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 138 Outlines of European History for his own gains. Great Phoenician platters of metal with rich Egyptian designs,^ fine linens and purple raiment, Egyptian glass and porcelain, — all things which the Greek -craftsman could not yet equal, — these made the Phoenician galley a welcome sight in every harbor of Greece. As Crete once kept the Fig. 72. The Ancient Phoenician Harbor of Sidon as it now appears It was from this harbor that the Phoenician colonists sailed fortli to establish new cities in the western Mediterranean, especially Carthage (p. 257). The town seen across the harbor is entirely modern, for the ancient city was again and again destroyed and rebuilt. Here the Phoenician ships were loaded with the goods manufactured in the city (see Anciej^t Times, Figs. 157 and 158), to be carried to the Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples ; and here an alphabet first came into common use (p. 139) vEgeans in close connection with the Orient, so now the Phoeni- cians played the same part for the Greeks. The work of the Phoenician craftsmen spread widely and became proverbial in Greece, appearing often in the Homeric songs (p. 142). The influence of such work gave to early Greek crafts a decidedly oriental character, which continued for a long time. 1 The flat, round dish of pure silver shown at the end of this chapter (p. 165) is a good example of such work as done in Egypt. The design shows a marsh as a circle of water around the center, with plentiful vegetation, and four Egyptian boats bearing a picnic party. •