Essential Questions
1. How did the Phoenicians adapt to and modify their environment to meet their basic economic (food, clothing, shelter) needs.
2. What were some attributes of the Ancient Phoenicians?
3. What was the legacy of the Ancient Phoenicians?
4. How does this society compare and contrast to other ancient civilizations?
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Phoenicians - The carriers of civilization -
Cultural Diffusion
Lords of the Sea
Lebanon
Barter
Commodity
The Phoenicians kept good records related to trade. As they traded with areas all around the Mediterranean Sea, people learned their language. Over time, the letters different civilizations altered some of the original letters. So Ancient Greek writing has is roots in Ancient Phoenician writing. This is a good example of cultural diffusion.
The First Civilizations
Section 5: The Phoenicians and the Lydians
In this section you will learn about the achievements of two more ancient peoples. The
Phoenicians and the Lydians. You will learn how trade influenced Phoenician culture. You
will also learn about the money economy that developed in Lydia.
Section 5 Summary
At the western end of the Fertile Crescent lay Phoenicia (fi·NI·shuh). Today this region
forms part of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Phoenicia was a loose union of city-states, each
governed by a king. There was little fertile land, and the Lebanon Mountains blocked
expansion to the east. So the Phoenicians began trading on the sea.
Phoenician sailors sailed throughout the Mediterranean, using sails and oars.
They may have sailed as far as Britain and the western coast of Africa. Phoenicians
became the greatest traders of the ancient world. The Phoenician city of Carthage in North
Africa became a major regional power. Phoenicia established other colonies in what is
now Italy and Spain.
Phoenicians traded lumber from cedar forests in the Lebanon Mountains. They
also traded beautiful gold and silver objects made using methods learned from the
Egyptians. Phoenicia invented the art of glassblowing and traded beautiful glass objects.
Phoenicians made a purple dye from a shellfish. Cloth dyed with this purple dye
was highly valued. A favorite of royalty, the color became known as royal purple. The
cities of Sidon and Tyre became centers of the dyeing trade. The Phoenicians also exported
dried fish, linen, olive oil, and wine.
The Phoenicians borrowed from the cultures of other peoples, especially the
Egyptians and Babylonians. Through trade they spread these cultures throughout the
Mediterranean region. Phoenician religion was focused on winning the favor of the many
gods they worshipped. Sometimes they even sacrificed their children.
The Phoenicians never established a major empire. Their cities were eventually
conquered by the Assyrians. Their major contribution to world culture was the
Phoenician alphabet. Phoenicians used writing in business to draw up contracts and
record bills. Their trading partners saw these written records and recognized their
advantages. Phoenician traders spread their writing throughout the Mediterranean. The
Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet and added vowels. The Romans adapted this
alphabet into the one we use today.
Lydia (li·DEE·uh) was located in Asia Minor, which is now Turkey. Like the
Phoenicians, the Lydians did not create an empire. Instead they are remembered for
inventing money. Their coins were made of gold and silver and shaped like kidney beans.
Before coins were invented, traders had to rely on barter. Barter is the exchange of one
good or service for another. Goods that have value for bartering are called
commodities. A fisherman might trade a commodity such as fish for a farmer’s
vegetables. Barter worked only if each person wanted what the other offered.
Instead Lydian traders developed a money economy, an economic system based
on the use of money as a measure of value and a unit of account. Traders set prices for
goods and services. Through trade, the Lydians passed on their money economy to the
Greeks and Persians, who later spread the concept to other parts of the world.
http://www.theancientworld.net/civ/phoenicians_culture.html