Phoenicia
FERTILE CRESCENT PROJECt
PHOENICIA
Social
SOCIAL CLASSES:
The king was the highest in Hierarchy. All the other Phoenicians were divided in three social classes:
Top Social Class: Highest Class that consisted of government officials, priests, and land owners. They were the wealthiest and possessed major power and importance.
Middle Class: Consisted of farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, and merchants. They were possessed certain rights from the Social Class.
Lower Class: Lowest Class that consisted of slaves and servants. They were treated badly, but possessed the right of earning money and buying their freedom by it.
Religion:
The Phoenician religion was influenced by many other cultures. The Phoenicians believed in life after death and preserved the bodies, like the Egyptians. They sacrificed their children as well. Many gods were worshipped, like Baal/ El,( Ruler of the Universe) Astarte (queen of Heaven), Anath (goddess of love and war), Adon (handsome and young god), and Melqart (King of Tyre, god of the underworld).
Clothing: Phoenician clothing were woven in with linen and wool. Men wore shentis (short tunics) and high ranked men had them ornamented. Men had curly hair and grew beards. Women were draped from head to toe in clothing. They wore necklaces and head dresses. Their hair were wavy and sometimes braided.
Food:
They didn't have any agricultural resources, so they traded items to gather food resources. They had wheat and barley from Egypt, and grew vegetable gardens filled with peas, lentils, chickpeas, etc. Phoenicians also ate meats like sheep, cattle, rabbits, chicken and more.
Art, Music, Literature:
Phoenicians artisans were skilled architects, and were very good with ivory, wood, and metalworking. Phoenicians wrote cult songs on tablets in cuneiform. One tablet was found as an hymn (religious song) to Nikkal (the moon goddess). The Phoenicians spread ideas, myths, and knowledge from the powerful Assyrian and Babylonian worlds.
Values:
Historians do not know if Phoenicians had any specific values, but would likely have valued their gods/goddesses (religion).
Education:
Historians do not know if there was a specific education system for the Phoenicians. But, they developed a language and an alphabet.