2-2 Phoenicians

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.