Page:History of Greece Vol III.djvu/282

 266 HISTORY OF GREECE furnish no particulars ; but we may easily understand that the in< crease of the Grecian marine, both warlike and commercial, would render it inconvenient for the Phenicians to encounter such enterprising rivals, piracy (or private war at sea) being then an habitual proceeding, especially with regard to foreigners. The Phenician towns occupied a narrow strip of the coast of Syria and Palestine, about one hundred and twenty miles in length, never more, and generally much less, than twenty miles in breadth, between Mount Libanus and the sea. Aradus on an islet, with Antaradus and Marathus over against it on the main land was the northernmost, and Tyre the southernmost (also upon a little island, with Pala>Tyrus and a fertile adjacent plain over against it). Between the two were situated Sidon, Berytus, Tripolis, and Byblus, besides some smaller towns 1 at- 1 Strabo, xiv, pp. 754-758 ; Skylax, Peripl. c. 104 ; Justin, xviii, 3 ; Arrian, Exp. Al. ii, 16-19 ; Xcnophon, Anab. i, 4, 6. Unfortunately, the text of Skylax is here extremely defective, and Strabo' 4 account is in many points perplexed, from his not having travelled in person through Phenicia, Coelo-Syria, or Judaea: see Groskurd's note on p. 755 and the Einleitung to his Translation of Strabo, sect. 6. Eespecting the original relation between Palse-Tyrus and Tyre, there is some difficulty in reconciling all the information, little as it is, which wo possess. The name Ptilse-Tyrus (it has been assumed as a matter of course : compare Justin, xi, 10) marks that town as the original foundation from which the Tyrians subsequently moved into the island : there was, also, on the mainland a place named Palae-Byblos (Plin. H. N. v, 20 ; Ptolem. v, 15) which was in like manner construed as the original seat from whence the town properly called Byblus was derived. Yet the account of Herodotus plainly represents the insular Tyrus, with its temple of Herakles, as the original foundation (ii, 44), and the Tyrians are described as living in an island even in the time of their king Hiram, the contemporary of Solomon (Joseph. Ant. Jud. viii, 2, 7). Arrian treats the temple of Herakles in the island-Tyre as the most ancient temple within the memory of man (Exp. Al. ii, 16). The Tyrians also lived on their island during the invasion of Salma- neser king of Nineveh, and their position enabled them to hold out against him, while Palae-Tyrus on the terra firma was obliged to yield itself (Joseph. ib. ix, 14, 2). The town taken (or reduced to capitulate), after a long siege, by Nebuchadnezzar, was the insular Tyrus, not the continental or Palee- Tvrus, which had surrendered without resistance to Salmaneser. It is not correct, therefore, to say with Volncy (Recherchcs sur 1'IIist. Anc. ch. xiv, p. 249), Heeren (Ideen iiber den Verkchr der Alien Welt, part i, abth. 2, p. 11), and others th-U the insular Tyre was called new Tyre, and that the