The Phœnicians, however, as is now admitted, were not originally inhabitants of the territory they have made famous by their commercial operations, but immigrants from the shores of the Persian Gulf, whence they carried with them the nautical tastes and knowledge they had been maturing, perhaps for centuries, to develop them in a new and enlarged sphere. Indeed, it is not unlikely that, antecedently to History, these enterprising people had made voyages even to the far-distant East, as the “Erythræan Sea” comprehended an area far wider than our Red Sea, being really, as in Herodotus,[11] what we now call the “Indian Ocean.” If it be true that Jacob’s blessing,[12] “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships,” is probably the earliest written document implying navigation of _any_ kind, it is at the same time impossible to determine at what period that prophecy was to take place, while the occurrence of the name Zidon in the next paragraph, “His border shall be unto Zidon,” might suggest the inference that the wording of this announcement, as we have it now, is of later date than Jacob himself. Neither the Egyptians nor the Greeks have any claim to be considered among the first navigators; indeed, the former people were during their whole history averse to seafaring pursuits, and were dependent on the Phœnicians for nearly all their carrying trade, beyond what passed along their own great river, while the first Greek expedition—that of the Argonauts, to which we shall refer presently—was possibly as much a Phœnician as a Greek adventure. [Sidenote: Their form.] In form, we may be sure that the first boats were flat-bottomed—barges for river service rather than ships for the sea. But keels must have been added as soon as ever coasting voyages commenced, or any speed was needed. In shallow waters they may have been propelled by poles, like modern punts; but oars, and at least one sail of simple construction, must have been introduced very early.