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The Ancient World
In
pre-historic and early historic times, a number of peoples took to the sea.
We will look at a number of them.
The Phoenicians were the most active mariners in the ancient Near East.
From their lavish capital at Tyre (in modern Lebanon), they struck out
across the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic.
They engaged in commerce, and in the search for the metals from which
they could fashion bronze. Their
travels took them as far as Cornwall (southwestern England), and perhaps around
the African continent. In their
travels they established secondary commercial centers such as Cadiz (in modern
Spain) and Carthage (in modern Tunisia).
From earliest times (prior to 3100 BCE), the Egyptians were traveling the
Nile River. They built boats by lashing together bundles of reeds.
These proved strong enough to float heavy merchandise such as
construction materials. In later
times, they engaged in ambitious maritime commerce, traveling through the
Mediterranean and Red Seas, possibly as far as India or Sumatra.
In affluent times, when they had been brought into the orbit of Alexander
the Great, they were the constructors of great harbor works, such as the famed
lighthouse at Alexandria.
Athens was the center of Greek maritime activity.
In its glory days (500-400 BCE), it was the capital of a maritime empire
stretching from the Black Sea to Marseilles in the Western Mediterranean. The Greeks used the sea as a connector to their many islands,
rather than a barrier, which the mountains provided on land.
They engaged in commerce, emigration, and military engagements, such as
their famous victory over the Persians at Salamis.
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