Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/57

ORIGIN OF THE PHOENICIANS. 37 trade was metal. " Tarshish," says Ezekiel in his address to Tyre, 1 " Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs." Of all these metals doubtless the most important to the Phoenicians, and the most profitable, was tin. In the ancient world no sub- stance was more universally employed than bronze, and without tin there can be no bronze. It was therefore an enormous advantage to the Phoenicians to have made themselves masters of the source whence that metal was to be obtained. The length of a sea voyage has far less effect upon the cost of merchandize than that of a land journey, so that throughout the Levant the tin brought over sea from Spain could be sold cheaper than the same metal brought over-land from central Asia. Such an advantage gave Phoenicia the control of the market and insured the fortune of her merchants. 2 We give a map which will enable the reader to see at a glance how far the Phoenicians had carried their commerce in the eighth century B.C. The names of their principal settlements and naval stations are given, with every indication necessary to help to a clear comprehension of the several parts played by Tyre and Sidon in the creation of a great chain of colonies, of which some of the less important links have faded altogether from history 3 (Fig. 10). The Tyrians were well inspired to seek these new outlets for their energies in the west of Europe, for in the other direction they saw markets closed to them in which they had once had a monopoly. Greece was developing fast ; her population was growing and beginning to give evidence of a love for maritime commerce. In the two or three centuries which followed the supercession of Sidon by Tyre the Phoenician merchants had every day to struggle harder to maintain their position in the 1 EZEKIEL xxvii. 12. 2 As to the profits accruing to the Phoenicians from their control of the mines in the Iberian peninsula, see DIODORUS, v., xxxv. 3-6 ; xxxviii. 2-4. He is speaking chiefly of silver, but he adds that " tin was found in many parts of the peninsula." In these days the chief metallic products of Spain and Portugal are iron, copper, and especially argentiferous lead. Veins of tin are known, but they are not rich enough to pay for the working. 3 We borrow this map from M. Maspero. The letter G at the end of a name indicates a colony from Gebal, S one from Sidon, and T one from Tyre. But some of these attributions are by no means certain.