Phoenician Purple Dye Industry Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Phoenician Purple Dye Industry - Term Paper Example Phoenician culture and their origin is the primary source of conflict. Some believe that the origin dates back to 2nd or 3rd millennium B.C., while others attribute early Iron Age (around 1200 B.C.) as Phoenician origin. Uncertainties about their name probably led to the uncertainties about their origin as well. There are instances when references for the Phoinikes for people and Phoinike for region were identified in as far back as Homeric times. There is a definite association between these terms and common noun phoinix, which refers to â€Å"purple-red† and stems from traditional Phoenician purple dying industry. There is a possibility that the name was used earlier, may be occasionally, in the 2nd millennium B.C. in Mycenaean writings. It is because the feminine adjective po-ni-ki-ja meaning â€Å"red† that refers to a chariot was also used in Mycenaean time (Moscati 17). The concept of nationality or national unity was quite blurring among Phoenicians. Therefore, t here were no commonly established which distinguish the cities. In 3rd millennium B.C., the term â€Å"Canaanited† was used to refer people and â€Å"Canaan† to refer the region, but it refers to the whole Syro-Palestinian region. The term is also used to denote Phoenicians, in particular, in the Old Testament, and it reside on the Mediterranean areas. Later, Saint Augustine said that the peasants attributed themselves as Kena’ani while talking about the people of Africa. Ancient wedge-shaped text reveals that the word â€Å"Canaan† is also attributed with the idea of â€Å"purple-red†. However, the term â€Å"Canaanites† may hold a broader meaning than the term â€Å"Phoenician†. Undoubtedly, it refers to Phoenicians sometimes, however, it does not refer to them alone (Moscati 17).Furthermore, Moscati states that: It is quite different thing with another name â€Å"Sidonians,† which is actually too specific: both in Homer and in the Bible, it is used to denote the Phoenicians as a whole, but it seems obvious that this is because of the suzerainty at some time, in some place of the city from which the name derives, Sidon. In other words, it is an extended meaning, a linguistic phenomenon that once again emphasized the lack of unity awareness among the Phoenicians. (18) Phoenicians as Nation Around 1200 B.C., until the early days of Iron Age, Syro-Palestinian history does not distinguish centers on the coasts which constitute Phoenicia, from the centers in the interior. There was no substantial differentiation is made in coasts and hinterland. The language, religion, or craftsmanship was also not distinguished to a considerable extent. It refer to the Phoenicians who have Syrian civilization in the broader sense, therefore Syro-Palestinian is more common term rather than Phoenicians(Moscati 18).While talking about the reason of Phoenician isolation from the hinterland, Moscati states that: For the very rea son they were isolated and concentrated together along the coastline, the cities that we can now rightly call Phoenician strengthened the links among themselves and worked more closely together in   reciprocal affairs. Moreover, the closure of the hinterland, or the difficulty of expanding inland (we are obviously talking of commercial which was always typical of coastal cities) led to new paths being opened, paths towards the western Mediterranean. Thus