Phoenician land and colonies in the Mediterranean
Today they are a little-known and mysterious people. Yet 3,000 years ago they created one of the greatest trading empires of the ancient world, reaching across the Mediterranean Sea in a way that would have a lasting impact on the history of world culture. Now the latest discoveries in science are casting new light on the “lost civilization” of the Phoenicians. Their homeland was the coast of Lebanon. From the cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos they set out in their ships to trade across the sea. They carried the rich products of the Lebanese soil, such as wine, olive oil, grain and the wood of the famous cedars of Lebanon. They were also highly-skilled artists and craftsmen. They were renowned for their fine ceramics, bronzework, delicately-carved ivories and gemstones. They were the first to make transparent glass, and to use the technique of glassblowing. The most prized of their goods was the cloth dyed in purple – so precious that only the wealthiest could buy it, and it came to be a symbol for royalty that survives to this day. The purple dye was made by crushing the murex shellfish, which is found off the coast of Lebanon. The name by which this people became known, “Phoenician,” is derived from the Greek word for “purple.” Ancient Phoenician coin