The History of Antiquity, Vol. 2 (of 6)Duncker, Max
History
The History of Antiquity, Vol. 2 (of 6)
Duncker, Max
History, Ancient
The Phenicians could not certainly have left out of sight the largest of
the islands, which forms the boundary of the Ægean sea; and the
traditions of the Greeks can hardly go wrong if they make this island
the centre of the naval supremacy of Minos, _i.e._ of the supremacy of
the Phenicians over the Cyclades. Crete must have been the mainstay of
their activity in the Ægean, just as Thebes was the point on the
mainland where they planted the firmest foot. The title Minoa seems to
lie at the base of the name of Minos, a title borne not only by the
island off Megara and the city in Sicily, but also by two cities in
Crete (one on the promontory of Drepanum, the other in the region of
Lyctus), by some islands near Crete, a city in Amorgus, and a city in
Siphnus. The name Minoa (from _navah_) could mean dwelling; it is
certain evidence of a Phenician settlement. But the Phenicians have left
traces of their existence in Crete beside the names Minos and Minoa and
the forms of worship denoted by them. Coins of the Cretan cities Gortys
and Phæstus exhibit a bull or a bull-headed man as a stamp. Near the
Cretan city of Cydonia the Jardanus, _i.e._ the Jordan, falls into the
sea; the name of the city Labana goes back to the Phenician word
_libanon_, i.e. "white." Cnossus, the abode of Minos in Homer and
Herodotus,[128] was previously named Kairatus; _Karath_ in Phenician
means city. Itanus, in Crete (_Ethanath_ in the Semitic form), is
expressly stated to be a foundation of the Phenicians.[129]
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