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    Ancient Man by Hendrik Van Loon Ancient Man by Hendrik Van Loon    

Chapter 15: The Phoenicians Who Sailed Beyond the Horizon

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A pioneer is a brave person, with the courage of their own curiosity.

Perhaps they live at the foot of a high mountain.

So do thousands of other people. They are quite contented to leave the mountain alone.

But the pioneer feels unhappy. They want to know what mysteries this mountain hides from their eyes. Is there another mountain behind it, or a plain? Does it suddenly arise with its steep cliffs from the dark waves of the ocean or does it overlook a desert?

One fine day, the true pioneer leaves their family and the safe comfort of their home to go and find out. Perhaps the pioneer will come back and tell their experience to their indifferent relatives. Or they will be killed by falling stones or a treacherous blizzard. In that case, the pioneer does not return at all, and the good neighbors shake their heads and say, "They got what they deserved. Why did they not stay at home like the rest of us?"

But the world needs such people and after they have been dead for many years and others have reaped the benefits of their discoveries, they always receive a statue with a fitting inscription.

More terrifying than the highest mountain is the thin line of the distant horizon. It seems to be the end of the world itself. Heaven have mercy upon those who pass beyond this meeting-place of sky and water, where all is black despair and death.

And for centuries and centuries after people had built the first clumsy boats, they remained within the pleasant sight of one familiar shore and kept away from the horizon.

Then came the Phoenicians who knew no such fears. They passed beyond the sight of land. Suddenly the forbidding ocean was turned into a peaceful highway of commerce and the dangerous menace of the horizon became a myth.

These Phoenician navigators were Semites. Their ancestors had lived in the desert of Arabia together with the Babylonians, the Jews and all the others. But when the Jews occupied Palestine, the cities of the Phoenicians were already old with the age of many centuries.

There were two Phoenician centers of trade.

One was called Tyre and the other was called Sidon. They were built upon high cliffs and rumor had it that no enemy could take them. Far and wide their ships sailed to gather the products of the Mediterranean for the benefit of the people of Mesopotamia.

At first the sailors only visited the distant shores of France and Spain to barter with the natives and hastened home with their grain and metal. Later they had built fortified trading posts along the coasts of Spain and Italy and Greece and the far-off Scilly Islands where the valuable tin was found.

To the uncivilized savages of Europe, such a trading post appeared as a dream of beauty and luxury. They asked to be allowed to live close to its walls, to see the wonderful sights when the boats of many sails entered the harbor, carrying the much-desired merchandise of the unknown east. Gradually they left their huts to build themselves small wooden houses around the Phoenician fortresses. In this way many a trading post had grown into a market place for all the people of the entire neighborhood.

Today such big cities as Marseilles and Cadiz are proud of their Phoenician origin, but their ancient mothers, Tyre and Sidon, have been dead and forgotten for over two thousand years and of the Phoenicians themselves, none have survived.

This is a sad fate but it was fully deserved.

The Phoenicians had grown rich without great effort, but they had not known how to use their wealth wisely. They had never cared for books or learning. They had only cared for money.

They had bought and sold slaves all over the world. They had forced the foreign immigrants to work in their factories. They cheated their neighbors whenever they had a chance and they had made themselves detested by all the other people of the Mediterranean.

They were brave and energetic navigators, but they showed themselves cowards whenever they were obliged to choose between honorable dealing and an immediate profit, obtained through fraudulent and shrewd trading.

As long as they had been the only sailors in the world who could handle large ships, all other nations had been in need of their services. As soon as the others too had learned how to handle a rudder and a set of sails, they at once got rid of the tricky Phoenician merchant.

From that moment on, Tyre and Sidon had lost their old hold upon the commercial world of Asia. They had never encouraged art or science. They had known how to explore the seven seas and turn their ventures into profitable investments. No state, however, can be safely built upon material possessions alone.

The land of Phoenicia had always been a counting-house without a soul.

It perished because it had honored a well-filled treasure chest as the highest ideal of civic pride.

    Ancient Man by Hendrik Van Loon Ancient Man by Hendrik Van Loon    

Chapter 15: The Phoenicians Who Sailed Beyond the Horizon

Directions

Study the lesson for two weeks.

Over the two weeks:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Read the synopsis.
  • Review the vocabulary terms.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

The fifteenth chapter tells the story of the Phoenicians, pioneers who braved the seas. When the Phoenicians viewed the mysterious horizon, where land and water meet sky, they saw opportunities for commerce. The long-gone cities of Tyre and Sidon, once located in what is now known as Lebanon, were the centers of trade. The Phoenicians sailed the Mediterranean, traded with France and Spain, and built trading posts in Spain, Italy, Greece, and the far-off Scilly Islands in England. Old Phoenician trading posts, such as Marseilles, France and Cadiz, Spain, have survived and grown into cities. The Phoenicians were sailors and merchants, but cared little for learning, mathematics, and science. The Phoenicians also bought and sold slaves and cheated their neighbors. Other countries detested the Phoenicians, and as soon as the other countries mastered the art of sailing large ships, they abandoned the Phoenician merchants, who faded into the past.

Vocabulary

Pioneer: A person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area.
Reap: Receive (a reward or benefit) as a consequence of one's own or other people's actions.
Hasten: Be quick to do something.
Trading Post: A store or small settlement established for trading, typically in a remote place.
Shrewd: Having or showing sharp powers of judgment; astute.
Rudder: A flat piece, usually of wood, metal, or plastic, hinged vertically near the stern of a boat or ship for steering.
Counting-house: An office or building in which the accounts and money of a person or company were kept.
Civic: Relating to a city or town, especially its administration; municipal.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Chapter

  • After you listen to the chapter, narrate the chapter aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Map the Lesson

Find locations related to the chapter.

  • Mediterranean Sea
  • Country of Lebanon
  • Country of Greece
  • Country of France
  • Country of Spain
  • Country of Italy

Activity 3: Can You Find It?

Study the painting, 'Phoenician Traders on the Coast of Britain,' by British painter Frederic Leighton.

Zoom in and find the following items.

  • British Traders
  • Phoenician Traders
  • Red Cloth
  • Furs
  • Pottery
  • Decorated Box
  • Rug
  • Shore

Activity 4: Study a Picture of Lebanon Today

Examine a picture of the old souk (an Arab market or marketplace; a bazaar) in Byblos, Lebanon today.

Note how the ancient buildings combine with the modern furnishings of a cafe.

Activity 5: Study a Carving of a Phoenician Ship.

Study the carving of a Phoenician ship on a sarcophagus, and find the following:

  • Sail
  • Mast
  • Rigging
  • Water

Activity 6: Complete Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing   

  • Click the crayon above. Complete pages 45-46 of 'Second Grade World History Coloring Pages, Copywork, and Writing.'

Review

Question 1

For what were the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon known?
1 / 6

Answer 1

The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon were known as centers of trade.
1 / 6

Question 2

Who were the pioneers discussed in the chapter?
2 / 6

Answer 2

The pioneers were the Phoenicians.
2 / 6

Question 3

How did the Phoenicians become rich?
3 / 6

Answer 3

The Phoenicians became rich by sailing the seas and trading goods.
3 / 6

Question 4

With whom did the Phoenicians trade?
4 / 6

Answer 4

The Phoenicians traded with people from countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Britain.
4 / 6

Question 5

Why didn't people from other countries like the Phoenicians?
5 / 6

Answer 5

People from other countries did not like the Phoenicians because the Phoenicians were slave traders and cheats.
5 / 6

Question 6

What led to the downfall of the Phoenicians?
6 / 6

Answer 6

People from other countries learned how to sail their own big ships and no longer needed the Phoenicians for trade. The Phoenicians did not develop any alternative means of commerce.
6 / 6

  1. For what were the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon known? The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon were known as centers of trade.
  2. Who were the pioneers discussed in the chapter? The pioneers were the Phoenicians.
  3. How did the Phoenicians become rich? The Phoenicians became rich by sailing the seas and trading goods.
  4. With whom did the Phoenicians trade? The Phoenicians traded with people from countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Britain.
  5. Why didn't people from other countries like the Phoenicians? People from other countries did not like the Phoenicians because the Phoenicians were slave traders and cheats.
  6. What led to the downfall of the Phoenicians? People from other countries learned how to sail their own big ships and no longer needed the Phoenicians for trade. The Phoenicians did not develop any alternative means of commerce.

References

  1. 'Photo of the Phoenician ship carving on a sarcophagus by NMB.' Wikipedia. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenician_ship.jpg. n.p.

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