The phoenician princ cadmus came and settled on peloponnese, he was the founder and the first king of thebes. Only consonant sounds are written down, some versions have helpers for certain vowels it was used to write languages such as phoenician and aramaic. The phoenicians were known as brave and courageous merchants and seafarers. Phoenician alphabet, writing system that developed out of the north semitic alphabet and was spread over the mediterranean area by phoenician traders. Before circa bce phoenician was written using cuneiform symbols that were common across mesopotamia. They were celebrated as learned scribes who passed on the modern alphabet, as skilled seafarers and explorers, and as gifted artisans and engineers. Aramaic, in turn, is an ancestor of the hebrew, nabataean, arabic, and other alphabets of southwest. Each of the twentytwo phoenician alphabet symbols represented a different sound. Interestingly, modern semitic languages such as arabic and hebrew do not have vowels in their alphabet either, possibly because reading words without vowels in semitic languages is easier than indoeuropean languages. However, the phoenicians made a very important contribution to the rest of the world. The best website for free highquality phoenician fonts, with 14 free phoenician fonts for immediate download, and 7 professional phoenician fonts for the best price on the web. Adopted and adapted egyptian hieroglyphics into an alphabet of 22 symbols letters representing sounds i. Phoenician alphabet simple english wikipedia, the free.
Byblos first became the predominant center from where the phoenicians dominated the mediterranean and erythraean red sea routes. Through it, we were able come up with our own alphabet thats easier and convenient to write. Phoenicians squeezed a gland of a murex snail and got a few drops of yellowish liquid. The phoenician alphabet was among the first writing systems of mankind. May 14, 2017 most survey courses in colleges include a brief statement that our alphabet was borrowed by the greeks from the phoenicians, who are therefore to be credited with one of the epochal inventions in the history of civilization. Finally, the pictures became so simplified that a whole word was written as a single sign. Oct, 2016 that is the real truth about so called greek alphabet, the real inventors of the so called greek alphabet were phoenicians and not so called ancient greeks. Among the earliest record of this conversion appears in matthew 15. Although the etymology of the word comes from the greek alphabet corresponding to the two first letters. Sculpture of aleph, the first letter of the phoenician alphabet. The oldest of these theories was conveyed to us by the ancient greek historian herodotus, who suggested the phoenicians had come from the red erythraean sea.
The 22letter abecedary of the phoenicians contained only consonants, some of which had no equivalent in greek. E the phoenicians were the late canaanites of the first millennium b. This is important, since it was the euboean greek alphabet that would become the latin alphabet. This first lesson of the curriculum unit, the alphabet is historic, will be about the phoenicians, who invented the alphabet inherited by the greeks, romans, and eventually, us. This method of writing, later adopted by the greeks, is.
They invented glass blowing, purple dye and the first alphabet. That is a drastic oversimplification of the history of writing, and it is also misleading at a crucial point. The phoenician alphabet was the first to become of common use and most of the alphabetical writing systems result from it, including the greek, etruscan, latin, arabic, hebrew and enven indian languages, and later. Herodotuss story of the foundation of greek thebes by the tyrian prince cadmus may be more myth than history, but the detail about the alphabet is true. Phoenician alphabet, adopted by the greeks according to the ancient greek historian, herodotus, the phoenicians introduced their alphabet to greece. Learn phoenician alphabet with free interactive flashcards. Mainly through phoenician, hebrew and later aramaic, three closely related members of the semitic family of scripts that were in use during the early first. The phoenician alphabet was important because it was easier to read than cuneiform, it was made out of letters, not picture symbols. It was a nexus of international trade, and its records show the numerous different languages and systems of writing to which its merchants were exposed. Both sciences and pseudosciences spread from egypt and mesopotamia to canaan or phoenicia and anatolia. The phoenician alphabetic script of 22 letters was used at byblos as early as the 15th century. Persia had control of mesopotamia during their first empire. The term phoenicians appears in later centuries first and foremost in early greek literature.
List of books and articles about phoenician history online. The phoenician alphabet consists of 22 characters with vowel sounds built into the symbols. Was it the phoenicians that invented the first alphabet in. This is an important thing to learn, since our entire written language is based around the combinations of. As children, one of the first things we learn is the alphabet. Yet they also created a strong and unique society that interacted with the great societies of. Language, writing, numbers language texts the forerunners alphabet and reading numeral system the language phoenician was a semitic language, more precisely belonging to the group of canaanite languages which includes hebrew, phoenician, philistine, moabite, etc. The phoenicians made numerous contributions to human civilization, the most notable of which being the phoenician alphabet, which is the ancestor of many other alphabets that are used today. Choose from 59 different sets of phoenician alphabet flashcards on quizlet. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Later advances by the greeks added symbols for vowel sounds, creating the first complete alphabet. Sidon and tyre, which was already important in the tenth century.
The phoenician alphabet gradually developed from this north semitic prototype and was in use until about the 1st century bc in phoenicia proper. The phoenicians modeled their civilization after those of the many different peoples with whom they traded. Itd been a while since we had done some fun hands on stuff, so when we read about the phoenicians i knew this was the time. Written from right to left and spread by phoenician maritime merchants who occupied part of modern lebanon, syria and israel. The samaritan and aramaic systems derived from the phoenician.
Phoenician language simple english wikipedia, the free. The greeks adopted it and by the 8th century bc had added vowels. Later, the romans also used a version of this same alphabet that is virtually identical to the one used today in the englishspeaking world. The phoenician alphabet used 22 graphemes, as opposed to the probable 29 or 30 of the parent system. These tablets show how the phoenician alphabet and etruscan alphabet were used in actual practice.
When alphabetic writing began, with the early greek alphabet, the letter forms were similar but not identical to phoenician, and vowels were added to the. The phoenicians history stretches back more than 7000 b. Like protocanaanite, arabic and hebrew, phoenician is. Healey, the early alphabet british museumuniversity of california press, 1990 pp. The phoenician civilization came to an end around 300 bc, when alexander the great conquered the area. The original phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 letters, none of which were vowels. After a bit of searching i found a translate the message phoenician activity to give a try and show the difficulty in translating even when you know the alphabet and.
The alphabet is a writing system which evolved from a western variety of the greek alphabet. The phoenician civilization first phonetic alphabet. The phoenician alphabet in archaeology biblical archaeology. They were the first to venture great distances from shore and to navigate the open seas aided by the north star as guide. Sep 12, 2017 if researchers referred to as the canaanite alphabet, this would be much more meaningful to the general public. A seafarer people that settled the coast of lebanon around 3000 b. The phoenician script is an important trunk in the alphabet tree, in that many modern scripts can be traced through it. The phoenician alphabet is considered the first known alphabet, but experts think it has its roots in an earlier old canaanite tradition. As far as the phoenicians, they, who arrived with cadmus, including the gefiraioi, had lived in many other places and introduced also arts new and unknown to the greeks. Page 49 what resources did the phoenicians first use to build their wealth. In some adjacent areas of anatolia it was spoken as a prestige language. Trade in the phoenician world ancient history encyclopedia.
Only consonant sounds are written down, some versions have helpers for certain vowels. The phoenicians developed the alphabet circa 14001250 bc in order to communicate with the diverse cultures and tongues of their maritime trading partners. Alphabet the phoenician alphabet dates from around bc and is derived from the protocanaanite alphabet. From the ancient writing systems of the middle east to the phoenician alphabet. How did the sea power of the phoenicians help spread civilization. First inventions are sometimes a little rough and need to get the bugs worked out, and so it was with this new alphabet which the phoenicians made popular. They were found in a temple near ancient caere in italy, and describe a dedication made to the phoenician goddess. The phoenician alphabet was perhaps the first alphabetic script to be widelyused the phoenicians traded around the mediterraean and beyond, and set up cities.
The evolution of the hebrew letters phoenician alphabet. Some say that without the vowels, it was not an alphabet. Ugarit was the ideal location for such innovation to occur. Phoenicians, greeks, and the alphabet national vanguard. Phoenician gold dish from yoidalion cyprus sometimes the cities were, like the greek colonies of the archaic age, first founded on small islands e. The area where phoenician was spoken includes modernday lebanon, coastal syria, palestine, northern israel and parts of cyprus. This cut down significantly the number of symbols required to make words. The phoenicians were a great maritime people, known for their mighty ships adorned with horses heads in honor of their god of the sea, yamm, the brother of mot, the god of death. Jan 18, 2012 the first signs of the phoenician alphabet found at byblos are clearly derived from egyptian hieroglyphics, and not from cuneiform. The first pure alphabet system was created by the phoenicians sometime before 1050 bce.
There is a belief they reached america thousands of years before columbus. They traded metal objects, wood products, cedar timber, and pottery. The first signs of the phoenician alphabet found at byblos are clearly derived from egyptian hieroglyphics, and not from cuneiform. This article talks more about this particular ancient alphabet as well as the history of the phoenician alphabet. Our knowledge of the phoenician language is based on the few extant written texts in phoenician. The phoenician alphabet was recovered in the 17th century, but its relation to the phoenicians remained unknown until the 19th century.
Egyptian alphabet hieroglyphics and meanings bing images check sources on this. It made life easier for the phoenicians and it helped trade spread. The phoenicians, the lydians and the alphabet history for kids. He brought with him nothing but their own language and alphabet. Jun 01, 2000 one of the great enigmas of the ancient world, the phoenicians were both lauded and despised in antiquity. It is the probable ancestor of the greek alphabet and, hence, of all western alphabets. Our first examples of the phoenician alphabet technically an abjad, containing only consonantsappear around the 11th century b. Phoenician alphabet was the first to use one sound for one symbol. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search.
The phoenicians spread their alphabet through their vast trading network that stretched throughout the entire mediterranean region. The earliest phoenician inscription that has survived is. Apr 26, 2011 a basic outline of the origins of the alphabet. Almost all phonetic writing systems can be traced back to the phoenician alphabet. It is different from the linear and hieroglyphic scripts preceding it in that each symbol represents a single consonant as opposed to a syllable. In addition to other phoenicians volumes available in english, markoes belongs on everyones bookshelf. Phoenicia gourmet restaurant award winning restaurant. Income generated by trade allowed the phoenicians to build permanent settlements. Phoenician sea trade can, therefore, be divided into that for its colonies and that with fellow trading civilizations. The early greek alphabet was based on the semitic alphabet of the phoenicians.
The phoenician alphabet took several centuries to develop but had been relatively well completed by about bc, over 2000 years after the development of the first writing system in sumeria. The 22 phoenician letters are simplifications of egyptian hieroglyphic symbols, which took on a standardized form at the end of the 12th century bce. Modern alphabets thought to have descended from the phoenician include hebrew, arabic, greek, and latin the last via the old italic alphabet. Someone already familiar with an alphabet will use that one. This protosinaitic script is often considered the first alphabetic writing system, where unique symbols stood for single consonants vowels were omitted. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization composed of independent citystates located along the coast of the mediterranean sea stretching through what is now syria, lebanon and northern israel. Well be using athens again in the greek part of the unit. Remnants of the phoenician alphabet have survived even today in the language of one of the smallest countries in the world. Scholars have speculated that the phoenicians referred to themselves as kenaani kinahna in akkadian, or canaanite in english. See my full disclosure statement for more information by far my most popular phoenician activity was building a trading ship.
Speak about the phoenicians extensive trading all around the mediterranean and show your students some pictures of the phoenician ships now use your map to show the students tyre and athens, greece. First inventions are sometimes a little rough and need to get the bugs worked out, and so it was with this new alphabet which the phoenicians. The perception that the phoenicians invented the alphabet was persistent throughout the 19th and 20th centurymainly because they introduced it to the greeks, and elsewhere around the mediterraneanbut archaeological findi. In their travels they gained the atlantic ocean, and were the first to reach the british isles. Our first examples of the phoenician alphabet technically an abjad, containing only consonantsappear around the 11th. In the phoenician alphabet also called the protocanaanite alphabet each letter represented a consonant. Arabic, hebrew, latin, and greek scripts are all descended from phoenician. The phoenician alphabet consisted of twentytwo symbols, all consonants. Although the phoenicians used cuneiform mesopotamian writing, they also produced a script of their own.
Phoenician dominance by 1250 bc the phoenicians were well established as the navigators and traders of the mediterranean world, enjoying the commerce that had once been in the hands of the aegeans. Someone not familiar with any will not invent an alphabet or will have difficulty getting adoption. Its easy to understand why, if you pay attention to how writing works. The phoenicians were able to build a civilization without relying on agriculture. The phoenicians were among the first statelevel societies to make extensive use of alphabets. Watch this full video and know about the phoenician civilization. The two cities appear to have become a unified monarchy. As the aramaic alphabet became the hebrew alphabet, hebrew papyri and parchments were then primarily written in aramaic script. I wanted them to remember how the phoenicians were big traders, but i also wanted them to learn about their radical idea, the alphabet, a truly unique concept at the time. However, the phoenicians where among the first gentiles to accept the christian faith.
Perfect for organizing your library of books, cds, dvds, or other media, bookcases also look good when accessorized with plants, decorative objects, and favorite photos. Consequently, the phoenicians not only imported what they needed and exported what they themselves cultivated and manufactured but they could also act as middlemen traders transporting goods such as papyrus, textiles, metals, and spices between the many civilizations with whom. Phoenicia, phoenician christians, the first converts. For example, the name of the first letter is aleph, which means ox, and the first way it was drawn looked like an ox head. Talk about phoenician civilization then a famouse for writing, trading and sailors. Vuarathe phoenician alphabet wikibooks, open books.
The phoenicians were instrumental in disseminating their form of writing which became our modern alphabet and in opening up various civilizations and cultures of the mediterranean basin to each other. The phoenicians created the 1st alphabet and is the. It was at first believed that the script was a direct variation of egyptian hieroglyphs, which were deciphered in the early 19th century. It was here that the first inscription in the phoenician alphabet was found, on the sarcophagus of ahiram c. Motya, but more often, they were built on promontories. Chapter 100 unit 3 ideas and armies 6 the phoenicians and the hebrews 1200 b. It began in 1050 bce wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the phoenician alphabet and its equivalents in four modern alphabets. The phoenician alphabet was perhaps the first alphabetic script to be widely used the phoenicians traded around the mediterraean and beyond, and set up cities. Scripturesherodotus cites phoenicia as the birthplace of the alphabet, stating that it was brought to greece by the phoenician kadmus sometime before the 8th century bce and that, prior to that, the greeks had no alphabet. Based on this evidence, it is the ugaritic alphabet, rather than phoenician, that is the first ancestor of all alphabets. Sanford holst, used here with permission the greeks adopted this phoenician alphabet, and added vowels to it. Tradition holds that ezra adopted the aramaic square script alphabet in place of the canaanite phoenician nicknamed paleohebrew alphabet during the postexilic restoration of israel in the fifth century b.
It was the phoenician alphabet that was widely received and readily adapted in greece and throughout the mediterranean world, as it was only 22 letters based on sound, as opposed to the. One idea that the phoenicians borrowed was the alphabet. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. The worlds first alphabet the phoenicians invented the worlds first alphabet. The phoenicians were the great seatraders of the ancient mediterranean, famous for cedar ships, the alphabet, purple cloth, carthage, hannibal and cities in lebanon.
Why do you think the phoenicians looked to foreign lands and sea trade to develop their wealth. However, the phoenicians changed the writing systems they borrowed from. The purple cloth produced by the phoenicians gave the ancient greeks their name for the color. It was used by the phoenicians to write phoenician, a northern semitic language. History of the ancient phoenicians printable outline. Add style and storage to your space with a bookcase. They borrowed ideas from the egyptians, the babylonians, and other trading partners.
Stern identifies the phoenicians as canaanites who survived into the first millennium b. Phoenicians take to the sea 6th grade social studies. The many opinions offered concerning the origin of the phoenicians seem to coalesce around four basic theories. In the 2d millennium the phoenicians were pushed by the jews farther westward along the mediterranean. Probably the ancestor of the western phonetic alphabet purple as the color of royalty 1 navigation by the stars possibly circumnavigating africa keels in the middle of a ships hull for stability coating ship p. The greek alphabet, the script of english today, is based on the kemetic alphabet of ancient egyptkemet and the upper nile valley of ancient africa. Iron age through roman period, descendants of the canaanites of the second millennium b. If vowels arent required, egypt can also make a claim for the earliest alphabet. The phoenician alphabet was an alphabetic script that was used in the territories of modernday lebanon, syria and palestine from about the 12th century to the 5th century bc. Why is the phoenician alphabet considered the first. The phoenicians developed the first alphabet and sailed the unchartered waters of the old world looking for new markets. The version used in euboea did not use the phoenician symbol samekh for xi although it did list it, instead using the symbol like our letter x for the consonant group ks, and using a symbol somewhat like psi for chi.
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