History of Phoenicia Part 3

CHAPTER V--THE COLONIES

Circ.u.mstances which led the Phoenicians to colonise--Their colonies best grouped geographically--1. Colonies of the Eastern Mediterranean--in Cyprus, Citium, Amathus, Curium, Paphos, Salamis, Ammochosta, Tamisus, and Soli;--in Cilicia, Tarsus;--in Lycia, Phaselis;--in Rhodes, Lindus, Ialysus, Camirus;--in Crete, and the Cyclades;--in the Northern Egean; &c. 2. In the Central and Western Mediterranean--in Africa, Utica, Hippo-Zaritis, Hippo Regius, Carthage, Hadrumetum, Leptis Minor, Leptis Major, and Thapsus;--in Sicily, Motya, Eryx, Panormus, Solocis;--between Sicily and Africa, Cossura, Gaulos, and Melita;--in Sardinia, Caralis, Nora, Sulcis, and Tharros;--in the Balearic Isles;--in Spain, Malaca, s.e.x, Abdera. 3. Outside the Straits of Gibraltar;--in Africa, Tingis, and Lixus; in Spain, Tartessus, Gades, and Belon--Summary.

The narrowness of the territory which the Phoenicians occupied the military strength of their neighbours towards the north and towards the south, and their own preference of maritime over agricultural pursuits, combined to force them, as they began to increase and multiply, to find a vent for their superfluous population in colonies. The military strength of Philistia and Egypt barred them out from expansion upon the south; the wild savagery of the mountain races in Casius, northern Bargylus, and Ama.n.u.s was an effectual barrier towards the north; but before them lay the open Mediterranean, placid during the greater portion of the year, and conducting to a hundred lands, thinly peopled, or even unoccupied, where there was ample room for any number of immigrants. The trade of the Phoenicians with the countries bordering the Eastern Mediterranean must be regarded as established long previously to the time when they began to feel cramped for s.p.a.ce; and thus, when that time arrived, they had no difficulty in finding fresh localities to occupy, except such as might arise from a too abundant amplitude of choice. Right in front of them lay, at the distance of not more than seventy miles, visible from Casius in clear weather,[51] the large and important island, once known as Chittim,[52] and afterwards as Cyprus, which played so important a part in the history of the East from the time of Sargon and Sennacherib to that of Bragadino and Mustapha Pasha. To the right, well visible from Cyprus, was the fertile tract of Cilicia Campestris, which led on to the rich and picturesque regions of Pamphylia, Lycia, and Caria. From Caria stretched out, like a string of stepping-stones between Asia and Europe, the hundred islets of the aegean, Cyclades, and Sporades, and others, inviting settlers, and conducting to the large islands of Crete and Euboea, and the sh.o.r.es of Attica and the Peloponnese. It is impossible to trace with any exactness the order in which the Phoenician colonies were founded. A thousand incidental circ.u.mstances--a thousand caprices--may have deranged what may be called the natural or geographical order, and have caused the historical order to diverge from it; but, on the whole, probably something like the geographical order was observed; and, at any rate, it will be most convenient, in default of sufficient data for an historical arrangement, to adopt in the present place a geographic one, and, beginning with those nearest to Phoenicia itself in the Eastern Mediterranean, to proceed westward to the Straits of Gibraltar, reserving for the last those outside the Straits on the sh.o.r.es of the Atlantic Ocean.

The nearest, and probably the first, region to attract Phoenician colonies was the island of Cyprus. Cyprus lies in the corner of the Eastern Mediterranean formed by the projection of Asia Minor from the Syrian sh.o.r.e. Its mountain chains run parallel with Taurus, and it is to Asia Minor that it presents its longer flank, while to Phoenicia it presents merely one of its extremities. Its length from east to west is 145 miles, its greatest width about sixty miles.[53] Two strongly marked mountain ranges form its most salient features, the one running close along the north coast from Cape Kormaciti to Cape S. Andreas; the other nearly central, but nearer the south, beginning at Cape Renaouti in the west and terminating at Cape Greco. The mountain ranges are connected by a tract of high ground towards the centre, and separated by two broad plains,[54] towards the east and west. The eastern plain is the more important of the two. It extends along the course of the Pediaeus from Leucosia, or Nicosia, the present capital, to Salamis, a distance of thirty-five miles, and is from five to twelve miles wide. The fertility of the soil was reckoned in ancient times to equal that of Egypt.[55]

The western plain, that of Morfou, is much smaller, and is watered by a less important river. The whole island, when it first became known to the Phoenicians, was well wooded.[56] Lovely glens opened upon them, as they sailed along its southern coast, watered by clear streams from the southern mountain-range, and shaded by thick woods of pine and cedar, the latter of which are said to have in some cases attained a greater size even than those of the Lebanon.[57] The range was also prolific of valuable metals.[58] Gold and silver were found in places, but only in small quant.i.ties; iron was yielded in considerable abundance; but the chief supply was that of copper, which derived its name from that of the island.[59] Other products of the island were wheat of excellent quality; the rich Cyprian wine which retains its strength and flavour for well nigh a century, the _henna_ dye obtained from the plant called _copher_ or _cyprus_, the _Lawsonia alba_ of modern botany; valuable pigments of various kinds, red, yellow, green, and amber; hemp and flax; tar, boxwood,[510] and all the materials requisite for s.h.i.+pbuilding from the heavy timbers needed for the keel to the lightest spar and the flimsiest sail.[511]

The earliest of the Phoenician settlements in Cyprus seem to have lain upon its southern coast. Here were Citium, Amathus, Curium, and Paphus, the Palae-paphus of the geographers, which have all yielded abundant traces of a Phoenician occupation at a very distant period. Citium, now Larnaka, was on the western side of a deep bay, which indents the more eastern portion of the southern coast, between the promontories of Citi and Pyla. It is sheltered from all winds except the south-east, and continues to the present day the chief port of the island. The Phoenician settlers improved on the natural position by the formation of an artificial basin, enclosed within piers, the lines of which may be traced, though the basin itself is sanded up.[512] A plain extends for some distance inland, on which the palm-tree flourishes, and which is capable of producing excellent crops of wheat.[513] Access to the interior is easy; for the mountain range sinks as it proceeds eastward, and between Citium and Dali (Idalium), on a tributary of the Pediaeus, is of small elevation. There are indications that the Phoenicians did not confine themselves to the coast, but penetrated into the interior, and even settled there in large numbers. Idalium, sixteen miles north-west of Citium, and Golgi (Athienau), ten miles nearly due north of the same, show traces of having supported for a considerable time a large Phoenician population,[514] and must be regarded as outposts advanced from Citium into the mountains for trading, and perhaps for mining purposes. Idalium (Dali) has a most extensive Phoenician necropolis; the interments have a most archaic character; and their Phoenician origin is indicated both by their close resemblance to interments in Phoenicia proper and by the discovery, in connection with them, of Phoenician inscriptions.[515] At Golgi the remains scarcely claim so remote an antiquity. They belong to the time when Phoenician art was dominated by a strong Egyptian influence, and when it also begins to have a partially h.e.l.lenic character. Some critics a.s.sign them to the sixth, or even to the fifth century, B.C.[516]

West of Citium, also upon the south coast, and in a favourable situation for trade with the interior, was Amathus. The name Amathus has been connected with "Hamath;"[517] but there is no reason to suppose that the Hamathites were Phoenicians. Amathus, which Stephen of Byzantium calls "a most ancient Cyprian city,"[518] was probably among the earliest of the Phoenician settlements in the island. It lay in the bay formed by the projection of Cape Gatto from the coast, and, like Citium, looked to the south-east. Westward and south-westward stretched an extensive plain, fertile and well-watered, shaded by carob and olive-trees,[519]

whilst towards the north were the rich copper mines from which the Amathusians derived much of their prosperity. The site has yielded a considerable amount of Phoenician remains--tombs, sarcophagi, vases, bowls, paterae and statuettes.[520] Many of the tombs resemble those at Idalium; others are stone chambers deeply buried in the earth. The mimetic art shows a.s.syrian and Egyptian influence, but is essentially Phoenician, and of great interest. Further reference will be made to it in the Chapter on the aesthetic Art of the Phoenicians.

Still further to the west, in the centre of the bay enclosed between the promontories of Zeugari and Boosoura, was the colony of Curium, on a branch of the river Kuras. Curium lay wholly open to the south-western-gales, but had a long stretch of sandy sh.o.r.e towards the south-east, on which vessels could be drawn up. The town was situated on a rocky elevation, 300 feet in height, and was further defended by a strong wall, a large portion of which may still be traced.[521] The richest discovery of Phoenician ornaments and objects of art that has yet been made took place at Curium, where, in the year 1874, General Di Cesnola happened upon a set of "Treasure Chambers" containing several hundreds of rings, gems, necklaces, bracelets, armlets, ear-rings, bowls, basins, jugs, paterae, &c., in the precious metals, which have formed the princ.i.p.al material for all recent disquisitions on the true character and excellency of Phoenician art. Commencing with works of which the probable date is the fifteenth or sixteenth century B.C., and descending at least as far as the best Greek period[522] (B.C.

500-400), embracing, moreover, works which are purely a.s.syrian, purely Egyptian, and purely Greek, this collection has yet so predominant a Phoenician character as to mark Curium, notwithstanding the contrary a.s.sertions of the Greeks themselves,[523] for a thoroughly Phoenician town. And the history of the place confirms this view, since Curium sided with Amathus and the Persians in the war of Onesilus.[524] No doubt, like most of the other Phoenician cities in Cyprus, it was h.e.l.lenised gradually; but there must have been many centuries during which it was an emporium of Phoenician trade and a centre of Phoenician influence.

Where the southern coast of Cyprus begins to trend to the north-west, and a river of some size, the Bocarus or Diorizus, reaches the sea, stood the Phoenician settlement of Paphos, founded (as was said[525]) by Cinyras, king of Byblus. Here was one of the most celebrated of all the temples of Astarte or Ashtoreth,[526] the Phoenician Nature-G.o.ddess; and here ruled for many centuries the sacerdotal cla.s.s of the Cinyridae. The remains of the temple have been identified, and will be described in a future chapter. They have the ma.s.sive character of all early Phoenician architecture.

Among other Phoenician settlements in Cyprus were, it is probable, Salamis, Ammochosta (now Famagosta), Tamasus, and Soli. Salamis must be regarded as originally Phoenician on account of the name, which cannot be viewed as anything but another form of the Hebrew "Salem," the alternative name of Jerusalem.[527] Salamis lay on the eastern coast of the island at the mouth of the main river, the Pediaeus. It occupied the centre of a large bay which looked towards Phoenicia, and would naturally be the place where the Phoenicians would first land. There is no natural harbour beyond that afforded by the mouth of the Pediaeus, but a harbour was easily made by throwing out piers into the bay; and of this, which is now sanded up, the outline may be traced.[528] There are, however, no remains, either at Salamis or in the immediate neighbourhood, which can claim to be regarded as Phoenician; and the glories of the city belong to the history of Greece.

Ammochosta was situated within a few miles of Salamis, towards the south.[529] Its first appearance in history belongs to the reign of Esarhaddon (B.C. 680), when we find it in a list of ten Cyprian cities, each having its own king, who acknowledged for their suzerain the great monarch of a.s.syria.[530] Soon afterwards it again occurs among the cities tributary to a.s.shur-bani-pal.[531] Otherwise we have no mention of it in Phoenician times. As Famagosta it was famous in the wars between the Venetians and the Turks.

Tamasus, or Tama.s.sus, was an inland city, and the chief seat of the mining operations which the Phoenicians carried on in the island in search of copper.[532] It lay a few miles to the west of Idalium (Dali), on the northern flank of the southern mountain chain. The river Pediaeus flowed at its feet. Like Ammochosta, it appears among the Cyprian towns which in the seventh century B.C. were tributary to the a.s.syrians.[533]

The site is still insufficiently explored.

Soli lay upon the coast, in the recess of the gulf of Morfou.[534] The fiction of its foundation by Philocyprus at the suggestion of Solon[535]

is entirely disproved by the occurrence of the name in the a.s.syrian lists of Cyprian towns a century before Solon's time. Its sympathies were with the Phoenician, and not with the h.e.l.lenic, population of the island, as was markedly shown when it joined with Amathus and Citium in calling to Artaxerxes for help against Evagoras.[536] The city stood on the left bank of the river Clarius, and covered the northern slope of a low hill detached from the main range, extending also over the low ground at the foot of the hill to within a short distance of the sh.o.r.e, where are to be seen the remains of the ancient harbour. The soil in the neighbourhood is very rich, and adapted for almost any kind of cultivation.[537] In the mountains towards the south were prolific veins of copper.

The northern coast of the island between Capes Cormaciti and S. Andreas does not seem to have attracted the Phoenicians, though there are some who regard Lapethus and Cerynia as Phoenician settlements.[538] It is a rock-bound sh.o.r.e of no very tempting aspect, behind which the mountain range rises up steeply. Such Phoenician emigrants as held their way along the Salaminian plain and, rounding Cape S. Andreas, pa.s.sed into the channel that separates Cyprus from the mainland, found the coast upon their right attract them far more than that upon their left, and formed settlements in Cilicia which ultimately became of considerable importance. The chief of these was Tars or Tarsus, probably the Tars.h.i.+sh of Genesis,[539] though not that of the later Books, a Phoenician city, which has Phoenician characters upon its coins, and wors.h.i.+pped the supreme Phoenician deity under the t.i.tle of "Baal Tars," "the Lord of Tarsus."[540] Tarsus commanded the rich Cilician plain up to the very roots of Taurus, was watered by the copious stream of the Cydnus, and had at its mouth a commodious harbour. Excellent timber for s.h.i.+pbuilding grew on the slopes of the hills bounding the plain, and the river afforded a ready means of floating such timber down to the sea.

Cleopatra's s.h.i.+ps are said to have been derived from the Cilician forests, which Antony made over to her for the purpose.[541] Other Phoenician settlements upon the Cilician coast were, it is probable, Soli, Celenderis, and Nagidus.

Pursuing their way westward, in search of new abodes, the emigrants would pa.s.s along the coast, first of Pamphylia and then of Lycia. In Pamphylia there is no settlement that can be with confidence a.s.signed to them; but in Lycia it would seem that they colonised Phaselis, and perhaps other places. The mountain which rises immediately behind Phaselis was called "Solyma;"[542] and a very little to the south was another mountain known as "Phoenicus."[543] Somewhat further to the west lies the cape still called Cape Phineka,[544] in which the root Phoenix ({phoinix}) is again to be detected. A large district inland was named Cabalis or Cabalia,[545] or (compare Phoen. and Heb. _gebal_, mod. Arab.

_jebel_) the "mountain" country. Phaselis was situated on a promontory projecting south-eastward into the Mediterranean,[546] and was reckoned to have three harbours,[547] which are marked in the accompanying chart.

Of these the princ.i.p.al one was that on the western side of the isthmus, which was formed by a stone pier carried out for more than two hundred yards into the sea, and still to be traced under the water.[548]

The other two, which were of smaller size, lay towards the east. The Phoenicians were probably tempted to make a settlement at the place, partly by the three ports, partly by the abundance of excellent timber for s.h.i.+pbuilding which the neighbourhood furnishes. "Between Phaselis and Cape Avora, a little north of it," says a modern traveller, "a belt of large and handsome pines borders the sh.o.r.e for some miles."[549]

From Lycia the Asiatic coast westward and north-westward was known as Caria; and here Phoenician settlements appear to have been numerous. The entire country was at any rate called Phoenice by some authors.[550]

But the circ.u.mstances do not admit of our pointing out any special Phoenician settlements in this quarter, which early fell under almost exclusive Greek influence. There are ample grounds, however, for believing that the Phoenicians colonised Rhodes at the south-western angle of Asia Minor, off the Carian coast. According to Conon,[551] the earliest inhabitants of Rhodes were the Heliades, whom the Phoenicians expelled. The Phoenicians themselves were at a later date expelled by the Carians, and the Carians by the Greeks. Ergeias, however, the native historian, declared[552] that the Phoenicians remained, at any rate in some parts of the island, until the Greeks drove them out. Ialysus was, he said, one of their cities. Dictys Cretensis placed Phoenicians, not only in Ialysus, but in Camirus also.[553] It is the conclusion of Kenrick that "the Phoenician settlement in Rhodes was the first which introduced civilisation among the primeval inhabitants, and that they maintained their ascendancy till the rise of the naval power of the Carians. These new settlers reduced the Phoenicians to the occupancy of three princ.i.p.al towns"--i.e. Lindus, Ialysus, and Camirus; but "from these too they were expelled by the Dorians, or only allowed to remain at Ialysus as the hereditary priesthood of their native G.o.d."[554]

Rhodes is an island about one-fourth the size of Cyprus, with its axis from the north-east to the south-west. It possesses excellent harbours, accessible from all quarters,[555] and furnis.h.i.+ng a secure shelter in all weathers. The fertility of the soil is great; and the remarkable history of the island shows the importance which attaches to it in the hands of an enterprising people. Turkish apathy has, however, succeeded in reducing it to insignificance.

The acquisition of Rhodes led the stream of Phoenician colonisation onwards in two directions, south-westward and north-westward.

South-westward, it pa.s.sed by way of Carpathus and Casus to Crete, and then to Cythera; north-westward, by way of Chalcia, Telos, and Astypalaea, to the Cyclades and Sporades. The presence of the Phoenicians in Crete is indicated by the haven "Phoenix," where St. Paul's conductors hoped to have wintered their s.h.i.+p;[556] by the town of Ita.n.u.s, which was named after a Phoenician founder,[557] and was a staple of the purple-trade,[558] and by the existence near port Phoenix of a town called "Araden." Leben, on the south coast, near Cape Leo, seems also to have derived its name from the Semitic word for "lion."[559] Crete, however, does not appear to have been occupied by the Phoenicians at more than a few points, or for colonising so much as for trading purposes. They used its southern ports for refitting and repairing their s.h.i.+ps, but did not penetrate into the interior, must less attempt to take possession of the whole extensive territory. It was otherwise with the smaller islands. Cythera is said to have derived its name from the Phoenician who colonised it, and the same is also reported of Melos.[560] Ios was, we are told, originally called Phoenice;[561]

Anaphe had borne the name of Membliarus, after one of the companions of Cadmus;[562] Oliarus, or Antiparos, was colonised from Sidon.[563]

Thera's earliest inhabitants were of the Phoenician race;[564] either Phoenicians or Carians had, according to Thucydides,[565] colonised in remote times "the greater part of the islands of the aenean." There was a time when probably all the aegean islands were Phoenician possessions, or at any rate acknowledged Phoenician influence, and Siphnus gave its gold, its silver,[566] and its lead,[567] Cythera its sh.e.l.l-fish,[568]

Paros its marble, Melos its sulphur and its alum,[569] Nisyrus its millstones,[570] and the islands generally their honey,[571] to increase the wealth and advance the commercial interests of their Phoenician masters.

From the Sporades and Cyclades the advance was easy to the islands of the Northern aegean, Lemnos, Imbrus, Thasos, and Samothrace. The settlement of the Phoenicians in Thasos is attested by Herodotus, who says that the Tyrian Hercules (Melkarth) was wors.h.i.+pped there,[572] and ascribes to the Phoenicians extensive mining operations on the eastern sh.o.r.es of the island between aenyra and Coenyra.[573] A Phoenician occupation of Lemnos, Imbrus, and Samothrace is indicated by the wors.h.i.+p in those islands of the Cabeiri,[574] who were undoubtedly Phoenician deities. Whether the Phoenicians pa.s.sed from these islands to the Thracian mainland, and worked the gold-mines of Mount Pangaeus in the vicinity of Philippi, may perhaps be doubtful, but such seems to have been the belief of Strabo and Pliny.[575] Strabo also believed that there had been a Semitic element in the population of Euboea which had been introduced by Cadmus;[576] and a Phoenician settlement in Boeotia was the current tradition of the Greek writers upon primitive times, whether historians or geographers.[577]

The further progress of the Phoenician settlements northward into the Propontis and the Euxine is a point whereon different opinions may be entertained. p.r.o.nectus, on the Bithynian, and Amastris, on the Paphlagonian coast, have been numbered among the colonies of the Phoenicians by some;[578] while others have gone so far as to ascribe to them the colonisation of the entire countries of Bithynia, Mariandynia, and Paphlagonia.[579] The story of the Argonauts may fairly be held to show[580] that Phoenician enterprise early penetrated into the stormy and inhospitable sea which washes Asia Minor upon the north, and even reached its deepest eastern recess; but it is one thing to sail into seas, and, landing where the natives seem friendly, to traffic with the dwellers on them--it is quite another thing to attempt a permanent occupation of portions of their coasts. To do so often provokes hostility, and puts a stop to trade instead of encouraging it. The Phoenicians may have been content to draw their native products from the barbarous tribes of Northern Asia Minor and Western Thrace--nay, even of Southern Scythia--without risking the collisions that might have followed the establishment of settlements.

As with the Black Sea, so with the Adriatic, the commercial advantages were not sufficient to tempt the Phoenicians to colonise. From Crete and Cythera they sent their gaze afar, and fixed it midway in the Mediterranean, at the western extremity of the eastern basin, on the sh.o.r.es of Sicily, and the vast projection from the coast of North Africa which goes forth to meet them. They knew the harbourless character of the African coast west of Egypt, and the dangers of the Lesser and Greater Syrtes. They knew the fertility of the Tunisian projection, the excellence of its harbours, and the prolificness of the large island that lay directly opposite. Here were the tracts where they might expand freely, and which would richly repay their occupation of them. It was before the beginning of the eleventh century B.C.--perhaps some centuries before--that the colonisation of North Africa by the Phoenicians was taken in hand:[581] and about the same time, in all probability, the capes and isles about Sicily were occupied,[582] and Phoenician influence in a little time extended over the entire island.

In North Africa the first colony planted is said to have been Utica.

Utica was situated a little to the west of Carthage, at the mouth of the Mejerda or Bagradas river.[583] It stood on a rocky promontory which ran out into the sea eastward, and partially protected its harbour. At the opposite extremity, towards the north, ran out another promontory, the modern Ras Sidi Ali-el-Mekki, while the mouth of the harbour, which faced to the south-east, was protected by some islands. At present the deposits of the Mejerda have blocked up almost the whole of this ancient port, and the rocky eminence upon which the city stood looks down on three sides upon a broad alluvial plain, through which the Mejerda pursues a tortuous course to the sea.[584] The remains of the ancient town, which occupy the promontory and a peninsula projecting from it, include a necropolis, an amphitheatre, a theatre, a castle, the ruins of a temple, and some remains of baths; but they have nothing about them bearing any of the characteristics of Phoenician architecture, and belong wholly to the Roman or post-Roman period. The neighbourhood is productive of olives, which yield an excellent oil; and in the hills towards the south-west are veins of lead, containing a percentage of silver, which are thought to bear traces of having been worked at a very early date.[585]

Near Utica was founded, probably not many years later, the settlement of Hippo-Zaritis, of which the name still seems to linger in the modern Bizerta. Hippo-Zaritis stood on the west bank of a natural channel, which united with the sea a considerable lagoon or salt lake, lying south of the town. The channel was kept open by an irregular flux and reflux, the water of the lake after the rainy season flowing off into the sea, and that of the sea, correspondingly, in the dry season pa.s.sing into the lake.[586] At the present time the lake is extraordinarily productive of fish,[587] and the sea outside yields coral;[588] but otherwise the advantages of the situation are not great.

Two degrees further to the west, on a hill overlooking the sea, and commanding a lovely prospect over the verdant plain at its base, watered by numerous streams, was founded the colony of Hippo Regius, memorable as having been for five-and-thirty years the residence of St. Augustine.

The Phoenicians were probably attracted to the site by the fertility of the soil, the unfailing supplies of water, and the abundant timber and rich iron ore of the neighbouring mountains.[589] Hippo Regius is now Bona, or rather has been replaced by that town, which lies about a mile and a half north of the ancient Hippo, close upon the coast, in the fertile tract formed by the soil brought down by the river Seybouse. The old harbour of Hippo is filled up, and the remains of the ancient city are scanty; but the lovely gardens and orchards, which render Bona one of the most agreeable of Algerian towns, sufficiently explain and justify the Phoenician choice of the site.[590]

In the same bay with Utica, further to the south, and near its inner recess, was founded, nearly three centuries after Utica, the most important of all the Phoenician colonies, Carthage. The advantages of the locality are indicated by the fact that the chief town of Northern Africa, Tunis, has grown up within a short distance of the site.

It combined the excellences of a sheltered situation, a good soil, defensible eminences, and harbours which a little art made all that was to be desired in ancient times and with ancient navies. These basins, partly natural, partly artificial, still exist;[591] but their communication with the sea is blocked up, as also is the channel which connected the military harbour with the harbours of commerce. The remains of the ancient town are mostly beneath the surface of the soil, but modern research has uncovered a portion of them, and brought to light a certain number of ruins which belong probably to the very earliest period. Among these are walls in the style called "Cyclopian,"

built of a very hard material, and more than thirty-two feet thick, which seem to have surrounded the ancient Byrsa or citadel, and which are still in places sixteen feet high.[592] The Roman walls found emplaced above these are of far inferior strength and solidity. An extensive necropolis lies north of the ancient town, on the coast near Cape Camart.

Another early and important Phoenician settlement in these parts was Hadrumetum or Adrymes,[593] which seems to be represented by the modern Sousa. Hadrumetum lay on the eastern side of the great Tunisian projection, near the southern extremity of a large bay which looks to the east, and is now known as the Gulf of Hammamet. Its position was upon the coast at the edge of the vast plain called at present the "Sahel of Sousa," which is sandy, but immensely productive of olive oil.

"Millions of olive-trees," it is said, "cover the tract,"[594] and the present annual exportation amounts to 40,000 hectolitres.[595] Ancient remains are few, but the Cothon, or circular harbour, may still be traced, and in the necropolis, which almost wholly encircles the town, many sepulchral chambers have been found, excavated in the chalk, closely resembling in their arrangements those of the Phoenician mainland.

South of Hadrumetum, at no great distance, was Leptis Minor, now Lemta. The gulf of Hammamet terminates southwards in the promontory of Monastir, between which and Ras Dimas is a shallow bay looking to the north-east. Here was the Lesser Leptis, so called to distinguish it from the larger city of the same name between the Lesser and the Greater Syrtis; it was, however, a considerable town, as appears from its remains. These lie along the coast for two miles and a half in Lat. 35 43', and include the ruins of an aqueduct, of a theatre, of quays, and of jetties.[596] The neighbourhood is suited for the cultivation of the olive.

The Greater Leptis (Leptis Major) lay at a considerable distance from the Lesser one. Midway in the low African coast which intervenes between the Tunisian projection and the Cyrenaic one, about Long. 14 22' E.

of Greenwich, are ruins, near a village called Lebda, which, it is generally agreed, mark the site of this ancient city. Leptis Major was a colony from Sidon, and occupied originally a small promontory, which projects from the coast in a north-easterly direction, and attains a moderate elevation above the plain at its base. Towards the mainland it was defended by a triple line of wall still to be traced, and on the sea-side by blocks of enormous strength, which are said to resemble those on the western side of the island of Aradus.[597] In Roman times the town, under the name of Neapolis,[598] attained a vast size, and was adorned with magnificent edifices, of which there are still numerous remains. The neighbourhood is rich in palm-groves and olive-groves,[599]

and the Cinyps region, regarded by Herodotus as the most fertile in North Africa,[5100] lies at no great distance to the east.

Ten miles east, and a little south of Leptis Minor,[5101] was Thapsus, a small town, but one of great strength, famous as the scene of Julius Caesar's great victory over Cato.[5102] It occupied a position close to the promontory now known as Ras Dimas, in Lat. 35 39', Long. 11 3', and was defended by a triple enclosure, whereof considerable remains are still existing. The outermost of the three lines appears to have consisted of little more than a ditch and a palisaded rampart, such as the Romans were accustomed to throw up whenever they pitched a camp in their wars; but the second and third were more substantial. The second, which was about forty yards behind the first, was guarded by a deeper ditch, from which rose a perpendicular stone wall, battlemented at top.

The third, forty yards further back, resembled the second, but was on an enlarged scale, and the wall was twenty feet thick.[5103] Such triple enclosures are thought to be traceable in other Phoenician settlements also;[5104] but in no case are the remains so perfect as at Thapsus. The harbour, which lay south of the town, was protected from the prevalent northern and north-eastern winds by a huge mole or jetty, carried out originally to a distance of 450 yards from the sh.o.r.e, and still measuring 325 yards. The foundation consists of piles driven into the sand, and placed very close together; but the superstructure is a stone wall thirty-five feet thick, and still rising to a height of ten feet above the surface of the water.[5105]

It is probable that there were many other early Phoenician settlements on the North African seaboard; but those already described were certainly the most important. The fertile coast tract between Hippo Regius and the straits is likely to have been occupied at various points from an early period. But none of these small trading settlements attained to any celebrity; and thus it is unnecessary to go into particulars respecting them.

In Sicily the permanent Phoenician settlements were chiefly towards the west and the north-west. They included Motya, Eryx, Panormus (Palermo), and Soloeis. That the Phoenicians founded Motya, Panormus, and Soloeis is distinctly stated by Thucydides;[5106] while Eryx is proved to have been Phoenician by its remains. Motya, situated on a littoral island less than half a mile from the western sh.o.r.e, in Lat. 38 nearly, has the remains of a wall built of large stones, uncemented, in the Phoenician manner,[5107] and carried, like the western wall of Aradus, so close to the coast as to be washed by the waves. It is said by Diodorus to have been at one time a most flouris.h.i.+ng town.[5108] The coins have Phoenician legends.[5109]

Eryx lay about seven miles to the north-east of Motya, in a very strong position. Mount Eryx (now Mount Giuliano), on which it was mainly built, rises to the height of two thousand feet above the plain,[5110] and, being encircled by a strong wall, was rendered almost impregnable. The summit was levelled and turned into a platform, on which was raised the temple of Astarte or Venus.[5111] An excellent harbour, formed by Cape Drepanum (now Trapani), lay at its base. There were springs of water within the walls which yielded an unfailing supply. The walls were of great strength, and a considerable portion of them is still standing, and attests the skill of the Phoenician architects. The blocks in the lower courses are mostly of a large size, some of them six feet long, or more, and bear in many cases the well-known Phoenician mason-marks.[5112] They are laid without cement, like those of Aradus and Sidon, and recall the style of the Aradian builders, but are at once less ma.s.sive and arranged with more skill. The breadth of the wall is about seven feet. At intervals it is flanked by square towers projecting from it, which are of even greater strength than the curtain between them, and which were carried up to a greater height. The doorways in the wall are numerous, and are of a very archaic character, being either covered in by a single long stone lintel or else terminating in a false arch.[5113] The commercial advantages of Eryx were twofold, consisting in the produce of the sea as well as in that of the sh.o.r.e. The sh.o.r.e is well suited for the cultivation of the vine,[5114] while the neighbouring sea yields tunny-fish, sponges, and coral.[5115]

Panormus (now Palermo) occupies a site almost unequalled by any other Mediterranean city, a site which has conferred upon it the t.i.tle of "the happy," and has rendered it for above a thousand years the most important place in the island. "There is no town in Europe which enjoys a more delicious climate, none so charming to look on from a distance, none more delightfully situated in a nest of verdure and flowers. Its superb mountains, with their bare flanks pierced along their base with grottoes, enclose a marvellous garden, the famous 'Sh.e.l.l of Gold,' in the midst of which are seen the numerous towers and domes, the fan-like foliage of the palms, the spreading branches of the pines, and Mount Reale on the south towering over all with its vast ma.s.s of convents and churches."[5116] The harbour lies open to the north; but the Phoenician settlers, here as elsewhere, no doubt made artificial ports by means of piers and moles, which have, however, disappeared on this much-frequented site, where generation after generation has been continually at work building and destroying. Panormus has left us no antique remains beyond its coins, which are abundant, and show that the native name of the settlement was Mahanath.[5117] Mahanath was situated about forty miles east of Eryx, on the northern coast of the island.

Solus, or Soloeis, the Soluntum of the Romans (now Solanto), lay on the eastern side of the promontory (Cape Zafferana) which shuts in the bay of Palermo on the right. It stood on a slope at the foot of a lofty hill, overlooking a small round port, and was fortified by a wall of large squared blocks of stone,[5118] which may be still distinctly traced. The site has yielded sarcophagi of an unmistakably Phoenician character,[5119] and other objects of a high antiquity which recall the Phoenician manner;[5120] but the chief remains belong to the Greco-Roman times.

The islands in the strait which separates the North African coast from Sicily were also colonised by the Phoenicians. These were three in number, Cossura (now Pantellaria), Gaulos (now Gozzo), and Melita (now Malta). Cossura, the most western of the three, lay about midway in the channel, but nearer to the African coast, from which it is distant not more than about thirty-five miles. It is a ma.s.s of igneous rock, which was once a volcano, and which still abounds in hot springs and in jets of steam.[5121] There was no natural harbour of any size, but the importance of the position was such that the Phoenicians felt bound to occupy the island, if only to prevent its occupation by others. The soil was sterile; but the coins, which are very numerous,[5122] give reason to suppose that the rocks were in early times rich in copper.

Gaulos (now Gozzo) forms, together with Malta and some islets, an insular group lying between the eastern part of Sicily and the Lesser Syrtis. It is situated in Lat. 36 2', Long. 12 10' nearly, and is distant from Sicily only about fifty miles. The colonisation of the island by the Phoenicians, a.s.serted by Diodorus,[5123] is entirely borne out by the remains, which include a Phoenician inscription of some length,[5124] coins with Phoenician legends,[5125] and buildings, believed to be temples, which have Phoenician characteristics.[5126]

Some of the blocks of stone employed in their construction have a length of nearly twenty feet,[5127] with a width and height proportionate; and all are put together without cement or mortar of any kind. A conical stone of the kind known to have been used by the Phoenicians in their wors.h.i.+p was found in one of the temples.[5128] Gaulos had a port which was reckoned sufficiently commodious, and which lay probably towards the south-east end of the island.

Melita, or Malta, which lies at a short distance from Gozzo, to the south-east, is an island of more than double the size, and of far greater importance. It possesses in La Valetta one of the best harbours, or rather two of the best harbours, in the world. All the navies of Europe could anchor comfortably in the "great port" to the east of the town. The western port is smaller, but is equally well sheltered. Malta has no natural product of much importance, unless it be the honey, after which some think that it was named.[5129] The island is almost treeless, and the light powdery soil gives small promise of fertility. Still, the actual produce, both in cereals and in green crops, is large; and the oranges, especially those known as mandarines, are of superior quality.

Malta also produced, in ancient as in modern times, the remarkable breed of small dogs[5130] which is still held in such high esteem. But the Phoenician colonisation must have taken place rather on account of the situation and the harbour than on account of the products.

From Sicily and North Africa the tide of emigration naturally and easily flowed on into Sardinia, which is distant, from the former about 150 and from the latter about 115 miles. The points chosen by the Phoenician settlers lay in the more open and level region of the south and the south-west, and were all enclosed within a line which might be drawn from the coast a little east of Cagliari to the northern extremity of the Gulf of Oristano.[5131] The tract includes some mountain groups, but consists mainly of the long and now marshy plain, called the "Campidano," which reaches across the island from Cagliari on the southern to Oristano on the western coast. This plain, if drained, would be by far the most fertile part of the island; and was in ancient times exceedingly productive in cereals, as we learn from Diodorus.[5132]

The mountains west of it, especially those about Iglesias, contain rich veins of copper and of lead, together with a certain quant.i.ty of silver.[5133] Good harbours exist at Cagliari, at Oristano, and between the island of S. Antioco and the western sh.o.r.e. It was at these points especially that the Phoenicians made their settlements, the most important of which were Caralis (Cagliari), Nora, Sulcis, and Tharros.