the pendants are of gold, like

the beads; or where gold and rockcrystal beads alternate, and a single crystal vase hangs as pendant in the

middle; or where alternate carnelian and gold beads have as pendant a carnelian cone, a symbol of

Astarte.[27] Occasionally the sole material used is glass. Necklaces have been found composed entirely of

long oval beads of blue or greenishblue glass; others where the colour of the beads is a dark olive;[28]

others again, where all the component parts are of glass, but the colours and forms are greatly varied. In a

glass necklace found at Tharros in Sardinia, besides beads of various sizes and hues, there are two long rough

cylinders, four heads of animals, and a human head as central ornament. "Taken separately, the various

elements of which this necklace is composed have little value; neither the heads of the animals, nor the

bearded human face, perhaps representing Bacchus, are in good style; the cylinders and rounded beads which

fill up the intermediate spaces between the principal objects are of very poor execution; but the mixture of

whites, and greys, and yellows, and greens, and blues produces a whole which is harmonious and gay."[29]

Perhaps the most elegant and tasteful necklace of all that have been discovered is the one made of a thick

solid gold cord, very soft and elastic, which is figured on the page opposite.[30] At either extremity is a

cylinder of very fine granulated work, terminating in one case in a lion's head of good execution, in the other

surmounted by a simple cap. The lion's mouth holds a ring, while the cap supports a long hook, which seems

to issue from a somewhat complicated knot, entangled wherein is a single light rosette. "In this arrangement,

in the curves of the thin wire, which folds back upon itself again and again, there is an air of ease, an apparent

The bracelets worn by the Phoenician ladies were of many kinds, and frequently of great beauty. Some were

bands of plain solid gold, without ornament of any kind, very heavy, weighing from 200 to 300 grammes

each.[32] Others were open, and terminated at either extremity in the head of an animal. One, found by

General Di Cesnola at Curium in Cyprus,[33] exhibited at the two ends heads of lions, which seemed to

threaten each other. The execution of the heads left nothing to be desired. Some others, found in Phoenicia

Proper, in a state of extraordinary preservation, were of similar design, but, in the place of lions' heads,

exhibited the heads of bull, with very short horns.[34] A third type aimed at greater variety, and showed the

head of a wild goat at one end, and that of a ram at the other.[35] In a few instances, the animal representation

appears at one extremity of the bracelet only, as in a specimen from Camirus, whereof the workmanship is

unmistakably Phoenician, which has a lion's head at one end, and at the other tapers off, like the tail of a

A pair of bracelets in the British Museum, said to have come from Tharros, consist of plain thin circlets of

gold, with a ball of gold in the middle. The ball is ornamented with spirals and projecting knobs, which must

have been uncomfortable to the wearer, but are said not to be wanting in elegance.[37]

There are other Phoenician bracelets of an entirely different character. These consist of broad flat bands,

which fitted closely to the wrist, and were fastened round it by means of a clasp. Two, now in the Museum of

New York, are bands of gold about an inch in width, ornamented externally with rosettes, flowers, and other

designs in high relief, on which are visible in places the remains of a blue enamel.[38] Another is composed

of fiftyfour largeribbed gold beads, soldered together by threes, and having for centre a gold medallion,

with a large onyx set in it, and with four gold pendants.[39] A third bracelet of the kind, said to have been

found at Tharros, consists of six plates, united by hinges, and very delicately engraved with patterns of a

But it is in their earrings that the Phoenician ladies were most curious and most fanciful. They present to us,

as MM. Perrot and Chipiez note, "an astonishing variety."[41] Some, which must have been very expensive,

are composed of many distinct parts, connected with each other by chains of an elegant pattern. One of the

most beautiful specimens was found by General Di Cesnola in Cyprus.[42] There is a hook at top, by which it

was suspended. Then follows a medallion, where the workmanship is of singular delicacy. A rosette occupies

the centre; around it are a set of spirals, negligently arranged, and enclosed within a chainlike band, outside

of which is a double beading. From the medallion depend by finely wrought chains five objects. The central

chain supports a human head, to which is attached a conical vase, covered at top: on either side are two short

chains, terminating in rings, from which hang small nondescript pendants: beyond are two longer chains, with

small vases or bottles attached. Another, found in Sardinia, is scarcely less complicated. The ring which

pierced the ear forms the handle of a kind of basket, which is covered with lines of beadwork: below,

attached by means of two rings, is the model of a hawk with wings folded; below the hawk, again attached by

a couple of rings, is a vase of elegant shape, decorated with small bosses, lozenges, and chevrons.[43] Other

earrings have been found similar in type to this, but simplified by the omission of the bird, or of the

An entirely different type is that furnished by an earring in the Museum of New York brought from Cyprus,

where the loop of the ornament rises from a sort of horseshoe, patterned with bosses and spirals, and

surrounded by a rough edging of knobs, standing at a little distance one from another.[45] Other forms found

also in Cyprus are the earring with the long pendant, which has been called "an elongated pear,"[46]

ornamented towards the lower end with small blossoms of flowers, and terminating in a minute ball, which

recalls the "drops" that are still used by the jewellers of our day; the loop which supports a crux ansata;[47]

that which has attached to it a small square box, or measure containing a heap of grain, thought to represent

wheat;[48] and those which support fruit of various kinds.[49] An earring of much delicacy consists of a

twisted ring, curved into a hook at one extremity, and at the other ending in the head of a goat, with a ring

attached to it, through which the hook passes.[50] Another, rather curious than elegant, consists of a double

twist, ornamented with lozenges, and terminating in triangular points finely granulated.[51]

Ornaments more or less resembling this last type of earring, but larger and coarser, have given rise to some

controversy, having been regarded by some as earrings, by others as fastenings for the dress, and by a third

set of critics as ornaments for the hair. They consist of a double twist, sometimes ornamented at one end only,

sometimes at both. A lion's or a griffin's head crowns usually the principal end; round the neck is a double or

triple collar, and below this a rosette, very carefully elaborated. In one instance two griffins show themselves

side by side, exhibiting their heads, their chests, their wings, and their forepaws or hands; between them is

an ornament like that which commonly surmounts Phoenician stel�; and below this a most beautiful

rosette.[52] The fashioning shows that the back of the ornament was not intended to be seen, and favours the

view that it was to be placed where a mass of hair would afford the necessary concealment.

The Phoenician ladies seem also to have understood the use of hair pins, which were from two to three

inches long, and had large heads, ribbed longitudinally, and crowned with two smaller balls, one above the

To fasten their dresses, the Phoenician ladies used fibul� or buckles of a simple character. Brooches set with

stones have not at present been found on Phoenician sites; but in certain cases the fibul� show a moderate

amount of ornament. Some have glass beads strung on the pin that is inserted into the catch; others have the

rounded portion surmounted by the figure of a horse or of a bird.[54] Most fibul� are in bronze; but one,

found in the treasury of Curium, and now in the Museum of New York, was of gold.[55] This, however, was

It is impossible at present to reproduce the toilet table of a Phoenician lady. We may be tolerably sure,

however, that certain indispensable articles would not be lacking. Circular mirrors, either of polished metal,

or of glass backed by a plate of tin or silver, would undoubtedly have found their place on them, together

with various vessels for holding perfumes and ointments. A vase in rock crystal, discovered at Curium, with a

funnel and cover in gold, the latter attached by a fine gold chain to one of its handles,[56] was doubtless a

fine lady's favourite smelling bottle. Various other vessels in silver, of a small size,[57] as basins and bowls

beautifully chased, tiny jugs, alabasti, ladles, had also the appearance of belonging rather to the toilet table

than to the plate basket. Some of the alabasti would contain kohl or stibium, some salves and ointments,

others perhaps perfumed washes for the complexion. Among the bronze objects found,[58] some may have

been merely ornaments, others stands for rings, bracelets, and the like. One terracotta vase from Dali seems

made for holding pigments,[59] and raises the suspicion that Phoenician, or at any rate Cyprian, beauties

Women in Phoenicia seem to have enjoyed considerable freedom. They are represented as banqueting in the

company of men, sometimes sitting with them on the same couch, sometimes reclining with them at the same

table.[60] Occasionally they delight their male companion by playing upon the lyre or the double pipe,[61]

while in certain instances they are associated in bands of three, who perform on the lyre, the double pipe, and

the tambourine.[62] They take part in religious processions, and present offerings to the deities.[63] The

positions occupied in history by Jezebel and Dido fall in with these indications, and imply a greater approach

to equality between the sexes in Phoenicia than in Oriental communities generally.

The men were, for Orientals, unusually hardy and active. In only one instance is there any appearance of the

use of the parasol by a Phoenician.[64] Sandals are infrequently worn; neck, chest, arms, and legs are

commonly naked. The rough life of seamen hardened the greater number; others hunted the wild ox and the

wild boar[65] in the marshy plains of the coast tract, and in the umbrageous dells of Lebanon. Even the lion

may have been affronted in the great mountain, and if we are unable to describe the method of its chase in

Phoenicia, the reason is that the Phoenician artists have, in their representations of lion hunts, adopted almost

exclusively Assyrian models.[66] The Phoenician gift of facile imitation was a questionable advantage, since

it led the native artists continually to substitute for sketches at first hand of scenes with which they were

An ornament found in Cyprus, the intention of which is uncertain, finds its proper place in the present

chapter, though we cannot attach it to any particular class of objects. It consists of a massive knob of solid

agate, with a cylinder of the same both above and below, through which a rod, or bar, must have been

intended to pass. Some arch�ologists see in it the top of a sceptre;[67] others, the head of a mace;[68] but

there is nothing really to prove its use. We might imagine it the adornment of a throne or chair of state, or the

end of a chariot pole, or a portion of the stem of a candelabrum. Antiquity has furnished nothing similar with

which to compare it; and we only say of it, that, whatever was its purpose, so large and so beautiful a mass of

agate has scarcely been met with elsewhere.[69] The cutting is such as to show very exquisitely the veining

Bronze objects in almost infinite variety have been found on Phoenician sites,[70] but only a few of them can

have been personal ornaments. They comprise lamps, bowls, vases, jugs, cups, armlets, anklets, daggers,

dishes, a horse's bit, heads and feet of animals, statuettes, mirrors, fibul�, buttons, Furniture would seem to

have been largely composed of bronze, which sometimes formed its entire fabric, though generally confined

to the ornamentation. Ivory was likewise employed in considerable quantities in the manufacture of

furniture,[71] to which it was applied as an outer covering, or veneer, either plain, or more generally carved

with a pattern or with figures. The "ivory house" of Ahab[72] was perhaps so called, not so much from the

application of the precious material to the doors and walls, as from its employment in the furniture. There is

The Phoenician alphabetIts wide useIts meritsQuestion of its originIts defectsPhoenician

writing and languageResemblance of the language to HebrewIn the vocabularyIn the grammar

Points of difference between Phoenician and HebrewScantiness of the literaturePhoenician history of

Philo BybliusExtracts Periplus of HannoPhoenician epigraphic literatureInscription of

EsmunazarInscription of TabnitInscription of Jehavmelek Marseilles inscriptionShort

The Phoenician alphabet, like the Hebrew, consisted of twentytwo characters, which had, it is probable, the

same names with the Hebrew letters,[1] and were nearly identical in form with the letters used anciently by

the entire Hebrew race. The most ancient inscription in the character which has come down to us is probably

that of Mesha,[2] the Moabite king, which belongs to the ninth century before our era. The next in antiquity,

which is of any considerable length, is that discovered recently in the aqueduct which brings the water into

the pool of Siloam,[3] which dates probably from the time of Hezekiah, ab. B.C. 727699. Some short

epigraphs on Assyrian gems, tablets, and cylinders belong apparently to about the same period. The series of

Phoenician and Cilician coins begins soon after this, and continues to the time of the Roman supremacy in

Western Asia. The soil of Phoenicia Proper, and of the various countries where the Phoenicians established

settlements or factories, as Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Southern Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, has also

yielded a large crop of somewhat brief legends, the "inscription of Marseilles"[4] being the most important of

them. Finally there have been found within the last few years, in Phoenicia itself, near Byblus and Sidon, the

three most valuable inscriptions of the entire seriesthose of Jehavmelek, Esmunazar and Tabnitwhich

It is now clear that the same, or nearly the same, alphabet was in use from a very early date over the greater

part of Western Asiain Phoenicia, Moab, Jud�a, Samaria, Lycia, Caria, Phrygia, it was adopted, with

slight alterations only, by the Etruscans and the Greeks, and that from them it was passed on to the nations of

modern Europe, and acquired a quasiuniversality. The invention of this alphabet was, by the general consent

of antiquity, ascribed to the Phoenicians;[5] and though, if their claim to priority of discovery be disputed, it

is impossible to prove it, their practical genius and their position among the nations of the earth are strong

The Phoenician alphabet, or the Syrian script, as some call it,[6] did not obtain its general prevalence without

possessing some peculiar merits. Its primary merit was that of simplicity. The pictorial systems of the

Egyptians and the Hittites required a hand skilled in drawing to express them; the cuneiform syllabaries of

Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam needed an extraordinary memory to grasp the almost infinite variety in the

arrangement of the wedges, and to distinguish each group from all the rest; even the Cypriote syllabary was

of awkward and unnecessary extent, and was expressed by characters needlessly complicated. The

Phoenician inventor, whoever he was, reduced letters to the smallest possible number, and expressed them by

the simplest possible forms. Casting aside the idea of a syllabary, he reduced speech to its ultimate elements,

and set apart a single sign to represent each possible variety of articulation, or rather each variety of which he

was individually cognisant. How he fixed upon his signs, it is difficult to say. According to some, he had

recourse to one or other of previously existing modes of expressing speech, and merely simplified the

characters which he found in use. But there are two objections to this view. First, there is no known set of

characters from which the early Phoenician can be derived with any plausability. Resemblances no doubt

may be pointed out here and there, but taking the alphabet as a whole, and comparing it with any other, the

differences will always be quite as numerous and quite as striking as the similarities. For instance, the writer

of the article on the "Alphabet" in the "Encyclop�dia Britannica" (1876) derives the Phoenician letters from

letters used in the Egyptian hieratic writing,[7] but his own table shows a marked diversity in at least eleven

instances, a slight resemblance in seven or eight, a strong resemblance in no more than two or three.

Derivation from the Cypriote forms has been suggested by some; but here again eight letters are very

different, if six or seven are similar. Recently, derivation from the Hittite hieroglyphs has been advocated,[8]

but the alleged instances of resemblance touch nine characters only out of the twenty two. And real

resemblance is confined to three or four. Secondly, no theory of derivation accounts for the Phoenician names

of their letters, which designate objects quite different from those represented by the Egyptian hieroglyphs,

and equally different from those represented by the Hittite letters. For instance, the Egyptian a is the

illdrawn figure of an eagle, the Phoenician alef has the signification of "ox;" the b of the Egyptians is a

On the whole, it seems most probable that the Phoenicians began with their own hieroglyphical system,

selecting an object to represent the initial sound of its name, and at first drawing that object, but that they

very soon followed the Egyptian idea of representing the original drawing in a conventional way, by a few

lines, straight or curved. Their hieroglyphic alphabet which is extant is an alphabet in the second stage,

corresponding to the Egyptian hieratic, but not derived from it. Having originally represented their alef by an

ox's head, they found a way of sufficiently indicating the head by three lines {...}, which marked the horns,

the ears, and the face. Their beth was a house in the tent form; their gimel a camel, represented by its head

and neck; their daleth a door, and so on. The object intended is not always positively known; but, where it is

known, there is no difficulty in tracing the original picture in the later conventional sign.

The Phoenician alphabet was not without its defects. The most remarkable of these was the absence of any

characters expressive of vowel sounds. The Phoenician letters are, all of them, consonants; and the reader is

expected to supply the vowel sounds for himself. There was not even any system of pointing, so far as we

know, whereby, as in Hebrew and Arabic, the proper sounds were supplied. Again, several letters were made

to serve for two sounds, as beth for both b and v, pe for both p and f, shin for both s and sh, and tau for both t

and th. There were no forms corresponding to the sounds j or w. On the other hand, there was in the alphabet

a certain amount of redundancy. Tsade is superfluous, since it represents, not a simple elemental sound, but a

combination of two sounds, t and s. Hence the Greeks omitted it, as did also the Oscans and the Romans.

There is redundancy in the two forms for k, namely kaph and koph; in the two for t, namely teth and tau; and

in the two for s, namely samech and shin. But no alphabet is without some imperfections, either in the way of

excess or defect; and perhaps we ought to be more surprised that the Phoenician alphabet has not more faults

The writing of the Phoenicians was, like that of the majority of the Semitic nations, from right to left. The

reverse order was entirely unknown to them, whether employed freely as an alternative, as in Egypt, or

confined, as in Greece, to the alternate lines. The words were, as a general rule, undivided, and even in some

instances were carried over the end of one line into the beginning of another. Still, there are examples where a

sign of separation occurs between each word and the next;[9] and the general rule is, that the words do not

run over the line. In the later inscriptions they are divided, according to the modern fashion, by a blank

space;[10] but there seems to have been an earlier practice of dividing them by small triangles or by dots.

The language of the Phoenicians was very close indeed to the Hebrew, both as regards roots and as regards

grammatical forms. The number of known words is small, since not only are the inscriptions few and scanty,

but they treat so much of the same matters, and run so nearly in the same form, that, for the most part, the

later ones contain nothing new but the proper names. Still they make known to us a certain number of words

in common use, and these are almost always either identical with the Hebrew forms, or very slightly different

Phoenician Hebrew English Ab {...} {...} father Aben {...} {...} stone Adon {...} {...} lord Adam {...} {...}

man Aleph {...} {...} an ox Akh {...} {...} brother Akhar {...} {...} after Am {...} {...} mother Anak {...} {...}

I Arets {...} {...} earth, land Ash {...} {...} who, which Barak {...} {...} to bless Bath {...} {...} daughter Ben

{...} {...} son Benben {...} {...} grandson Beth {...} {...} house, temple Ba'al {...} {...} lord, citizen Ba'alat

{...} {...} lady, mistress Barzil {...} {...} iron Dagan {...} {...} corn Deber {...} {...} to speak, say Daleth {...}

{...} door Zan {...} {...} this Za {...} {...} this Zereng {...} {...} seed, race Har {...} {...} mountain Han {...}

{...} grace, favour Haresh {...} {...} carpenter Yom {...} {...} day, also sea Yitten {...} {...} to give Ish {...}

{...} man Ishath {...} {...} woman, wife Kadesh {...} {...} holy Kol {...} {...} every, all Kol {...} {...} voice

Kohen {...} {...} priest Kohenath {...} {...} priestess Kara {...} {...} to call Lechem {...} {...} bread Makom

{...} {...} a place Makar {...} {...} a seller Malakath {...} {...} work Melek {...} {...} king Mizbach {...} {...}

altar Na'ar {...} {...} boy, servant Nehusht {...} {...} brass Nephesh {...} {...} soul Nadar {...} {...} to vow

'Abd {...} {...} slave, servant 'Am {...} {...} people 'Ain {...} {...} eye, fountain 'Ath {...} {...} time 'Olam

{...} {...} eternity Pen {...} {...} face Per {...} {...} fruit Pathach {...} {...} door Rab {...} {...} lord, chief

Rabbath {...} {...} lady Rav {...} {...} rain, irrigation Rach {...} {...} spirit Rapha {...} {...} physician

Shamam {...} {...} the heavens Shemesh {...} {...} the sun Shamang {...} {...} to hear Shenath {...} {...} a

year Shad {...} {...} a field Sha'ar {...} {...} a gate Shalom {...} {...} peace Shem {...} {...} a name Shaphat

{...} {...} a judge Sopher {...} {...} a scribe Sakar {...} {...} memory Sar {...} {...} a prince Tsedek {...} {...}

The Phoenician numerals, so far as they are known to us, are identical, or nearly identical, with the Hebrew.

'Ahad {...} is "one;" shen {...}, "two;" shalish {...}, "three;" arba {...}, "four;" hamesh {...}, "five;" eshman

{...}, "eight;" 'eser {...}, "ten;" and so on. Numbers were, however, by the Phoenicians ordinarily expressed

by signs, not wordsthe units by perpendicular lines: | for "one," || for "two," ||| for "three," and the like; the

tens by horizontal ones, either simple, {...}, or hooked at the right end, {...}; twenty by a sign resembling a

The grammatical inflexions, the particles, the pronouns, and the prepositions are also mostly identical. The

definite article is expressed, as in Hebrew, by h prefixed. Plurals are formed by the addition of m or th. The

prefix eth {...} marks the accusative. There is a niphal conjugation, formed by prefixing n. The full personal

pronouns are anak {...} = "I" (compare Heb. {...}); hu {...}, "he" (compare Heb. {...}); hi {...}, "she"

(compare Heb. {...}); anachnu, "we" (compare Heb. {...}); and the suffixed pronouns are i, "me, my;" ka,

"thee, thy;" h (pronounced as oh or o), "him, his" (compare Heb. {...}); n "our," perhaps pronounced nu;

and m, "their, them," pronounced om or um (compare Heb. {...}). Vau prefixed means "and;" beth prefixed

"in;" kaph prefixed "as;" lamed prefixed "of" or "to;" 'al {...} is "over;" ki {...} "because;" im {...}, "if;"

hazah, zath, or za {...}, "this" (compare Heb. {...}); and ash {...}, "who, which" (compare Heb. {...}). Al {...}

and lo {...} are the negatives (compare Heb. {...}). The redundant use of the personal pronoun with the

Still, Phoenician is not mere Hebrew; it has its own genius, its idioms, its characteristics. The definite article,

so constantly recurring in Hebrew, is in Phoenician, comparatively speaking, rare. The quiescent letters,

which in Hebrew ordinarily accompany the long vowels, are in Phoenician for the most part absent. The

employment of the participle for the definite tenses of the verb is much more common in Phoenician than in

Hebrew, and the Hebrew prefix m is wanting. The ordinary termination of feminine singular nouns is th, not

h. Peculiar forms occur, as ash for asher, 'amath for 'am ("people"), zan for zah ("this"), Words which in

Hebrew are confined to poetry pass among the Phoenicians into ordinary use, as pha'al ({...}, Heb. {...}), "to

"It is strange," says M. Renan, "that the people to which all antiquity attributes the invention of writing, and

which has, beyond all doubted, transmitted it to the entire civilised world, has scarcely left us any

literature."[12] Certainly it is difficult to give the name of literature either to the fragments of socalled

Phoenician works preserved to us in Greek translations, or to the epigraphic remains of actual Phoenician

writing which have come down to our day. The works are two, and two only, viz. the pretended "Phoenician

History" of Sanchoniathon, and the "Periplus" of Hanno. Of the former, it is perhaps sufficient to say that we

have no evidence of its genuineness. Philo of Byblus, who pretends that he translated it from a Phoenician

original, though possibly he had Phoenician blood in his veins, was a Greek in language, in temperament, and

in tone of thought, and belonged to the Greece which is characterised by Juvenal as "Gr�cia mendax." It is

impossible to believe that the Euemerism in which he indulges, and which was evidently the motive of his

work, sprang from the brain of Sanchoniathon nine hundred years before Euemerus existed. One is tempted

to suspect that Sanchoniathan himself was a mythan "idol of the cave," evolved out of the inner

consciousness of Philo. Philo had a certain knowledge of the Phoenician language, and of the Phoenician

religious system, but not more than he might have gained by personal communication with the priests of

Byblus and Aphaca, who maintained the old worship in, and long after, his day. It is not clear that he drew his

statements from any ancient authorities, or from books at all. So far as the extant fragments go, a smattering

of the language, a very moderate acquaintance with the religion, and a little imagination might readily have

A few extracts from the remains must be given to justify this judgement:"The beginning of all things,"

Philo says,[13] "was a dark and stormy air, or a dark air and a turbid chaos, resembling Erebus; and these

were at first unbounded, and for a long series of ages had no limit. But after a time this wind became

enamoured of its own first principles, and an intimate union took place between them, a connection which

was called Desire {pothos}: and this was the beginning of the creation of all things. But it (i.e. the Desire)

had no consciousness of its own creation: however, from its embrace with the wind was generated M�t,

which some call watery slime, and others putrescence of watery secretion. And from this sprang all the seed

of creation, and the generation of the universe. And first there were certain animals without sensation, from

which intelligent animals were produced, and these were called 'ZopherS�min,' i.e. 'beholders of the

heavens;' and they were made in the shape of an egg, and from M�t shone forth the sun, and the moon, and

the lesser and the greater stars. And when the air began to send forth light, by the conflagration of land and

sea, winds were produced, and clouds, and very great downpours, and effusions of the heavenly waters. And

when these were thus separated, and carried, through the heat of the sun, out of their proper places, and all

met again in the air, and came into collision, there ensued thunderings and lightnings; and through the rattle

of the thunder, the intelligent animals, above mentioned, were woke up, and, startled by the noise, began to

move about both in the sea and on the land, alike such as were male and such as were female. All these things

were found in the cosmogony of Taaut (Thoth), and in his Commentaries, and were drawn from his

conjectures, and from the proofs which his intellect discovered, and which he made clear to us."

Again, "From the wind, Colpia, and his wife Bahu (Heb. {...}), which is by interpretation 'Night,' were born

�on and Protogonus, mortal men so named; of whom one, viz. �on, discovered that life might be sustained

by the fruits of trees. Their immediate descendants were called Genos and Genea, who lived in Phoenicia,

and in time of drought stretched forth their hands to heaven towards the sun; for him they regarded as the sole

Lord of Heaven, and called him Baalsamin, which means 'Lord of Heaven' in the Phoenician tongue, and is

equivalent to Zeus in Greek. And from Genos, son of �on and Protogonus, were begotten mortal children,

called Ph�s, and Pyr, and Phlox (i.e. Light, Fire, and Flame). These persons invented the method of

producing fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together, and taught men to employ it. They begat sons of

surprising size and stature, whose names were given to the mountains whereof they had obtained possession,

viz. Casius, and Libanus, and Antilibanus, and Brathy. From them were produced Memrumus and

Hypsuranius, who took their names from their mothers, women in those days yielding themselves without

shame to any man whom they happened to meet. Hypsuranius lived at Tyre, and invented the art of building

huts with reeds and rushes and the papyrus plant. He quarrelled with his brother, Us�us, who was the first to

make clothing for the body out of the skins of the wild beasts which he slew. On one occasion, when there

was a great storm of rain and wind, the trees in the neighbourhood of Tyre so rubbed against each other that

they took fire, and the whole forest was burnt; whereupon Us�us took a tree, and having cleared it of its

boughs, was the first to venture on the sea in a boat. He also consecrated two pillars to Fire and Wind, and

worshipped them, and poured upon them the blood of the animals which he took by hunting. And when the

two brothers were dead, those who remained alive consecrated rods to their memory, and continued to

Once more"It was the custom among the ancients, in times of great calamity and danger, for the rulers of

the city or nation to avert the ruin of all by sacrificing to the avenging deities the best beloved of their

children as the price of redemption; and such as were thus devoted were offered with mystic ceremonies.

Kronus, therefore, who was called El by the Phoenicians, and who, after his death, was deified and attached

to the planet which bears his name, having an only son by a nymph of the country, who was called Anobret,

took his son, whose name was Ieoud, which means 'only son' in Phoenician, and when a great danger from

war impended over the land, adorned him with the ensigns of royalty, and, having prepared an altar for the

It will be seen from these extracts that the literary value of Philo's work was exceedingly small. His style is

complicated and confused; his matter, for the most part, worthless, and his mixture of Greek, Phoenician, and

Egyptian etymologies absurd. If we were bound to believe that he translated a real Phoenician original, and

that that original was a fair specimen of Phoenician literary talent, the only conclusion to which we could

But the "Periplus" of Hanno will lead us to modify this judgment. It is so short a work that we venture to give

The voyage of Hanno, King of the Carthaginians, round the parts of Libya beyond the Pillars of Hercules,

"It was decreed by the Carthaginians that Hanno should undertake a voyage beyond the Pillars of Hercules,

and there found LibyPhoenician cities. He sailed accordingly with sixty ships of fifty oars each, and a body

of men and women, to the number of thirty thousand, and provisions, and other necessaries.

"When we had weighed anchor, and passed the Pillars, and sailed beyond them for two days, we founded the

first city, which we named Thymiaterium. Below it lay an extensive plain. Proceeding thence towards the

west, we came to Soloeis, a promontory of Libya thickly covered with trees, where we erected a temple to

Neptune (Poseidon), and again proceeded for the space of half a day towards the east, until we arrived at a

lake lying not far from the sea, and filled with abundance of large reeds. Here elephants and a great number

"Having passed the lake about a day's sail, we founded cities near the sea, called CariconTeichos, and Gytta,

and Acra, and Melitta, and Arambys. Thence we came to the great river Lixus, which flows from Libya. On

its banks the Lixit�, a wandering tribe, were feeding flocks, amongst whom we continued some time on

friendly terms. Beyond the Lixit� dwelt the inhospitable Ethiopians, who pasture a wild country intersected

by large mountains, from which they say the river Lixus flows. In the neighbourhood of the mountains lived

the Troglodytes, men of various appearances, whom the Lixit� described as swifter in running than horses.

Having procured interpreters from them, we coasted along a desert country towards the south for two days;

and thence again proceeded towards the east the course of a day. Here we found in the recess of a certain bay

a small island, having a circuit of five stadia, where we settled a colony, and called it Cerne. We judged from

our voyage that this place lay in a direct line with Carthage; for the length of our voyage from Carthage to the

Pillars was equal to that from the Pillars to Cerne. We then came to a cape, which we reached by sailing up a

large river called Chrete. The lake had three islands larger than Cerne; from which, proceeding a day's sail,

we came to the extremity of the lake. This was overhung by huge mountains, inhabited by savage men,

clothed in skins of wild beasts, who drove us away by throwing stones, and hindered us from landing. Sailing

thence, we came to another river, that was deep and broad, and full of crocodiles and river horses

(hippopotami), whence returning back, we came again to Cerne. Thence we sailed towards the south for

twelve days, coasting along the shore, the whole of which is inhabited by Ethiopians, who would not wait our

approach, but fled from us. Their language was unintelligible, even to the Lixit� who were with us. On the

last day we approached some large mountains covered with trees, the wood of which was sweetscented and

variegated. Having sailed by these mountains for two days, we came to an immense opening of the sea; on

each side of which, towards the continent, was a plain; from which we saw by night fire arising at intervals,

"Having taken in water there, we sailed forward during five days near the land, until we came to a large bay,

which our interpreter informed us was called 'the Western Horn.' In this was a large island, and in the island a

saltwater lake, and in this another island, where, when we had landed, we could discover nothing in the

daytime except trees; but in the night we saw many fires burning, and heard the sound of pipes, cymbals,

drums, and confused shouting. We were then afraid, and our diviners ordered us to abandon the island.

Sailing quickly away thence, we passed by a country burning with fires and perfumes; and streams of fire

supplied thence fell into the sea. The country was untraversable on account of the heat. So we sailed away

quickly from there also, being much terrified; and, passing on for four days, we observed at night a country

full of flames. In the middle was a lofty fire, larger than the rest, which seemed to touch the stars. When day

came, we discovered it to be a huge hill, called 'the Chariot of the Gods.' On the third day after our departure

thence, after sailing by streams of fire, we arrived at a bay, called 'the Southern Horn;' at the bottom of which

lay an island like the former one, having a lake, and in the lake another island full of savage people, far the

greater part of whom were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom our interpreters called 'gorill�.'

Though we pursued the men, we could not catch any of them; but all escaped us, climbing over the

precipices, and defending themselves with stones. Three women were, however, taken; but they attacked their

conductors with their teeth and nails, and could not be prevailed upon to accompany us. So we killed them,

and flayed them, and brought their skins with us to Carthage. We did not sail further on, our provisions

The style of this short work, though exceedingly simple and inartificial, is not without its merits. It has the

directness, the perspicuity, and the liveliness of C�sar's Commentaries or of the Duke of Wellington's

Despatches. Montesquieu[17] says of it:"Hanno's Voyage was written by the very man who performed it.

His recital is not mingled with ostentation. Great commanders write their actions with simplicity, because

they receive more honour from facts than words." If we may take the work as a specimen of the accounts

which Phoenician explorers commonly gave of their travels in unknown regions, we must regard them as

having set a pattern which modern travellers would do well to follow. Hanno gives us facts, not

speculationsthe things which he has observed, not those of which he has dreamt; and he delivers his facts

in the fewest possible words, and in the plainest possible way. He does not cultivate flowers of rhetoric; he

does not unduly spin out his narrative. It is plain that he is especially bent on making his meaning clear, and

The epigraphic literature of the Phoenicians, which M. Renan considers to supply fairly well the almost

complete loss of their books,[18] scarcely deserves to be so highly rated. It consists at present of five or six

moderately long, and some hundreds of exceedingly short, inscriptions; the longer ones being, all of them,

inscribed on stones, the shorter on stones, vases, pater�, gems, coins, and the like. The longest of all is that

engraved on the sarcophagus of Esmunazar, king of Sidon, discovered near the modern Saida in the year

1855, and now in the museum of the Louvre. This has a length of twentytwo long lines, and contains 298

words.[19] It is fairly legible throughout; and the sense is, for the most part, fairly well ascertained, though

the meaning of some passages remains still more or less doubtful. The following is the translation of M.

"In the month of Bul (October), in the fourteenth year of the reign of King Esmunazar, king of the Sidonians,

son of King Tabnit, king of the Sidonians, King Esmunazar, king of the Sidonians, spake, sayingI am

snatched away before my time, the child of a few days, the orphan son of a widow; and lo! I am lying in this

coffin, and in this tomb, in the place which I have built. I adjure every royal personage and every man

whatsoever, that they open not this my chamber, and seek not for treasures there, since there are here no

treasures, and that they remove not the coffin from my chamber, nor build over this my chamber any other

funeral chamber. Even if men speak to thee, listen not to their words; since every royal personage and every

other man who shall open this funeral chamber, or remove the coffin from this my chamber, or build anything

over this chambermay they have no funeral chamber with the departed, nor be buried in tombs, nor have

any son or descendant to succeed to their place; but may the Holy Gods deliver them into the hand of a

mighty king who shall reign over them, and destroy the royal personage or the man who shall open this my

funeral chamber, or remove this coffin, together with the offspring of the royal personage or other man, and

let them not have either root below, or any fruit above, or glory among such as live beneath the sun. Since I

am snatched away before my time, the child of a few days, the orphan son of a widow, even I.

"For I am Esmunazar, king of the Sidonians, the son of King Tabnit, king of the Sidonians, and the grandson

of Esmunazar, king of the Sidonians, and my mother is AmAshtoreth, priestess of our lady Ashtoreth, the

queen, the daughter of King Esmunazar, king of the Sidoniansand it is we who have built the temples of

the gods, the temple of Ashtoreth in Sidon on the shore of the sea, and have placed Ashtoreth in her temple to

glorify her; and we too have built the temple of Esmun, and set the sacred grove, En Yidlal, in the mountain,

and made him (Esmun) dwell there to glorify him; and it is we who have built temples to the [other] deities of

the Sidonians, in Sidon on the shore of the sea, as the temple of BaalSidon, and the temple of Asthoreth,

who bears the name of Baal. And for this cause has the Lord of Kings given us Dor and Joppa, and the fertile

cornlands which are in the plains of Sharon, as a reward for the great things which I have done, and added

them to the boundaries of the land, that they may belong to the Sidonians for ever. I adjure every royal

personage, and every man whatsoever, that they open not this my chamber, nor empty my chamber, nor build

aught over this my chamber, nor remove the coffin from this my chamber, lest the Holy Gods deliver them

up, and destroy the royal personage, or the men [who shall do so], and their offspring for ever."[20]

The inscription on the tomb of Tabnit, Esmunazar's father, found near Beyrout in 1886, is shorter, but nearly

to the same effect. It has been thus translated:"I, Tabnit, priest of Ashtoreth, and king of Sidon, lying in

this tomb, sayI adjure every man, when thou shalt come upon this sepulchre, open not my chamber, and

trouble me not, for there is not with me aught of silver, nor is there with me aught of gold, there is not with

me anything whatever of spoil, but only I myself who lie in this sepulchre. Open not my chamber, and trouble

me not; for it would be an abomination in the sight of Ashtoreth to do such an act. And if thou shouldest open

my chamber, and trouble me, mayest thou have no posterity all thy life under the sun, and no restingplace

A stel� of a Byblian king, Jehavmelek, probably somewhat more ancient than these,[22] bears an inscription

of a different kind, since it is attached to a votive offering and not to a sepulchre. The king represents himself

in a basrelief as making an offering to Beltis or Ashtoreth, and then appends an epigraph, which runs to

fifteen long lines,[23] and is to the following effect:"I am Jehavmelek, king of Gebal, the son of

Jaharbaal, and the grandson of Adommelek, king of Gebal, whom lady Beltis of Gebal has made king of

Gebal; and I invoke my lady Beltis of Gebal, because she has heard my voice. And I have made for my lady

Beltis of Gebal the brazen altar which is in this temple, and the golden carving which is in front of this my

carving, and the ur�us of gold which is in the middle of the stone over the golden carving. And I have made

this portico, with its columns, and the capitals that are upon the columns, and the roof of the temple also, I,

Jehavmelek, king of Gebal, have made for my lady Beltis of Gebal, because, whenever I have invoked my

lady Beltis of Gebal, she has heard my voice, and been good to me. May Beltis of Gebal bless Jehavmelek,

king of Gebal, and grant him life, and prolong his days and his years over Gebal, because he is a just king;

and may the lady Beltis of Gebal obtain him favour in the sight of the Gods, and in the sight of the people of

foreign lands, for ever! Every royal personage and every other man who shall make additions to this altar, or

to this golden carving, or to this portico, I, Jehavmelek, king of Gebal, set may face against him who shall so

do, and I pray my lady Beltis of Gebal to destroy that man, whoever he be, and his seed after him."[24]

The inscription of Marseilles, if it had been entire, would have been as valuable and interesting as any of

these; but, unfortunately, its twentyone lines are in every case incomplete, being broken off, or else

illegible, towards the left. It appears to have been a decree emanating from the authorities of Carthage, and

prescribing the amount of the payments to be made in connection with the sacrifices and officials of a temple

of Baal which may have existed either at Marseilles or at Carthage itself. To translate it is impossible without

a vast amount of conjecture; but M. Renan's version[25] seems to deserve a place in the present collection.

"The temple of Baal . . . Account of the payments fixed by those set over the payments, in the time of our

lords, HalatsBaal, the Suffes, the son of AbdTanith, the son of AbdEsmun, and of HalatsBaal, the

Suffes, the son of AbdEsmun, the son of HaltsBaal, and of their colleagues:For an ox, whether as burnt

sacrifice, or expiatory offering, or thank offering, to the priests [shall be given] ten [shekels] of silver on

account of each; and, if it be a burnt sacrifice, they shall have besides this payment three hundred weight of

the flesh; and if the sacrifice be expiatory, [they shall have] the fat and the additions, and the offerer of the

sacrifice shall have the skin, and the entrails, and the feet, and the rest of the flesh. For a calf without horns

and entire, or for a ram, whether as burnt sacrifice, or expiatory offering, or thank offering, to the priests

[shall be given] five [shekels] of silver on account of each; and if it be a burnt sacrifice, they shall have,

besides this payment, a hundred weight and a half of the flesh; and if the sacrifice be expiatory, they shall

have the fat and the additions, and the skin, and entrails, and feet, and the rest of the flesh shall be given to

the offerer of the sacrifice. For a hegoat, or a shegoat, whether as a burnt sacrifice, or expiatory offering, or

thank offering, to the priests [shall be given] one [shekel] and two zers of silver on account of each; and if it

be an expiatory sacrifice, they shall have, besides this payment, the fat and the additions; and the skin, and

entrails, and feet, and the rest of the flesh shall be given to the offerer of the sacrifice. For a sheep, or a kid, or

a fawn (?), whether as burnt sacrifice, or expiatory offering, or thank offering, to the priests [shall be given]

threefourths of a shekel of silver and . . . zers, on account of each; and if it be an expiatory sacrifice, they

shall have, besides this payment, the fat and the additions; and the skin, and the entrails, and the feet, and the

rest of the flesh [shall be given] to the offerer of the sacrifice. For a bird, domestic or wild, whether as thank

offering, or for augury, or for divination, to the priests [shall be given] threefourths of a shekel of silver and

two zers on account of each, and the flesh shall be for the offerer of the sacrifice. For a bird, or for the holy

firstfruits, or for the offering of a cake, or for an offering of oil, to the priests [shall be given] ten zers of

silver on account of each, and . . . In every expiatory sacrifice that shall be offered before the deities, to the

priests [shall be given] the fat and the additions, and in the sacrifice of . . . For a meat offering, or for milk, or

for fat, or for any sacrifice which any man shall offer as an oblation, to the priests [there shall be given] . . .

For every offering that a man shall offer who is poor in sheep, or poor in birds, [there shall be given] to the

priests nothing at all. Every native, and every inhabitant, and every feaster at the table of the gods, and all the

men who sacrifice . . . those men shall make a payment for every sacrifice, according to that which is

prescribed in [this] writing . . . Every payment which is not prescribed in this tablet shall be made

proportionally to the rate fixed by those set over the payments in the time of our lords, HalatsBaal, the son

of AbdTanith, and HalatsBaal, the son of AbdEsmun, and their colleagues. Every priest who takes a

payment beyond the amount prescribed in this tablet shall be fined . . . And every offerer of a sacrifice who

shall not pay [the amount] prescribed, beyond the payment which [is here fixed, he shall pay] . . ."

Of the shorter inscriptions of the Phoenicians, by far the greater number were attached either to votive

offerings or to tombs. Some hundreds have been found of both classes, but they are almost wholly without

literary merit, being bald and jejune in the extreme, and presenting little variety. The depositor of a votive

offering usually begins by mentioning the name and title, or titles, of the deity to whom he dedicates it. Then

he appends his own name, with the names of his father and grandfather. Occasionally, but rarely, he describes

his offering, and states the year in which it was set up. Finally, he asks the deity to bless him. The following

"To the lord BaalShama�m, [the vow] which was vowed by Abdelim, son of Mattan, son of Abdelim, son of

BaalShomar, of the district of Laodicea. This gateway and doors did I make in fulfilment of it. I built it in

the 180th year of the Lord of Kings, and in the 143rd year of the people of Tyre, that it might be to me a

memorial and for a good name beneath the feet of my lord, BaalShama�m, for ever. May he bless me!"[26]

"To the lady Tanith, and to our master, the lord BaalHammon; the offerer is AbdMelkarth, the Suffes, son

"To our lord Melkarth, the lord of Tyre. The offerer is thy servant, AbdOsiri, and my brother,

OsiriShomar, both [of us] sons of Osiri Shomar, the son of AbdOsiri. In hearing their voice, may he bless

"On the sixth day of the month Bul, in the twentyfirst year of King Pumiyitten, king of Citium and

Idalium, and Tamasus, son of King Melekyitten, king of Citium and Idalium, this altar and these two lions

were given by Bodo, priest of Resephhets, son of Yakunshalam, son of Esmunadon, to his lord

"On the seventh day of the month . . . in the thirtyfirst year of the Lord of Kings, Ptolem�us, son of

Ptolem�us . . . which was the fifty seventh year of the Citians, when AmaratOsiri, daughter of . . . son of

AbdSusim, of Gad'ath, was canephora of Asino� Philadelphus, these statues were set up by Bathshalun,

daughter of Maryichai, son of Esmunadon, to the memory of his grandsons, Esmunadon, Shallum, and

AbdReseph, the three sons of Maryichai, son of Esmunadon, according to the vow which their father,

Maryichai, vowed, when he was still alive, to their lord, ResephMikal. May he bless them!"[30]

There is a little more variety in the inscriptions on tombstones. The great majority, indeed, are extremely curt

and dry, containing scarcely anything beyond the name of the person who is buried in the tomb, or that

together with the name of the person by whom the monument is erected; e.g. "To Athad, the daughter of

AbdEsmun, the Suffes, and wife of GerMelkarth, the son of Benhodesh, the son of Esmunazar"[31]; or

"This monument I, Menahem, grandson of AbdEsmun, have erected to my father, AbdShamash, son of

AbdEsmun"[32]; or "I, AbdOsiri, the son of AbdSusim, the son of Hur, have erected this monument,

while I am still alive, to myself, and to my wife, Ammat Ashtoreth, daughter of Taam, son of Abdmelek,

[and have placed it] over the chamber of my tomb, in perpetuity."[33] But, occasionally, we get a glimpse,

beyond the mere dry facts, into the region of thought; as where the erector of a monument appends to the

name of one, whom we may suppose to have been a miser, the remark, that "the reward of him who heaps up

riches is contempt;"[34] or where one who entertains the hope that his friend is happier in another world than

he was upon earth, thus expresses himself"In memory of Esmun. After rain, the sun shines forth;"[35] or,

again, where domestic affection shows itself in the declaration concerning the departed"When he entered

into the house that is so full [of guests], there was grief for the memory of the sage, the man that was hard as

adamant, that bore calamities of every sort, that was a widower through the death of my mother, that was like

a pellucid fountain, and had a name pure from crime. Erected in affection by me his son to my father."[36]

With respect to the extent and range of the Phoenician book literature, the little that can be gathered from the

notices remaining to us in the Greek and Roman writers is the following. In Phoenicia Proper there were

historical writers at least from the time of Hiram, the contemporary of David, who wrote the annals of their

country in a curt dry form somewhat resembling that of Kings and Chronicles.[37] The names of the kings

and the length of their reigns were carefully recorded, together with some of the more remarkable events

belonging to each reign; but there was no attempt at the philosophy of history, nor at the graces of

composition. In some places, especially at Sidon, philosophy and science were to a certain extent cultivated.

Mochus, a Sidonian, wrote a work on the atomic theory at a very early date, though scarcely, as Posidonius

maintained,[38] one anterior to the Trojan war. Later on, the Sidonian school specially affected astronomy

and arithmetic, in which they made so much progress that the Greeks acknowledged themselves their debtors

in those branches of knowledge.[39] It is highly probable, though not exactly capable of proof, that the

Tyrian navigators from a very remote period embodied in short works the observations which they made in

their voyages, on the geography, hydrography, ethology, and natural history of the counties, which were

visited by them. Hanno's "Periplus" may have been composed on a model of these earlier treatises, which at a

later date furnished materials to Marinus for his great work on geography. It was, however, in the Phoenician

colony of Carthage that authorship was taken up with most spirit and success. Hiempsal, Hanno, Mago,

Hamilcar, and others, composed works, which the Romans valued highly, on the history, geography, and

"origines" of Africa, and also upon practical agriculture.[40] Mago and Hamilcar were regarded as the best

authorities on the latter subject both by the Greeks and Romans, and were followed, among the Greeks by

Mnaseas and Paxamus,[41] among the Romans by Varro and Columella.[42] So highly was the work of

Mago, which ran to twentyeight books, esteemed, that, on the taking of Carthage, it was translated into

Latin by order of the Roman Senate.[43] After the fall of Carthage, Tyre and Sidon once more became seats

of learning; but the Phoenician language was discarded, and Greek adopted in its place. The Tyrian, Sidonian,

Byblian and Berytian authors, of whom we hear, bear Greek names:[44] and it is impossible to say whether

they belonged, in any true sense, to the Phoenician race. Philo of Byblus and Marinus of Tyre are the only

two authors of this later period who held to Phoenician traditions, and, presumably, conveyed on to later ages

Phoenician ideas and accumulations. If neither literature nor science gained much from the work of the

former, that of the latter had considerable value, and, as the basis of the great work of Ptolemy, must ever

Separate autonomy of the Phoenician citiesNo marked predominance of any one or more of them during

the Egyptian period, B.C. 1600 1350A certain preeminence subsequently acquired by Aradus and

SidonSidonian territorial ascendancyGreat proficiency of Sidon in the artsSidon's war with the

PhilistinesHer early colonies Her advances in navigationHer general commercial honesty

Occasional kidnappingStories of Io and Eum�usInternal governmentRelations with the Israelites.

When the Phoenician immigrants, in scattered bands, and at longer or shorter intervals, arrived upon the

Syrian coast, and finding it empty occupied it, or wrested it from its earlier possessors, there was a decided

absence from among them of any single governing or controlling authority; a marked tendency to assert and

maintain separate rule and jurisdiction. Sidon, the Arkite, the Arvadite, the Zemarite, are separately

enumerated in the book of Genesis;[1] and the Hebrews have not even any one name under which to

comprise the commercial people settled upon their coast line,[2] until we come to Gospel times, when the

Greeks have brought the term "SyroPhoenician" into use.[3] Elsewhere we hear of "them of Sidon," "them

of Tyre,"[4] "the Giblites,"[5] "the men of Arvad,"[6] "the Arkites," "the Sinites," "the Zemarites,"[7] "the

inhabitants of Accho, of Achzib, and Aphek,"[8] but never of the whole maritime population north of

Philistia under any single ethnic appellation. And the reason seems to be, that the Phoenicians, even more

than the Greeks, affected a city autonomy. Each little band of immigrants, as soon as it had pushed its way

into the sheltered tract between the mountains and the sea, settled itself upon some attractive spot,

constructed habitations, and having surrounded its habitations with walls, claimed to beand found none to

dispute the claima distinct political entity. The conformation of the land, so broken up into isolated regions

by strong spurs from Lebanon and Bargylus, lent additional support to the separatist spirit, and the absence in

the early times of any pressure of danger from without permitted its free indulgence without entailing any

serious penalty. It is difficult to say at what time the first settlements took place; but during the period of

Egyptian supremacy over Western Asia, under the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties (ab. B.C. 16001350),

we seem to find the Phoenicians in possession of the coast tract, and their cities severally in the enjoyment of

independence and upon a quasiequality. Tyre, Sidon, Gebal, Aradus, Simyra, Sarepta, Berytus, and perhaps

Arka, appear in the inscriptions of Thothmes III,[9] and in the "Travels of a Mohar,"[10] without an

indication of the preeminence, much less the supremacy, of any one of them. The towns pursued their

courses independently one of another, submitting to the Egyptians when hard pressed, but always ready to

reassert themselves, and never joining, so far as appears, in any league or confederation, by which their

separate autonomy might have been endangered. During this period no city springs to any remarkable height

of greatness or prosperity; material progress is, no doubt, being made by the nation; but it is not very marked,

But with the decline of the Egyptian power, which sets in after the death of the second Rameses, a change

takes place. External pressure being removed, ambitions begin to develop themselves. In the north Aradus

(Arvad), in the south Sidon, proceed to exercise a sort of hegemony over several neighbouring states. Sidon

becomes known as "Great Zidon."[11] Not content with her maritime ascendancy, which was already pushing

her into special notice, she aspired to a land dominion, and threw out offshoots from the main seat of her

power as far as Laish, on the headwaters of the Jordan.[12] It was her support, probably, which enabled the

inhabitants of such comparatively weak cities as Accho and Achzib and Aphek to resist the invasion of the

Hebrews, and maintain themselves, despite all attempts made to reduce them.[13] At the same time she

gradually extended her influence over the coast towns in her neighbourhood, as Sarepta, Heldun, perhaps

Berytus, Ecdippa, and Accho. The period which succeeds that of Egyptian preponderance in Western Asia

may be distinguished as that of Sidonian ascendancy, or of such ascendancy slightly modified by an Aradian

hegemony in the north over the settlements intervening between Mount Casius and the northern roots of

Lebanon.[14] During this period Sidon came to the front, alike in arts, in arms, and in navigation. Her vessels

were found by the earliest Greek navigators in all parts of the Mediterranean into which they themselves

ventured, and were known to push themselves into regions where no Greek dared to follow them. Under her

fostering care Phoenician colonisation had spread over the whole of the Western Mediterranean, over the

�gean, and into the Propontis. She had engaged in war with the powerful nation of the Philistines, and,

though worsted in the encounter, had obtained a reputation for audacity. By her wonderful progress in the

arts, her citizens had acquired the epithet of {poludaidaloi},[15] and had come to be recognised generally as

the foremost artificers of the world in almost every branch of industry. Sidonian metalwork was particularly

in repute. When Achilles at the funeral of Patroclus desired to offer as a prize to the fastest runner the most

beautiful bowl that was to be found in all the world, he naturally chose one which had been deftly made by

highlyskilled Sidonians, and which Phoenician sailors had conveyed in one of their hollow barks across the

cloudshadowed sea.[16] When Menelaus proposed to present Telemachus, the son of his old comrade

Odysseus, with what was at once the most beautiful and the most valuable of all his possessions, he selected a

silver bowl with a golden rim, which in former days he had himself received as a present from Ph�dimus, the

Sidonian king.[17] The sailors who stole Eum�us from Ortygia, and carried him across the sea to Ithica,

obtained their prize by coming to his father's palace, and bringing with them, among other wares,

Sidon's preeminence in the manufacture, the dyeing, and the embroidery of textile fabrics was at the same

time equally unquestionable. Hecuba, being advised to offer to Ath�n�, on behalf of her favourite son, the

best and loveliest of all the royal robes which her wellstored dresschamber could furnish

Already, it would seem, the precious shellfish, on which Phoenicia's commerce so largely rested in later

times, had been discovered; and it was the dazzling hue of the robe which constituted its especial value.

Sidon was ultimately eclipsed by Tyre in the productions of the loom; and the unrivalled dye has come down

to us, and will go down to all future ages, as "Tyrian purple;" but we may well believe that in this, as in most

other matters on which prosperity and success depended, Tyre did but follow in the steps of her elder sister

Sidon, perfecting possibly the manufacture which had been Sidon's discovery in the early ages. According to

Scylax of Cadyanda, Dor was a Sidonian colony.[20] Geographically it belonged rather to Philistia than to

Phoenicia; but its possession of large stores of the purple fish caused its sudden seizure and rapid fortification

at a very remote date, probably by the Phoenicians of Sidon.[21] It is quite possible that this aggression may

have provoked that terrible war to which reference has already been made, between the Philistines under the

hegemony of Ascalon and the first of the Phoenician cities. Ascalon attacked the Sidonians by land,

blockaded the offending town, and after a time compelled a surrender; but the defenders had a ready retreat

by sea, and, when they could no longer hold out against their assailants, took ship, and removed themselves

In navigation also and colonisation Sidon took the lead. According to some, she was the actual founder of

Aradus, which was said to have owed its origin to a body of Sidonian exiles, who there settled

themselves.[23] Not much reliance, however, can be placed on this tradition, which first appears in a writer of

the Augustan age. With more confidence we may ascribe to Sidon the foundation of Citium in Cyprus, the

colonisation of the islands in the �gean, and of those Phoenician settlements in North Africa which were

anterior to the founding of Carthage. It has even been supposed that the Sidonians were the first to make a

settlement at Carthage itself,[24] and that the Tyrian occupation under Dido was a recolonisation of an

already occupied site. Anyhow, Sidon was the first to explore the central Mediterranean, and establish

commercial relations with the barbarous tribes of the midAfrican coast, Cabyles, Berbers, Shuloukhs,

Tauriks, and others. She is thought to claim on a coin to be the mothercity of Melita, or Malta, as well as of

Citium and Berytus;[25] and, if this claim be allowed, we can scarcely doubt that she was also the first to

plant colonies in Sicily. Further than this, it would seem, Sidonian enterprise did not penetrate. It was left for

Tyre to discover the wealth of Southern Spain, to penetrate beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, and to affront the

But, within the sphere indicated, Sidonian rovers traversed all parts of the Great Sea, penetrated into every

gulf, became familiar sights to the inhabitants of every shore. From timid sailing along the coast by day,

chiefly in the summer season, when winds whispered gently, and atmospheric signs indicated that fair

weather had set in, they progressed by degrees to long voyages, continued both by night and day,[26] from

promontory to promontory, or from island to island, sometimes even across a long stretch of open sea,

altogether out of sight of land, and carried on at every season of the year except some few of special danger.

To Sidon is especially ascribed the introduction of the practice of sailing by night,[27] which shortened the

duration of voyages by almost onehalf, and doubled the number of trips that a vessel could accomplish in

the course of a year. For night sailing the arts of astronomy and computation had to be studied;[28] the aspect

of the heavens at different seasons had to be known; and among the shifting constellations some fixed point

had to be found by which it would be safe to steer. The last star in the tail of the Little Bearthe polar star of

our own navigation bookswas fixed upon by the Phoenicians, probably by the Sidonians, for this

purpose,[29] and was practically employed as the best index of the true north from a remote period. The rate

of a ship's speed was, somehow or other, estimated; and though it was long before charts were made, or the

set of currents taken into account, yet voyages were for the most part accomplished with very tolerable

accuracy and safety. An ample commerce grew up under Sidonian auspices. After the vernal equinox was

over a fleet of whitewinged ships sped forth from the many harbours of the Syrian coast, well laden with a

variety of wares Phoenician, Assyrian, Egyptian[30]and made for the coasts and islands of the Levant,

the �gean, the Propontis, the Adriatic, the midMediterranean, where they exchanged the cargoes which

they had brought with them for the best products of the lands whereto they had come. Generally, a few

weeks, or at most a month or two, would complete the transfer the of commodities, and the ships which left

Sidon in April or May would return about June or July, unload, and make themselves ready for a second

voyage. But sometimes, it appears, the return cargo was not so readily procured, and vessels had to remain in

The behaviour of the traders must, on the whole, have been such as won the respect of the nations and tribes

wherewith they traded. Otherwise, the markets would soon have been closed against them, and, in lieu of the

peaceful commerce which the Phoenicians always affected, would have sprung up along the shores of the

Mediterranean a general feeling of distrust and suspicion, which would have led on to hostile encounters,

surprises, massacres, and then reprisals. The entire history of Phoenician commerce shows that such a

condition of things never existed. The traders and their customers were bound together by the bonds of

selfinterest, and, except in rare instances, dealt by each other fairly and honestly. Still, there were occasions

when, under the stress of temptation, fairdealing was lost sight of, and immediate prospect of gain was

allowed to lead to the commission of acts destructive of all feeling of security, subversive of commercial

morals, and calculated to effect a rupture of commercial relations, which it may often have taken a long term

of years to reestablish. Herodotus tells us that, at a date considerably anterior to the Trojan war, when the

ascendancy over the other Phoenician cities must certainly have belonged to Sidon, an affair of this kind took

place on the coast of Argolis, which was long felt by the Greeks as an injury and an outrage. A Phoenician

vessel made the coast near Argos, and the crew, having effected a landing, proceeded to expose their

merchandise for sale along the shore, and to traffic with the natives, who were very willing to make

purchases, and in the course of five or six days bought up almost the entire cargo. At length, just as the

traders were thinking of reembarking and sailing away, there came down to the shore from the capital a

number of Argive ladies, including among them a princess, Io, the daughter of Inachus, the Argive king.

Hereupon, the trafficking and the bargaining recommenced; goods were produced suited to the taste of the

new customers; and each strove to obtain what she desired most at the least cost. But suddenly, as they were

all intent upon their purchases, and were crowding round the stern of the ship, the Phoenicians, with a general

shout, rushed upon them. Many the greater part, we are toldmade their escape; but the princess, and a

certain number of her companions, were seized and carried on board. The traders quickly put to sea, and

Another instance of kidnapping, accomplished by art rather than by force, is related to us by Homer.[33]

Eum�us, the swineherd of Ulysses, was the son of a king, dwelling towards the west, in an island off the

Sicilian coast. A Phoenician woman, herself kidnapped from Sidon by piratical Taphians, had the task of

nursing and tending him assigned to her, and discharged it faithfully until a great temptation befell her. A

Sidonian merchantship visited the island, laden with rich store of precious wares, and proceeded to open a

trade with the inhabitants, in the course of which one of the sailors seduced the Phoenician nurse, and

suggested that when the vessel left, she should allow herself to be carried off in it. The woman, whose parents

were still alive at Sidon, came into the scheme, and being apprised of the date of the ship's departure, stole

away from the palace unobserved, taking with her three golden goblets, and also her master's child, the boy of

whom she had charge. It was evening, and all having been prepared beforehand, the nurse and child were

hastily smuggled on board, the sails were hoisted, and the ship was soon under weigh. The wretched woman

died ere the voyage was over, but the boy survived, and was carried by the traders to Ithaca, and there sold

It is not suggested that these narratives, in the form in which they have come down to us, are historically true.

There may never have been an "Io, daughter of Inachus," or an "Eum�us, son of Ctesius Ormenides," or an

island, "Syria called by name, over against Ortygia," or even a Ulysses or a La�rtes. But the tales could never

have grown up, have been invented, or have gained acceptance, unless the practice of kidnapping, on which

they are based, had been known to be one in which the Phoenicians of the time indulged, at any rate

occasionally. We must allow this blot on the Sidonian escutcheon, and can only plead, in extenuation of their

offence, first, the imperfect morality of the age, and secondly, the fact that such deviations from the line of

fairdealing and honesty on the part of the Sidonian traders must have been of rare occurrence, or the

flourishing and lucrative trade, which was the basis of all the glory and prosperity of the people, could not

possibly have been established. Successful commerce must rest upon the foundation of mutual confidence;

and mutual confidence is impossible unless the rules of fair dealing are observed on both sides, if not

invariably, yet, at any rate, so generally that the infraction of them is not contemplated on either side as

Of the internal government of Sidon during this period no details have come down to us. Undoubtedly, like

all the Phoenician cities in the early times,[34] she had her own kings; and we may presume, from the almost

universal practice in ancient times, and especially in the East,[35] that the monarchy was hereditary. The

main duties of the king were to lead out the people to battle in time of war, and to administer justice in time

of peace.[36] The kings were in part supported, in part held in check, by a powerful aristocracyan

aristocracy which, we may conjecture, had wealth, rather than birth, as its basis. It does not appear that any

political authority was possessed by the priesthood, nor that the priesthood was a caste, as in India, and

(according to some writers) in Egypt. The priestly office was certainly not attached by any general custom to

the person of the kings, though kings might be priests, and were so occasionally.[37]

We do not distinctly hear of Sidon has having been engaged in any war during the period of her ascendancy,

excepting that with the Philistines. Still as "the Zidonians" are mentioned among the nations which

"oppressed Israel" in the time of the Judges,[38] we must conclude that differences arose between them and

their southern neighbours in some portion of this period, and that, war having broken out between them, the

advantage rested with Sidon. The record of "Judges" is incomplete, and does not enable us even to fix the

date of the Sidonian "oppression." We can only say that it was anterior to the judgeship of Jephthah, and was

The war with the Philistines brought the period of Sidonian ascendancy to an end, and introduces us to the

second period of Phoenician history, or that of the hegemony of Tyre. The supposed date of the change is

Influx of the Sidonian population raises Tyre to the first place among the cities (about B.C. 1252)First

notable result, the colonisation of Gades (B.C. 1130)Other colonies of about this periodExtension of

Phoenician commerceTyre ruled by kingsAbi BaalHiramHiram's dealings with SolomonHis

improvement of his own capitalHis opinion of "the land of Cabul"His joint trade with the

IsraelitesHis war with UticaSuccessors of HiramTime of disturbanceReign of Ithobalof

Tyre was noted as a "strong city" as early as the time of Joshua,[40] and was probably inferior only to Sidon,

or to Sidon and Aradus, during the period of Sidonian ascendancy. It is mentioned in the "Travels of a

Mohar" (about B.C. 1350) as "a port, richer in fish than in sands."[41] The tradition was, that it acquired its

predominance and preeminence from the accession of the Sidonian population, which fled thither by sea,

when no longer able to resist the forces of Ascalon.[42] We do not find it, however, attaining to any great

distinction or notoriety, until more than a century later, when it distinguishes itself by the colonisation of

Gades (about B.C. 1130), beyond the Pillars of Hercules, on the shores of the Atlantic. We may perhaps

deduce from this fact, that the concentration of energy caused by the removal to Tyre of the best elements in

the population of Sidon gave a stimulus to enterprise, and caused longer voyages to be undertaken, and

greater dangers to be affronted by the daring seamen of the Syrian coast than had ever been ventured on

before. The Tyrian seamen were, perhaps, of a tougher fibre than the Sidonian, and the change of hegemony

is certainly accompanied by a greater display of energy, a more adventurous spirit, a wider colonisation, and

a more wonderful commercial success, than characterise the preceding period of Sidonian leadership and

The settlements planted by Tyre in the first burst of her colonising energy seem to have been, besides Gades,

Thasos, Abdera, and Pronectus towards the north, Malaca, Sexti, Carteia, Belon, and a second Abdera in

Spain, together with Caralis in Sardinia,[43] Tingis and Lixus on the West African coast, and in North Africa

Hadrumetum and the lesser Leptis.[44] Her aim was to throw the meshes of her commerce wider than Sidon

had ever done, and so to sweep into her net a more abundant booty. It was Tyre which especially affected

"long voyages,"[45] and induced her colonists of Gades to explore the shores outside the Pillars of Hercules,

northwards as far as Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, southwards to the Fortunate Islands, and northeastwards

into the Baltic. It is, no doubt, uncertain at what date these explorations were effected, and some of them may

belong to the later hegemony of Tyre, ab. B.C. 600; but the forward movement of the twelfth century seems

to have been distinctly Tyrian, and to have been one of the results of the new position in which she was

According to some,[46] Tyre, during the early period of her supremacy, was under the government of

sh�phetim, or "judges;" but the general usage of the Phoenician cities makes against this supposition. Philo in

his "Origines of Phoenicia" speaks constantly of kings,[47] but never of judges. We hear of a king,

AbdBaal, at Berytus[48] about B.C. 1300. Sidonian kings are mentioned in connection with the myth of

Europa.[49] The cities founded by the Phoenicians in Cyprus are always under monarchical rule.[50] Tyre

itself, when its history first presents itself to us in any detail, is governed by a king.[51] All that can be urged

on the other side is, that we know of no Tyrian king by name until about B.C. 1050; and that, if there had

been earlier kings, it might have been expected that some record of them would have come down to us. But to

argue thus is to ignore the extreme scantiness and casual character of the notices which have reached us

bearing upon the early Phoenician history. No writer has left us any continuous history of Phoenicia, even in

the barest outline.[52] Native monumental annals are entirely wanting. We depend for the early times upon

the accident of Jewish monarchs having come into contact occasionally with Phoenician ones, and on Jewish

writers having noted the occasions in Jewish histories. Scripture and Josephus alone furnish our materials for

the period now under consideration, and the materials are scanty, fragmentary, and sadly wanting in

It is towards the middle of the eleventh century B.C. that these materials become available. About the time

when David was acclaimed as king by the tribe of Judah at Hebron, a Phoenician prince mounted the throne

of Tyre, by name Abibalus, or AbiBaal.[53] We do not know the length of his reign; but, while the son of

Jesse was still in the full vigour of life, AbiBaal was succeeded on the Tyrian throne by his son, Hiram or

Hir�m, a prince of great energy, of varied tastes, and of an unusually broad and liberal turn of mind. Hiram,

casting his eye over the condition of the states and kingdoms which were his neighbours, seems to have

discerned in Judah and David a power and a ruler whose friendship it was desirable to cultivate with a view

to the establishment of very close relations. Accordingly, it was not long after the Jewish monarch's capture

of the Jebusite stronghold on Mount Zion that the Tyrian prince sent messengers to him to Jerusalem, with a

present of "timber of cedars," and a number of carpenters, and stonehewers, well skilled in the art of

building.[54] David accepted their services, and a goodly palace soon arose on some part of the Eastern hill,

of which cedar from Lebanon was the chief material,[55] and of which Hiram's workmen were the

constructors. At a later date David set himself to collect abundant and choice materials for the magnificent

Temple which Solomon his son was divinely commissioned to build on Mount Moriah to Jehovah; and here

again "the Zidonians and they of Tyre," or the subjects of Hiram, "brought much cedar wood to David."[56]

The friendship continued firm to the close of David's reign;[57] and when Solomon succeeded his father as

king of Israel and lord of the whole tract between the middle Euphrates and Egypt, the bonds were drawn yet

closer, and an alliance concluded which placed the two powers on terms of the very greatest intimacy. Hiram

had no sooner heard of Solomon's accession than he sent an embassy to congratulate him;[58] and Solomon

took advantage of the opening which presented itself to announce his intention of building the Temple which

his father had designed, and to request Hiram's aid in the completion of the work. Copies of letters which

passed between the two monarchs were preserved both in the Tyrian and the Jewish archives, and the Tyrian

versions are said to have been still extant in the public record office of the city in the first century of the

"Solomon to King Hiram [sends greeting]:Know that my father David was desirous of building a temple to

God, but was prevented by his wars and his continual expeditions; for he did not rest from subduing his

adversaries, until he had made every one of them tributary to him. And now I for my part return thanks to

God for the present time of peace, and having rest thereby I purpose to build the house; for God declared to

my father that it should be built by me. Wherefore I beseech thee to send some of thy servants with my

servants to Mount Lebanon, to cut wood there, for none among us can skill to hew timber like unto the

Sidonians. And I will pay the woodcutters their hire at whatsoever rate thou shalt determine."

"King Hiram to King Solomon [sends greeting]:Needs must I praise God, that hath given thee to sit upon

thy father's throne, seeing that thou art a wise man, and possessed of every virtue. And I, rejoicing at these

things, will do all that thou hast desired of me. I will by my servants cut thee in abundance timber of cedar

and timber of cypress, and will bring them down to the sea, and command my servants to construct of them a

float, or raft, and navigate it to whatever point of thy coast thou mayest wish, and there discharge them; after

which thy servants can carry them to Jerusalem. But be it thy care to provide me in return with a supply of

The result was an arrangement by which the Tyrian monarch furnished his brother king with timber of

various kinds, chiefly cedar, cut in Lebanon, and also with a certain number of trained artificers, workers in

metal, carpenters, and masons, while the Israelite monarch on his part made a return in corn, wine, and oil,

supplying Tyre, while the contract lasted, with 20,000 cors of wheat, the same quantity of barley, 20,000

baths of wine, and the same number of oil, annually.[61] Phoenicia always needed to import supplies of food

for its abundant population,[62] and having an inexhaustible store of timber in Lebanon, was glad to find a

market for it so near. Thus the arrangement suited both parties. The hillsides of Galilee and the broad and

fertile plains of Esdraelon and Sharon produced a superabundance of wheat and barley, whereof the

inhabitants had to dispose in some quarter or other, and the highlands of Sumeria and Jud�a bore oil and

wine far beyond the wants of those who cultivated them. What Phoenicia lacked in these respects from the

scantiness of its cultivable soil, Palestine was able and eager to supply; while to Phoenicia it was a boon to

obtain, not only a market for her timber, but also employment for her surplus population, which under

ordinary circumstances was always requiring to be carried off to distant lands, from the difficulty of

A still greater advantage was it to the rude Jud�ans to get the assistance of their civilised and artistic

neighbours in the design and execution, both of the Temple itself and of all those accessories, which in

ancient times a sacred edifice on a large scale was regarded as requiring. The Phoenicians, and especially the

Tyrians, had long possessed, both in their home and foreign settlements, temples of some pretension, and

Hiram had recently been engaged in beautifying and adorning, perhaps in rebuilding, some of these venerable

edifices at Tyre.[63] A Phoenician architectural style had thus been formed, and Hiram's architects and

artificers would be familiar with constructive principles and ornamental details, as well as with industrial

processes, which are very unlikely to have been known at the time to the Hebrews. The wood for the Jewish

Temple was roughly cut, and the stones quarried, by Israelite workmen;[64] but all the delicate work, whether

in the one material or the other, was performed by the servants of Hiram. Stonecutters from Gebal (Byblus)

shaped and smoothed the "great stones, costly stones" employed in the substructions of the "house;"[65]

Tyrian carpenters planed and polished the cedar planks used for the walls, and covered them with

representations of cherubs and palms and gourds and opening flowers.[66] The metallurgists of Sidon

probably supplied the cherubic figures in the inner sanctuary,[67] as well as the castings for the doors,[68]

and the bulk of the sacred vessels. The vail which separated between the "Holy Place" and the Holy of

Holiesa marvellous fabric of blue, and purple, and crimson, and white, with cherubim wrought

thereon[69]owed its beauty probably to Tyrian dyers and Tyrian workers in embroidery. The

masterworkman lent by the Tyrian monarch to superintend the entire workan extraordinary and almost

universal genius"skilful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber; in purple, in

blue, in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving"[70]who bore the same name with

the king,[71] was the son of an Israelite mother, but boasted a Tyrian father,[72] and was doubtless born and

bred up at Tyre. Under his special direction were cast in the valley of the Jordan, between Succoth and

Zarthan,[73] those wonderful pillars, known as Jachin and Boaz, which have already been described, and

which seem to have had their counterparts in the sacred edifices both of Phoenicia and Cyprus.[74] To him

also is specially ascribed the "molten sea," standing on twelve oxen,[75] which was perhaps the most artistic

of all the objects placed within the Temple circuit, as are also the lavers upon wheels,[76] which, if less

The partnership established between the two kingdoms in connection with the building and furnishing of the

Jewish Temple, which lasted for seven years,[77] was further continued for thirteen more[78] in connection

with the construction of Solomon's palace. This palace, like an Assyrian one, consisted of several distinct

edifices. "The chief was a long hall which, like the Temple, was encased in cedar; whence probably its name,

'The House of the Forest of Lebanon.' In front of it ran a pillared portico. Between this portico and the palace

itself was a cedar porch, sometimes called the Tower of David. In this tower, apparently hung over the walls

outside, were a thousand golden shields, which gave to the whole place the name of the Armoury. With a

splendour that outshone any like fortress, the tower with these golden targets glittered far off in the sunshine

like the tall neck, as it was thought, of a beautiful bride, decked out, after the manner of the East, with strings

of golden coins. This porch was the gem and centre of the whole empire; and was so much thought of that a

smaller likeness to it was erected in another part of the precinct for the queen. Within the porch itself was to

be seen the king in state. On a throne of ivory, brought from Africa or India, the throne of many an Arabian

legend, the kings of Judah were solemnly seated on the day of their accession. From its lofty seat, and under

that high gateway, Solomon and his successors after him delivered their solemn judgments. That 'porch' or

'gate of justice' still kept alive the likeness of the old patriarchal custom of sitting in judgment at the gate;

exactly as the 'Gate of Justice' still recalls it to us at Granada, and the Sublime Porte'the Lofty Gate'at

Constantinople. He sate on the back of a golden bull, its head turned over its shoulder, probably the ox or bull

of Ephraim; under his feet, on each side of the steps, were six golden lions, probably the lions of Judah. This

We have dwelt the longer upon these matters because it is from the lengthy and elaborate descriptions which

the Hebrew writers give of these Phoenician constructions at Jerusalem that we must form our conceptions,

not only of the state of Phoenician art in Hiram's time, but also of the works wherewith he adorned his own

capital. He came to the throne at the age of nineteen,[80] on the decease of his father, and immediately set to

work to improve, enlarge, and beautify the city, which in his time claimed the headship of, at any rate, all

Southern Phoenicia. He found Tyre a city built on two islands, separated the one from the other by a narrow

channel, and so cramped for room that the inhabitants had no open square, or public place, on which they

could meet, and were closely packed in overcrowded dwellings.[81] The primary necessity was to increase

the area of the place; and this Hiram effected, first, by filling up the channel between the two islands with

stone and rubbish, and so gaining a space for new buildings, and then by constructing huge moles or

embankments towards the east, and towards the south, where the sea was shallowest, and thus turning what

had been water into land. In this way he so enlarged the town that he was able to lay out a "wide space"

(Eurych�rus)[82] as a public square, which, like the Piazza di San Marco at Venice, became the great resort

of the inhabitants for business and pleasure. Having thus provided for utility and convenience, he next

proceeded to embellishment and ornamentation. The old temples did not seem to him worthy of the renovated

capital; he therefore pulled them down and built new ones in their place. In the most central part of the

city[83] he erected a fane for the worship of Melkarth and Ashtoreth, probably retaining the old site, but

constructing an entirely new buildingthe building which Herodotus visited,[84] and in which Alexander

insisted on sacrificing.[85] Towards the southwest,[86] on what had been a separate islet, he raised a temple

to Baal, and adorned it with a lofty pillar of gold,[87] or at any rate plated with gold. Whether he built

himself a new palace is not related; but as the royal residence of later times was situated on the southern

shore,[88] which was one of Hiram's additions to his capital, it is perhaps most probable that the construction

of this new palace was due to him. The chief material which he used in his buildings was, as in Jerusalem,

cedar. The substructions alone were of stone. They were probably not on so grand a scale as those of the

Jewish Temple, since the wealth of Hiram, sovereign of a petty kingdom, must have fallen very far short of

At the close of the twenty years during which Hiram had assisted Solomon in his buildings, the Israelite

monarch deemed it right to make his Tyrian brother some additional compensation beyond the corn, and

wine, and oil with which, according to his contract, he had annually supplied him. Accordingly, he

voluntarily ceded to him a district of Galilee containing twenty cities, a portion of the old inheritance of

Asher,[89] conveniently near to Accho, of which Hiram was probably lord, and not very remote from Tyre.

The tract appears to have been that where the modern Kab�l now stands, which is a rocky and bare

highland,[90]part of the outlying roots of Lebanonoverlooking the rich plain of Akka or Accho, and

presenting a striking contrast to its fertility. Hiram, on the completion of the cession, "came out from Tyre to

see the cities which Solomon had given him," and was disappointed with the gift. "What cities are these," he

said, "which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul" "rubbish" or

But this passing grievance was not allowed in any way to overshadow, or interfere with, the friendly alliance

and "entente cordiale" (to use a modern phrase) which existed between the two nations. Solomon, according

to one authority,[92] paid a visit to Tyre, and gratified his host by worshipping in a Sidonian temple.

According to another,[93] Hiram gave him in marriage, as a secondary wife, one of his own daughtersa

marriage perhaps alluded to by the writer of Kings when he tells us that "King Solomon loved many strange

women together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians,

and Hittites."[94] The closest commercial relations were established between the two countries, and the hope

of them was probably one of the strongest reasons which attracted both parties to the alliance. The Tyrians,

on their part, possessed abundant ships; their sailors had full "knowledge of the sea,"[95] and the trade of the

Mediterranean was almost wholly in their hands. Solomon, on his side, being master of the port of Ezion

Geber on the Red Sea, had access to the lucrative traffic with Eastern Africa, Arabia, and perhaps India,

which had hitherto been confined to the Egyptians and the Arabs. He had also, by his land power, a command

of the trade routes along the CoeleSyrian valley, by Aleppo, and by Tadmor, which enabled him effectually

either to help or to hinder the Phoenician land traffic. Thus either side had something to gain from the other,

and a close commercial union might be safely counted on to work for the mutual advantage of both. Such a

union, therefore, took place. Hiram admitted Solomon to a participation in his western traffic; and the two

kings maintained a conjoint "navy of Tarshish,"[96] which, trading with Spain and the West coast of Africa,

brought to Phoenicia and Palestine "once in three years" many precious and rare commodities, the chief of

them being "gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." Spain would yield the gold and the silver, for

the Tagus brought down gold,[97] and the Spanish silver mines were the richest in the world.[98] Africa

would furnish in abundance the ivory and the apes; for elephants were numerous in Mauritania,[99] and on

the west coast,[100] in ancient times; and the gorilla[101] and the Barbary ape are wellknown African

products. Africa may also have produced the "peacocks," if tukkiyim are really "peacocks," though they are

not found there at the present day. Or the tukkiyim may have been Guineafowla bird of the same class

In return, Solomon opened to Hiram the route to the East by way of the Red Sea. Solomon, doubtless by the

assistance of shipwrights furnished to him from Tyre, "made a navy of ships at EzionGeber, which is beside

Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom,"[102] and the sailors of the two nations conjointly

manned the ships, and performed the voyage to Ophir, whence they brought gold, and "great plenty of

almugtrees," and precious stones.[103] The position of Ophir has been much disputed, but the balance of

argument is in favour of the theory which places it in Arabia, on the southeastern coast, a little outside the

Straits of BabelMandeb.[104] It is possible that the fleet did not confine itself to trade with Ophir, but,

once launched on the Indian Ocean, proceeded along the Atlantic coast to the Persian Gulf and the peninsula

of Hindustan. Or Ophir may have been an Arab emporium for the Indian trade, and the merchants of Syria

may have found there the Indian commodities, and the Indian woods,[105] which they seem to have brought

back with them to their own country. A most lucrative traffic was certainly established by the united efforts

of the two kings; and if the lion's share of the profit fell to Solomon and the Hebrews,[106] still the

Phoenicians and Hiram must have participated to some considerable extent in the gains made, or the

It is thought that Hiram was engaged in one war of some importance. Menander tells us, according to the

present text of Josephus,[107] that the "Tityi" revolted from him, and refused any longer to pay him tribute,

whereupon he made an expedition against them, and succeeded in compelling them to submit to his authority.

As the "Tityi" are an unknown people, conjecture has been busy in suggesting other names,[108] and critics

are now of the opinion that the original word used by Menander was not "Tityi," but "Ityk�i." The "Ityk�i"

are the people of Utica: and, if this emendation be accepted,[109] we must regard Hiram as having had to

crush a most important and dangerous rebellion. Utica, previously to the foundation of Carthage, was by far

the most important of all the midAfrican colonies, and her successful revolt would probably have meant to

Tyre the loss of the greater portion, if not the whole, of those valuable settlements. A rival to her power

would have sprung up in the West, which would have crippled her commerce in that quarter, and checked her

colonising energy. She would have suffered thus early more than she did four hundred years later by the great

development of the power of Carthage; would have lost a large portion of her prestige; and have entered on

the period of her decline when she had but lately obtained a commanding position. Hiram's energy diverted

these evils: he did not choose that his kingdom should be dismembered, if he could anyhow help it; and,

offering a firm and strenuous opposition to the revolt, he succeeded in crushing it, and maintaining the unity

The brilliant reign of Hiram, which covered the space of fortythree years, was not followed, like that of

Solomon, by any immediate troubles, either foreign or domestic. He had given his people, either at home or

abroad, constant employment; he had consulted their convenience in the enlargement of his capital; he had

enriched them, and gratified their love of adventure, by his commercial enterprises; he had maintained their

prestige by rivetting their yoke upon a subject state; he had probably pleased them by the temples and other

public buildings with which he had adorned and beautified their city. Accordingly, he went down to the grave

in peace; and not only so, but left his dynasty firmly established in power. His son, Baalazar or Baleazar,

who was thirtysix years of age, succeeded him, and held the throne for seven years, when he died a natural

death.[110] Abd Ashtoreth (Abdastartus), the fourth monarch of the house, then ascended the throne, at the

age of twenty, and reigned for nine years before any troubles broke out. Then, however, a time of disturbance

supervened. Four of his fosterbrothers conspired against Abd Ashtoreth, and murdered him. The eldest of

them seized the throne, and maintained himself upon it for twelve years, when Astartus, perhaps a son of

Baalazar, became king, and restored the line of Hiram. He, too, like his predecessor, reigned twelve years,

when his brother, Aserymus, succeeded him. Aserymus, after ruling for nine years, was murdered by another

brother, Pheles, who, in his turn, succumbed to a conspiracy headed by the High Priest, Ethbaal, or

Ithobal.[111] Thus, while the period immediately following the death of Hiram was one of tranquillity, that

which supervened on the death of AbdAstartus, Hiram's grandson, was disturbed and unsettled. Three

monarchs met with violent deaths within the space of thirtyfour years, and the reigning house was, at least,

At length with Ithobal a more tranquil time was reached. Ithobal, or Ethbaal, was not only king, but also

High Priest of Ashtoreth, and thus united the highest sacerdotal with the highest civil authority. He was a man

of decision and energy, a worthy successor of Hiram, gifted like him with widereaching views, and

ambitious of distinction. One of his first acts was to ally himself with Ahab, King of Israel, by giving him his

daughter, Jezebel, in marriage,[112] thus strengthening his land dominion, and renewing the old relations of

friendship with the Hebrew people. Another act of vigour assigned to him is the foundation of Botrys, on the

Syrian coast, north of Gebal, perhaps a defensive movement against Assyria.[113] Still more enterprising was

his renewal of the African colonisation by his foundation of A�za in Numidia,[114] which became a city of

some importance. Ithobal's reign lasted, we are told, thirtytwo years. He was sixtyeight years of age at his

death, and was succeeded by his son, who is called Badezor, probably a corruption of Balezor, or Baal

azar[115]the name given by Hiram to his son and successor. Of Badezor we know nothing, except that he

reigned six years, and was succeeded by his son Matgen, perhaps Mattan,[116] a youth of twenty three.

With Matgen, or Mattan, whichever be the true form of the name, the internal history of Tyre becomes

interesting. It appears that two parties already existed in the state, one aristocratic, and the other popular.[117]

Mattan, fearing the ascendancy of the popular party, married his daughter, Elisa, whom he intended for his

successor, to her uncle and his own brother, Sicharbas, who was High Priest of Melkarth, and therefore

possessed of considerable authority in his own person. Having effected this marriage, and nominated Elisa to

succeed him, Mattan died at the early age of thirtytwo, after a reign of only nine years.[118] Besides his

daughter, he had left behind him a son, Pygmalion, who, at his decease, was but eight or nine years old. This

child the democratic party contrived to get under their influence, proclaimed him king, young as he was, and

placed him upon the throne. Elisa and her husband retired into private life, and lived in peace for seven years,

but Pygmalion, being then grown to manhood, was not content to leave them any longer unmolested. He

murdered Sicharbas, and endeavoured to seize his riches. But the exQueen contrived to frustrate his design,

and having possessed herself of a fleet of ships, and taken on board the greater number of the nobles, sailed

away, with her husband's wealth untouched, to Cyprus first, and then to Africa.[119] Here, by agreement with

the inhabitants, a site was obtained, and the famous settlement founded, which became known to the Greeks

as "Karch�don," and to the Romans as "Carthago," or Carthage. Josephus places this event in the hundred and

fortyfourth year after the building of the Temple of Solomon,[120] or about B.C. 860. This date, however, is

It appears to have been in the reign of Ithobal that the first contact took place between Phoenicia and Assyria.

About B.C. 885, a powerful and warlike monarch, by name Asshurnazirpal, mounted the throne of

Nineveh, and shortly engaged in a series of wars towards the south, the east, the north, and the

northwest.[121] In the lastnamed direction he crossed the Euphrates at Carchemish (Jerablus), and, having

overrun the country between that river and the Orontes, he proceeded to pass this latter stream also, and to

carry his arms into the rich tract which lay between the Orontes and the Mediterranean. "It was a tract," says

M. Maspero,[122] "opulent and thickly populated, at once full of industries and commercial; the metals, both

precious and ordinary, gold, silver, copper, tin (?), iron, were abundant; traffic with Phoenicia supplied it with

the purple dye, and with linen stuffs, with ebony and with sandalwood. Asshurnazirpal's attack seems to

have surprised the chief of the Hittites in a time of profound peace. Sangar, King of Carchemish, allowed the

passage of the Euphrates to take place without disputing it, and opened to the Assyrians the gates of his

capital. Lubarna, king of Kunulua, alarmed at the power of the enemy, and dreading the issue of a battle,

came to terms with him, consenting to make over to him twenty talents of gold, a talent of silver, two

hundred talents of tin, a hundred of iron, 2,000 oxen, 10,000 sheep, a thousand garments of wool or linen,

together with furniture, arms, and slaves beyond all count. The country of Lukhuti resisted, and suffered the

natural consequences all the cities were sacked, and the prisoners crucified. After this exploit,

Asshurnazirpal occupied both the slopes of Mount Lebanon, and then descended to the shores of the

Mediterranean. Phoenicia did not await his arrival to do him homage: the kings of Tyre, Sidon, Gebal, and

Arvad, 'which is in the midst of the sea,' sent him presents. The Assyrians employed their time in cutting

down cedar trees in Lebanon and Amanus, together with pines and cypresses, which they transported to

The period of the Assyrian subjection, which commenced with this attack on the part of Asshurnazirpal,

will be the subject of the next section. It only remains here briefly to recapitulate the salient points of

Phoenician history under Tyre's first supremacy. In the first place, it was a time of increased daring and

enterprise, in which colonies were planted upon the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and trade extended to the

remote south, the more remote north, and the still more remote northeast, to the Fortunate Islands, the

Cassiterides, and probably the Baltic. Secondly, it was a time when the colonies on the North African coast

were reinforced, strengthened, and increased in number; when the Phoenician yoke was rivetted on that vast

projection into the Mediterranean which divides that sea into two halves, and goes far to give the power

possessing it entire command of the Mediterranean waters. Thirdly, it was a time of extended commerce with

the East, perhaps the only time when Phoenician merchant vessels were free to share in the trade of the Red

Sea, to adventure themselves in the Indian Ocean, and to explore the distant coasts of Eastern Africa,

Southern Arabia, Beloochistan, India and Ceylon. Fourthly, it was a time of artistic vigour and development,

when Tyre herself assumed that aspect of splendour and magnificence which thenceforth characterised her

until her destruction by Alexander, and when she so abounded in �sthetic energy and genius that she could

afford to take the direction of an art movement in a neighbouring country, and to plant her ideas on that

conspicuous hill which for more than a thousand years drew the eyes of men almost more than any other city

of the East, and was only destroyed because she was felt by Rome to be a rival that she could not venture to

spare. Finally, it was a time when internal dissensions, long existing, came to a head, and the state lost,

through a sudden desertion, a considerable portion of its strength, which was transferred to a distant

continent, and there steadily, if not rapidly, developed itself into a power, not antagonistic indeed, but still, by

the necessity of its position, a rival powera new commercial star, before which all other stars, whatever

their brightness had been, paled and waneda new factor in the polity of nations, whereof account had of

necessity to be taken; a new tradecentre, which could not but supersede to a great extent all former

tradecentres, and which, however unwillingly, as it rose, and advanced, and prospered, tended to dim,

Phoenicia conquered by the Assyrians (about B.C. 877)Peaceful relations established (about B.C.

839)Time of quiet and prosperityHarsh measures of Tiglathpileser II. (about B.C. 740) Revolt of

SimyraRevolt of Tyre under Elul�usWars of Elul�us with Shalmaneser IV. and with

SennacheribReign of AbdiMilkut His war with EsarhaddonAccession of BaalHis relations with

Esarhaddon and AsshurbanipalRevolt and reduction of Arvad, Hosah, and AcchoSummary.

The first contact of Phoenicia with Assyria took place, as above observed, in the reign of Asshurnazirpal,

about the year B.C. 877. The principal cities, on the approach of the great conquering monarch, with his

multitudinous array of chariots, his clouds of horse, and his innumerable host of foot soldiers, made haste to

submit themselves, sought to propitiate the invader by rich gifts, and accepted what they hoped might prove a

nominal subjection. Arvad, which, as the most northern, was the most directly threatened, Gebal, Sidon, and

even the comparatively remote Tyre, sent their several embassies, made their offerings, and became, in name

at any rate, Assyrian dependencies. But the real subjection of this country was not effected at this time, nor

without a struggle. Asshurnazirpal's yoke lay lightly upon his vassals, and during the remainder of his long

reignfrom B.C. 877 to B.C. 860he seems to have desisted from military expeditions,[123] and to have

exerted no pressure on the countries situated west of the Euphrates. It was not until the reign of his son and

successor, Shalmaneser II., that the real conquest of Syria and Phoenicia was taken in hand, and pressed to a

successful issue by a long series of hardfought campaigns and bloody battles. From his sixth to his

twentyfirst year Shamaneser carried on an almost continuous war in Syria,[124] where his adversaries were

the monarchs of Damascus and Hamath, and "the twelve kings beside the sea, above and below,"[125] one of

whom is expressly declared to have been "MattanBaal of Arvad."[126] It was not until the year B.C. 839

that this struggle was terminated by the submission of the monarchs engaged in it to their great adversary, and

the firm establishment of a system of "tribute and taxes."[127] The Phoenician towns agreed to pay annually

to the Assyrian monarch a certain fixed sum in the precious metals, and further to make him presents from

time to time of the best products of their country. Among these are mentioned "skins of buffaloes, horns of

buffaloes, clothing of wool and linen, violet wool, purple wool, strong wood, wood for weapons, skins of

The relations of Phoenicia towards the Assyrian monarchy continued to be absolutely peaceful for above a

century. The cities retained their native monarchs, their laws and institutions, their religion, and their entire

internal administration. So long as they paid the fixed tribute, they appear not to have been interfered with in

any way. It would seem that their trade prospered. Assyria had under her control the greater portion of those

commercial routes across the continent of Asia,[129] which it was of the highest importance to Phoenicia to

have open and free from peril. Her caravans could traverse them with increased security, now that they were

safeguarded by a power whereof she was a dependency. She may even have obtained through Assyria access

to regions which had been previously closed to her, as Media, and perhaps Persia. At any rate Tyre seems to

have been as flourishing in the later times of the Assyrian dominion as at almost any other period. Isaiah, in

denouncing woe upon her, towards the close of the dominion, shows us what she had been under it:

Be silent (he says), ye inhabitants of the island, Which the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have

replenished. The corn of the Nile, on the broad waters, The harvest of the River, has been her revenue: She

has been the mart of nations . . . She was a joyful city, Her antiquity was of ancient days . . . She was a city

that dispensed crowns; Her merchants were princes, And her traffickers the honourable of the earth.[130]

A change in the friendly feelings of the Phoenician cities towards Assyria first began after the rise of the

Second or Lower Assyrian Empire, which was founded, about B.C. 745, by Tiglathpileser II.[131]

Tiglathpileser, after a time of quiescence and decay, raised up Assyria to be once more a great conquering

power, and energetically applied himself to the consolidation and unification of the empire. It was the

Assyrian system, as it was the Roman, to absorb nations by slow degreesto begin by offering protection

and asking in return a moderate tribute; then to draw the bonds more close, to make fresh demands and

enforce them; finally, to pick a quarrel, effect a conquest, and absorb the country, leaving it no vestige of

independence. Tiglathpileser began this process of absorption in Northern Syria about the year B.C. 740. He

rearranged the population in the various towns, taking from some and giving to others,[132] adding also in

most cases an Assyrian element, appointing Assyrian governors,[133] and requiring of the inhabitants "the

performance of service like the Assyrians."[134] Among the places thus treated between the years B.C. 740

and B.C. 738, we find the Phoenician cities of Zimirra, or Simyra, and Arqa, or Arka. Zimirra was in the

plain between the sea and Mount Bargylus, not very far from the island of Aradus, whereof it was a

dependency. Arqa was further to the south, beyond the Eleutherus, and belonged properly to Tripolis, if

Tripolis had as yet been founded, or else to Botrys. Both of them were readily accessible from the Orontes

valley along the course of the Eleutherus, and, being weak, could offer no resistance. Tiglathpileser carried

out his plans, rearranged the populations, and placed the cities under Assyrian governors responsible to

himself. There was no immediate outbreak; but the injury rankled. Within twenty years Zimirra joined a

revolt, to which Hamath, Arpad, Damascus, and Samaria were likewise parties, and made a desperate attempt

to shake off the Assyrian yoke.[135] The attempt failed, the revolt was crushed, and Zimirra is heard of no

But this was not the worst. The harsh treatment of Simyra and Arka, without complaint made or offence

given, after a full century of patient and quiet submission, aroused a feeling of alarm and indignation among

the Phoenician cities generally, which could not fail to see in what had befallen their sisters a foreshadowing

of the fate that they had to expect one day themselves. Beginning with the weakest cities, Assyria would

naturally go on to absorb those which were stronger, and Tyre herself, the "anointed cherub,"[136] could look

for no greater favour than, like Ulysses in the cave of Polyphemus, to be devoured last. Luliya, or Elul�us,

the king of Tyre at the time,[137] endeavoured to escape this calamity by gathering to himself a strength

which would enable him to defy attack. He contrived to establish his dominion over almost the whole of

Southern Phoeniciaover Sidon, Accho, Ecdippa, Sarepta, Hosah, Bitsette, Mahalliba, at the same time over

the distant Cyprus,[139] where the Citt�ans, or people of Citium, held command of the island. After a time

the Citt�ans revolted from him, probably stirred up by the Assyrians. But Elul�us, without delay, led an

expedition into Cyprus, and speedily put down the rebellion. Hereupon the Assyrian king of the time,

Shalmaneser IV., the successor and probably the son of Tiglathpileser II., led a great expedition into the

west about B.C. 727, and "overran all Syria and Phoenicia."[140] But he was unable to make any

considerable impression. Tyre and Aradus were safe upon their islands; Sidon and the other cities upon the

mainland, were protected by strong and lofty walls. After a single campaign, the Great King found it

necessary to offer terms of peace, which proved acceptable, and the belligerents parted towards the close of

It seemed necessary to adopt some different course of action. Shalmaneser had discovered during his abortive

campaign that there were discords and jealousies among the various Phoenician cities; that none of them

submitted without repugnance to the authority of Tyre, and that Sidon especially had an ancient ground of

quarrel with her more powerful sister, and always cherished the hope of recovering her original supremacy.

He had seen also that the greater number of the Phoenician towns, if he chose to press upon them with the full

force of his immense military organisation, lay at his mercy. He had only to invest each city on the land side,

to occupy its territory, to burn its villas, to destroy its irrigation works, to cut down its fruit trees, to interfere

with its watersupply, and in the last instance to press upon it, to batter down its walls, to enter its streets,

slaughter its population, or drive it to take refuge in its ships,[142] and he could become absolute master of

the whole Phoenician mainland. Only Tyre and Aradus could escape him. But might not they also be brought

into subjection by the naval forces which their sister cities, once occupied, might be compelled to furnish, and

to man, or, at any rate, to assist in manning? Might not the whole of Phoenicia be in this way absorbed into

the empire? The prospect was pleasing, and Shalmaneser set to work to convert the vision into a reality. By

his emissaries he stirred up the spirit of disaffection among the Tyrian subject towns, and succeeded in

separating from Tyre, and drawing over to his own side, not only Sidon and Acre and their dependencies, but

even the city of Pal�Tyrus itself,[143] or the great town which had grown up opposite the island Tyre upon

the mainland. The island Tyre seems to have been left without support or ally, to fight her own battle singly.

Shalmaneser called upon his new friends to furnish him with a fleet, and they readily responded to the call,

placing their ships at his disposal to the number of sixty, and supplying him further with eight hundred skilled

oarsmen, not a sufficient number to dispense with Assyrian aid, but enough to furnish a nucleus of able

seamen for each vessel. The attack was then made. The AssyroPhoenician fleet sailed in a body from some

port on the continent, and made a demonstration against the Island City, which they may perhaps have

expected to frighten into a surrender. But the Tyrians were in no way alarmed. They knew, probably, that

their own countrymen would not fight with very much zeal for their foreign masters, and they despised,

undoubtedly, the mixed crews, half skilled seamen, half tiros and bunglers, which had been brought against

them. Accordingly they thought it sufficient to put to sea with just a dozen shipsone to each five of the

enemy, and making a sudden attack with these upon the adverse fleet, they defeated it, dispersed it, and took

five hundred prisoners. Shalmaneser saw that he had again miscalculated; and, despairing of any immediate

success, drew off his ships and his troops, and retired to his own country. He left behind him, however, on the

mainland opposite the island Tyre, a certain number of his soldiers, with orders to prevent the Tyrians from

obtaining, according to their ordinary practice, supplies of water from the continent. Some were stationed at

the mouth of the river Leontes (the Litany), a little to the north of Tyre, a perennial stream bringing down a

large quantity of water from CoeleSyria and Lebanon; others held possession of the aqueducts on the south,

built to convey the precious fluid across the plain from the copious springs of Ras el Ain[144] to the nearest

point of the coast opposite the city. The continental water supply was thus effectually cut off; but the Tyrians

were resolute, and made no overtures to the enemy. For five years, we are told,[145] they were content to

drink such water only as could be obtained in their own island from wells sunk in the soil, which must have

been brackish, unwholesome, and disagreeable. At the end of that time a revolution occurred at Nineveh.

Shalmaneser lost his throne (B.C. 722), and a new dynasty succeeding, amid troubles of various kinds,

attention was drawn away from Tyre to other quarters; and Elul�us was left in undisturbed possession of his

It appears that, during this interval, Elul�us rebuilt the power which Shalmaneser had shattered and brought

low, repossessing himself of Cyprus, or, at any rate, of some portion of it,[146] and reestablishing his

authority over all those cities of the mainland which had previously acknowledged subjection to him. These

included Sidon, Bitsette, Sarepta, Mahalliba, Hosah, Achzib or Ecdippa, and Accho (Acre). There is some

ground for thinking that he transferred his own residence to Sidon,[147] perhaps for the purpose of keeping

closer watch upon the town which he most suspected of disaffection. The policy of Sargon seems to have

been to leave Phoenicia alone, and content himself with drawing the tribute which the cities were quite

willing to pay in return for Assyrian protection. His reign lasted from B.C. 722 to B.C. 705, and it was not

until Sennacherib, his son and successor, had been seated for four years upon the throne that a reversal of this

policy took place, and war � outrance was declared against the Phoenician king, who had ventured to brave,

and had succeeded in baffling, Assyria more than twenty years previously. Sennacherib entertained grand

designs of conquest in this quarter, and could not allow the example of an unpunished and triumphant

rebellion to be flaunted in the eyes of a dozen other subject states, tempting them to throw off their

allegiance. He therefore, as soon as affairs in Babylonia ceased to occupy him, marched the full force of the

empire towards the west, and proclaimed his intention of crushing the Phoenician revolt, and punishing the

audacious rebel who had so long defied the might of Assyria. The army which he set in motion must have

numbered more than 200,000 men;[148] its chariots were numerous,[149] its siegetrain ample and well

provided.[150] Such terror did it inspire among those against whom it was directed that Elul�us was afraid

even to await attack, and, while Sennacherib was still on his march, took ship and removed himself to the

distant island of Cyprus,[151] where alone he could feel safe from pursuit and capture. But, though deserted

by their sovereign, his towns seem to have declined to submit themselves. No great battle was fought; but

severally they took arms and defended their walls. Sennacherib tells us that he took one after another"by

the might of the soldiers of Asshur his lord"[152]Great Sidon, Lesser Sidon, Bitsette, Zarephath or

Sarepta, Mahalliba, Hosah, Achzib or Ecdippa, and Accho"strong cities, fortresses, walled and enclosed,

Luliya's castles."[153] He does not claim, however, to have taken Tyre, and we may conclude that the Island

City escaped him. But he made himself master of the entire tract upon the continent which had constituted

Luliya's kingdom, and secured its obedience by placing over it a new king, in whom he had confidence, a

certain Tubaal[154] (TobBaal), probably a Phoenician. At the same time he rearranged the yearly tribute

which the cities had to pay to Assyria,[155] probably augmenting it, as a punishment for the long rebellion.

We hear nothing more of Phoenicia during the reign of Sennacherib, except that, shortly after his conquest of

the tract about Sidon, he received tribute, not only from the king whom he had just set over that town, but

also from Urumelek, king of Gebal (Byblus), and Abd ilihit, king of Arvad.[156] The three towns

represent, probably, the whole of Phoenicia, Aradus at this time exercising dominion over the northern tract,

or that extending from Mount Casius to the Eleutherus, Gebal or Byblus over the central tract from the

Eleutherus to the Tamyras, and Sidon, in the temporary eclipse of Tyre, ruling the southern tract from the

Tamyrus to Mount Carmel. It appears further,[157] that at some date between this tributegiving (B.C. 701)

and the death of Sennacherib (B.C. 681) Tubaal must have been succeeded in the government of Sidon by

AbdiMilkut, or AbdMelkarth[158] ({...}), but whether this change was caused by a revolt, or took place in

the ordinary course, Tubaal dying and being succeeded by his son, is wholly uncertain.

All that we know is that Esarhaddon, on his accession, found Abd Melkarth in revolt against his authority.

He had formed an alliance with a certain Sanduarri, king of Kundi and Sizu,[159] a prince of the Lebanon,

and had set up as independent monarch, probably during the time of the civil way which was waged between

Esarhaddon and two of his brothers who disputed his succession after they had murdered his father.[160] As

soon as this struggle was over, and the Assyrian monarch found himself free to take his own course, he

proceeded at once (B.C. 680) against these two rebels. Both of them tried to escape him. AbdMelkarth,

quitting his capital, fled away by sea, steering probably either for Aradus or for Cyprus. Sanduarri took

refuge in his mountain fastnesses. But Esarhaddon was not to be baffled. He caused both chiefs to be pursued

and taken. "AbdMelkarth," he says,[161] "who from the face of my solders into the middle of the sea had

fled, like a fish from out of the sea, I caught, and cut off his head . . . Sanduarri, who took AbdMelkarth for

his ally, and to his difficult mountains trusted, like a bird from the midst of the mountains, I caught and cut

off his head." Sidon was very severely punished. Esarhaddon boasts that he swept away all its subject cities,

uprooted its citadel and palace, and cast the materials into the sea, at the same time destroying all its

habitations. The town was plundered, the treasures of the palace carried off, and the greater portion of the

population deported to Assyria. The blank was filled up with "natives of the lands and seas of the

East"prisoners taken in Esarhaddon's war with Babylon and Elam, who, like the Phoenicians themselves at

a remote time, exchanged a residence on the shores of the Persian Gulf for one on the distant Mediterranean.

An Assyrian general was placed as governor over the city, and its name changed from Sidon to

It seems to have been in the course of the same year that Esarhaddon held one of those courts, or durbars, in

Syria, which all subject monarchs were expected to attend, and whereat it was the custom that they should

pay homage to their suzerain. Hither flocked almost all the neighbouring monarchs[162]Manasseh, king of

Judah, Qavusgabri, king of Ammon, Zillibel, king of Gaza, Mitinti of Askelon, Ikasamsu of Ekron,

Ahimelek of Ashdod, together with twelve kings of the Cyprians, and three Phoenician monarchs, Baal, king

of Tyre, Milki asaph, king of Gebal, and Mattanbaal, king of Arvad. Tribute was paid, home rendered, and

after a short sojourn at the court, the subjectmonarchs were dismissed. The foremost position in

Esarhaddon's list is occupied by "Baal, king of Tyre;" and this monarch appears to have been received into

exceptional favour. He had perhaps been selected by Esarhaddon to rule Southern Phoenicia on the execution

of AbdMelkarth. At any rate, he enjoyed for some time the absolute confidence and high esteem of his

suzerain. If we may venture to interpret a mutilated inscription,[163] he furnished Esarhaddon with a fleet,

and manned it with his own sailors. Certainly, he received from Esarhaddon a considerable extension of his

dominions. Not only was his authority over Accho recognised and affirmed, but the coast tract south of

Carmel, as far as Dor, the important city Gebal, and the entire region of Lebanon, were placed under his

sovereignty.[164] The date assigned to these events is between B.C. 680 and B.C. 673. It was in this latter

year that the Assyrian monarch resolved on an invasion of Egypt. For fifty years the two countries had been

watching each other, counteracting each other's policy, lending support to each other's enemies, coming into

occasional collision the one with the other, not, however, as principals, but as partakers in other persons'

quarrels. Now, at length there was to be an end of subterfuge and pretences. Esarhaddon, about B.C. 673,

resolved to attempt the conquest of Egypt. He "set his face to go to the country of Magan and Milukha."[165]

He let his intention be generally known. No doubt he called on his subject allies for contingents of men, if not

for supplies of money. To Tyre he must naturally have looked for no niggard or grudging support. What then

must have been his disgust and rage at finding that, at the critical moment, Tyre had gone over to the enemy?

Notwithstanding the favours heaped on him by his suzerain, "Baal, king of Tyre, to Tirhakah, king of

Ethiopia, his country entrusted, and the yoke of Asshur threw off and made defiance."[166] Esarhaddon was

too strongly bent on his Egyptian expedition to be diverted from it by this defection; but in the year B.C. 672,

as he marched through Syria and Palestine on his way to attack Tirhakah, he sent a detachment against Tyre,

with orders to his officers to repeat the tactics of Shalmaneser, by occupying points of the coast opposite to

the island Tyre, and "cutting off the supplies of food and water."[167] Baal was by this means greatly

distressed, and it would seem that within a year or two he made his submission, surrendering either to

Esarhaddon or to his son Asshurbanipal, in about the year of the latter's accession (B.C. 668). It is

surprising to find that he was not deposed from his throne; but as the circumstances seem to have been such

as made it imperative on the Assyrian king to condone minor offences in order to accomplish a great

enterprisethe restoration of the Assyrian dominion over the Nile valley. Esarhaddon had effected the

conquest of Egypt in about the year B.C. 670, and had divided the country into twenty petty

principalities;[168] but within a year his yoke had been thrown off, his petty princes expelled, and Tirhakah

reinstated as sole monarch over the "Two Regions."[169] It was the determination of Asshurbanipal, on

becoming king, to strain every nerve and devote his utmost energy to the reconquest of the ancient

kingdom, so lightly won and so lightly lost by his father. Baal's perfidy was thus forgiven or overlooked. A

great expedition was prepared. The kings of Phoenicia, Palestine, and Cyprus were bidden once more to

assemble, to bring their tribute, and pay homage to their suzerain as he passed on his way at the head of his

forces towards the land of the Pharaohs. Baal came, and again holds the post of honour;[170] with him were

the king of Judahdoubtless Manasseh, but the name is lostthe kings of Edom, Moab, Gaza, Askelon,

Ekron, Gebal, Arvad, Paphos, Soli, Curium, Tamassus, Ammochosta, Lidini, and Aphrodisias, with probably

those also of Ammon, Ashdod, Idalium, Citium, and Salamis.[171] Each in turn prostrated himself at the foot

of the Great Monarch, paid homage, and made profession of fidelity. Asshurbanipal then proceeded on his

It is about four years after this, B.C. 664, that we find Baal attacked and punished by the Assyrian monarch.

The subjugation of Egypt had been in the meantime, though not without difficulty, completed.

Asshurbanipal's power extended from the range of Niphates to the First Cataract. Whether during the

course of the four years' struggle, by which the reconquest of Egypt was effected, the Tyrian prince had given

fresh offence to his suzerain, or whether it was the old offence, condoned for a time but never forgiven, that

was now avenged, is not made clear by the Assyrian Inscriptions. Asshurbani pal simply tells us that, in

his third expedition, he proceeded against Baal, king of Tyre, dwelling in the midst of the sea, who his royal

will disregarded, and did not listen to the words of his lips. "Towers round him," he says, "I raised, and over

his people I strengthened the watch; on sea and land his forts I took; his going out I stopped. Water and

seawater, to preserve their lives, their mouths drank. By a strong blockade, which removed not, I besieged

them; their works I checked and opposed; to my yoke I made them submissive. The daughter proceeding

from his body, and the daughters of his brothers, for concubines he brought to my presence. Yahimilki, his

son, the glory of the country, of unsurpassed renown, at once he sent forward, to make obeisance to me. His

daughter, and the daughters of his brothers, with their great dowries, I received. Favour I granted him, and the

son proceeding from his body, I restored, and gave him back."[172] Thus Baal once more escaped the fate he

must have expected. Asshurbanipal, who was far from being of a clement disposition, suffered himself to

be appeased by the submission made, restored Baal to his favour, and allowed him to retain possession of his

Another Phoenician monarch also was, about the same time, threatened and pardoned. This was Yakinlu, the

king of Arvad, probably the son and successor of MattanBaal, the contemporary of Esarhaddon.[173] He is

accused of having been wanting in submission to Asshurbanipal's fathers;[174] but we may regard it as

probable that his real offence was some failure in his duties towards Asshurbanipal himself. Either he had

openly rebelled, and declared himself independent, or he had neglected to pay his tribute, or he had given

recent offence in some other way. The Phoenician island kings were always more neglectful of their duties

than others, since it was more difficult to punish them. Assyria did not even now possess any regular fleet,

and could only punish a recalcitrant king of Arvad or Tyre by impressing into her service the ships of some of

the Phoenician coasttowns, as Sidon, or Gebal, or Accho. These towns were not very zealous in such a

service, and probably did not maintain strong navies, having little use for them. Thus Yakinlu may have

expected that his neglect, whatever it was, would be overlooked. But Asshurbanipal was jealous of his

rights, and careful not to allow any of them to lapse by disuse. He let his displeasure be known at the court of

Yakinlu, and very shortly received an embassy of submission. Like Baal, Yakinlu sent a daughter to take her

place among the great king's secondary wives, and with her he sent a large sum of money, in the disguise of a

dowry.[175] The tokens of subjection were accepted, and Yakinlu was allowed to continue king of Arvad.

When, not long afterwards, he died,[176] and his ten sons sought the court of Nineveh to prefer their claims

to the succession, they were received with favour. AziBaal, the eldest, was appointed to the vacant

kingdom, while his nine brothers were presented by Asshurbanipal with "costly clothing, and rings."[177]

Two other revolts of two other Phoenician towns belong to a somewhat later period. On his return from an

expedition against Arabia, about B.C. 645, Asshurbanipal found that Hosah, a small place in the vicinity of

Tyre,[178] and Accho, famous as Acre in later times, had risen in revolt against their Assyrian governors,

refused their tribute, and asserted independence.[179] He at once besieged, and soon captured, Hosah. The

leaders of the rebellion he put to death; the plunder of the town, including the images of its gods, and the bulk

of its population, he carried off into Assyria. The people of Accho, he says, he "quieted." It is a common

practice of conquerors "to make a solitude and call it peace." Asshurbanipal appears to have punished

Accho, first by a wholesale massacre, and then by the deportation of all its remaining inhabitants.

It is evident from this continual series of revolts and rebellions that, however mild had been the sway of

Assyria over her Phoenician subjects in the earlier times, it had by degrees become a hateful and a grinding

tyranny. Commercial states, bent upon the accumulation of wealth, do not without grave cause take up arms

and affront the perils of war, much less do so when their common sense must tell them that success is almost

absolutely hopeless, and that failure will bring about their destruction. The Assyrians were a hard race. Such

tenderness as they ever showed to any subject people was, we may be sure, in every case dictated by policy.

While their power was unsettled, while they feared revolts, and were uncertain as to their consequences, their

attitude towards their dependents was conciliating. When they became fully conscious of the immense

preponderance of power which they wielded, and of the inability of the petty states of Asia to combine

against them in any firm league, they grew careless and confident, reckless of giving offence, ruder in their

behaviour, more grasping in their exactions, more domineering, more oppressive. Prudence should perhaps

have counselled the Phoenician cities to submit, to be yielding and pliant, to cultivate the arts of the parasite

and the flatterer; but the people had still a rough honesty about them. It was against the grain to flatter or

submit themselves; constant voyages over wild seas in fragile vessels kept up their manhood; constant

encounters with pirates, cannibals, and the rudest possible savages made them brave and daring; exposure to

storm, and cold, and heat braced their frames; the nautical life developed and intensified in them a love of

freedom. The Phoenician of Assyrian times was not to be coaxed into accepting patiently the lot of a slave.

Suffer as he might by his revolts, they won him a certain respect; it is likely that they warded off many an

indignity, many an outrage. The Assyrians knew that his endurance could not be reckoned on beyond a

certain point, and they knew that in his deaththroes he was dangerous. The Phoenicians probably suffered

considerably less than the other subject nations under Assyrian rule; and the maritime population, which was

the salt of the people, suffered least of all, since it was scarcely ever brought into contact with its nominal

Decline of AssyriaScythic troublesFall of NinevehUnion of the Phoenician cities under

TyreInvasion of Syria by NecoBattle of MegiddoSubmission of Phoenicia to NecoTyrian colony

at MemphisConquest of Phoenicia by NebuchadnezzarReign of Ithobal II. at TyreHe revolts from

Nebuchadnezzar but is reduced to subjectionDecline of TyreGeneral weakness of Phoenicia under

It is impossible to fix the year in which Phoenicia became independent of Assyria. The last trace of Assyrian

interference, in the way of compulsion, with any of the towns belongs to B.C. 645, when she severely

punished Hosah and Accho. The latest sign of her continued domination is found in B.C. 636, when the

Assyrian governor of a Phoenician town, Zimirra, appears in the list of Eponyms.[180] It must have been

very soon after this that the empire became involved in those troubles and difficulties which led on to its

dissolution. According to Herodotus,[181] Cyaxares, king of Media, laid siege to Nineveh in B.C. 633, or

very soon afterwards. His attack did not at once succeed; but it was almost immediately followed by the

irruption into Southwestern Asia of Scythic hordes from beyond the Caucasus, which overran country after

country, destroying and ravaging at their pleasure.[182] The reality of this invasion is now generally

admitted. "It was the earliest recorded," says a modern historian, "of those movements of the northern

populations, hid behind the long mountain barrier, which, under the name of Himalaya, Caucasus, Taurus,

H�mus, and the Alps, has been reared by nature between the civilised and uncivilised races of the old world.

Suddenly, above this boundary, appeared those strange, uncouth, furclad forms, hardly to be distinguished

from their horses and their waggons, fierce as their own wolves or bears, sweeping towards the southern

regions, which seemed to them their natural prey. The successive invasions of Parthians, Turks, Mongols in

Asia, of Gauls, Goths, Vandals, Huns in Europe, have, it is well said, 'illustrated the law, and made us

familiar with its operations. But there was a time in history before it had come into force, and when its very

existence must have been unsuspected. Even since it began to operate, it has so often undergone prolonged

suspension that the wisest may be excused if they cease to bear it in mind, and are as much startled when a

fresh illustration of it occurs, as if the like had never happened before.'[183] No wonder that now, when the

veil was for the first time rent asunder, all the ancient monarchies of the SouthAssyria, Babylon, Media,

Egypt, even Greece and Asia Minorstood aghast at the spectacle of these savage hordes rushing down on

the seats of luxury and power."[184] Assyria seems to have suffered from the attack almost as much as any

other country. The hordes probably swarmed down from Media through the Zagros passes into the most

fruitful portion of the empirethe flat country between the mountains and the Tigris. Many of the old cities,

rich with the accumulated stores of ages, were besieged, and perhaps taken, and their palaces wantonly burnt

by the barbarous invaders. The tide then swept on. Wandering from district to district, plundering

everywhere, settling nowhere, the clouds of horse passed over Mesopotamia, the force of the invasion

becoming weaker as it spread itself, until in Syria it reached its term through the policy of the Egyptian king,

Psamatik I. That monarch bribed the nomads to advance no further,[185] and from this time their power

began to wane. Their numbers must have been greatly thinned in the long course of battles, sieges, and

skirmishes wherein they were engaged year after year; they suffered also through their excesses;[186] and

perhaps through intestine dissensions. At last they recognised that their power was broken. Many bands

probably returned across the Caucasus into the Steppe country. Others submitted and took service under the

native rulers of Asia.[187] Great numbers were slain, and, except in a province of Armenia, which

thenceforward became known as Sacas�n�,[188] and perhaps in one Syrian town, which acquired the name of

Scythopolis,[189] the invaders left no permanent trace of their brief but terrible inroad.

The shock of the Scythian irruption cannot but have greatly injured and weakened Assyria. The whole

country had been ravaged and depopulated; the provinces had been plundered, many of the towns had been

taken and sacked, the palaces of the old kings had been burnt,[190] and all the riches that had not been hid

away had been lost. Assyria, when the Scythian wave had passed, was but the shadow of her former self. Her

prestige was gone, her armed force must have been greatly diminished, her hold upon the provinces,

especially the more distant ones, greatly weakened. Phoenicia is likely to have detached herself from Assyria

at latest during the time that the Scyths were dominant, which was probably from about B.C. 630 to B.C. 610.

When Assyrian protection was withdrawn from Syria, as it must have been during this period, and when

every state and town had to look solely to itself for deliverance from a barbarous and cruel enemy, the fiction

of a nominal dependence on a distant power could scarcely be maintained. Without any actual revolt, the

Phoenician cities became their own masters, and the speedy fall of Assyria before the combined attack of the

Medes and Babylonians,[191] after the Scythians had withdrawn, prevented for some time any interference

A double danger, however, impended. On the one side Egypt, on the other Babylon, might be confidently

expected to lay claim to the debatable land which nature had placed between the seats of the great Asiatic and

the great African power, and which in the past had almost always been possessed by the one or the other of

them. Egypt was the nearer of the two, and probably seemed the most to be feared. She had recently fallen

under the power of an enterprising native monarch, who had already, before the fall of Assyria, shown that he

entertained ambitious designs against the Palestinian towns, having begun attacks upon Ashdod soon after he

ascended the throne.[192] Babylon was, comparatively speaking, remote and had troublesome neighbours,

who might be expected to prevent her from undertaking distant expeditions. It was clearly the true policy for

Phoenicia to temporise, to enter into no engagements with either Babylon or Egypt, to strengthen her

defences, to bide her time, and, so far as possible, to consolidate herself. Something like a desire for

consolidation would seem to have come over the people; and Tyre, the leading city in all but the earliest

times, appears to have been recognised as the centre towards which other states must gravitate, and to have

risen to the occasion. If there ever was such a thing as a confederation of all the Phoenician cities, it would

seem to have been at this period. Sidon forgot her ancient rivalry, and consented to furnish the Tyrian fleet

with mariners.[193] Arvad gave not only rowers to man the ships, but also menatarms to help in guarding

the walls.[194] The "ancients of Gebal" lent their aid in the Tyrian dockyards.[195] The minor cities cannot

have ventured to hold aloof. Tyre, as the time approached for the contest which was to decide whether Egypt

or Babylon should be the great power of the East, appears to have reached the height of her strength, wealth,

and prosperity. It is now that Ezekial says of her "O Tyrus, thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a

God, I sit in the seat of God in the midst of the seasBehold, thou art wiser than Daniel, there is no secret

that they can hide from thee: from thy wisdom and with thine understanding hast thou gotten thee riches, and

hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: by thy great wisdom and by thy traffick thou hast increased thy

riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches"[196]; and again, "O thou that are situated at the entry

of the sea, which art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord God, Thou, O Tyre, hast

said, I am perfect in beauty. Thy borders are in the heart of the sea; thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

They have made all thy planks of firtrees from Senir; they have taken from Lebanon cedars to make masts

for thee; of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy benches of ivory, inlaid in

boxwood, from the isles of Kittim . . . The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise; and thou

The first to strike of the two great antagonists was Egypt. Psamatik I., who was advanced in years at the time

of Assyria's downfall,[198] died about B.C. 610, and was succeeded by a son still in the full vigour of life,

the brave and enterprising Neco. Neco, in B.C. 608, having made all due preparations, led a great expedition

into Palestine,[199] with the object of bringing under his dominion the entire tract between the River of

Egypt (Wady el Arish) and the Middle Euphrates. Already possessed of Ashdod[200] and perhaps also of

Gaza[201] and Askelon,[202] he held the keys of Syria, and could have no difficulty in penetrating along the

coast route, through the rich plain of Sharon, to the first of the mountain barriers which are interposed

between the Nile and the Mesopotamian region. His famous fleet[203] would support him along the shore, at

any rate as far Carmel; and Dor and Accho would probably be seized, and made into dep�ts for his stores and

provisions. The powerful Egyptian monarch marching northward with his numerous and welldisciplined

army, partly composed of native troops, partly of mercenaries from Asia Minor, Greeks and Carians,

probably did not look to meet with any opposition, till, somewhere in Northern Syria, he should encounter the

forces of Babylonia, which would of course be moved westward to meet him. What then must have been his

surprise when he found the ridge connecting Carmel with the highland of Samaria occupied by a strong body

of troops, and his further progress barred by a foe who had appeared to him too insignificant to be taken into

account? Josiah, the Jewish monarch of the time, grandson of Manasseh and greatgrandson of Hezekiah,

who, in the unsettled state of Western Asia, had united under his dominion the entire country of the twelve

tribes,[204] had quitted Jerusalem, and thrown himself across the wouldbe conqueror's path in the strong

and wellknown position of Megiddo. Here, in remote times, had the great Thothmes met and defeated the

whole force of Syria and Mesopotamia under the king of Kadesh;[205] here had Deborah and Barak, the son

of Abinoam, utterly destroyed the mighty army of Jabin, king of Canaan, under Sisera.[206] Here now the

gallant, if rash, Jud�an king elected to take his stand, moved either by a sense of duty, because he regarded

himself as a Babylonian feudatory, or simply determined to defend the Holy Land against any heathen army

that, without permission, trespassed on it. In vain did Neco seek to induce Josiah to retire and leave the way

open, by assuring him that he had no hostile intentions against Jud�a, but was marching on Carchemish by

the Euphrates, there to contend with the Babylonians.[207] The Jewish king persisted in his rash enterprise,

and Neco was forced to brush him from his path. His seasoned and disciplined troops easily overcame the

We have no details with respect to the remainder of the expedition. Neco, no doubt, pressed forward through

Galilee and CoeleSyria towards the Euphrates. Whether he had to fight any further battles we are not

informed. It is certain that he occupied Carchemish,[208] and made it his headquarters, but whether it

submitted to him, or was besieged and taken, is unknown. All Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine were overrun,

and became temporarily Egyptian possessions.[209] But Phoenicia does not appear to have been subdued by

force. Tyrian prosperity continued, and the terms on which Phoenicia stood towards Egypt during the

remainder of Neco's reign were friendly. Phoenicians at Neco's request accomplished the circumnavigation of

Africa;[210] and we may suspect that it was Neco who granted to Tyre the extraordinary favour of settling a

colony in the Egyptian capital, Memphis.[211] Probably Phoenicia accepted at the hands of Neco the same

sort of position which she had at first occupied under Assyria, a position, as already explained, satisfactory to

But the glory and prosperity which Egypt had thus acquired were very shortlived. Within three years

Babylonia asserted herself. In B.C. 605, the crown prince, Nebuchadnezzar, acting on behalf of his father,

Nabopolassar, who was aged and infirm,[212] led the forces of Babylon against the audacious Pharaoh, who

had dared to affront the "King of kings," "the Lord of Sumir and Accad," had taken him off his guard, and

deprived him of some of his fairest provinces. Babylonia, under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar, was no

unworthy successor of the mighty power which for seven hundred years had held the supremacy of Western

Asia. Her citizens were as brave; her armies as well disciplined; her rulers as bold, as sagacious, and as

unsparing. Habakkuk's description of a Babylonian army belongs to about this date, and is probably drawn

from the life"Lo, I raise up the Chald�ans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the

breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; from

them shall proceed judgment and captivity; their horses are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the

evening wolves; and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they

shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence; their faces shall sup as the east

wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at kings, and princes shall be a

scorn unto them; they shall derive every stronghold; for they shall heap dust, and take it."[213] Early in the

year B.C. 605 the host of Nebuchadnezzar appeared on the right bank of the Euphrates, moving steadily

along its reaches, and day by day approaching nearer and nearer to the great fortress in and behind which lay

the army of Neco, well ordered with shield and buckler, its horses harnessed, and its horsemen armed with

spears that had been just furbished, and protected by helmets and brigandines.[214] One of the "decisive

battles of the world" was impending. If Egypt conquered, Oriental civilisation would take the heavy

immovable Egyptian type; change, advance, progress would be hindered; sacerdotalism in religion,

conventionalism in art, pure unmitigated despotism in government would generally prevail; all the throbbing

life of Asia would receive a sudden and violent check; Semitism would be thrust back; Aryanism, just

pushing itself to the front, would shrink away; the monotonous Egyptian tone of thought and life would

spread, like a lava stream, over the manifold and varied forms of Asiatic culture; crushing them out,

concealing them, making them as though they had never been. The victory of Babylon, on the other hand,

would mean room for Semitism to develop itself, and for Aryanism to follow in its wake; fresh stirs of

population and of thought in Asia; further advances in the arts; variety, freshness, growth; the continuance of

the varied lines of Oriental study and investigation until such time as would enable Grecian intellect to take

hold of them, sift them, and assimilate whatever in them was true, valuable, and capable of expansion.

We have no historical account of the great battle of Carchemish. Jeremiah, however, beholds it in vision. He

sees the Egyptians "dismayed and turned away backtheir mighty ones are beaten down, and are fled apace,

and look not back, since fear is round about them."[215] He sees the "swift flee away," and the "mighty men"

attempting to "escape;" but they "stumble and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates."[216] "For this is

the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Him of His adversaries; and the

sword devours, and it is satiate and made drunk with their blood, for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in

the north country by the river Euphrates."[217] The "valiant men" are "swept away" "many fallyea, one

falls upon another, and they say, Arise and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity

from the oppressing sword."[218] Nor do the mercenaries escape. "Her hired men are in the midst of her, like

fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together; they did not stand because the day

of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation."[219] The defeat was, beyond a doubt,

complete, overwhelming. The shock of it was felt all over the Delta, at Memphis, and even at distant

Thebes.[220] The hasty flight of the entire Egyptian host left the whole country open to the invading army.

"Like a whirlwind, like a torrent, it swept on. The terrified inhabitants retired into the fortified cities,"[221]

where for the time they were safe. Nebuchadnezzar did not stop to commence any siege. He pursued Neco up

to the very frontier of Egypt, and would have continued his victorious career into the Nile valley, had not

important intelligence arrested his steps. His aged father had died at Babylon while he was engaged in his

conquests, and his immediate return to the capital was necessary, if he would avoid a disputed

succession.[222] Thus matters in Syria had to be left in a confused and unsettled state, until such time as the

Great King could revisit the scene of his conquests, and place them upon some definite and satisfactory

On the whole, the campaign had, apparently, the effect of drawing closer the links which united Phoenicia

with Egypt.[223] Babylon had shown herself a fierce and formidable enemy, but had disgusted men more

than she had terrified them. It was clear enough that she would be a hard mistress, a second and crueller

Assyria. There was thus, on Nebuchadnezzar's departure, a general gravitation of the Syrian and Palestinian

states towards Egypt, since they saw in her the only possible protector against Babylon, and dreaded her less

than they did the "bitter and hasty nation."[224] Neco, no doubt, encouraged the movement which tended at

once to strengthen himself and weaken his antagonist; and the result was that, in the course of a few years,

both Jud�a and Phoenicia revolted from Nebuchadnezzar, and declared themselves independent. Phoenicia

was still under the hegemony of Tyre, and Tyre had at its head an enterprising prince, a second Ithobal,[225]

who had developed its resources to the uttermost, and was warmly supported by the other cities.[226] His

revolt appears to have taken place in the year B.C. 598, the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar.[227]

Nebuchadnezzar at once marched against him in person. The sieges of Tyre, Sidon, and Jerusalem were

formed. Jerusalem submitted almost immediately.[228] Sidon was taken after losing half her defenders by

pestilence;[229] but Tyre continued to resist for the long space of thirteen years.[230] The continental city

was probably taken first. Against this Nebuchadnezzar could freely employ his whole forcehis "horses, his

chariots, his companies, and his much people"he could bring moveable forts close up to the walls, and cast

up banks against them, and batter them with his engines, or undermine them with spade and mattock. When a

breach was effected, he could pour his horse into the streets, and ride down all opposition. It is the capture of

the continental city which Ezekiel describes when he says:[231] "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will

bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses and with

chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in

the field; and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against

thee. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. By

reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust shall cover thee; thy walls shall shake at the noise of the

horseman, and of the wheels and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city

wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy

people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy

riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise; and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant

houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water." But the island city

did not escape. When continental Phoenicia was reduced, it was easy to impress a fleet from maritime towns;

to man it, in part with Phoenicians, in part with Babylonians, no mean sailors,[232] and then to establish a

blockade of the isle. Tyre may more than once have crippled and dispersed the blockading squadron; but by a

moderate expenditure fresh fleets could be supplied, while Tyre, cut off from Lebanon, would find it difficult

to increase or renew her navy. There has been much question whether the island city was ultimately captured

by Nebuchadnezzar or no; but even writers who take the negative view[233] admit that it must have

submitted and owned the suzerainty of its assailant. The date of the submission was B.C. 585.

Thus Tyre, in B.C. 585, "fell from her high estate." Ezekiel's prophecies were fulfilled. Ithobal II., the "prince

of Tyrus" of those prophecies,[234] whose "head had been lifted up," and who had said in his heart, "I am a

God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the waters," who deemed himself "wiser than Daniel," and

thought that no secret was hid from him, was "brought down to the pit," "cast to the ground," "brought to

ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that beheld him."[235] Tyre herself was "broken in the midst of

the seas."[236] A blight fell upon her. For many years, Sidon, rather than Tyre, became once more the

leading city of Phoenicia, was regarded as preeminent in naval skill,[237] and is placed before Tyre when

the two are mentioned together.[238] Internal convulsion, moreover, followed upon external decline. Within

ten years of the death of Ithobal, the monarchy came to an end by a revolution,[239] which substituted for

Kings Suffetes or Shophetim, "judges," officers of an inferior status, whose tenure of office was not very

assured. Ecnibal, the son of Baslach, the first judge, held the position for no more than two months; Chelbes,

the son of Abd�us, who followed him, ruled for ten months; Abbarus, a high priest, probably of Melkarth,

for three months. Then, apparently to weaken the office, it was shared between two, as at Carthage, and

Mytgon (perhaps Mattan), together with Gerashtoreth, the son of Abdelim, judged Tyre for six years. But

the partisans of monarchy were now recovering strength; and the reign of a king, Balator, was intruded at

some point in the course of the six years' judgeship. Judges were then abolished by a popular movement, and

kings of the old stock restored. The Tyrians sent to Babylon for a certain Merbal, who must have been either

a refugee or a hostage at the court of Neriglissar. He was allowed to return to Tyre, and, being confirmed in

the sovereignty, reigned four years. His brother, Eirom, or Hiram, succeeded him, and was still upon the

throne when the Empire of Babylon came to an end by the victory of Cyrus over Nabonidus (B.C. 538).

Phoenicia under the Babylonian rule was exceptionally weak. She had to submit to attacks from Egypt under

Apries, which fell probably in the reign of Baal over Tyre, about B.C. 565. She had also to submit to the loss

of Cyprus under Amasis,[240] probably about B.C. 540, or a little earlier, when the power of Babylon was

rapidly declining. She had been, from first to last, an unwilling tributary of the Great Empire on the Lower

Euphrates, and was perhaps not sorry to see that empire go down before the rising power of Persia. Under the

circumstances she would view any chance as likely to advance her interests, and times of disturbance and

unsettlement gave her the best chance of obtaining a temporary independence. From B.C. 538 to B.C. 528 or

527 she seems to have enjoyed one of these rare intervals of autonomy. Egypt, content with having annexed

Cyprus, did not trouble her; Persia, engaged in wars in the far East,[241] made as yet no claim to her

allegiance. In peace and tranquillity she pursued her commercial career, covered the seas with her merchant

vessels, and the landroutes of trade with her caravans, repaired the damages inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar on

her cities; maintained, if she did not even increase, her naval strength, and waited patiently to see what course

events would take now that Babylon was destroyed, and a new and hitherto unknown power was about to

Phoenicia not claimed by CyrusSubmits willingly to Cambyses Takes part in his invasion of

EgyptRefuses to proceed against CarthageExceptional privileges enjoyed by the Phoenicians under the

PersiansGovernment system of Darius advantageous to them Their conduct in the Ionian revoltIn the

expeditions of Mardonius and DatisIn the great expedition of Xerxes Interruption of the friendly

relations between Phoenicia and Persia Renewal of amityServices rendered to Persia between B.C. 465

and 392Amicable relations with AthensPhoenicia joins in revolt of EvagorasSupports Tachos, king

of EgyptDeclares herself independent under TennesConquered and treated with great severity of

The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus gave him, according to Oriental notions generally, a claim to succeed to

the inheritance of the entire Babylonian empire; but the claim would remain dormant until it was enforced.

The straggling character of the territory, which was shaped like a Greek {L}, ascending from Babylon along

the course of the Euphrates to the Armenian mountains, and then descending along the line of the

Mediterranean coast as far as Gaza or Raphia, rendered the enforcement of the claim a work of difficulty,

more especially in the remote West, which was distant fifteen hundred miles from Persia Proper, and more

than a thousand miles from Babylon. Cyrus, moreover, was prevented, first by wars in his immediate

neighbourhood,[242] and later on by a danger upon his northeastern frontier,[243] from taking the steps

usually taken by a conqueror to establish his dominion in a newlyannexed region, and thus he neither

occupied Syria with troops, nor placed it under the administration of Persian governors. The only step which,

so far as we know, he took, implying that his authority reached so far, was the commission which he gave to

Zerubbabel and the other chiefs of the Jewish nation to proceed from Babylonia to Jud�a, and reestablish

themselves, if they could, on the site of the destroyed Jerusalem.[244] The return from the Captivity which

followed was in some sense the occupation of a portion of the extreme West by a Persian garrison, and may

be viewed as a step intended to be "preparatory towards obtaining possession of the entire sea coast;"[245]

but it appears to have been an isolated movement, effected without active Persian support, and one whereby

That Phoenicia retained her independence until the reign of Cambyses is distinctly implied, if not actually

asserted, by Herodotus.[246] She saw without any displeasure the reestablishment in her neighbourhood of

a nation with which her intercourse had always been friendly, and sometimes close and cordial. Tyre and

Sidon vied with each other in their readiness to supply the returned exiles with the timber which they needed

for the rebuilding of their temple and city; and once more, as in the days of Solomon, the Jewish axes were

heard amid the groves of Lebanon, and the magnificent cedars of that favoured region were cut down,

conveyed to the coast, and made into floats or rafts, which Phoenician mariners transported by sea to Joppa,

the nearest seaport to Jerusalem.[247] In return, the Jews willingly rendered to the Phoenicians such an

amount of corn, wine, and oil as was equivalent in value to the timber received from them,[248] and thus the

relations between the two peoples were replaced on a footing which recalled the time of their closest

On the death of Cyrus, and the accession of his son Cambyses, B.C. 529, the tranquillity which

Southwestern Asia had enjoyed since the time of the wars of Nebuchadnezzar came to an end. Cyrus had, it

is said, designed an expedition against Egypt,[249] as necessary to round off his conquests, and Cambyses

naturally inherited his father's projects. He had no sooner mounted the throne than he commenced

preparations for an attack upon the ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs, which, under the dynasty of the

Psamatiks, had risen to something of its early greatness, and had been especially wealthy and prosperous

under the usurper Amasis.[250] It was impossible to allow an independent and rival monarchy so close upon

his borders, and equally impossible to shrink from an enterprise which had been carried to a successful issue

both by Assyria and by Babylon. Persian prestige required the subjugation and absorption of a country which,

though belonging geographically to Africa, was politically and commercially an integral part of that Western

The march upon Egypt implied and required the occupation of the Mediterranean seaboard. No armies of any

considerable size have ever attempted to traverse the almost waterless desert which separates the Lower

Euphrates valley from the delta of the Nile. Light corps d'arm�e have no doubt occasionally passed from

Circesium by way of Tadmor to Damascus, and vice vers�;[251] but the ordinary line of route pursued by

conquerors follows the course of the Euphrates to Carchemish, then strikes across the chalky upland in the

middle of which stands the city of Aleppo, and finally descends upon Egypt by way of the Orontes, the

CoeleSyrian valley, and the plains of Sharon and Philistia.[252] This was undoubtedly the line followed by

Cambyses,[253] and it necessarily brought him into contact with the Phoenicians. The contact was not an

hostile one. It would have been madness on the part of the Phoenicians to have attempted any resistance to

the vast host with which Cambyses, we may be sure, made his invasion, and it would have been folly on the

part of Cambyses to employ force when he could better obtain his object by persuasion. It must have been a

very special object with him to obtain the hearty cooperation of the Phoenician naval forces in the attack

which he was meditating, since he would otherwise have had no fleet at all capable of coping with the fleet of

Egypt. Neco had made Egypt a strong naval power;[254] Apries had contented for naval supremacy in the

Eastern Mediterranean with Tyre;[255] Amasis had made an expedition by sea against Cyprus, had crushed

whatever resistance the Cyprians were able to offer, had permanently occupied the island,[256] and added the

Cyprian fleet to his own. Cambyses had as yet no ships, except such as he could procure from the Greek

cities of Asia Minor, which were not likely to be very zealous in his service, since they had friends engaged

upon the other side.[257] Accordingly, the Persian monarch seems to have made friendly overtures to the

Phoenician states, which were received with favour, and led to an arrangement satisfactory to both parties.

Phoenicia surrendered the independence which it was impossible for her to maintain, and placed her fleet at

the disposal of Persia.[258] Persia spared her cities any occupation, imposed on her a light tribute, and

allowed her that qualified independence which is implied in the retention of her native princes. From first to

last under the Persian r�gime, Phoenician monarchs bear rule in the Phoenician cities,[259] and command the

The friendly arrangement concluded between Phoenicia and Persia was followed, very naturally, by a further

accession to the Persian power. Cyprus, whose population was in great part Phoenician, had for centuries

been connected politically in the closest manner with the Phoenician towns on the Asiatic mainland,

especially with Tyre and Sidon. Her enslavement by Amasis must have been hateful to her, and she must

have been only too glad to see an opportunity of shaking off the Egyptian yoke. Accordingly, no sooner did

the Phoenicians of the mainland conclude the arrangement by which they became part and parcel of the

Persian Empire than the Cyprians followed their example, and, revolting from Egypt, offered themselves of

their own free will to Persia.[260] Cambyses, it is needless to say, readily accepted them as his subjects.

The invasion of Egypt could now be taken in hand with every prospect of a successful issue. The march of

the land army along the shore would be supported by a parallel movement on the part of a powerful fleet,

which would carry its provisions and its water, explore the country in front, and give notice of the movements

of the enemy, and of the place where they proposed to make a stand in force. When Egypt was reached the

fleet would command all the navigable mouths of the Nile, would easily establish a blockade of all ports, and

might even mount the Nile and take a part in the siege of Memphis. It would seem that all these services were

rendered to the Persian monarch by the great fleet which he had collected, of which the Phoenician ships

were recognised as the main strength. The rapid conquest of Egypt was in this way much facilitated, and

Cambyses within a twelvemonth found himself in possession of the entire country within its recognised limits

But the Great King was not satisfied with a single, albeit a magnificent, achievement. He had accomplished

in one short campaign what it took the Assyrians ten years, and Nebuchadnezzar eighteen years, to effect. But

he now set his heart on further conquests. "He designed," says Herodotus,[262] "three great expeditions. One

was to be against the Carthaginians, another against the Ammonians, and a third against the longlived

Ethopians, who dwelt in that part of Lybia which borders upon the southern sea." The expedition against the

Carthaginians is the only one of the three which here concerns us: it was to be entrusted to the fleet. Instead

of conducting, or sending, a land force along the seaboard of North Africa, which was probably known to be

for the most part barren and waterless, Cambyses judged that it would be sufficient to dispatch his powerful

navy against the LibyPhoenician colony, which he supposed would submit or else be subjugated. But on

broaching this plan to the leaders of the fleet he was met with a determined opposition. The Phoenicians

positively refused to proceed against their own colonists. They urged that they were bound to the

Carthaginians by most solemn oaths, and that it would be as wicked and unnatural for them to execute the

king's orders as for parents to destroy their own children.[263] It was a bold act to run counter to the will of a

despotic monarch, especially of one so headstrong and impetuous as Cambyses. But the Phoenicians were

firm, and the monarch yielded. "He did not like," Herodotus says, "to force the war upon the Phoenicians,

because they had surrendered themselves to the Persians, and because on the Phoenicians his entire

seaservice depended." He therefore allowed their opposition to prevail, and desisted from his proposed

This acquiescence in their wishes on the part of the Great King, and his abstinence from any attempt at

compulsion, would seem to have paved the way for that thoroughly good understanding between the suzerain

power and her dependency which characterises the relations of the two for the next century and a half, with

the single exception of one short interval. "The navy of Phoenicia became a regular and very important part

of the public power"[265] of the Persian state. Complete confidence was felt by their Persian masters in the

fidelity, attachment, and hearty goodwill of the Phoenician people. Exceptional favour was shown them.

Not only were they allowed to maintain their native kings, their municipal administration, their national laws

and religion, but they were granted exceptional honours and exceptional privileges and immunities. The

Great King maintained a park and royal residence in some portion of Phoenicia,[266] probably in the vicinity

of Sidon,[267] and no doubt allowed his faithful subjects to bask occasionally in the sunshine of his presence.

When the internal organisation of the empire was taken in hand, and something approaching to a uniform

system of government established for revenue purposes, though Phoenicia could not be excused from

contributing to the taxation of the empire, yet the burden laid upon her seems to have been exceptionally

light. United in a satrapythe fifthwith Syria, Cyprus, and Palestine, and taxed according to her

population rather than according to her wealth, she paid a shareprobably not more than a third or a

fourthof 350 talents,[268] or an annual contribution to the needs of the empire amounting to no less than

30,000l. Persia, moreover, encouraged Phoenicia to establish an internal organisation of her own, and, under

her suzerainty, Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus were united by federal bonds, and had a common council, which met

at Tripolis, probably of three hundred members.[269] This council debated matters in which Phoenicia

generally was interested, and, in times of disturbance, decided questions of peace and war.

The reign of Darius Hystaspis (B.C. 521486), the successor of Cambyses upon the Persian throne,

introduced several changes into the Persian governmental system which were of advantage to the

Phoenicians. Darius united the most distant parts of his empire by postal routes, along which at moderate

intervals were maintained posthouses, with relays of horses,[270] primarily for the use of the government,

but at the service of the traveller or private trader when not needed for business of state. Phoenician

commerce must have been much helped by these arrangements, which facilitated rapid communication, gave

security to lines of route which had been previously infested with robbers, and provided restingplaces for

the companies of merchants and traders, not unlike the caravanserai of modern Turkey and Persia.

Darius also established throughout his vast empire a uniform coinage, based apparently on that which had

previously prevailed in Lydia. His "darics," as they were called by the Greeks, were, in the first instance, gold

coins of a rude type, a little heavier than our sovereigns, weighing between 123 and 124 grains troy.[271]

They bore the figure of an archer on the obverse, and on the reverse a very rough and primitive quadratum

incusum. Darius must have coined them in vast abundance, since early in the reign of his successor a single

individual of no great eminence had accumulated as many as 3,993,000 of them.[272] Subsequently to the

introduction of the gold darics, a silver coinage was issued, originally (we are told) in Egypt by a Persian

satrap called Aryandes,[273] but afterwards by the central government. The name of "daric" was extended to

these coins also, which, however, were much larger and heavier than the gold coins, weighing as much as 235

grains, and corresponding to the Greek tetradrachm, and (nearly) to the Hebrew shekel. The establishment of

this excellent circulating medium, and the wide extension which it almost immediately attained, must have

given an enormous stimulus to trade, and have been found of the greatest convenience by the Phoenician

merchants, who had no longer to carry with them the precious metal in bars or ingots, and to weigh their gold

and silver in the balance in connection with every purchase that they made, but could effect both sales and

purchases in the simple and commodious manner still in use among all civilised nations at the present day.

Under these circumstances we can well understand that the Phoenicians were thoroughly satisfied with the

position which they occupied under the earlier Persian kings, and strove zealously to maintain and extend the

empire to which they owed so much. Their fidelity was put to a crucial test after they had been subjects of

Darius Hystaspis for a little more than twenty years, and had had about fourteen or fifteen years' experience

of the advantages of his governmental system. Aristagoras of Miletus, finding himself in a position of

difficulty, had lighted up the flames of war in Asia Minor, and brought about a general revolt of the Greeks in

those parts against the Persian power a revolt which spread on from the Greeks to the native Asiatics, and

in a short time embraced, not only Ionia and �olis, but Caria, Caunus, and almost the whole of Cyprus.[274]

The bulk of the Cyprian cities were Phoenician colonies, and the political connection between these cities and

Phoenicia was so close and of such ancient date that the Phoenicians can scarcely have failed to be moved by

their example and by their danger. A wave of sympathy might have been expected to sweep across the

excitable people, and it would not have been surprising had they rushed headlong into rebellion with the same

impetuosity as their Cyprian brethren. Had they done so the danger to Persia would have been very great, and

the course of the world's history might perhaps have been differently shaped. The junction of the Phoenician

fleet with the navies of Cyprus, Ionia, Caria, and �olis would have transferred the complete sovereignty of

the Eastern Mediterranean to the side of the rebels.[275] The contagion of revolt would probably have spread.

Lycia and Cilicia, always eager for independence,[276] would probably have joined the malcontents;

Pamphylia, which lay between them, would have followed their example; the entire seaboard of Asia Minor

and Syria would have been lost; Egypt would, most likely, have seen in the crisis her opportunity, and have

avenged the cruelties and insults of Cambyses[277] by the massacre of her Persian garrison. Persia's

prosperity would have received a sudden check, from which it might never have recovered; Greece would

have escaped the ordeal of the invasion of Xerxes; and the character of the struggle between Europe and Asia

But the view which the Phoenicians took of their duties, or of their interests, led them to act differently.

When the Persians, anxious to recover Cyprus, applied to the Phoenician cities for a naval force, to transport

their army from Cilica to the island, and otherwise help them in the war, their request was at once complied

with. Ships were sent to the Cilician coast without any delay;[278] the Persian land force was conveyed in

safety across the strait and landed on the opposite shore; the ships then rounded Cape St. Andreas and

anchored in the bay opposite Salamis, where the Ionian fleet was drawn up in defence of the town.[279] An

engagement followedthe first, so far as we know, between Phoenicians and Greekswholly to the

advantage of the latter.[280] No complaint, however, is made of any lukewarmness, or want of zeal, on the

part of the Phoenicians, who seem to have been beaten in fair fight by an enemy whom they had perhaps

despised. Their ill fortune did not lead to any very serious result, since the Persian land force defeated the

A year or two later the Phoenicians recovered their lost laurels. In B.C. 495 the Persians, having trampled out

the flames of revolt in Cyprus, Caria, and Caunus, resolved on a great effort to bring the war to a close by

attacking the Ionian Greeks in their own country, and crushing the head and front of the rebellion, which was

the great and flourishing city of Miletus. Miletus lay on the southern shore of a deep baythe Sinus

Latmicuswhich penetrated the western coast of Asia Minor in about Lat. 37� 30�, but which the deposits of

the M�ander have now filled up.[281] Northwest of the town, at the distance of about a mile, was the small

island of Lad�, now a mere hillock on the flat alluvial plain. While the Persian land force advanced along the

shore, and invested Milestus on the side towards the continent, a combined fleet of six hundred vessels[282]

proceeded to block the entrance to the bay, and to threaten the doomed city from the sea. This fleet was

drawn from four only of the countries subject to Persiaviz. Phoenicia, Cilicia, Cyprus, and

Egyptwhereof Phoenicia, we are told, "showed the greatest zeal,"[283] and we may presume furnished by

far the larger number of ships. On their arrival in Milesian waters the captains found a strong naval force

collected to meet them, which rested upon the island of Lad�, and guarded the approaches to the town.

Miletus had summoned to her aid the contingents of her various alliesChios, Lesbos, Samos, Teos, Priene,

Erythr�, Phoc�a, Myusand had succeeded in gathering together a fleet amounting to above three hundred

and fifty vessels.[284] This time Phoenicia did not despise her foe. Before engaging, every effort was made

to sow discord and dissension among the confederates, and induce the Greek captains to withdraw their

squadrons, or at any rate to remain neutral in the battle.[285] Considerable effect was produced by these

machinations; and when at last the attack was made, two of the principal of the Greek allies[286] drew off,

and sailed homewards, leaving the rest of the confederates to their fate. Yet, notwithstanding this defection,

the battle was stoutly contested by the ships which remained, especially those of the Chians,[287] and though

a very decisive and complete victory was ultimately gained by the Phoenicians and their allies, the cost of the

victory was great. Persia regained her naval supremacy in the Eastern Mediterranean; Phoenicia

reestablished her claim to be considered the great sea power of the time; but she lost a large number of her

best vessels and seamen, and she was taught the lesson that, to cope with Greeks, she must have a vast

superiority of force upon her sidea superiority of not much less than three to one.

Miletus soon fell after the victory of Lad�, and the Phoenician fleet was then employed for some time in

chastising the islanders who had taken part in the revolt, and in reducing various towns upon the European

shores of the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the Bosphorus, including Perinthus, Selymbria, and

Byzantium.[288] Miltiades, the destined hero of Marathon, narrowly escaped capture at the hands of the

Phoenicians at this time, as he fled from his government in the Thracian Chersonese to Athens. The vessel

which bore him just escaped into the harbour of Imbrus; but his son, Metiochus, who was on board a worse

sailer, was less fortunate. The Phoenicians captured him, and, learning who he was, conveyed him to Darius

After the Ionian revolt had been completely put down and avenged, the states subject to Persia, and the

Phoenicians among them, enjoyed a brief period of repose. But soon the restless spirit which possessed all the

earlier Persian monarchs incited Darius to carry his warlike enterprises into "fresh fields and pastures new."

From the eastern coast of the �gean Sea he looked out towards a land possessing every attraction that soil or

clime could offer, fertile, rich in minerals, and with many excellent harbours, well watered, abounding in corn

and wine and oil, in wooded hillsides, and in productive plains. According to Herodotus,[290] he had already

explored the strength and weakness of the region by means of a commission of Persian nobles, who had

surveyed all the shores of Greece from the decks of Phoenician ships. The result was that he coveted the

possession of the land thus made known to him, and came to a fixed resolution that he would add it to his

There were two modes by which Greece might be approached from Asia. Bridges of boats could be thrown

across the Bosphorus or the Hellespont, mere salt rivers, scarcely more formidable than the streams of the

Euphrates and the Tigris. In this way Europe could be invaded in force, and the army sent across the straits,

could pursue its way along the shore till it reached the rich plains of Thessaly, and from Thessaly passed into

Boetia, Attica, and the Peloponnese. Or a fleet, with a land force on board, might proceed from Asia Minor

across the �gean, where the numerous islands, scattered at short intervals, seemed to have been arranged by

nature as steppingstones, whereby the adventurous denizens of either continent might cross easily into the

other; and a landing might be suddenly effected near the very heart of Greece without a tenth part of the

trouble that must be taken if the other line of route were pursued. In either case the attendance of a fleet

would be necessary. If the more circuitous route were pursued, a powerful squadron must attend the march of

the army along the shore, to convey its supplies; if the direct route were preferred, a still larger fleet would be

necessary for the conveyance, not only of the supplies, but of the army itself. Darius gave a trial to each of

the two plans. In the year B.C. 492 he sent a fleet and army under Mardonius by way of the Hellespont and

the European coast; but this expedition met with severe disasters, the fleet being shattered by a storm off

Mount Athos, and the land force greatly damaged by a night attack on the part of the Thracians.[291] Two

years later he dispatched the famous expedition under Datis and Artaphernes, which took its course through

the islands, and landed perhaps 200,000 men on the plain of Marathon,[292] but being there defeated by

Miltiades, returned hastily to Asia by the sea route. The fleets employed on both these occasions were

numerous,[293] and appear to have been collected from several of the Persian maritime states;[294] the

proportion which the several contingents bore one to another is not stated, but there can be little doubt that

the Phoenicians contributed the greater number. We have no details of the conduct of the Phoenicians on

either occasion, beyond a casual notice that in the expedition of Datis and Artaphernes one of their vessels

plundered the temple of Delium on the Boeotian coast opposite Chalcis, carrying off from it an image of

Apollo plated with gold.[295] The superstition of Datis deprived them of this valuable booty; but we may

safely conclude from the anecdote that, while rendering service to Persia, the keen witted mariners took care

In the third and greatest of the expeditions conducted by Persia against Greece, the Phoenicians are found to

have played a very important and prominent part. Even before the expedition commenced, a call was made

upon them in connection with it for services of an unusual character. The loss of the fleet of Mardonius off

Mount Athos induced Xerxes to determine on cutting a shipcanal through the isthmus which joins Athos to

the mainland; and his passion for great and striking achievements caused him to project the construction of a

double bridge of boats across the Hellespont. Phoenician technical skill was invoked for the furtherance of

both objects. At Athos they worked in conjunction with the maritime states generally, but showed an amount

of engineering knowledge far in advance of their fellow labourers. The others attempted to give

perpendicular sides to their portions of the excavation, but found the sides continually fall in, and so (as

Herodotus observes) "had double labour."[296] The Phoenicians alone knew that the sides must be sloped at

an angle, and, calculating the proper slope aright, performed their share of the task without mishap. At the

Hellespont the Phoenicians had for copartners the Egyptians only, and the two nations appear to have

displayed an equal ability.[297] Cables were passed from shore to shore, made taut by capstans and supported

by an almost continuous line of boats; planks were then laid upon the cables, and covered with brushwood,

while a thick layer of earth was placed upon the top. A solid causeway was thus formed, which was guarded

on either side by bulwarks of such a height that the horses which crossed the bridge could not see over them;

and thus the cavalry and the sumpter beasts passed from one continent to the other without a suspicion that

they had ever had anything but terra firma under them. The structure served its purpose, but was not found

strong enough to defy even for a year the forces of the winds and waves. Before the return of Xerxes, towards

the close of B.C. 480, the autumnal gales had broken it up; and the army which accompanied him had to

The fleet which Xerxes collected to accompany his land army and take part in his great expedition amounted,

it is said, to a total of 1207 vessels.[299] Of these the Phoenician triremes were at once the most numerous

and the best. While Egypt furnished 200 ships, Cyprus 150, Cilicia, Ionia, and the Hellespontine Greeks 100

each, and the other maritime nations, all together, 257, Phoenicia singly contributed no fewer than 300.[300]

The superiority of the Phoenician vessels was sufficiently shown, first by the regatta at Abydos, which was

won by a Sidonian trireme;[301] next, by the preference of Xerxes for Phoenician over other vessels;[302]

and, thirdly, by the position assigned them at Salamis, where care was taken to pit them against the

Athenians,[303] who were recognised as superior at sea to all the other Greeks. If the Phoenician prowess and

naval skill did not succeed in averting defeat from the Persians, we must ascribe it first to the narrowness of

the seas in which they had to engage the enemy; and, secondly, to the still greater prowess and skill of their

In the naval combats at Artemisium, the Egyptians, according to Herodotus,[304] were considered to have

borne off the palm on the Persian side; but Diodorus assigns that honour to the Sidonians.[305] At Salamis

the brunt of the conflict fell on the Phoenician contingent, which began the battle,[306] and for some time

forced the Athenian squadron to beat a retreat, but was ultimately overpowered and forced to take to flight,

after suffering great losses. A large number of the ships were sunk; several were taken by the Greeks;

comparatively few escaped from the battle without serious injury.[307] Xerxes, however, who from his

silverfooted throne on Mount �galeos surveyed the scene,[308] but, amid the general turmoil and

confusion, could ill distinguish the conduct of the several contingents, enraged at the loss of the battle, and

regarding the Phoenicians as answerable for the unhappy result, since they formed the nucleus and chief

strength of the fleet, laid the whole blame of the failure upon them, and, on some of the captains appearing

before him to excuse themselves, had them beheaded upon the spot.[309] At the same time he also threatened

the other Phoenician commanders with his vengeance, and so alarmed them that, according to Diodorus,[310]

This harsh and unjust treatment seems to have led to an estrangement between the Persians and the foremost

of the naval nations subject to them, which lasted for fifteen years. The Persians naturally distrusted those

whom they had injured, and were unwilling to call them in to their aid. The Phoenicians probably brooded

over their wrongs, and abstained from volunteering an assistance which they were not asked to furnish. The

war between Persia and Greece continued, and was transferred from Europe to Asia, but no Phoenicians are

mentioned as taking part in it. The Phoenician ships retired from Samos on the approach of the Greek fleet

under Leotychides.[311] No Phoenicians fought at Mycale. None are heard of as engaged at Sestos, or

Byzantium, or E�on, or Doriscus, or even Phaselis. It was not until in B.C. 465the war passed from the

�gean to the southern coast of Asia Minor, and their dependency, Cyprus, was threatened, that the

Phoenicians again appeared upon the scene, and mustered in strength to the support of their Persian suzerain.

The Persian fleet which fought at the Eurymedon is said to have consisted of three hundred and forty vessels,

drawn from the three subject nations of the Phoenicians, the Cyprians, and the Cilicians.[312] It was under

the command of Tithraustes, a son of Xerxes. Cimon, who led the fleet of the Athenians and their allies,

attacked it with a force of 250 triremes, of which Athens had furnished the greater number. The battle was

contested with extreme obstinacy on both sides; but at length the Athenians prevailed, and besides destroying

a large number of the enemy's vessels, took as many as a hundred with their crews on board. At the same

time a land victory was gained over the Persian troops. The double exploit was regarded as one of the most

glorious in the annals of Greece, and was commemorated at Delos by a tablet with the following

It is scarcely necessary to follow further in detail the services which Phoenicia rendered to Persia as her

submissive and attached ally. For the space of about seventyfive years from the date of the engagement at

the Eurymedon (B.C. 465390), the Phoenicians continued to hold the first place among the Persian naval

states, and to render their mistress effective help in all her naval enterprises. They protected Cyprus and

Egypt from the Athenian attacks, bore their part in the war with Amyrt�us and Inaros, and more than once

inflicted severe blows upon the Athenian navy.[314] It was his command of a Phoenician fleet amounting to

nearly a hundred and fifty triremes which enabled Tissaphernes to play so influential a part in Asia Minor

during the later years of the Peloponnesian war. It was the presence of their ships at Cnidus which, in B.C.

394, turned the scale between Athens and Sparta, enabling the Athenians to recover the naval supremacy

which they had lost at �gosPotami. It was the appearance of a Phoenician fleet in Greek waters[315]

which, in the following year, gave an opportunity to the Athenians to rebuild their "Long Walls," alarmed

Sparta for her own safety, and extorted from her fearsin B.C. 387the agreement known as "the Peace of

Antalcidas." Persia owed to her Phoenician subjects the glory of recovering complete possession of Asia

Minor, and of being accepted as a sort of final arbiter in the quarrels of the Grecian states. From B.C. 465 to

B.C. 392 Phoenicia served Persia with rare fidelity, never hesitating to lend her aid, and never showing the

It was probably under these circumstances, when Athens owed the recovery of her greatness in no small

measure to the Phoenicians, that those relations of friendship and intimacy were established between the two

peoples of which we have evidence in several inscriptions. Phoenicians settled in Attica, particularly at

Phalerum and the Pir�us, and had their own places of worship and interment. Six sepulchral inscriptions have

been found, either in Athens itself or at the Pir�us,[316] five of them bilingual,[317] which mark the

interment in Attic soil of persons whose nationality was Phoenician. They had monuments erected over them,

generally of some pretension, which must have obtained as much respect as the native tombstones, since

otherwise they could not have endured to our day. There is also at the Pir�us an altar,[318] which a

Phoenician must have erected and dedicated to a Phoenician god, whom he worshipped on Attic soil

apparently without let or hindrance. The god's name is given as "AskumAdar," a form which does not

elsewhere recur, but which is thought to designate the god elsewhere called Sakon, who corresponded to the

Grecian Hermes.[319] Moreover, there is evidence of the Phoenicians having worshipped two other deities in

their Attic abodes, one a god who corresponded to the Greek Poseidon and the Roman Neptune, the other the

Babylonian and Assyrian Nergal. Among the lost orations of Deniarchus was one delivered by that orator on

the occasion of the suit between the people of Phalerum and the Phoenician inhabitants of the place with

respect to the priesthood of Poseidon;[320] and a sepulchral monument at the Pir�us was erected to Asepta,

daughter of Esmunsillem, of Sidon, by Ittenbel, son of Esmunsibbeh, high priest of the god Nergal.[321]

It appears further from the Greek inscription, edited by B�ckh,[322] that about this time (B.C. 390370) a

decree was promulgated by the Council {bonle} of Athens whereby the relation of Proxenia was established

between Strato (Abdastartus), king of Sidon, and the Athenian people, and all Sidonians sojourning in

Attica were exempted from the tax usually charged upon foreign settlers, from the obligation of the Choregia,

The power of Persia began about this time to decline, and the Phoenicians seem to have wavered in their

allegiance. In B.C. 406 or 405 Egypt shook off the Persian yoke, and established her independence under a

native sovereign.[323] Soon afterwards, probably in B.C. 392 or 391, Evagoras, a Cypriot Greek, who

claimed descent from Teucer, inaugurated a revolution at Salamis in Cyprus, where he slew the Phoenician

monarch, Abdemon, who held his throne under Persia, and, himself mounting the throne, proceeded to reduce

to subjection the whole island.[324] Vast efforts were made to crush him, but for ten years he defied the

power of Persia, and maintained himself as an independent monarch.[325] Even when finally he made his

submission, it was under an express stipulation that he should retain his royal dignity, and be simply bound to

pay his tribute regularly, and to render such obedience as subject kings commonly paid to their suzerain.[326]

In the course of his resistance to Persia, it is beyond question that Evagoras received a certain amount of

support from Phoenicia; but the circumstances under which the support was given was doubtful. According to

Isocrates,[327] he equipped a large fleet, and attacked the Phoenicians on the mainland with so much vigour

as even to take the great city of Tyre by assault; but Diodorus says nothing of the attack, and it is conjectured

that the contagion of revolt, which certainly affected, more or less, Cyprus, Cilicia, Caria, and some of the

Syrian Arabs,[328] spread also thus early to Phoenicia, and that "the surrender of Tyre was a voluntary

defection."[329] In that case, we must view Phoenicia, or at any rate a portion of it, as having detached itself

from Persia, about B.C. 390, sixty years before the final breakup of the Empire.

But the disaffection of Phoenicia does not become open and patent until about thirty years later. The decline

of Persia had continued. In B.C. 375 an attempt to recover Egypt, for which a vast armament had been

collected under Pharnabazus and Iphicrates, completely failed.[330] Nine years afterwards, in B.C. 366, the

revolt of the satraps began. First Ariobarzanes, satrap of Phrygia, renounced his allegiance, and defended

himself with success against Autophradutes, satrap of Lydia, and Mausolus, native king of Caria under

Persia. Then Aspis, who held a part of Cappadocia, revolted and maintained himself by the help of the

Pisidians, until he was overpowered by Datames. Next Datames himself, satrap of the rest of Cappadocia,

understanding that the mind of the Persian king was poisoned against him, made a treaty with Ariobarzanes,

and assumed an independent attitude in his own province. Finally, in B.C. 362, there seems to have been

something like a general revolt of the western provinces, in which the satraps of Mysia, Phrygia, and Lydia,

Mausolus prince of Caria, and the peoples of Lycia, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, and Syria participated.[331]

Then, if not earlier, Phoenicia openly threw in her lot with the disaffected;[332] refused her tribute like the

others, and joined her forces with theirs. Nor, when the rebellion collapsed, did she at once return to her

allegiance. When Tachos, native king of Egypt, in B.C. 361, having secured the services of Agesilaus and

Chabrias, advanced boldly into Syria, with the object of enlarging his own dominions at the expense of

Persia, he was received with favour by the Phoenicians, who were quite willing to form a portion of his

empire. But the rebellion of Nectanebo forced Tachos to relinquish his projects,[333] and the dominion over

the Phoenician cities seems to have reverted to Persia without any effort on her part.

In this condition matters remained till about the year B.C. 351, when Sidon, feeling herself aggrieved by the

conduct of the Persian authorities at Tripolis,[334] where the general assembly of the Phoenicians held its

meetings, boldly raised the standard of revolt against Persia under Tennes, or Tabnit II., and induced the

Phoenicians generally to declare themselves independent. Alliance was at once formed with the Egyptian

king, Nekhtnebf, or Nectanebo II., who sent a body of 4,000 Greek mercenaries, under Mentor the Rhodian,

to the aid of Tennes.[335] Hostilities commenced by the Phoenicians expelling or massacring the Persian

garrisons, devastating the royal park or paradise, and burning the stores of forage collected for the use of the

Persian cavalry.[336] An attempt made by two satrapsBelesys of Syria and Maz�us of Ciliciato crush

the revolt was completely defeated by Tennes, with the aid of Mentor and his Greeks, who gained a decisive

victory over the satraps, and drove the Persians out of Phoenicia.[337] Cyprus then joined the rebels. The

nine principal cities made common cause, expelled the Persians, and declared themselves free states, under

their respective native kings.[338] Ochus, the Persian king, was at last roused to exert himself. Collecting an

army of 300,000 foot and 30,000 horse, supported by 300 triremes and 500 transports or

provisionships,[339] he proceeded to the west in person, determined to inflict condign punishment on the

rebels, and to recover to the empire, not only Cyprus and Phoenicia, but also the longlost Egypt.

Tennes, on his part, had done his best in the way of preparations for defence. He had collected a fleet of

above a hundred shipstriremes and quinqueremes,[340] the latter now heard of for the first time in Asiatic

warfare. He had strengthened the fortifications of Sidon, surrounding the town with a triple ditch of great

width and depth, and considerably raising the height of the walls.[341] He had hired Greek mercenaries to the

number of six thousand, raising thus the number in his service to ten thousand in all, had armed and drilled

the most active and athletic of the citizens, and had collected vast stores of provisions, armour, and weapons.

But the advance of the Persian monarch at the head of so large a force filled Tennes with dismay and despair.

Successful resistance was, he thought, impossible; and with a selfishness and a cowardice that must ever

make him rank among the most infamous of men, he resolved, if possible, to purchase his own pardon of the

King by delivering to his vengeance the entire body of his fellowcountrymen. Accordingly, after handing

over to him a hundred of the principal citizens, who were immediately transfixed with javelins, he concerted

measures with Mentor for receiving the Persians within the walls. While the arrangements were proceeding,

five hundred of the remaining citizens issued forth from one of the gates of the town, with boughs of

supplication, as a deputation to implore the mercy of Ochus, but only to suffer the same fate as their

fellowtownsmen. The Persians were then received within the walls; but the citizens, understanding what

their fate was to be, resolved to anticipate it. They had already burnt their ships, to prevent any desertion.

Now they shut themselves up, with their wives and children, in their houses, and applying the torch to their

dwellings lighted up a general conflagration. More than forty thousand persons perished in the flames. Ochus

sold the ruins at a high price to speculators, who calculated on reimbursing themselves by the treasures which

they might dig out from among the ashes. As for Tennes, it is satisfactory to find that a just vengeance

overtook him. The treachery which he had employed towards others was shown also to himself. Ochus, who

had given him a solemn promise that he would spare his life, no sooner found that there was nothing more to

No further resistance was made by the Phoenician cities. Ochus marched on against Egypt and effected its

reconquest.[343] The Cyprian revolt was put down by the Prince of Caria, Istricus.[344] A calm, prelude to

the coming storm, settled down upon Persia; and Phoenicia participated in the general tranquillity. The

various communities, exhausted by their recent efforts, and disappointed with the result, laid aside their

political aspirations, and fell back upon their commercial instincts. Trade once more flourished. Sidon rose

again from her ashes, and recovered a certain amount of prosperity. She held the coast from Leontopolis to

Ornithonpolis, and possessed also the dependency of Dor;[345] but she had lost Sarepta to Tyre,[346] which

stepped into the foremost place among the cities on her fall, and retained it until destroyed by Alexander. The

other towns which still continued to be of some importance were Aradus, and Gebal or Byblus. These cities,

like Tyre and Sidon, retained their native kings,[347] who ruled their several states with little interference

from the Persians. The line of monarchs may be traced at Sidon for five generations, from the first

Esmunazar, who probably reigned about B.C. 460440, through three generations and four kings, to the

second Strato, the contemporary of Alexander.[348] The first Esmunazar was succeeded by his son, Tabnit,

about B.C. 440. Tabnit married his sister, AmAshtoreth, priestess of Ashtoreth, and had issue, two sons,

Esmunazar II., whose tomb was found near Sidon by M. de Vog�� in the year 1855, and Strato I. Esmunazar

II. is thought to have died about B.C. 400, and to have been succeeded by his brother Strato, the Proxenus of

Athens, who reigned till B.C. 361. On Strato's death, his son, the second Tabnitknown to the Greeks as

Tennesmounted the throne, and reigned till B.C. 345, when he was put to death by Ochus. A second Strato,

the son of Tennes, then became king, and retained his sovereignty till after the battle of Issus[349] (B.C. 333).

Alexander's invasion of AsiaPreparations made to resist it, insufficientWhat should have been

doneMovements of Memnon in B.C. 333His deathParalysis of the Persian fleetAttack on

Phoenicia after IssusSubmission of all the cities but TyreSiege of TyreFall of the cityCruel

The invasion of Asia by Alexander the Great, though it found the Persians unready, was by no means of the

nature of a surprise. The design had been openly proclaimed by Philip in the year B.C. 338, when he forced

the Grecian States to appoint him generalissimo of their armies, which he promised to lead to the conquest of

the East.[350] Darius Codomannus had thus ample warning of what he had to expect, and abundant

opportunity to make the fullest preparations for defence. During the years B.C. 338 and 337, while Philip was

still alive, he did do something towards organising defensive measures, collected troops and ships, and tried

to foment discontent and encourage anti Macedonian movements in Greece.[351] But the death of Philip by

the dagger of Pausanias caused him most imprudently to relax his efforts, to consider the danger past, and to

suspend the operations, which he had commenced, until he should see whether Alexander had either the will

or the power to carry into effect his father's projects. The events of the years B.C. 336 and 335, the successes

of Alexander in Thrace, Illyria, and Boeotia,[352] woke him from his fool's paradise to some sense of the

realities of the situation. In B.C. 335 the preparations for defence were resumed. Orders were issued to the

satraps of Phrygia and Lydia to draw together their troops towards the northwestern corner of Asia Minor,

and to take the offensive against the Macedonian force which had crossed the straits before Philip's death.

The Persian garrisons in this quarter were strongly reinforced with troops of a good quality, drawn from the

remoter provinces of the empire, as from Persia Proper, Media, Hyrcania, and Bactria. Notice was given to

the Phoenicians to prepare a considerable fleet, and hold it in readiness for active service. Above all,

Memnon the Rhodian was given a command on the Asiatic seaboard, and entrusted with a body of five

thousand Greek mercenaries, which he was empowered to use at his discretion.[353]

But these steps, though in the right direction, were quite inadequate under the circumstances. Everything that

was possible should have been done to prevent Alexander from crossing to Asia in force. The fleet should not

only have been commanded to hold itself in readiness, but should have been brought up. Four hundred or five

hundred vessels,[354] from Phoenicia, Cyprus, Egypt, Lycia, and Cilicia, should have been moved into the

northern Egean and the Propontis, and have kept watch on every Grecian port. Alexander was unable to

muster for the transport of his army across the Straits a larger number than 160 triremes.[355] Persia should

have met them with a fleet three times as large. Had Memnon been given from the first a free hand at sea,

instead of satrapial power on land, it is quite conceivable that the invasion of Asia by Alexander might have

proved as abortive an enterprise as the contemplated invasion of England by Napoleon.

As it was, the fleet of Persia, composed mainly of Phoenician vessels, did not appear in the northern Egean

waters until some weeks after Alexander had transported his grand army into Asia, and fought at the

Granicus, so that when it arrived it was of comparatively little service. Too late even to save Miletus, it had to

be a tame spectator of the siege and capture of that important town.[356] It was then withdrawn to

Halicarnassus, where its presence greatly helped the defence, but not to the extent of wholly baffling the

besiegers. Halicarnassus fell, like Miletus, after a while, being entered from the land side; but the fleet saved

During the early part of the ensuing year, B.C. 333, while Alexander was engaged in conquering the interior

of Asia Minor, the Persian fleet under Memnon at last took the aggressive, and, advancing northwards,

employed itself in establishing Persian influence over the whole of the Egean, and especially in reducing the

important islands of Chios and Lesbos.[358] Memnon was now in full command. Fortune smiled on him; and

it seemed more than probable that the war would be, at least partially, transferred into Greece, where the

Spartans only waited for Memnon's appearance to commence an antiMacedonian movement. The presence

of a powerful fleet in Greek waters, and Memnon's almost unlimited command of Persian gold, might in a

short time have raised such a flame in Greece as to necessitate Alexander's return in order to extinguish

it.[359] The invasion of Asia might have been arrested in mid course; Alexander might have proved as

powerless as Agesilaus to effect any great change in the relations of the two continents; but, at the critical

moment, the sudden and unexpected death of the Rhodian chief cast all these hopes to the ground,[360] and

Thus, first by mismanagement and then by an unhappy accident, the Phoenicians were precluded from

rendering Persia any effective service in the time of her great necessity. Wiser than Napoleon, Alexander

would not contest the sovereignty of the seas with the great naval power of the day, and he even, when he

once felt himself strongly lodged in Asia, disbanded his naval force,[361] that so it might be impossible for

disaster at sea to tarnish his prestige. He was convinced that Asia could be won by the land force which he

had been permitted to disembark on its shores, and probably anticipated the transfer of naval supremacy

which almost immediately followed on the victory of Issus. The complete defeat of the great army of

Codomannus, and its retirement on the Euphrates,[362] left the entire seaboard of Syria and Phoenicia open

to him. He resolved at once to take advantage of the opportunity, and to detach from Persia the three

countries of Phoenicia, Egypt, and Cyprus. If he could transfer to himself the navies of these powers, his

maritime supremacy would be incontestable. He would render his communications with Macedonia

absolutely secure. He would have nothing to fear from revolt or disturbance at home, however deeply he

might plunge into the Asiatic continent. If the worst happened to him in Asia, he would have assured himself

Accordingly, no sooner was the retreat of Darius upon the line of the Euphrates, and his abandonment of

Syria, ascertained, than Alexander, after despatching a detachment of his army to Damascus, marched in

person into Phoenicia.[363] The Phoenicians were placed between two dangers. On the one hand, Alexander

might ravage their territory, capture and pillage their cities, massacre or sell for slaves the greater portion of

their citizens, and destroy their very existence as a people; on the other hand, Darius held as hostages for their

fidelity the crews and captains of their triremes, which formed a portion of his fleet, and had on board a large

number of their chief men, and even some of their kings.[364] It was impossible, however, to temporise; a

choice had necessarily to be made; and when Alexander entered Phoenicia, the cities, in almost every case,

decided on submitting to him. First Strato, the son of Gerastartus, king of Aradus, who was serving on board

the Phoenician contingent to the Persian fleet, went out to meet Alexander, and surrendered into his hands the

four cities of Aradus, Marathus, Sigon, and Mariamme.[365] Then Byblus, whose king was also absent with

the fleet, opened its gates to the Macedonians.[366] Next Sidon, mindful of her recent wrongs, sent envoys to

invite Alexander's approach, and joyfully embraced his cause.[367] Even Tyre nominally made submission,

and declared itself ready to obey Alexander's commands;[368] and the transfer of Phoenicia to the side of

Alexander might have been made without bloodshed, had the Macedonian monarch been content to leave

their island city, which was their true capital, and their pride and glory, unmolested. But Alexander could not

brook anything that in any degree savoured of opposition to his will. When therefore, on his expressing a

wish to sacrifice to Melkarth in their island town, the Tyrians declined to receive him within the walls, and

suggested that his pious design might be sufficiently accomplished by his making his intended offering in

Pal�Tyrus, where there was a temple of the same god, which was older (they said) and more venerable than

their own, Alexander's pride was touched, and he became violently enraged.[369] Dismissing the envoys with

The Tyrians have been accused of extreme rashness and folly in not making an unqualified submission to the

demands preferred by Alexander,[370] but the reproach scarcely appears to be deserved. They had on

previous occasions resisted for years the entire power of Assyria, and of Babylon; they naturally deemed

themselves only assailable by sea; their fortifications were of immense strength; and they possessed a navy

much superior to any of which Alexander could boast at the time when he threatened them. Their own vessels

were eighty in number; those of their kinsmen upon the continent were likewise eighty; Cyprus, which for

centuries had been closely allied with them, and which was more than half Phoenician in blood, could furnish

a hundred and twenty; Carthage, if she chose, could send to their aid, without any difficulty, as many as two

hundred.[371] Alexander had never been able to collect from the Greek states which owned his sway a fleet

of more than one hundred and sixty sail; and, having disbanded this fleet, he could not readily have mustered

from the cities and countries accessible to him, exclusive of Cyprus and Phoenicia, so many as a

hundred.[372] The Tyrians, when they took their resolution to oppose Alexander, had a right to expect that

their kindred would either assist them, or at any rate not serve against them, and that thus they would be sure

to maintain their supremacy at sea. As for Alexander's design to join the island Tyre to the continent by

means of a mole, they cannot have had the slightest suspicion of it, since no work of the kind had ever

previously been accomplished, or even attempted; for the demonstration of Xerxes against Salamis was not

seriously intended.[373] They naturally counted on the struggle being entirely by sea, and may well have

thought that on their own element they would not be worsted. Even if the continental towns forsook them and

went over to the enemy, why might they not do as they had done in Shalmaneser's time, defeat their unnatural

countrymen, and retain their naval supremacy? Moreover, if they made a gallant fight, might not Persia be

expected to second their efforts? Would she not attack Alexander from the flanks of Lebanon, intercept his

supplies, cut off his foragers, and make his position untenable; the Tyrians could scarcely anticipate that

Persia would sit with folded hands, a calm spectator of a seven months' siege, and do absolutely nothing.

Having determined on resistance to the demands of Alexander, the Tyrians lost no time in placing their city in

a position to resist attack. They summoned their king, Azemilcus, from the Persian fleet, and required him to

hasten home with the entire squadron which he commanded.[374] They collected triremes and lighter vessels

from various quarters. They distributed along the walls of the city upon every side a number of engines of

war, constructed to hurl darts and stones, and amply provided them with missiles.[375] The skilled workmen

and engineers resident in the town were called upon not merely to furnish additional engines of the old type,

but to exercise their ingenuity in devising new and unheard of structures.[376] They armed all the young and

vigorous among the people, and appointed them their several stations at the walls. Finally, to diminish the

number of mouths to be fed, and to save themselves from distracting cares, they sent away to Carthage a

number of their aged men, their women, and their children, who were readily received and supported by the

Meantime Alexander had taken his resolution. Either recollecting what Xerxes had threatened to do at

Salamis, or prompted merely by his own inventive genius, he determined on the construction of a great mole,

or embankment, which should be carried out from the Asiatic mainland across the halfmile of channel to the

very walls of the recalcitrant city, and should thus join the island to the Syrian shore. The width of the

embankment he fixed at two plethra, or nearly seventy yards.[378] Material for the construction was

abundant. The great city of Pal�Tyrus was close at hand, partly in ruins, and with many of the houses

deserted by their inhabitants. Its walls would furnish abundance of stone, mortar, and rubble. Behind

Pal�Tyrus lay the flanks of Lebanon, cultivated in orchards, while beyond were its dense and inexhaustible

forests of fir, pine, and cedar. Human labour could be obtained to almost any extent, for the neighbourhood

was populous, and Alexander's authority acknowledged by all. Accordingly the work, once commenced, for a

while made fair progress. Piles were cut in the mountain, which were driven with much ease into the soft mud

of the channel, which was shallow near the shore,[379] and completely under the control of the Macedonians,

since the Tyrian vessels could not approach it for fear of sticking in the ooze. Between the piles, towards the

edge of the mole, were sunk stones, trunks of trees, and material of the more solid character, while the central

part was filled up with rubble and rubbish of every sort and kind. Still, the operation was toilsome and

tedious, even from the first, while the further that the mole was advanced into the sea, the more difficult and

dangerous became its construction. The channel deepened gradually from a few feet towards the shore to

eighteen or twenty,[380] as it approached the island. The Tyrians in their vessels were soon able to act. In

small boats at first, and afterwards in their triremes, they attacked and annoyed the workmen, perpetually

hindered their work, and occasionally destroyed portions of it.[381] Damage was also inflicted by the wind

and waves; and the rate of progress became, in consequence, exceedingly slow. A strong current set through

the channel, and this was continually working its way among the interstices of the mole, washing holes in its

sides and face, and loosening the interior of the structure. When a storm arose, the surf broke over the top of

the work, and did even greater damage, carrying portions of the outer casing into the sea.

To meet the assaults of the Tyrian ships upon the work, the Macedonians constructed two movable towers,

well protected against torches and weapons by curtains made of raw hides,[382] and advancing these upon

the surface of the mole to the points most threatened, discharged from the engines which the towers contained

darts and stones of a large size against the Tyrian sailors. Thus protected, the workmen were able to make

sensible progress, and the Tyrians began to fear that, unless they could destroy the towers, the mole would ere

long be completed. For the accomplishment of their purpose, they resolved to employ a fireship.[383]

Selecting one of the largest of their horsetransports, they stowed the hold with dry brushwood and other

combustible materials; and erecting on the prow two masters, each with a projecting arm, attached to either a

cauldron, filled with bitumen and sulphur, and with every sort of material apt to kindle and nourish flame. By

loading the stern of the transport with stones of a large size, they succeeded in depressing it and

correspondingly elevating the prow, which was thus prepared to glide over the smooth surface of the mole

and bring itself into contact with the towers. In the fore part of the ship were deposited a quantity of torches,

resin, and other combustibles. Watching an opportunity when the wind blew strongly from the seaward

straight upon the mole, they towed the vessel at their best speed in the direction of the towers, set it on fire,

and then, loosing their hawsers, allowed it to dash itself upon the work. The prow slid over the top a certain

distance and then stopped. The arms projecting from the masts broke off at the sudden check,[384] and

scattered the contents of the cauldrons around. The towers caught fire and were at once in a blaze. The

Macedonians found it impossible to extinguish the flames, since the Tyrian triremes, drawing close to the

mole, prevented approach by flights of arrows and other missiles. "At the same time, the full naval force of

the city, both ships and little boats, was sent forth to land men at once on all parts of the mole. So successful

was this attack, that all the Macedonian engines were burntthe outer woodwork which kept the mole

together was torn up in many placesand a large part of the structure came to pieces."[385] A heavy sea,

moreover, accompanied the gale of wind which had favoured the conflagration, and penetrating the loosened

Alexander had now seriously to consider what course he should take. Hitherto his attempt had proved an

entire failure. Should he relinquish it? To do so would be to acknowledge himself baffled and defeated, to

tarnish the prestige which he held so dear, and to cripple the plans that he had formed against Persia. It was

simply impossible that Alexander, being the man he was, should so act. Nohe must perseverehe must

confront and overcome his difficultieshe must repair the damages that he had suffered, restore his lost

works, and carry them out on a larger scale, and with more skill than before. He gave orders therefore for an

enlargement and alteration of the mole, which he no longer carried across the strait in a direct line, but

inclined to the southwest,[387] so that it might meet the force of the prevalent wind, instead of exposing its

flank to the violent gusts. He also commanded the construction of fresh towers and fresh engines, stronger

and more in number than the former ones.[388] But this alone would not, he felt, be enough. His designs had

been frustrated hitherto solely from the fact that the Tyrians were masters of the sea; and it was plain to him

that, so long as this state of things remained unaltered, it was next to impossible that he should succeed. The

great desideratumthe one condition of successwas the possession of a powerful fleet. Such a fleet must

be either built or collected. Leaving therefore the restoration of the mole and the engines to his generals,

Alexander went in person to Sidon, and there set himself to gather together as large a fleet as he could. Most

opportunely it happened that, either shortly before Alexander's arrival or immediately afterwards, the ships of

Sidon, Aradus, and Byblus, which had been serving with the Persian naval force in the �gean, had been

required by their respective commanders to proceed homewards, and, to the number of eighty, had sailed into

the harbour of Sidon.[389] The kings had, in fact, deserted the Persian cause on hearing that their cities had

submitted to Alexander, and readily placed their respective squadrons at his disposal. Further contingents

were received from other quartersfrom Rhodes ten triremes, from the seaports of Lycia the same number,

from Soli and Mallus three, from Macedonia a single penteconter.[390] The number of the vessels was thus

brought up to one hundred and four; but even with such a fleet it would have been rash to engage the Tyrian

navy; and Alexander would probably have had to build an additional squadron had he not received, suddenly

and unexpectedly, the adhesion of the princes of Cyprus. Cyprus, being an island, was as yet in no danger,

and might have been expected at least to remain neutral until the fate of Tyre was decided; but, for reasons

that history has not recorded, the petty kings of the island about this timesome months after the battle of

Issusresolved to desert Persia, to detach themselves wholly from Tyre, and to place their navy at the

disposal of the Macedonians.[391] The number of their triremes amounted to 120; and Alexander, having

now under his command a fleet of 224 sail, could no longer feel any doubt of being able to wrest the

Accordingly, after allowing his ships a period of eleven days for nautical practice, and placing on board a

number of his bravest soldiers,[392] Alexander sailed out from Sidon at the head of his entire fleet, and made

straight for Tyre in order of battle. He himself in person commanded the right wing, the post of danger, since

it held the open sea, and had under him the bulk of the Cyprian ships, with their commanders. Pnytagoras of

Salamis and Craterus led the left wing, which was composed mainly of the vessels furnished by the

Phoenician towns upon the mainland, and held its course at no great distance from the shore. The Tyrians,

who had received no intelligence from without, saw with astonishment the great fleet, nearly three times as

large as their own,[393] bearing down upon them in orderly array, and challenging them to the combat. They

had not now the spirit of ancient times, when no disparity of force dismayed them. Surprised and alarmed,

they resolved to decline a battle, to remain within their ports, and to use their ships for blocking the entrances.

Alexander, advancing from the north, when he saw the mouth of the Sidonian harbour, which faced

northwards, strongly guarded, did not attempt to force it, but anchored his vessels outside, and established a

blockade, the maintenance of which he entrusted to the Cyprian squadron. The next day he ordered the

Phoenician ships to proceed southwards, and similarly block and watch the southern or Egyptian

harbour.[394] For himself, he landed upon the mole, and pitching his tent near the southwestern corner,

The mole had not advanced very much during his absence. Vast efforts had been made to reestablish it, but

they had not been attended with any great success.[396] Whole trees, torn up by the roots, and with their

branches still adhering to them, had been dragged to the water's edge, and then precipitated into the

strait;[397] a layer of stones and mud had been placed upon them, to solidify them into a mass; on the top of

this other trees had been placed, and the former process repeated. But the Tyrians had met the new tactics

with new methods. They had employed divers to attach hooks to the boughs where they projected into the

sea, and by sheer force had dragged the trees out from the superincumbent mass, bringing down in this way

large portions of the structure.[398] But with Alexander's coming, and the retirement of the Tyrian fleet, all

this was altered. Alexander's workmen were no longer impeded, except from the town, and in a short time the

mole was completed across the channel and carried up to the very foot of the defences. The new towers,

which had replaced the burnt ones, were brought up close to the walls, and plied the new machines which

Cyprian and Phoenician engineers had constructed for their new master.[399] The battering of the wall began.

Engines moreover of a large size were placed on horsetransports furnished by Sidon, and on the heavier and

clumsier of the triremes, and with these attacks were made upon the town in various places, all round the

circuit of the walls, which, if they did nothing else, served to distract the attention of the defenders. To meet

such assailants the Tyrians had let down huge blocks of stone into the sea, which prevented the approach of

the ships, and hindered those on board from using the battering ram. These blocks the Macedonians

endeavoured to weigh up and remove by means of cranes; but their vessels were too unsteady for the purpose,

whereupon they proceeded to anchor them. The Tyrians went out in boats well protected, and passing under

the stems and sterns of the vessels, cut the cables, whereupon the Macedonians kept an armed watch upon the

cables in boats of their own, which the Tyrians did not venture to attack. They were not, however, without

resource even yet, since they contrived still to cut the cables by means of divers. At last the Macedonians

bethought themselves of using chains for cables instead of ropes; these could not be cut, and the result was

that at length they succeeded in dragging the stones away and obtaining access to the foot of the walls

Under these circumstances, threatened on every side, and feeling almost at the last gasp, the Tyrians resolved

on a final desperate effort. They would make a bold attempt to recover the command of the sea. As the

Macedonian fleet was divided, part watching the Sidonian and part the Egyptian harbour, they could freely

select to contend with which portion they preferred. Their choice fell upon the Cyprian contingent, which was

stationed to the north of the mole, keeping guard on the "Portus Sidonius." This they determined to attack,

and to take, if possible, by surprise. Long previously they had spread sails along the mouth of the harbour, to

prevent their proceedings inside it from being overlooked.[401] They now prepared a select squadron of

thirteen shipsthree of them quinqueremes, three quadriremes, and seven triremesand silently placing on

board their best sailors and the best and bravest of their menatarms, waited till the hour of noon, when the

Cyprian crews would be taking their midday meal, and Alexander might be expected, according to his

general habit, to have retired to his tent on the opposite side of the mole. When noon came, still in deep

silence, they issued from the harbour in single file, each crew rowing gently without noise or splash, or a

word spoken, either by the boatswains or by anyone else. In this way they came almost close to the Cyprians

without being perceived: then suddenly the boatswains gave out their cry, and the men cheered, and all pulled

as hard as they could, and with splash and dash they drove their ships against the enemy's, which were inert,

lying at anchor, some empty, others hurriedly taking their crews on board. The ships of three Cyprian

kingsPnytagoras, king of Salamis, Androcles, king of Amathus, and Pasicrates, king of

Curium[402]were at once run down and sunk.[403] Many others were disabled; the rest fled, pursued by

the Tyrians, and sought to reach the shore. All would probably have been lost, had not Alexander returned

from his tent earlier than usual, and witnessed the Tyrian attack. With his usual promptitude, he at once

formed his plan. As only a portion of the Cyprian fleet had maintained the blockade, while the remainder of

their ships were lying off the north shore of the mole with their crews disembarked, he set to work to man

these, and sent them off, as each was got ready, to station themselves at the mouth of the harbour, and prevent

any more of the Tyrian vessels from sallying forth. He then hurried to the southern side of the mole, where

the GrecoPhoenician squadron kept guard, and manning a certain number of the vessels,[404] sailed with

them round the western shore of the island into the northern bay, where the Tyrians and the remnant of the

Cyprian fleet were still contending. Those in the city perceived the movement, and made every effort to

signal it to their sailors, but in vain. The noise and uproar of the battle prevented them from hearing until it

was too late. It was not till Alexander had entered the northern bay that they understood, and turned and fled,

pursued by his ships, which captured or disabled the greater number. The crews, however, and the menat

arms, escaped, since they threw themselves overboard, and easily swam into the harbour.[405]

This was the last attempt of the Tyrians by sea. They were now invested on every side, and hopelessly shut

up within their defences. Still, however, they made a desperate resistance. On the side of the mole the

Macedonians, having brought up their towers and batteringram close to the wall, attacked it with much

vigour, hurling against it great masses of stone, and by constant flights of darts and arrows driving the

defenders from the battlements.[406] At the same time the batteringrams were actively plied, and every

effort made to effect a breach. But the Tyrians deadened the blows of the rams and the force of the stones by

letting down from the walls leathern bags filled with seaweed at the points assailed;[407] while, by wheels

which were set in rapid motion, they intercepted the darts and javelins wherewith they were attacked, and

broke them or diverted them from their intended courses.[408] When boardingbridges were thrown from the

towers to the top of the walls, and an attempt was made to pass troops into the town across them, they flung

grappling hooks among the soldiers on the bridges, which caught in their bodies and lacerated them, or

dragged their shields from their hands, or sometimes hauled them bodily into the air, and then dashed them

against the wall or against the ground.[409] Further, they made ready masses of redhot metal, and hurled

them against the towers and the scaling parties.[410] They also heated sand over fires and poured it from the

battlements on all who approached the foot of the wall; this, penetrating between the armour and the skin,

inflicted such intolerable pain that the sufferers were forced to tear off their coats of mail, whereupon they

were easily transfixed by arrows or long lances.[411] With scythes they cut the ropes and thongs by means of

which the rams were worked;[412] and at last, armed with hatchets, they sprang from the battlements upon

the Macedonian boardingbridges, and in a handtohand combat defeated and drove back their

assailants.[413] Finally, when, despite of all their efforts, the outer wall began to give way, they constructed

Alexander, after a time, became convinced that his endeavours to take the city from the mole were hopeless,

and turned his attention to the sea defences, north and south of the mole, which were far less strong than

those which he had hitherto been attacking.[415] He placed his best engines and his boardingbridges upon

ships, and proceeded to batter the sea walls in various places. On the south side, near the Egyptian harbour,

he found a weak place, and concentrating his efforts upon it, he succeeded in effecting a large breach.[416]

He then gave orders for a general assault.[417] The two fleets were commanded to force simultaneously the

entrances to the two harbours; other vessels to make demonstrations against the walls at all approachable

points; the army collected on the mole to renew its assaults; while he himself, with his trustiest soldiers,

delivered the main attack at the southern breach.[418] Two vessels were selected for the purpose. On one,

which was that of Coenus, he embarked a portion of the phalanx; on the other, which was commanded by

Admetus, he placed his bodyguard, himself accompanying it. The struggle was short when once the

boardingbridges were thrown across and rested on the battered wall. Fighting under the eye of their king,

the Macedonians carried all before them, though not without important losses. Admetus himself, who was the

first to step on to the wall, received a spear thrust, and was slain.[419] But the soldiers who were following

close behind him maintained their footing, and in a little time got possession of several towers, with the

spaces between them. Alexander was among the foremost of those who mounted the breach,[420] and was

for a while hotly engaged in a handtohand fight with the enemy. When those who resisted him were slain

or driven off, he directed his troops to seize the royal palace, which abutted on the southern wall, and through

Meanwhile, the GrecoPhoenician fleet on the south side of the mole had burst the boom and other obstacles

by which the Egyptian harbour was closed, and, attacking the ships within, had disabled some, and driven the

rest ashore, thus gaining possession of the southern port and a ready access to the adjacent portion of the

city.[422] The Cyprians, moreover, on the north, had forced their way into the Sidonian harbour, which had

no boom, and obtained an entrance into the town on that quarter.[423] The defences were broken through in

three places, and it might have been expected that resistance would have ceased. But the gallant defenders

still would not yield. A large body assembled at the Agenorium, or temple of Agenor, and there made a

determined stand, which continued till Alexander himself attacked them with his bodyguard, and slew almost

the entire number. Others, mounting upon the roofs of the houses, flung down stones and missiles of all kinds

upon the Macedonians in the street. A portion shut themselves up in their homes and perished by their own

hands. In the streets and squares there was a terrible carnage. The Macedonians were infuriated by the length

of the siege, the stubbornness of the resistance, and the fact that the Tyrians had in the course of the siege

publicly executed, probably by way of sacrifice, a number of their prisoners upon the walls. Those who died

with arms in their hands are reckoned at eight thousand;[424] two thousand more, who had been made

prisoners, were barbarously crucified by command of Alexander round the walls of the city.[425] None of the

adult free males were spared, except the few who had taken refuge with Azemilcus the king in the temple of

Melkarth, which Alexander professed greatly to revere, and a certain number whom the Sidonians, touched at

last with pity, concealed on board their triremes. The women, the children, and the slaves, to the number of

Having worked his will, and struck terror, as he hoped, into the hearts of all who might be thinking of

resisting him, Alexander concluded the Tyrian episode of his career by a religious ceremony.[427] Entering

the city from the mole in a grand procession, accompanied by his entire force of soldiers, fully armed and

arrayed, while his fleet also played its part in the scene, he proceeded to the temple of Melkarth in the middle

of the town, and offered his much desired sacrifice to Hercules. A gymnastic contest and a torch race formed

a portion of the display. To commemorate his victory, he dedicated and left in the temple the batteringram

which had made the first impression on the southern wall, together with a Tyrian vessel, used in the service of

the god, which he had captured when he bore down upon the city from Sidon with his fleet. Over the charred

and halfruined remnants of the city, into which he had introduced a certain number of colonists, chiefly

Carians,[428] he placed as ruler a member of a decayed branch of the royal family, a certain Abdelonim,

The Phoenicians faithful subjects of AlexanderAt his death Phoenicia falls, first to Laomedon, then to

Ptolemy LagiIs held by the Ptolemies for seventy yearsPasses willingly, B.C. 198, under the

Seleucid�Relations with the Seleucid princes and with the JewsHellenisation of PhoeniciaContinued

devotion of the Phoenicians generally to trade and commerceMaterial prosperity of Phoenicia.

Phoenicia continued faithful to Alexander during the remainder of his career. Phoenician vessels were sent

across the �gean to the coast of the Peloponnese to maintain the Macedonian interest in that quarter.[430]

Large numbers of the mercantile class accompanied the march of his army for the purposes of traffic. A

portion of these, when Alexander reached the Hydaspes and determined to sail down the course of the Indus

to the sea, were drafted into the vessels which he caused to be built,[431] descended the river, and

accompanied Nearchus in his voyage from Patala to the Persian Gulf. Others still remained with the land

force, and marched with Alexander himself across the frightful deserts of Beloochistan, where they collected

the nard and myrrh, which were almost its only products, and which were produced in such abundance as to

scent the entire region.[432] On Alexander's return to Babylon, Phoenicia was required to supply him with

additional vessels, and readily complied with the demand. A fleet of fortyeight shipstwo of them

quinqueremes, four quadriremes, twelve triremes, and thirty pentaconters, or fiftyoared galleyswas

constructed on the Phoenician coast, carried in fragments to Thapsacus on the Euphrates, and there put

together and launched on the stream of the Euphrates, down which it sailed to Babylon.[433] Seafaring men

from Phoenicia and Syria were at the same time enlisted in considerable numbers, and brought to Alexander

at his new capital to man the ships which he was building there, and also to supply colonists for the coasts of

the Persian Gulf and the islands scattered over its surface.[434] Alexander, among his many projects,

nourished an intention of adding to his dominions, at any rate, the seaboard of Arabia, and understood that for

this purpose he must establish in the Persian Gulf a great naval power, such as Phoenicia alone out of all the

countries under his dominion was able to furnish. His untimely death brought all these schemes to an end,

In the division of Alexander's empire, which followed upon his death, Phoenicia was at first assigned,

together with Syria, to Laemedon, and the two formed together a separate satrapy.[435] But, after the

arrangement of Triparadisus (B.C. 320), Ptolemy Lagi almost immediately attacked Laemedon, dispossessed

him of his government, and attached it to his own satrapy of Egypt.[436] Six years later (B.C. 314), attacked

in his turn by Antigonus, Ptolemy was forced to relinquish his conquests,[437] none of which offered much

resistance excepting Tyre. Tyre, though no more than eighteen years had elapsed since its desolation by

Alexander, had, like the fabled phoenix, risen again from its ruins, and through the recuperative energy of

commerce had attained almost to its previous wealth and prosperity.[438] Its walls had been repaired, and it

was defended by its Egyptian garrison with pertinacity. Antigonus, who was master of the Phoenician

mainland, established dockyards at Sidon, Byblus, and Tripolis, set eight thousand sawyers and labourers to

cut down timber in Lebanon, and called upon the kings of the coast towns to build him a fleet with the least

possible delay.[439] His orders were carried out, and Tyre was blockaded by sea and land for the space of

fifteen months, when the provisions failed and the town was forced to surrender itself.[440] The garrison

marched out with the honours of war, and Phoenicia became an appendage of the empire (for such it was) of

From Antigonus Phoenicia passed to his son Demetrius, who maintained his hold on it, with some

vicissitudes of fortune, till B.C. 287, when it once more passed under the dominion of Ptolemy Lagi.[441]

From this time it was an Egyptian dependency for nearly seventy years, and flourished commercially, if it not

distinguish itself by warlike exploits. The early Ptolemies were mild and wise rulers. They encouraged

commerce, literature, and art. So far as was possible they protected their dominions from external attack, put

down brigandage, and ruled with equity and moderation. It was not until the fourth prince of the house of

Lagus, Philopator, mounted the throne (B.C. 222) that the character of their rule changed for the worse, and

their subjects began to have reason to complain of them. The weakness and profligacy of Philopater[442]

tempted Antiochus III. to assume the aggressive, and to disturb the peace which had now for some time

subsisted between Syria and Egypt, the Lagid� and the Seleucid�. In B.C. 219 he drove the Egyptians out of

Seleucia, the port of Antioch,[443] and being joined by Theodotus, the Egyptian governor of the Coelesyrian

province, invaded that country and Phoenicia, took possession of Tyre and Accho, which was now called

Ptolema�s, and threatened Egypt with subjugation.[444] Phoenicia once more became the battlefield

between two great powers, and for the next twenty years the cities were frequently taken and retaken. At

last, in B.C. 198, by the victory of Antiochus over Scopas,[445] and the surrender of Sidon, Phoenicia passed,

with Coelesyria, into the permanent possession of the Seleucid�, and, though frequently reclaimed by Egypt,

The change of rulers was, on the whole, in consonance with the wishes and feelings of the Phoenicians.

Though Alexandria may not have been founded with the definite intention of depressing Tyre, and raising up

a commercial rival to her on the southern shore of the Mediterranean;[446] yet the advantages of the

situation, and the interests of the Lagid princes, constituted her in a short time an actual rival, and an object of

Phoenician jealousy. Phoenicia had been from a remote antiquity[447] down to the time of Alexander, the

main, if not the sole, dispenser of Egyptian products to Syria, Asia Minor, and Europe. With the foundation

of Alexandria this traffic passed out of her hands. It may be true that what she lost in this way was "more than

compensated by the new channels of eastern traffic which Alexander's conquests opened to her, by the

security given to commercial intercourse by the establishment of a Greek monarchy in the ancient dominions

of the Persian kings, and by the closer union which now prevailed between all parts of the civilised

world."[448] But the balance of advantage and disadvantage does not even now always reconcile traders to a

definite and tangible loss; and in the ruder times of which we are writing it was not to be expected that

arguments of so refined and recondite a character should be very sensibly felt. Tyre and Sidon recognised in

Alexandria a rival from the first, and grew more and more jealous of her as time went on. She monopolised

the trade in Egyptian commodities from her foundation. In a short time she drew to herself, not only the direct

Egyptian traffic, but that which her rulers diverted from other quarters, and drew to Egypt by the construction

of harbours, and roads with stations and watering places.[449] Much of the wealth that had previously flowed

into Phoenicia was, in point of fact, diverted to Egypt, and especially to Alexandria, by the judicious

arrangements of the earlier Lagid princes. Phoenicia, therefore, in attaching herself to the Seleucid�, felt that

she was avenging a wrong, and though materially she might not be the gainer, was gratified by the change in

The Seleucid princes on their part regarded the Phoenicians with favour, and made a point of conciliating

their affections by personal intercourse with them, and by the grant of privileges. At the quinquennial festival

instituted by Alexander ere he quitted Tyre, which was celebrated in the Greek fashion with gymnastic and

musical contests, the Syrian kings were often present in person, and took part in the festivities.[450] They

seem also to have visited the principal cities at other times, and to have held their court in them for many

days together.[451] With their consent and permission, the towns severally issued their own coins, which

bore commonly legends both in Greek and in Phoenician, and had sometimes Greek, sometimes Phoenician

emblems.[452] Both Aradus and Tyre were allowed the privilege of being asylums,[453] from which political

The Phoenicians in return served zealously on board the SyroMacedonian fleet, and showed their masters all

due respect and honour.[454] They were not afraid, however, of asserting an independence of thought and

judgment, even in matters where the kings were personally concerned. On one occasion, when Antiochus

Epiphanes was holding his court at Tyre, a cause of the greatest importance was brought before him for

decision by the authorities at Jerusalem. The highpriest of the time, Menelaus, who had bought the office

from the Syrian king, was accused of having plundered the Temple of a number of its holy vessels, and of

having sold them for his own private advantage. The Sanhedrim, who prosecuted Menelaus, sent three

representatives to Tyre, to conduct the case, and press the charges against him. The evidence was so clear that

the High Priest saw no chance of an acquittal, except by private interest. He therefore bribed an influential

courtier, named Ptolemy, the son of a certain Dorymenes, to intercede with Antiochus on his behalf, and, if

possible, obtain his acquittal. The affair was not one of much difficulty. Justice was commonly bought and

sold at the Syro Macedonian Court, and Antiochus readily came into the views of Ptolemy, and pronounced

the High Priest innocent. He thought, however, that in so grave a matter some one must be punished, and, as

he had acquitted Menelaus, he could only condemn his accusers. These unfortunates suffered death at his

hands, whereon the Tyrians, compassionating their fate, and to mark their sense of the iniquity of the

sentence, decreed to give them an honourable burial. The historian who relates the circumstance evidently

feels that it was a bold and courageous act, very creditable to the Tyrian people.[455]

It is not always, however, that we can justly praise the conduct of the Phoenicians at this period. Within six

years of the time when the Tyrians showed themselves at once so courageous and so compassionate, the

nation generally was guilty of complicity in a most unjust and iniquitous design. Epiphanes, having driven

the Jews into rebellion by a most cruel religious persecution, and having more than once suffered defeat at

their hands, resolved to revenge himself by utterly destroying the people which had provoked his

resentment.[456] Called away to the eastern provinces by a pressing need, he left instructions with his

general, Lysias, to invade Jud�a with an overwhelming force, and, after crushing all resistance, to sell the

surviving population men, women, and childrenfor slaves. Lysias, in B.C. 165, marched into Jud�a,

accompanied by a large army, with the full intention of carrying out to the letter his master's commands. In

order to attract purchasers for the multitude whom he would have to sell, he made proclamation that the rate

of sale should be a talent for ninety, or less than 3l. a head,[457] while at the same he invited the attendance

of the merchants from all "the cities of the seacoast," who must have been mainly, if not wholly,

Phoenicians. The temptation was greater than Phoenician virtue could resist. The historian tells us that "the

merchants of the country, hearing the fame of the Syrians, took silver and gold very much, with servants, and

came into the Syrian camp to buy the children of Israel for money."[458] The result was a well deserved

disappointment. The Syrian army suffered complete defeat at the hands of the Jews, and had to beat a hasty

retreat; the merchants barely escaped with their lives. As for the money which they had brought with them for

the purchase of the captives, it fell into the hands of the victorious Jews, and formed no inconsiderable part of

After this, we hear but little of any separate action on the part of the Phoenicians, or of any Phoenician city,

during the Seleucid period. Phoenicia became rapidly Hellenised; and except that they still remained devoted

to commercial pursuits, the cities had scarcely any distinctive character, or anything that marked them out as

belonging to a separate nationality. Greek legends became more frequent upon the coins; Greek names were

more and more affected, especially by the upper classes; the men of letters discarded Phoenician as a literary

language, and composed the works, whereby they sought to immortalize their names, in Greek. Greek

philosophy was studied in the schools of Sidon;[460] and at Byblus Phoenician mythology was recast upon a

Greek type. At the same time Phoenician art conformed itself more and more closely to Greek models, until

all that was rude in it, or archaic, or peculiar, died out, and the productions of Phoenician artists became mere

The nation gave itself mainly to the pursuit of wealth. The old trades were diligently plied. Tyre retained its

preeminence in the manufacture of the purple dye; and Sidon was still unrivalled in the production of glass.

Commerce continued to enrich the merchant princes, while at the same time it provided a fairly lucrative

employment for the mass of the people. A new source of profit arose from the custom, introduced by the

SyroMacedonians, of farming the revenue. In Phoenicia, as in Syria generally, the taxes of each city were

let out year by year to some of the wealthiest men of the place,[461] who collected them with extreme

strictness, and made over but a small proportion of the amount to the Crown. Large fortunes were made in

this way, though occasionally foreigners would step in, and outbid the Phoenician speculators,[462] who

were not content unless they gained above a hundred per cent. on each transaction. Altogether, Phoenicia may

be pronounced to have enjoyed much material prosperity under the Seleucid princes, though, in the course of

the civil wars between the different pretenders to the Crown, most of the cities had, from time to time, to

endure sieges. Accho especially, which had received from the Lagid princes the name of Ptolema�s, and was

now the most important and flourishing of the Phoenician towns, had frequently to resist attack, and was

Syria made a Roman province, B.C. 65Privileges granted by Rome to the Phoenician citiesPhoenicia

profits by the Roman suppression of piracy, but suffers from Parthian ravagesThe Phoenicians offend

Augustus and lose their favoured position, but recover it under later emperorsMention of the Phoenician

cities in the New TestamentPhoenicia accepts ChristianityPhoenician bishops at the early

CouncilsPhoenician literature at this dateWorks of Antipater, Apollonius, Philo, Hermippus, Marinus,

Maximus, and PorphyrySchool of law at BerytusSurvival of the Phoenician commercial

The kingdom of the Seleucid� came to an end through its own internal weakness and corruption. In B.C. 83

their subjects, whether native Asiatics or SyroMacedonians, were so weary of the perpetual series of revolts,

civil wars, and assassinations that they invited Tigranes, the king of the neighbouring Armenia, to step in and

undertake the government of the country.[464] Tigranes ruled from B.C. 83 till B.C. 69, when he was

attacked by the Romans, to whom he had given just cause of offence by his conduct in the Mithridatic

struggle. Compelled by Lucullus to relinquish Syria, he retired to his own dominions, and was succeeded by

the last Seleucid prince, Antiochus Asiaticus, who reigned from B.C. 69 to B.C. 65. Rome then at length

came forward, and took the inheritance to which she had become entitled a century and a quarter earlier by

the battle of Magnesia, and which she could have occupied at any moment during the interval, had it suited

her purpose. The combat with Mithridates had forced her to become an Asiatic power; and having once

overcome her repugnance to being entangled in Asiatic politics, she allowed her instinct of

selfaggrandizement to have full play, and reduced the kingdom of the Seleucid� into the form of a Roman

The province, which retained the name of Syria, and was placed under a proconsul,[466] whose title was

"Pr�ses Syri�," extended from the flanks of Amanus and Taurus to Carmel and the sources of the Jordan,

and thus included Phoenicia. The towns, however, of Tripolis, Sidon, and Tyre were allowed the position of

"free cities," which secured them an independent municipal government, under their own freely elected

council and chief magistates. These privileges, conferred by Pompey, were not withdrawn by Julius C�sar,

when he became master of the Roman world; and hence we find him addressing a communication respecting

Hyrcanus to the "Magistates, Council, and People of Sidon."[467] A similar regard was shown for Phoenician

vested rights by Anthony, who in B.C. 36, when his infatuation for Cleopatra was at its height, and he agreed

to make over to her the government of Palestine and of Coelesyria, as far as the river Eleutherus, especially

exempted from her control, despite her earnest entreaties, the cities of Tyre and Sidon.[468] Anthony also

wrote more than one letter to the "Magistates, Council, and People of Tyre," in which he recognised them as

So far the Phoenicians would seem to have gained rather than lost by exchanging the dominion of Syria for

that of Rome. They gained also greatly by the strictness with which Rome kept the police of the Eastern

Mediterranean. For many years previously to B.C. 67 their commerce had been preyed upon to an enormous

extent by the piratical fleets, which, issuing from the creeks and harbours of Western Cilicia and Pamphylia,

spread terror on every side,[470] and made the navigation of the Levant and �gean as dangerous as it had

been in the days anterior to Minos.[471] Pompey, in that year, completely destroyed the piratical fleets,

attacked the pirates in their lairs, and cleared them out from every spot where they had established

themselves. Voyages by sea became once more as safe as travels by land; and a vigilant watch being kept on

all the coasts and islands, piracy was never again permitted to gather strength, or become a serious evil. The

Phoenician merchants could once more launch their trading vessels on the Mediterranean waters without fear

of their suffering capture, and were able to insure their cargoes at a moderate premium.

But their connection with Rome exposed the Phoenicians to some fresh, and terrible, perils. The great attack

of Crassus on Parthia in the year B.C. 53 had bitterly exasperated that savage and powerful kingdom, which

was quite strong enough to retaliate, under favourable circumstances, upon the mighty mistress of the West,

and to inflict severe sufferings upon Rome's allies, subjects, and dependencies. After a preliminary trial of

strength[472] in the years B.C. 522 and 51, Pacorus, the son of Orodes, in B.C. 40, crossed the Euphrates in

force, defeated the Romans under Decidius Saxa, and carried fire and sword over the whole of the Syrian

presidency.[473] Having taken Apamea and Antioch, he marched into Phoenicia, ravaged the open country,

and compelled all the towns, except Tyre, to surrender. Tyre, notwithstanding the mole constructed by

Alexander, which joined it to the continent, was still regarded as impregnable, unless invested both by sea

and land; on which account Pacorus, as he had no naval force, relinquished the idea of capturing it.[474] But

all the other cities either gave themselves up or were taken, and the conquest of Phoenicia being completed,

the Parthian prince proceeded to occupy Palestine. Jerusalem fell into his hands, and for three years the entire

tract between the Taurus range and Egypt was lost to Rome, and formed a portion of the Parthian Empire.

What hardships, what insults, what outrages the Phoenicians had to endure during this interval we do not

know, and can only conjecture; but the conduct of the Parthians at Jerusalem[475] makes it probable that the

inhabitants of the conquered districts generally had much cause for complaint. However, the time of

endurance did not last very long; in the third year from the commencement of the invasion the fortune of war

turned against the assailants. Rome, under Ventidius, recovered her lost laurels. Syria was reoccupied, and

In the struggle (which soon followed these events) between Antony and Augustus, Phoenicia had the

misfortune to give offence to the latter. The terms on which they stood with Antony, and the protection which

he had afforded to their cities against the greed of Cleopatra, naturally led them to embrace his cause; and it

should scarcely have been regarded as a crime in them that they did so with ardour. But Augustus, who was

certainly not clement by nature, chose to profess himself deeply aggrieved by the preference which they had

shown for his rival, and, when he personally visited the East in B.C. 20, inflicted a severe punishment on two

at least of the cities. Dio Cassius can scarcely be mistaken when he says that Tyre and Sidon were

"enslaved"i.e. deprived of freedomby Augustus,[477] who must certainly have revoked the privilege

originally granted by Pompey. Whether the privilege was afterwards restored is somewhat uncertain; but

there is distinct evidence that more than one of the later emperors was favourably disposed to Rome's

Phoenician subjects. Claudius granted to Accho the title and status of a Roman colony;[478] while Hadrian

Two important events have caused Tyre and Sidon to be mentioned in the New Testament. Jesus Christ, in

the second year of his ministry, "arose and went" from Galilee "into the borders of Tyre and Sidon," and there

wrought a miracle at the earnest request of a "Syro Phoenician woman."[480] And Herod Agrippa, the

grandson of Herod the Great, when at C�sarea in A.D. 44, received an embassy from "them of Tyre and

Sidon," with whom he was highly offended, and "made an oration" to the ambassadors.[481] In this latter

place the continued semiindependence of Tyre and Sidon seems to be implied. Agrippa is threatening them

with war, while they "desire peace." "Their country" is spoken of as if it were distinct from all other

countries. We cannot suppose that the Jud�an prince would have ventured to take up this attitude if the

Phoenician cities had been fully incorporated into the Roman State, since in that case quarrelling with them

would have been quarrelling with Rome, a step on which even Agrippa, with all his pride and all his rashness,

would scarcely have ventured. It is probable, therefore, that either Tiberius or Claudius had revoked the

decree of Augustus, and reinvested the Phoenician cities with the privilege whereof the first of the emperors

Not long after this, about A.D. 57, we have evidence that the great religious and social movement of the age

had swept the Phoenician cities within its vortex, and that, in some of them at any rate, Christian

communities had been formed, which were not ashamed openly to profess the new religion. The Gospel was

preached in Phoenicia[482] as early as A.D. 41. Sixteen years later, when St. Paul, on his return from his

third missionary journey, landed at Tyre, and proceeded thence to Ptolema�s, he found at both places

"churches," or congregations of Christians, who received him kindly, ministered to his wants, prayed with

him, and showed a warm interest in his welfare.[483] These communities afterwards expanded. By the end of

the second century after Christ Tyre was the seat of a bishopric, which held an important place among the

Syrian Sees. Several Tyrian bishops of the second, third, and fourth centuries are known to us, as Cassius (ab.

A.D. 198), Marinus (A.D. 253), Methodius (A.D. 267305), Tyrannion (A.D. 310), and Paulinus (A.D. 328).

Early in the fourth century (B.C. 335) Tyre was the seat of a synod or council, called to consider charges

made against the great Athanasius,[484] who was taxed with cruelty, impiety, and the use of magical arts. As

the bishops who assembled belonged chiefly to the party of Arius, the judgment of the council condemned

Athanasius, and deprived him of his see. On appeal the decision was reversed; Athanasius was

reinstated,[485] and advanced; the cause with which he had identified himself triumphed; and the Synod of

Tyre being pronounced unorthodox, the Tyrian church, like that of Antioch, sank in the estimation of the

Tyre also made herself obnoxious to the Christian world in another way. In the middle of the third century

she produced the celebrated philosopher, Porphyry,[486] who, of all the literary opponents of Christianity,

was the most vigorous and the most successful. Porphyry appears to have been a Phoenician by descent. His

original name was Malchusi.e. Melek or Malik, "king." To disguise his Asiatic origin, and ingratiate

himself with the literary class of the day, who were chiefly Greeks or Grecised Romans, he took the Hellenic

and far more sonorous appellation of Porphyrius, which he regarded as a sort of synonym, since purple was

the royal colour. He early gave himself to the study of philosophy, and was indefatigable in his efforts to

acquire knowledge and learning of every kind. In Asia, probably at Tyre itself, he attended the lectures of

Origen; at Athens he studied under Apollonius and Longinus; in Rome, whereto he ultimately gravitated, he

attached himself to the NeoPlatonic school of Plotinus. His literary labours, which were enormous, had for

their general object the establishment of that eclectic system which Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, Jamblichus,

and others had elaborated, and were endeavouring to impose upon the world as constituting at once true

religion and true philosophy. He was of a constructive rather than a destructive turn of mind. Still, he thought

it of great importance, and a necessity of the times, that he should write a book against the Christians, whose

opinions were, he knew, making such progress as raised the suspicion that they would prevail over all others,

and in a short time become universal. This polemical treatise ran to fifteen books, and "exhibited considerable

acquaintance with both the Jewish and the Christian scriptures."[487] It is now lost, but its general character

is well known from the works of Eusebius, Jerome, and others. The style was caustic and trenchant. An

endeavour was made to show that both the historical scriptures of the Old Testament and the Gospels and

Acts in the New were full of discrepancies and contradictions. The history and antiquities of the Jews, as put

forth in the Bible, were examined, and declared to be unworthy of credit. A special attack was made on the

genuineness and authenticity of the book of Daniel, which was pronounced to be the work of a contemporary

of Antiochus Epiphanes, who succeeded in palming off upon his countrymen his own crude production as the

work of the venerated sage and prophet. Prevalent modes of interpreting scripture were passed under review,

and the allegorical exegesis of Origen was handled with especial severity. The work is said to have produced

a vast effect, especially among the upper classes, whose conversion to Christianity it tended greatly to check

and hinder. Answers to the book, or to particular portions of it, were published by Eusebius of C�sarea, by

Apollinaris, and by Methodius, Bishop of Tyre; but these writers had neither the learning nor the genius of

their opponent, and did little to counteract the influence of his work on the upper grades of society.[488]

The literary importance of the Phoenician cities under the Romans is altogether remarkable. Under Augustus

and Tiberiusespecially from about B.C. 40 to A.D. 20Sidon was the seat of a philosophical school, in

which the works of Aristotle were studied and explained,[489] perhaps to some extent criticised.[490] Strabo

attended this school for a time in conjunction with two other students, named Bo�thus and Diodotus. Tyre

had even previously produced the philosophers, Antipater, who was intimate with the younger Cato, and

Apollonius, who wrote a work about Zeno, and formed a descriptive catalogue of the authors who had

composed books on the subject of the philosophy of the Stoics.[491] Strabo goes so far as to say that

philosophy in all its various aspects might in his day be better studied at Tyre and Sidon than anywhere

else.[492] A little later we find Byblus producing the semireligious historian, Philo, who professed to reveal

to the Greeks the secrets of the ancient Phoenician mythology, and who, whatever we may think of his

judgment, was certainly a man of considerable learning. He was followed by his pupil, Hermippus, who was

contemporary with Trajan and Hadrian, and obtained some reputation as a critic and grammarian.[493] About

the same time flourished Marinus, the writer on geography, who was a Tyrian by birth, and "the first author

who substituted maps, mathematically constructed according to latitude and longitude, for the itinerary

charts" of his predecessors.[494] Ptolemy of Pelusium based his great work entirely upon that of Marinus,

who is believed to have utilised the geographical and hydrographical accumulations of the old Phoenician

navigators, besides availing himself of the observations of Hipparchus, and of the accounts given of their

travels by various Greek and Roman authors. Contemporary with Marinus was Paulus, a native of Tyre, who

was noted as a rhetorician, and deputed by his city to go as their representative to Rome and plead the cause

of the Tyrians before Hadrian.[495] A little later we hear of Maximus, who flourished under Marcus Aurelius

and Commodus (ab. A.D. 160190), a Tyrian, like Paulus, and a rhetorician and Platonic philosopher.[496]

The literary glories of Tyre culminated and terminated with Porphyry, of whose works we have already given

Towards the middle of the third century after Christ a school of law and jurisprudence arose at Berytus,

which attained high distinction, and is said by Gibbon[497] to have furnished the eastern provinces of the

empire with pleaders and magistrates for the space of three centuries (A.D. 250550). The course of

education at Berytus lasted five years, and included Roman Law in all its various forms, the works of

Papinian being especially studied in the earlier times, and the same together with the edicts of Justinian in the

later.[498] Pleaders were forced to study either at Berytus, or at Rome, or at Constantinople,[499] and, the

honours and emoluments of the profession being large, the supply of students was abundant and perpetual.

External misfortune, and not internal decay, at last destroyed the school, the town of Berytus being

completely demolished by an earthquake in the year A.D. 551. The school was then transferred to Sidon, but

appears to have languished on its transplantation to a new soil and never to have recovered its pristine vigour

It is difficult to decide how far these literary glories of the Phoenician cities reflect any credit on the

Phoenician race. Such a number of Greeks settled in Syria and Phoenicia under the Seleucid� that to be a

Tyrian or a Sidonian in the Gr�coRoman period furnished no evidence at all of a man having any

Phoenician blood in his veins. It will have been observed that the names of the Tyrian, Sidonian, and

Berytian learned men and authors of the timeAntipater, Apollonius, Bo�thus, Diodotus, Philo, Hermippus,

Marinus, Paulus, Maximus, Porphyriusare without exception either Latin or Greek. The language in which

the books were written was universally Greek, and in only one or two cases is there reason to suppose that the

authors had any knowledge of the Phoenician tongue. The students at Berytus between A.D. 250 and 550

were probably, in ninetynine cases out of a hundred, Greeks or Romans. Phoenician nationality had, in fact,

almost wholly disappeared in the Seleucid period. The old language ceased to be spoken, and though for

some time retained upon the coins together with a Greek legend,[500] became less frequent as time went on,

and soon after the Christian era disappeared altogether. It is probable that, as a spoken language, Phoenician

In two respects only did the old national spirit survive, and give indication that, even in the nation's "ashes,"

there still lived some remnant of its "wonted fires." Tyre and Sidon were great commercial centres down to

the time of the Crusades, and quite as rich, quite as important, quite as flourishing, commercially, as in the

old days of Hiram and Ithobal. Mela[502] speaks of Sidon in the second century after Christ as "still

opulent." Ulpian,[503] himself a Tyrian by descent, calls Tyre in the reign of Septimus Severus "a most

splendid colony." A writer of the age of Constantine says of it: "The prosperity of Tyre is extraordinary.

There is no state in the whole of the East which excels it in the amount of its business. Its merchants are

persons of great wealth, and there is no port where they do not exercise considerable influence."[504] St.

Jerome, towards the end of the fourth century, speaks of Tyre as "the noblest and most beautiful of all the

cities of Phoenicia,"[505] and as "an emporium for the commerce of almost the whole world."[506] During

the period of the Crusades, "Tyre retained its ancient preeminence among the cities of the Syrian coast, and

excited the admiration of the warriors of Europe by its capacious harbours, its wall, triple towards the land

and double towards the sea, its still active commerce, and the beauty and fertility of the opposite shore." The

manufactures of purple and of glass were still carried on. Tyre was not reduced to insignificance until the

Saracenic conquest towards the close of the thirteenth century of our era, when its trade collapsed, and it

The other respect in which the vitality of the old national spirit displayed itself was in the continuance of the

ancient religion. While Christianity was adopted very generally by the more civilised of the inhabitants, and

especially by those who occupied the towns, there were shrines and fanes in the remote districts, and

particularly in the less accessible parts of Lebanon, where the old rites were still in force, and the old orgies

continued to be carried on, just as in ancient times, down to the reign of Constantine. The account of the

licentious worship of Ashtoreth at Aphaca, which has been already quoted from Eusebius, belongs to the

fourth century after our era, and shows the tenacity with which a section of the Phoenicians, not withstanding

their Hellenisation in language, in literature, and in art, clung to the old barbarous and awful cult, which had

come down to them by tradition from their fathers. A similar worship at the same time maintained itself on

the other side of the Lebanon chain in Heliopolis, or Baalbek, where the votaries of impurity allowed their

female relatives, even their wives and their daughters, to play the harlot as much as they pleased.[508]

Constantine exerted himself to put down and crush out these iniquities, but it is more than probable that, in

the secret recesses of the mountain region, whither government officials would find it hard to penetrate, the

shameful and degrading rites still found a refuge, rooted as they were in the depraved affections of the

The mission of the Phoenicians, as a people, was accomplished before the subjection to Rome began. Under

the Romans they were still ingenious, industrious, intelligent. But in the earlier times they were far more than

this. They were the great pioneers of civilisation. Intrepid, inventive, enterprising, they at once made vast

progress in the arts themselves, and carried their knowledge, their active habits, and their commercial

instincts into the remotest regions of the old continent. They exercised a stimulating, refining, and civilising

influence wherever they went. North and south and east and west they adventured themselves amid perils of

all kinds, actuated by the love of adventure more than by the thirst for gain, conferring benefits, spreading

knowledge, suggesting, encouraging, and developing trade, turning men from the barbarous and unprofitable

pursuits of war and bloodshed to the peaceful occupations of productive industry. They did not aim at

conquest. They united the various races of men by the friendly links of mutual advantage and mutual

dependence, conciliated them, softened them, humanised them. While, among the nations of the earth

generally, brute force was worshipped as the true source of power and the only basis of national repute, the

Phoenicians succeeded in proving that as much could be done by arts as by arms, as great glory and

reputation gained, as real a power built up, by the quiet agencies of exploration, trade, and commerce, as by

the violent and brutal methods of war, massacre, and ravage. They were the first to set this example. If the

history of the world since their time has not been wholly one of the potency in human affairs of "blood and

iron," it is very much owing to them. They, and their kinsmen of Carthage, showed mankind what a power

might be wielded by commercial states. The lesson has not been altogether neglected in the past. May the

writer be pardoned if, in the last words of what is probably his last historical work, he expresses a hope that,

in the future, the nations of the earth will more and more take the lesson to heart, and vie with each other in

the arts which made Phoenicia great, rather than in those which exalted Rome, her oppressor and destroyer?

[1] Die Ph�nizier, und das ph�nizische Alterthum, by F. C. Movers, in five volumes, Berlin, 18411856.

[3] Histoire de l'Art dans l'Antiquit�, par MM. Perrot et Chipiez, Paris, 18817, 4 vols.

[4] Will of William Camden, Clarencieux KingofArms, founder of the "Camden Professorship," 1662.

[4] The tract of white sand (ErRamleh) which forms the coastline of the entire shore from Rhinocolura to

Carmel is said to be gradually encroaching, fresh sand being continually brought by the southwest wind

from Egypt. "It has buried Ascalon, and in the north, between Joppa and C�sar�a, the dunes are said to be as

much as three miles wide and 300 feet high" (Grove, in Smith's Dict. of the Bible, ii. 673).

[7] The Kaneh derives its name from this circumstance, and may be called "the River of Canes."

[11] Lynch found it eighteen yards in width in April 1848 (The Jordan and the Dead Sea, p. 64). He found the

[12] A more particular description of these fountains will be given in the description of the city of Tyre, with

[18] See Edrisi (traduction de Joubert), i. 355; D'Arvieux, M�moires, ii. 33; Renan, pp. 352, 353.

[21] Kenrick (Phoenicia, p. 8), who quotes Burckhardt (Syria, p. 161), and Chesney (Euphrates Expedition, i.

[27] Van de Velde, Travels, i. 317, 318. Compare Porter, Giant Cities of Bashan, p. 236.

[31] The derivation of Lebanon from "white," is generally admitted. (see Gesenius, Thesaurus, p. 369;

[42] Such outlets are common in Greece, where they are called Katavothra. They probably also occur in Asia

[43] Burckhardt, Travels in Syria, p. 10; Chesney, Euphrates Expedition, i. 398.

[48] Burckhardt, Travels in Syria, p. 161; Chesney, Euphrates Expedition, i. 450; Walpole's Ansayrii, iii. 49.

[53] Porter, Giant Cities, p. 292; Robinson, Later Researches, p. 605; Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, p. 297.

[54] Maundrell, Travels, pp. 57, 58; Porter, Giant Cities, p. 284; Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, p. 283.

[61] See the Transactions of the Society of Bibl. Arch�ology, vol. vii.; and compare Kenrick, Phoenicia, p.

[63] Ibid. p. 34. Compare Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, who calls the pass over the spur "un v�ritable

[16] Dr. Hooker says:"Q. pseudococcifera is perhaps the commonest plant in all Syria and Palestine,

covering as a low dense bush many square miles of hilly country everywhere, but rarely or never growing on

the plains. It seldom becomes a large tree, except in the valleys of the Lebanon." Walpole found it on

Bargylus (Ansayrii, iii. 137 et sqq.); Tristram on Lebanon, Land of Israel, pp. 113, 117.

[17] Hooker, in Dict. of the Bible, ii. 684. Compare Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 113.

[19] See Walpole, Ansayrii, iii. 222, 236; Tristram, Land of Israel, pp. 622, 623; Robinson, Later Researches,

[22] Ibid. p. 111; Walpole, Ansayrii, iii. 166; Hooker, in Dict. of the Bible, ii. 683.

[23] Walpole says that Ibrahim Pasha cut down as many as 500,000 Aleppo pines in Casius (Ansayrii, iii.

[24] Hooker, in Dict. of the Bible, ii. 684; and compare Tristram, Land of Israel, pp. 16, 88.

[27] Ibid. xxvii. 5. The Hebrew erez probably covered other trees besides the actual cedar, as the Aleppo

pine, and perhaps the juniper. The pine would have been more suited for masts than the cedar.

[29] Records of the Past, i. 104. ll. 78, 79; iii. 74, ll. 8890; p. 90, l. 9; Compare Layard, Nineveh and

[38] This is Dr. Hooker's description. Canon Tristram says of the styrax at the eastern foot of Carmel, that "of

all the flowering shrubs it is the most abundant," and that it presents to the eye "one sheet of pure white

blossom, rivalling the orange in its beauty and its perfume" (Land of Israel, p. 492).

[42] The "terraced vineyards of Esfia" on Carmel are noted by Canon Tristram (Land of Israel, p. 492).

Walpole speaks of vineyards on Bargylus (Ansaryii, iii. 165). The vineclad slopes of the Lebanon attract

[48] Tristram, pp. 622, 633; Walpole, Ansayrii, iii. 446; Robinson, Later Researches, p. 607.

[60] Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, p. 59; Hooker, in Dictionary of the Bible, ii. 687; Tristram, Land of Israel,

[66] Ibid. pp. 38, 626, Dr. Robinson notices the cultivation of the potato high up in Lebanon; but he observed

[67] It can scarcely be doubted that Phoenicia contained anciently two other land animals of considerable

importance, viz. the lion and the deer. Lions, which were common in the hills of Palestine (1 Sam. xvii. 34; 1

Kings xiii. 24; xx. 36; 2 Kings xvii. 25, 26) and frequented also the Philistine plain (Judg. xiv. 5), would

certainly not have neglected the lowland of Sharon, which was in all respects suited for their habits. Deer,

which still inhabit Galilee (Tristram, Land of the Israel, pp. 418, 447), are likely, before the forests of

Lebanon were so greatly curtailed, to have occupied most portions of it (See Cant. ii. 9, 17; viii. 14). To these

two Canon Tristram would add the crocodile (Land of Israel, p. 103), which he thinks must have been found

in the Zerka for that river to have been called "the Crocodile River" by the Greeks, and which he is inclined

to regard as still a denizen of the Zerka marshes. But most critics have supposed that the animal from which

[79] Houghton, in Smith's Dict. of the Bible, ad voc. CONEY (iii. xliii.); Tristram, Land of Israel, pp. 62, 84,

[84] Ibid. p. 103. Compare Walpole, Ansayrii, iii. 34, 188, and Lortet, La Syrie d'aujourd'hui, pp. 58, 61.

[86] Kenrick, Phoenicia, p. 239. There are representations of the Buccunum in Forbes and Hanley's British

[90] Canon Tristram writs: "Among the rubbish thrown out in the excavations made at Tyre were numerous

fragments of glass, and whole 'kitchen middens' of shells, crushed and broken, the owners of which had once

supplied the famous Tyrian purple dye. All these shells were of one species, the Murex brandaris" (Land of

[31] As they do of being indebted to the Babylonians and the Egyptians for astronomical and philosophic

[34] Compare the representation of Egyptian ships in D�michen's Voyage d'une Reine Egyptienne (date

about B.C. 1400) with the far later Phoenician triremes depicted by Sennacherib (Layard, Monuments of

[36] The Cypriot physiognomy is peculiar. (See Di Cesnola's Cyprus, pp. 123, 129, 131, 132, 133, 141,

[1] The nearest approach to such a period is the time a little preceding Nebuchadnezzar's siege, when Sidon,

[7] See Hom. Il. vii. 290; xxiii. 743; Od. iv. 618; xiv. 272, 285; xvi. 117, 402, 424.

[12] Scylax, Periplus, � 104. This work belongs to the time of Philip, Alexander's father.

[14] The inscription on the sarcophagus of Esmunazar. (See Records of the Past, ix. 111114, and the Corp.

[18] Renan (Mission de Ph�nicie, p. 552) gives the area as 576,508 square metres.

[24] See the fragments of Dius and Menander, preserved by Josephus (Contr. Ap. i. � 17, 18), and compare

Arrian, Exp. Alex. ii. 24. It is quite uncertain what Phoenician deity is represented by "Agenor."

[31] Eight thousand are said to have been killed in the siege, and 30,000 sold when the place was taken.

[41] See the woodcut, and compare Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, planches, pl. ii.; and Perrot et Chipiez,

[56] Carnus is identified by M. Renan with the modern Carnoun, on the coast, three miles north of Tortosa

[71] Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 633; Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art dans l'Antiquit�, iii. 56.

[77] Stephen of Byzantium calls it {polin thoinikes ek mikrae megalen}. Strabo says that it was rebuilt by the

[107] The Phoenicians held Dor and Joppa during the greater part of their existence as a nation, but the tract

between them, and that between Dor and Carmelthe plain of Sharonshows no trace of their occupation.

[4] The two plains are sometimes regarded as one, which is called that of Mesaoria; but they are really

[9] The copper of Cyprus became known as {khalkos Kuprios} or {�s Cyprium}, then as cyprium or

[11] Compare Ammianus"Tanta tamque multiplici fertilitate abundat rerum omnium Cyprus, ut, nullius

externi indigens adminiculi, indigenis viribus a fundamento ipso carin� ad supremos ipsos carbasos �dificet

onerariam navem, omnibusque armamentis instructam mari committat" (xiv. 8, � 14).

[26] Virg. �n. i. 415417; Tacit. Ann. iii. 62; Hist. ii. 2; Strab. xiv. 6, � 3.

[32] On the coppermines of Tamasus, see Strab. xiv. 6, � 5; and Steph. Byz. ad voc.

[42] Ibid. xiv. 3, � 9. Mt. Solyma, now Takhtalu, is the most striking mountain of these parts. Its bald summit

rises to the height of 4,800 feet above the Mediterranean (Beaufort, Karamania, p. 57).

[74] Hesych. ad voc. {KABEIROI}; Steph. Byz. ad voc. {IMBROS}; Strab. vii. Fr. 51.

[79] Apollon. Rhod. ii. l. 178; Euseb. Pr�p. Ev. p. 115; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. l.s.c.; Steph. Byz. ad voc.

[81] Utica was said to have been founded 287 years before Carthage (Aristot. De Ausc. Mir. � 146). Carthage

[84] See the chart opposite, and the description in the G�ographie Universelle, xi. 271, 272.

[91] See Davis's Carthage, pp. 128130; and compare the woodcut in the G�ograph. Univ. xi. 259.

[93] "Adrymes" is the Greek name (Strab. xvii. 3, � 16), Adrumetum or Hadrumetum, the Roman one (Sall.

[103] See Daux, Recherches sur les Emporia Ph�niciens, pp. 256258; and compare Pl. viii.

[105] Daux, Recherches, pp. 169171; Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art dans l'Antiquit�, iii. 400402.

[112] Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 331. Compare the accompanying woodcut.

[114] Marsala, whose wine is so well known, occupies a site on the coast at a short distance.

[117] See Gesenius, Monumenta Phoenicia, pp. 288290, and Tab. 38, ix. Mahanath corresponds to the

[126] For an account of these buildings, called by the natives "Giganteja," see Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de

[133] Perrot et Chipiez, l.s.c. Compare the G�ographie Universelle, i. 599, 600.

[137] None of the classical geographers mentions the place excepting Ptolemy, who calls it "Tarrus"

[144] "Un admirable port natured divis� par des il�ts et des p�ninsules en cales et en bassins secondairs; tous

les avantages se trouvent r�unis dans ce bras de mer" (G�ographie Universelle, i. 808).

[162] See Kenrick, Phoenicia, p. 118; Dyer, in Smith's Dict. of Greek and Roman Geography, ii. 1106.

[163] Scymn. Ch. ll. 100106; Strabo, iii. 2, � 11; Mela, De Situ Orbis, ii. 6; Plin. H. N. iv. 21; Fest. Avien.

[176] Strab. iii. 5, � 5; Diod. Sic. v. 20; Scymn. Ch. 160; Mela, iii. 6, � 1; Plin. H. N. v. 19;

[180] The name is to be connected with the words Baal, Belus, Baalath, There was a river "Belus," in

[9] As at Sidon in the pier wall, and at Aradus in the remains of the great wall of the town.

[10] M. Renan has found reason to question the truth of this view. Bevelling, he thinks, may have begun with

the Phoenicians; but it became a general feature of Palestinian and Syrian architecture, being employed in

Syria as late as the middle ages. The enclosure of the mosque at Hebron and the great wall of Baalbek are

[12] Compare the enclosure of the Haram at Jerusalem, the mosque at Hebron, and the temples at Baalbek

(Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 105, No. 42; iv. 274, No. 139, and p. 186, No. 116).

[15] See Renan, Mission, pp. 6268; and compare Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 242, 243.

[20] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 110; pl. xxxv. fig. 20; xxxvi. fig. 7; xxxvii. figs. 10, 11; Perrot et Chipiez,

[22] See Perrot et Chipie, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 253, No. 193; p. 310, No. 233.

[26] The temple of Solomon was mainly of wood; that of Golgi (Athi�nau) was, it is thought, of crude brick

[27] See the plan in Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 267, No. 200. Explorations are now in progress,

[33] In M. Gerhard's plan two circular ponds or reservoirs are marked, of which General Di Cesnola found no

[40] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 149; Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 274; Ceccaldi, l.s.c.

[44] The only original account of this crypt is that of General Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pp. 303305.

[46] The length of this room was twenty feet, the breadth nineteen feet, and the height fourteen feet (Di

[48] See the woodcut representing a portion of the old wall of Aradus, which is taken from M. Renan's

[49] In some of the ruder walls, as in those of Banias and Eryx, even this precaution is not observed. See

[54] See his Recherches sur l'origine et l'emplacement des Emporia Ph�niciens, pl. 8.

[55] Compare Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, pls. 7, 16, 18, and Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 224.

[56] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 256, 260; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 219221.

[59] See Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 260; and compare Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 219, No. 155.

[62] See Ross, Reisen nach Cypern, pp. 187189; and Arch�ologische Zeitung for 1851, pl. xxviii. figs. 3 and

[71] Perrot and Chipiez remark that "the general aspect of the edifice recalls that of the great tombs at

Amrith;" and conclude that, "if the tomb does not actually belong to the time of Solomon's contemporary and

ally, at any rate it is anterior to the Greco Roman period" (Hist. de l'Art, iii. 167).

[78] "Ce que ce tombeau offre de tout � fait particulier c'est que l'entr�e du caveau, ou, pour mieux dire,

l'escalier qui y conduit, est couvert, dans sa partie ant�rieure, par un �norme bloc r�guli�rement taill� en dos

d'�ne et support� par une assise de grosses pierres" (Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 154).

[1] See Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 404, and compare pp. 428 and 437.

[4] Ibid. p. 513: "Les figures semblent avoir �t� taill�es non dans des blocs prismatiques, mais dans de la

[9] Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. Nos. 349, 385, 405, Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pp. 133, 149, 157.

[11] Ibid. Nos. 323, 342, 368. Occasionally an arm is placed across the breast without anything being clasped

[17] Compare Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 530, No. 358; p. 533, No. 359; and Di Cesnola, pp. 131, 154,

[20] Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 201, No. 142; p. 451, No. 323; p. 598, No. 409. The best dove is that

[27] See the Story of Assyria, p. 403; and compare Ancient Monarchies, i. 395, 493.

[28] See Story of Assyria, l.s.c.; and for the classical practice, which was identical, compare Lipsius, Antiq.

[29] So it is in a garden that Asshurbanipal and his queen regale themselves (Ancient Monarchies, i. 493).

[32] Di Cesnola is in favour of Melkarth (p. 264); MM. Perrot and Chipiez of Bes (Hist. de l'Art, iii. 610).

[33] See Di Cesnola, Pl. vi.; Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 450, 555, 557; Nos. 321, 379, 380, 381, and 382.

[35] Perrot et Chipiez see in it the travels of the deceased in another world (Hist. de l'Art, iii. 612); but they

admit that at first sight one would be tempted to regard it as the representation of an historical event, as the

[36] A similar crest was used by the Persians (Ancient Monarchies, iii. 180, 234), and the Lycians (Fellows's

[41] "In the porch" (1 Kings vii. 21); "before the house," "before the temple" (2 Chron. iii. 15, 17).

[47] See Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, vol. iv. Pls. vi. and vii. opp. pp. 318 and 320.

[55] See the woodcut in Perrot et Chipiez, iv. 331, No. 173; and compare 1 Kings vii. 31.

[60] A single statue in bronze, of full size, or larger than life, is said to have been exhumed in Cyprus in 1836

[61] See the works of La Marmora (Voyage en Sardaigne), Cara (Relazione sugli idoli sardofenici), and

[72] In the museum of the Varvakeion. (See Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 782785.)

[78] See ClermontGanneau, Ima. Ph�nicienne, Pls. ii. iv. and vi. Compare Longp�rier, Mus�e Napol�on III.,

Pl. x.; Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 329; Pl. xix. opp. p. 276; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 777, 789; Nos.

[79] ClermontGanneau, Pl. i. at end of volume; Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 759, No. 543.

[81] Helbig, Bullettino dell' Instituto di Corrispondenza archeologica, 1876, p. 127.

[85] L'Imagerie Ph�nicienne, pp. 150156. It is fatal to M. ClermontGanneau's idea1. That the hunter in

the outer scene has no dog; 2. That the dress of the charioteer is wholly unlike that of the fugitive attacked by

the dog; and 3. That M. Clermont Ganneau's explanation accounts in no way for the medallion's central and

[86] "Les formes et les mouvements des chevaux sont indiqu�s avec beaucoup du s�ret� et de justesse" (ibid.

[87] So Mr. C. W. King in his appendix to Di Cesnola's Cyprus, p. 387. He supports his view by Herod. vii.

[89] Compare the cylinder of Darius Hystaspis (Ancient Monarchies, iii. 227) and another engraved on the

[94] These fluttering ends of ribbon are very common in the Persian representations. See Ancient

[97] Ibid. pp. 635639. Green serpentine is the most usual material (C. W. King, in Di Cesnola's Cyprus, p.

[120] Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 655:"La couleur parait y avoir �t� employ�e d'une mani�re discr�te; elle servait

[122] Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 666:"On obtenait ainsi un ensemble qui, malgr� la rapidit� du travail, ne

[123] See Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pp. 65, 71, 91, 181, and Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 686, 691, 699,

[3] See Herod. ii. 182, and compare the note of Sir G. Wilkinson on that passage in Rawlinson's Herodotus,

[6] Hom. Il. vi. 289; Od. xv. 417; �sch. Suppl. ll. 279284; Lucan, Phars. x. 142,

[16] This is the case with almost all the refuse shells found in the "kitchen middens" (as they have been

[19] See Grimaud de Caux's paper in the Revue de Zoologie for 1856, p. 34; and compare Lortet, La Syrie

[24] For the tints producible, see a paper by M. LacazeDuthiers, in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles for

[26] Ibid. ix. 39:"Cornelius Nepos, qui divi Augusti principatu obiit. Me, inquit, juvene violacea purpura

[27] Kenrick, Phoenicia, p. 242. Compare Pliny, H. N. ix. 38: "Laus summa in colore sanguinis concreti."

[29] Wilkinson, in Rawlinson's Herodotus, ii. 82. Similar representations occur in tombs near the Pyramids.

[47] The British Museum has a mould which was found at Camirus, intended to give shape to glass earrings.

[51] Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 669. (Compare Renan Mission de Ph�nicie, pl. xxi.)

[53] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 68. Compare Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 671, No. 479.

[57] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 102. Compare Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 675, No. 483.

[58] So Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 332, and Mr. Murray, of the British Museum, ibid., appendix, pp. 401, 402.

[66] Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 866868. Compare Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pl. x.

[67] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pp. 335, 336, and pls. iv. and xxx.; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 831, 862,

[83] Ceccaldi, Monumens Antiques de Cyprus, p. 138; Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 282; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de

[86] 2 Chron. ii. 14. Iron, in the shape of nails and rings, has been found in several graves in Phoenicia

Proper, where the coffin seems to have been of wood (Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, p. 866).

[91] Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, p. 427, and pl. lx. fig. 1; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 177, No. 123.

[4] Compare the practice of the Egyptians (Rosellini, Monumenti Storici, pl. cxxxi.)

[5] See Mionnet, D�script. de M�dailles, vol. vii. pl. lxi. fig. 1; Gesenius, Ling. Scriptur�que Phoen.

[6] Layard, Monuments of Nineveh, first series, pl. 71; Nineveh and its Remains, l.s.c.

[10] In later times there must have been more sails than one, since Xenophon describes a Phoenician

merchant ship as sailing by means of a quantity of rigging, which implies several sails (Xen. OEconom. � 8).

[18] Herodotus (iii. 37) says they were at the prow of the ship; but Suidas (ad voc.) and Hesychius (ad voc.)

[19] The {pataikoi} of the Greeks probably representes the Hebrew {...}, which is from {...}, "insculpere,"

and is applied in Scripture to "carved work" of any kind. (See 1 Kings vi. 29; Ps. lxxiv. 6; Some, however,

derive the word from the Egyptian name Phthah, or Ptah. (See Kenrick, Phoenicia, p. 235.)

[26] Ionia, Cyprus, and Hellas are the Greek correspondents of Javan, Chittim, and Elishah, Chittim

[27] Spain is intended by "Tarshish" (verse 12) == Tartessus, which was a name given by the Phoenicians to

[30] Minnith appears as an Ammonite city in the history of Jephthah (Judg. xi. 33).

[32] See Rawlinson's Herodotus, ii. 157; History of Ancient Egypt, i. 509; Rosellini, Mon. Civili, pls.

[34] That these were Arabian products appears from Herod. iii. 111, 112. They may be included in the "chief

of all spices," which Tyre obtained from the merchants of Sheba and Raamah (Ezek. xxvii. 22).

[36] See Ezek. xxvii. 23, 24. Canneh and Chilmad were probably Babylonian towns.

[37] Upper Mesopotamia is indicated by one of its chief cities, Haran (Ezek. xxvii. 23).

[39] Ibid. verse 7. The Murex brandaris is still abundant on the coast of Attica, and off the island of Salamis

[56] So Heeren (As. Nat. ii. 118). But there is a Helbon a little to the north of Damascus, which is more

[58] See Amos, iii. 12, where some translate "the children of Israel that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a

[60] The Hebrew terms for Syria {...} and Edom {...} are constantly confounded by the copyists, and we must

[64] Egyptian pottery, scarabs, seals, figures of gods, and amulets, are common on most Phoenician sites. The

[68] Wilkinson, in the author's Herodotus, iii. 497, note 6; Heeren, As. Nat. ii. 95.

[76] Gerrha, Sanaa, and Mariaba were flourishing towns in Strabo's time, and probably during several

[79] See Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pls. xxxi.xxxiii.; A. Di Cesnola, Salaminia, ch. xii.; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de

[80] Layard, Monuments of Nineveh, 2nd series, pls. 5767; Nineveh and Babylon, pp. 183187.

[97] No doubt some of these may have been imparted by the Cyprians themselves, and others introduced by

the Egyptians when they held Cyprus; but they are too numerous to be accounted for sufficiently unless by a

[98] Especially Etruria, which was advanced in civilisation and the arts, while Rome was barely emerging

[100] Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, ii. 204, 514; Gerhard, Etruskische Spiegel, passim.

[104] Ibid. In Roman times the pigs of tin were brought to the Isle of Wight by the natives, thence transported

across the Channel, and conveyed through Gaul to the mouth of the Rh�ne (Diod. Sic. v. 22).

[109] These forests (spoken of by Diodorus, v. 19) have now to a great extent been cleared away, though

some patches still remain, especially in the more western islands of the group. The most remarkable of the

[112] The savagery of the ancient inhabitants of the mainland is strongly marked in the narrative of Hanno

[118] Gen. x. 29. Compare Twistleton, in Dr. Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. ii. ad voc. OPHIR.

[121] There are no sufficient data for determining what tree is intended by the almug or algum tree. The

theory which identifies it with the "sandalwood" of India has respectable authority in its favour, but cannot

[122] If Scylax of Cadyanda could sail, in the reign of Darius Hystaspis, from the mouth of the Indus to the

Gulf of Suez (Herod. iv. 44), there could have been no great difficulty in the Phoenicians accomplishing the

[4] Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 2:"In Cypro proma �ris inventio." The story went, that Cinryas, the Paphian king,

who gave Agamemnon his breastplate of steel, gold, and tin (Hom. Il. xii. 25), invented the manufacture of

copper, and also invented the tongs, the hammer, the lever, and the anvil (Plin. H. N. vii. 56, � 195).

[12] Herod. vii. 112; Aristot. De Ausc. Mir. � 42; Thuc. iv. 105; Diod. Sic. xvi. 8; App. Bell. Civ. iv. 105;

[13] Col. Leake speaks of one silver mine as still being worked (Northern Greece, iii. 161).

[30] Quicksilver is still among the products of the Spanish mines, where its presence is noted by Pliny (H. N.

[33] Pliny says "flint," but this can scarcely have been the material. (See Plin. H. N. xxxiii. 4, � 71.)

[42] Kenrick thinks that the Carthaginians "introduced the practice of working the mines by slave labour"

[2] Ithobal, father of Jezebel, was High Priest of Ashtoreth (Menand. Ephes. Fr. 1). Amastarte, the mother of

[3] As figures of Melkarth, or Esmun, or dedications to Baal, as lord of the particular city issuing it.

[5] For the fragments of the work which remain, see the Fragmenta Historicum Gr�corum of C. M�ller, iii.

561571. Its value has been much disputed, but seems to the present writer only slight.

[14] See Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, pl. xxxii.; Gesenius, Lingu� Scriptur�que Phoenici� Monumenta, Tab.

[19] D�llinger, Judenthum und Heidenthum, i. 425, E. T. Compare Gesenius, Mon. Phoen. Tab. xxiii.

[35] See Philo Bybl. Fe. ii. 8, � 14; {'Ilon ton kai Kronon}. Damascius ap. Phot. Bibl. p. 1050.

[41] Karth or Kartha, is probably the root of Carthage, Carthagena, Carteia, as Kiriath is of Kiriathaim,

[42] Melicertes is the son of Demaro�s and the grandson of Uranus; Baalsamin is a god who stands alone,

[43] See Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 567, 577, 578; Gesenius, Mon. Phoen. Tab. xxxvii. I.

[56] See 2 Sam. viii. 3, and 1 Kings xv. 18, where the names Hadad ezer and Benhadad suggest at any rate

[58] So Macrobius, l.s.c. Compare the representations of the Egyptian SunGod, Aten, in the sculpures of

[59] The h in "Hadad" is he ({...}), but in chad it is heth ({...}). The derivation also leaves the reduplication of

[65] The Adonis myth is most completely set forth by the Pseudo Lucian, De Dea Syra, � 68.

[68] "King of Righteousness" and "Lord of Righteousness" are the interpretations usually given; but "Zedek

[69] Berytus was under the protection of the Cabeiri generally (Philo Bybl. ii. 8, � 25) and of Esmun in

[70] Cyprian inscriptions contain the names of BarEsmun, AbdEsmun, and Esmunnathan; Sidonian ones

those of two Esmunazars. Esmun's temple at Carthage was celebrated (Strab. xvii. 14; Appian, viii. 130).

His worship in Sardinia is shown by votive offerings (Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 308).

[73] The name Astresmunim, "herb of Esmun," given by Dioscorides (iv. 71) to the solanum, which was

regarded as having medicinal qualities, is the nearest approach to a proof that the Phoenicians themselves

[84] Pausan. ix. 12; Nonnus, Dionysiac. v. 70; Steph. Byz. ad voc. {'Ogkaiai}; Hesych. ad voc. {'Ogka};

[99] See Sir H. Rawlinson's Essay on the Religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians, in the author's

[101] There seems also to have been a tendency to increase the number of the gods by additions, of which the

foreign origin is, at any rate, "not proven." Among the deities brought into notice by the later Phoenicians

are1. Zephon, an equivalent of the Egyptian Typhon, but probably a god of Phoenician origin (Ex. xiv. 2);

2. Sad or Tsad, sometimes apparently called Tsadam; 3. Sakon or Askun, a name which forms perhaps the

first element in Sanchon iathon (= Sakonyithan); 4. Elat, a goddess, a female form of El, perhaps

equivalent to the Arabian Alitta (Herod. i. 131) or Alilat (ibid. iii. 8); 5. 'Aziz, a god who was perhaps

common to the Phoenicians with the Syrians, since Azizus is said to have been "the Syrian Mars;" and 6.

Pa'am {...}, a god otherwise unknown. (See the Corpus Inscr. Semit. i. 122, 129, 132, 133, 144, 161, 197,

[102] Gesenius, Mon. Phoen. pp. 96, 110, Corpus Ins. Semit. Fasc. ii. pp. 154, 155.

[106] Plut. De Is. et Osir. � 15, 16; Steph. Byz. l.s.c.; Gesen. Mon. Phoen. pp. 96, 110.

[113] ClermontGanneau, in the Journal Asiatique, S�rie vii. vol. xi. 232, 444.

[117] Ibid. Lucian's direct testimony is conined to Hierapolis, but his whole account seems to imply the

[120] Gesenius, Scriptur� Lingu�que Phoenici� Monumenta, Tab. 6, 9, 10, Corp. Ins. Semit. Tab. ix. 52;

[121] Gesen. Tab. 15, 16, 17, 21, Corp. Ins. Semit. Tab. xliii. 187, 240; liv. 352, 365, 367, 369,

[128] Judenthum und Heidenthum, book vi. � 4 (i. 428, 429 of N. Darnell's translation).

[134] Lucian, De Dea Syra, � 5052; Corp. Ins. Semit. vol. i. Fasc. 1, p. 92; Liv. xxix. 10, 14; xxxvi. 36; Juv.

vi. 512; Ov. Fast. iv. 237; Mart. Ep. iii. 31; xi. 74; Plin. H. N. v. 32; xi. 49; xxxv. 13; Propert. ii. 18, l. 15;

[137] D�llinger, Judenthum und Heidenthum (i. 431; Engl. Tr.). Compare Senec. De Vita Beata, � 27; Lact. �

[139] Compare Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 210, 232, 233, 236; Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pp. 66, 67, In

the anthropoeid sarcophagi, a hole is generally bored from the cavity of the ear right through the entire

thickness of the stone, in order, apparently, that the corpse might hear the prayers addressed to it (Perrot et

[140] One of Esmunazar's curses on those who should disturb his remains is a prayer that they may not be

"held in honour among the Manes" (Corps. Ins. Semit. vol. i. Fasc. 1, p. 9). A funereal inscription translated

by Gesenius (Mon. Phoen. p. 147) ends with the words, "After rain the sun shines forth."

[143] The compilers of the Corpus Ins. Smit. edit 256 of these, and then stop, fearing to weary the reader (i.

[1] See also Di Cesnola, Cyprus, p. 233; Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 405, 447, 515,

[14] Perrot et Chipiez, pp. 64, 450, 555, 557; Di Cesnola, Pls vi. and xv.; also p. 275.

[25] Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pl. xxiii.; Perrot et Chipiez, Histoire de l'Art, iii. 819, A.

[34] These bracelets are in Paris, in the collection of M. de Clercq (Perrot et Chipiez, iii. 832).

[36] This bracelet is in silver, but the head of the lion has been gilded. It is now in the British Museum.

[41] Perrot et Chipiez, p. 818: "Il y a dans les formes de ces boucles d'orielles une �tonnante vari�t�."

[69] Mr. King says of it: "No piece of antique worked agate hitherto known equals in magnitude and curiosity

the ornament discovered among the bronze and iron articles of the treasure. It is a sphere about six inches in

diameter, black irregularly veined with white, having the exterior vertically scored with incised lines,

[70] Renan, Mission de Ph�nicie, Pls. xii. xiii.; Di Cesnola, Cyprus, pls. iv. and xxx.; and pp. 335, 336.

[1] This follows from the fact that the Greeks, who tell us that they got their letters from the Phoenicians,

[3] See Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund for October 1881, pp. 285287.

[5] Herod. v. 58; Diod. Sic. v. 24; Plin. H. N. v. 12; vii. 56; Tacit. Ann. xi. 14; Euseb. Chron. Can. i. 13;

[6] Capt. Conder, in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Jan. 1889, p. 17.

[11] See on this entire subject Gesenius, Scriptur� Lingu�que Phoenici� Monumenta, pp. 437445; Movers,

article on Phoenizien in the Cyclop�die of Ersch and Gruber; Renan, Histoire des Langues S�mitiques, pp.

[16] The Voyage of Hanno translated, and accompanied with the Greek Text, by Thomas Falconer, M.A.,

[18] See the Histoire des Langues S�mitiques (p. 186):"Les monuments �pigraphiques viennent

[22] On the age of Jehavmelek, see M. Renan's remarks in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semit. i. 8.

[37] See the fragments of Dius and Menander, who followed the Tyrian historians (Joseph. Contr. Ap. i. 18).

[40] See Sallust, Bell. Jugurth. � 17; Cic. De Orat. i. 58; Amm. Marc. xxii. 15; Solin. Polyhist. � 34.

[44] As Antipater and Apollonius, Stoic philosophers of Tyre (Strab. l.s.c.), Bo�thus and Diodotus,

Peripatetics, of Sidon (ibid.), Philo of Byblus, Hermippus of Berytus, and others.

[2] "Canaanite" is used in a much wider sence, including all the Syrian nations between the coast line and the

[14] Ramantha (Laodicea) in later times claimed the rank of "Metropolis," which implied a supremacy over

[26] The Sidonian vessel which carries off Eum�us quits the Sicilian haven after sunset, and continues its

voyage night and day without stopping{'Exemar men onos pleomen nuktas te kai e mar} (Hom. Od. xv.

[35] We find hereditary monarchy among the Hittites (Records of the Past, iv. 28), at Tyre (Menand. ap.

Joseph. Contr. Ap. i. 18), in Moab (Records, xi. 167), in Judah and Israel, in Syria (2 Kings, xiii. 24), in

[37] When kings are priests, it is noted as exceptional. (See Menand. l.s.c.; Inscription of Tabnit, line 1.)

[50] Cinyras and Belus are both connected with Cyprus as kings. The Assyrians found kings there in all the

[60] See Joseph. Ant. Jud. viii. 2, � 7, and compare the letters with their Hebrew counterparts in 1 Kings v.

[74] Menander, Fr. 1; Dius, Fr. 2; Philostrat. Vit. Apoll. v. 5; Sil. Ital. Bell. Pun. iii. 14, 22, 30.

[80] See the Fragment of Menander above quoted, where Hiram is said to have been fiftythree years old at

[86] So M. Renan, after careful examination (Mission, l.s.c.). The earlier opinion placed the smaller island,

[96] See 1 Kings x. 22. The distinctness of this navy from the one which brought gold from Ophir has been

maintained by Dean Stanley (Lectures on the Jewish Church, ii. 156) and the Rev. J. Hammond (Pulpit

Commentary, Comment on 1 Kings, p. 213), as well as by the present writer (Speaker's Commentary, ii. pp.

[98] See Plin. H. N. iii. 3; xxxiii. 6; Polyb. x. 10; Strab. iii. 2, � 3 and 10.

[104] The case is excellently stated in Mr. Twistleton's article on OPHIR in Dr. Smith's Dictionry of the

[105] As almug or algum which is "the Hebraised form of a Deccan word for sandalwood" (Stanley,

[113] The Assyrians probably found their way into Phoenicia through the gap in the mountain line between

Bargylus and Lebanon. Botrys occupied a strong position between this gap and the southern Phoenician

[114] Menander, l.s.c. A�za, which at a later date became Auzen, is mentioned by Tacitus (Ann. iv. 25) and

[115] The Greek lamda, {L}, readily passes into delta {D}. Baal azar is found as a Phoenician name in an

[116] See Gesen. Mon. Phoen. p. 410. Mattan, "a gift," was the name borne by Athaliah's high priest of Baal

(2 Kings xi. 18). It is found as an element in several Phoenician names, as Mattanelim (Corp. Ins. Semit. i.

[129] When Assyria became mistress of the Upper Syria, the Orontes valley, and the kingdom of Israel, she

[140] Joseph, Ant. Jud. l.s.c. {'Epelthe polemon ten te Surian pasan kai Phoiniken}.

[142] A slab of Sennacherib's represents the Assyrian army entering a city, probably Phoenician, at one end,

while the inhabitants embark on board their ships at the other (Layard, Monuments of Nineveh, 1st series, pl.

[144] Compare Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. de l'Art, iii. 357, and Lortet, La Syrie d'aujourd'hui, p. 128.

[146] This folows from his taking refuge there when attacked by Sennacherib (Eponym Canon, p. 136).

[147] Since Sennacherib calls him persistently "king of Sidon" (ibid. p. 131, l. 2; p. 135, ll. 13, 17), not king

[148] It was the same army which lost 185,000 men by miracle in one night (2 Kings xix. 35).

[154] Eponym Canon, p. 132, l. 14; p. 136, ll. 14, 19. "Tubaal" is probably for Tobbaal, "Baal is good," like

"Tabrimon" for Tob Rimmon, "Rimmon is good" (1 Kings xv. 18), and "Tabeal" for Tob El, "God is

[157] From the fact that AbdMilkut is king of Sidon at the accession of Esarhaddon (Records of the Past, iii.

[158] AbdMelkarth is one of the commonest of Phoenician names. It occurs, either fully, or in the

contracted form of BodMelkarth, scores of times in the inscriptions of Carthage. The meaning is "servant of

[171] Eponym Canon, pp. 143, 144. Six names are lost between the eleventh line and the eighteenth. They

may be supplied from the broken cylinder of Esarhaddon (Records of the Past, iii. 107, 108.)

[181] Herod. i. 103. B.C. 633 was, according to Herodotus, the year of the accession of Cyaxares. His attack

[182] Herod. l.s.c. and iv. 1; Ezek. xxxviii. 216; Strabo, xi. 8, � 4; Diod. Sic. ii. 34, � 25.

[192] Herod. ii. 157; and compare the author's History of Ancient Egypt, ii. 467, note 6.

[201] See Jer. xlvii. 1. Gaza, however, may not have been taken till the campaign of B.C. 608.

[202] Herod. i. 105 raises the suspicion that Askelon, which was nearer Egypt than Ashdod, may have

[222] Berosus, l.s.c. The extreme haste of the return is indicated by the fact, which is noted, that

Nebuchadnezzer himself, with a few light troops, took the short cut across the desert, while his army, with its

prisoners, pursued the more usual route through the valley of the Orontes, by Aleppo to Carchemish, and then

[227] So Joseph. l.s.c. Mr. Kenrick disputes the date on account of Ezek. xxvi. 2, which he thinks must refer

to the final siege and capture of Jerusalem; but the reference may be to the breaking of the power of Jud�a,

[252] Hence the sacred writers speak of the Assyrians and Babylonians as "God's northern army," "a people

[259] Ibid. vii. 98; viii. 67, � 2; Diod. Sic. xvi. 42, � 2; xvii. 47, � 1; Arrian, Exp. Alex. ii. 13, 15,

[275] Phoenicia could furnish 300 triremes, Cyprus 150, Ionia at this time 283 (Herod. vi. 8), �olis at least

70 (ibid.), Caria the same number (ib. vii. 93)total, 873. Against these Darious could only have mustered

200 from Egypt (ib. vii. 89), 100 from Cilicia (ib. 91), 50 from Lycia (ib. 92), and 30 from Pamphylia (ib.

[293] The fleet which accomponied Mardonius lost nearly three hundred vessels off Mount Athos (Herod. vi.

44), and therefore can scarcely have fallen much short of 500; that of Datis and Artaphernes is reckoned at

600 by Herodotus (vi. 95), at a thousand by Cicero (Orat. in Verr. ii. 1, � 18), and Valerius Maximus (i. 1).

[305] Diod. Sic. xi. 13, � 2: {'Aristeusai Phasi para men tois 'Ellesin 'Athnaious, para de, tois barbarois

[313] So Diodorus (xi. 62, � 3); but the mention of Cyprus in line 6 renders this somewhat doubtful.

[323] Nefaheritis or Nefaaert. (See the author's Story of Egypt, pp. 385, 386, and compare Ancient

[324] Isocrates, Paneg. and Evag.; Theopompas, Fr. 111; Diod. Sic. xiv. 98; Ctesias, Exc. Pers. Fr. 29, � 63.

[328] See Diod. Sic. xiv. 98; xv. 2; Ephorus Fr.; 134 Isocrates, Evag. �� 75, 76.

[349] Quint. Curt. iv. 4; Justin, xi. 10. Diodorus by mistake makes Strato II. king of Tyre (xvii. 47, � 1).

[354] Four hundred were actually brought to the relief of Miletus a few weeks later (Arrian, Exp. Alex. i. 18,

[364] As Gerastartus, king of Aradus (Arrian, l.s.c.); Enylus, king of Byblus (ibid. ii. 20, � 1); and

[369] Arrian, Exp. Alex. ii. 16, ad fin.; Q. Curt. iv. 2, � 5; Justin, xi. 10.

[372] In point of fact, he only obtained, towards the fleet which he collected against Tyre, twentythree

vessels that were not either Cyprian or Phoenician (Arrian, Exp. Alex. ii. 20, � 2).

[384] This seems to be Arrian's meaning, when he says, {ai keraiai periklastheisaiexekhean es to pur osa es

[392] {'Epibibasas tois katastromasi ton upaspiston osoi ikanoi edokoun es to ergon} (Arrian, ii. 20, � 6).

[402] Some editions of Arrian gave {Pasikratous tou Thourieos}, "Pasicrates the Thurian," but the right

reading is undoubtedly {tou Kourieos}, "the Curian, or king of Curium." (See the note of Sintenis ad loc.)

[426] So Arrian (l.s.c.) Diodorus reduces the number to thirteen thousand (xvii. 46, � 4).

[429] See Diod. Sic. xvii. 46, � 6. The name Abdelonim, "servant of the gods," is common. The Greeks and

[447] Herod. i. 1. Egypt never sent trading ships into the Mediterranean. All her commerce with Syria, Asia

[463] By Theodotus in B.C. 219 (Polyb. v. 61, � 5), by Cleopatra, queen of Syria, about B.C. 85 (Joseph. Ant.

[470] Mommsen, History of Rome, iv. 113115, Engl. Tr.; Merivale, Roman Empire, i. 36.

[486] Some doubts have been entertained as to whether Porphyry was really a Tyrian, but his own statement

(Vit. Plotini, ii. 107), backed as it is by the testimony of Eunapius and Suidas, should be regarded as settling

[488] See the article on PORPHYRIUS in Smith's Dict. of Greek and Rom. Biography, iii. 498502.

[490] See the lines quoted by Kenrick (Phoenicia, p. 440, note) from Cramer's Anecdota Gr�ca (iv. 19, �

{Oi tes Stoas bullousin 'Akademian, Purronas outoi, pantas o Stegeirites. 'Alloi de touton Phoinikes te kai

[492] Ibid. Strabo's words are: {Nuni de pases kai tes alles philosophias euporian polu pleisten labein estin ek

[500] See Eckhel, Doctr. Num. Vet. iii. 366; Mionnet, Description des M�dailles, Supplement.

[501] Note that the "SyroPhoenician woman" who conversed with our Lord is spoken of as also {'Ellenis},