Page 1 of 5

Seafaring Traders
MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES

ECONOMICS Trading societies Traders spread knowledge of • Minoans • King Minos

extended the development of reading and writing, including • Aegean Sea • Phoenicians
civilizations beyond the Fertile an ancient form of the alphabet • Knossos
Crescent region. that we use today.

SETTING THE STAGE Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia and to East Asia
mainly through Buddhist traders. In the Mediterranean, the same process took
place: traders in the region carried many new ideas from one society to another.
They carried new ways of writing, of governing, and of worshiping their gods.

TAKING NOTES Minoans Trade in the Mediterranean

Comparing Identify
accomplishments that
A powerful seafaring people, the Minoans (mih•NOH•uhnz) dominated trade in
were Minoan and those the eastern Mediterranean from about 2000 to 1400 B.C. They lived on Crete, a
that were Phoenician in large island on the southern edge of the Aegean Sea (ee•JEE•uhn). The Minoans
the following chart. produced some of the finest painted pottery of the time. They traded that pottery,
along with swords, figurines, and vessels of precious metals, over a large area.
Minoan Phoenician Along with their goods, Minoans also exported their art and culture. These
1. 1. included a unique architecture, burial customs, and religious ritual. Minoan cul-
2. 2. ture had a major influence on Greece, for example. Trading turned Crete into a
3. 3.
“stepping stone” for cultural exchange throughout the Mediterranean world.
Unearthing a Brilliant Civilization Archaeologists in the
GR

late 19th and early 20th centuries excavated Knossos, the ANATOLIA
Ae
EE

ge
CE

Minoan capital city. There, they found the remains of an

an
Se

advanced and thriving culture. It must have been a peaceful

a

Knossos
one as well, since Minoan cities did not seem to need forti- CRE T E
fications to protect them. The archaeologists named the civ- Mediterranean Sea

ilization they found in Crete Minoa after King Minos

(MY•nuhs). According to legend, Minos was a king who owned a half-human,
half-bull monster, called the Minotaur (MIHN•uh•TAWR). He kept the monster
locked inside a labyrinth, a complicated maze from which no one could escape.
The excavation of Knossos and its painted walls produced much information
about Minoans. The wall paintings, as well as the official seals and vases, show
the Minoans as graceful, athletic people who loved nature and beautiful objects.
They also enjoyed sports such as boxing, wrestling, and bull leaping.
Many Minoan artworks depict women and their role in religious ceremonies.
The art suggests that women held a higher rank than in most neighboring cul-
tures. A great Mother Earth Goddess seems to have ruled over the other gods of
Crete. Also, priestesses took charge of some shrines, aided by male assistants.
72 Chapter 3
 Page 2 of 5

Bull Leapers of Knossos

The wall painting to the right captures
the death-defying jump of a Minoan bull
leaper in mid-flight. Many works of
Minoan art show young men performing
incredible acrobatic leaps over the horns
of angry bulls. In one case, the gymnast
jumps over the bull’s horns, makes a
somersault off its back, and lands
behind its tail.
In another gymnastic feat, some team
members hang on to the horns of a bull,
using their bodies to cushion its horns
and to force its head low, while another
team member jumps over its back.
What was the reason for this bull
leaping? Was it a sport? Just a “fun”
activity? An initiation for young warriors?
Or a religious ritual? Most likely it was
all of these things.

The Minoans sacrificed bulls and other animals to their gods. In at least one
case, a young man was sacrificed. Excavation of a mountain temple revealed the
bones of a 17-year-old boy on an altar, along with the skeletons of three priests.
The positions of the skeletons suggest that the priests carried out the human sacri-
fice just before the building collapsed.
Minoan Culture’s Mysterious End The Minoan civilization finally ended about
1200 B.C. The reasons for its end are unclear. Could it have been the result of some
natural disaster? Did the island become overpopulated? Or was it overrun by invaders?
The civilization had withstood previous disasters. In about 1700 B.C., a great
disaster, perhaps an earthquake, destroyed most Minoan towns and cities. The
Minoans rebuilt the cities with equal richness. Then in 1470 B.C. a series of earth-
quakes rocked Crete. The quakes were followed by a violent volcanic eruption on
the neighboring island of Thera. Imagine the shaking of the earth, the fiery vol-
canic blast, then a huge tidal wave, and finally a rain of white volcanic ash.
The disaster of 1470 B.C. was a blow from which the Minoans never fully recov-
ered. This time, the Minoans had trouble rebuilding their cities. Nonetheless,
Minoan civilization did linger on for almost 300 years. After that, invaders from
Summarizing
What adjectives
Greece may have taken advantage of their weakened condition to destroy them.
might describe Some Minoans fled to the mountains to escape the ruin of the kingdom. Crete’s
Minoan civilization? influence as a major sea power and cultural force was over.

Phoenicians Spread Trade and Civilization

About 1100 B.C., after Crete’s decline, the most powerful traders along the Mediterra-
nean were the Phoenicians (fih•NIHSH•uhnz). Phoenicia was mainly the area now
known as Lebanon. Phoenicians never united into a country. Instead, they founded a
number of wealthy city-states around the Mediterranean that sometimes competed
with one another. The first cities in Phoenicia, such as Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon, were
important trading centers.

People and Ideas on the Move 73

 Page 3 of 5

The Phoenicians were remarkable shipbuilders and seafarers. They were the first
Mediterranean people to venture beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. Some scholars believe
that the Phoenicians traded for tin with inhabitants of the southern coast of Britain.
Some evidence exists for an even more remarkable feat—sailing around the conti-
nent of Africa by way of the Red Sea and back through the Strait of Gibraltar. Such
a trip was not repeated again for 2,000 years. The Greek historian Herodotus
(hih•RAHD•uh•tuhs) relates the feat:

PRIMARY SOURCE
The Phoenicians set out from the Red Sea and sailed the southern sea [the Indian
Ocean]; whenever autumn came they would put in and sow the land, to whatever part
of Libya [Africa] they might come, and there await the harvest; then, having gathered in
the crop, they sailed on, so that after two years had passed, it was in the third that they
rounded the Pillars of Heracles [Strait of Gibraltar] and came to Egypt. There they said
(what some may believe, though I do not) that in sailing round Libya they had the sun
on their right hand [in reverse position].
HERODOTUS, in History, Book IV (5th century B.C.)

Commercial Outposts Around the Mediterranean

Alphabets—Ancient and Modern The Phoenicians’ most important city-states in the
eastern Mediterranean were Sidon and Tyre, both
Phoenician Greek English
known for their production of red-purple dye, and
〈 A Byblos, a trading center for papyrus. (See map on
〉 B
⌫ C page 59.) Phoenicians built colonies along the north-
⌬ D ern coast of Africa and the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia,
⌭ E and Spain. The colonies were about 30 miles apart—
F
G about the distance a Phoenician ship could sail in a
⌮ day. The greatest Phoenician colony was at Carthage
⌯ H (KAHR•thihj), in North Africa. Settlers from Tyre
⍜
⌱ I founded Carthage in about 814 B.C.
J The Phoenicians traded goods they got from
⌲ K other lands—wine, weapons, precious metals, ivory,
⌳ L
⌴ M and slaves. They also were known as superb crafts-
⌵ N people who worked in wood, metal, glass, and ivory.
⌶ Their red-purple dye was produced from the murex,
⌷ O
⌸ P a kind of snail that lived in the waters off Sidon and
Tyre. One snail, when left to rot, produced just a
Q drop or two of a liquid of a deep red-purple color.
⌹ R
⌺ S Some 60,000 snails were needed to produce one
⌻ T pound of dye, which only royalty could afford.
⌼ U
␾ Phoenicia’s Great Legacy: The Alphabet As mer-
V chants, the Phoenicians needed a way of recording
W transactions clearly and quickly. So, the Phoenicians
⌾ X
␺ developed a writing system that used symbols to
Y represent sounds. The Phoenician system was pho-
Z
⍀ netic—that is, one sign was used for one sound. In
fact, the word alphabet comes directly from the first
two letters of the Phoenician alphabet: aleph and
SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Charts
beth. As they traveled around the Mediterranean,
1. Comparing Which letters show the most the Phoenicians introduced this writing system to
similarity across the three alphabets? their trading partners. The Greeks, for example,
2. Making Inferences Why might one language adopted the Phoenician alphabet and changed the
have fewer letters in its alphabet than another?
form of some of the letters.
74 Chapter 3
Page 4 of 5
 Page 5 of 5

Few examples of Phoenician writing exist. Most writings were

on papyrus, which crumbled over time. However, the Phoenician
contribution to the world was enormous. With a simplified alpha-
bet, learning was now accessible to more people.
Phoenician trade was upset when their eastern cities were cap-
tured by Assyrians in 842 B.C. However, these defeats encouraged
exiles to set up city-states like Carthage to the west. The Phoenician
homeland later came under the control of the Babylonians and of
the Persian empire of King Cyrus I. One of their most lasting con-
tributions remains the spread of the alphabet.
▲ Phoenician
inscription from
a sarcophagus
Ancient Trade Routes
Trading in ancient times also connected the Mediterranean Sea with other centers
of world commerce, such as South and East Asia. Several land routes crossed
Central Asia and connected to India through Afghanistan. Two sea routes began by
crossing the Arabian Sea to ports on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. From there,
traders either went overland to Egypt, Syria, and Mediterranean countries, or they
continued to sail up the Red Sea. To cross the Arabian Sea, sailors learned to make Vocabulary
use of the monsoon winds. These winds blow from the southwest during the hot monsoon: a wind
months and from the northeast during the cool season. that affects climate
by changing direc-
To widen the variety of their exports, Indian traders used other monsoon winds
tion in certain
to travel to Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Once there, they obtained spices and seasons.
other products not native to India.
Though traveling was difficult in ancient times, trading networks like those of
the Phoenicians ensured the exchange of products and information. Along with
their goods, traders carried ideas, religious beliefs, art, and ways of living. They
helped with the process of cultural diffusion as well as with moving merchandise.
Phoenician traders made crucial contributions to world civilization. At the same
time, another eastern Mediterranean people, the Jews, were creating a religious
tradition that has lasted more than 3,000 years. This is discussed in Section 4.

SECTION 3 ASSESSMENT

TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Minoans • Aegean Sea • Knossos • King Minos • Phoenicians

USING YOUR NOTES MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING

2. Which of these achievements 3. What did the excavations at 6. MAKING INFERENCES What might have caused the
do you think was the most Knossos reveal about Minoan collapse of Minoan culture?
important? Why? culture? 7. COMPARING What were some similarities between the
4. Where did the Phoenicians Minoans and Phoenicians in terms of trade?
Minoan Phoenician settle and trade? 8. ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES Go back to Herodotus’
1. 1. 5. Why did the Phoenicians account of a voyage around Africa on page 74. What
2. 2. develop a writing system? words show his doubt? Why was he doubtful?
3. 3. 9. WRITING ACTIVITY ECONOMICS The Phoenicians founded
many city-states. These city-states often competed. Do
you think it would have made more sense to cooperate?
Write a brief essay explaining your opinion.

CONNECT TO TODAY MAKING A DATABASE

How might a commonly or widely accepted language make business and trade easier to
transact? Make a database of bulleted points showing the ways a widely known language
(such as English) would make it easier to conduct business around the world.

76 Chapter 3