The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-02-13
THE PRESS.
Sidon's Long History.
Career aud Fall of the City that Founded
Carthage.
saturday Review.I

rous words with which great historian dis
misses the Crusaders from his pages and tells
of the last state Of Phenicia. From Arvad to
Ascalon the land is waste of sand and rock,
while Sidon, the foundress of Carthage, is little
more than port for fishing smacks. Standing
on the southern eminence overlooking the
town, it requires a strong effort OF imagination
To repeople her harbors with the painted gal
leys of many cars and her streets with the
merchants who were like Princes in the years
of the worlds youth. 1t is difficult now to
fancy the strongest naval contingent OF Aerxes
crowding out of the choked-up bay, or TO PIC
ture y massacre OF Ochus in the narrow ana
almc.s deserted ways of modern Saba. Yet it
was among these that {, 1000 of the old Sidonl-
ans, having first burned their ships, offered up
themselves and their families holocaust TO
the fire god Baal, rather than fall into the
hands of the Persian satraps, and this is what
was once the capital of the greatest maritime
and commercial power of antiquity. Here was
the emporium of traffic. OF science, ana OF ART,
and the centre of civilization which borrowed
from Egypt and Greece and amalgamated with
that OF Persia to corrupt Rome with Its enor-
nous wealth and luxury. The history OF Inc
Sidonians is checkered one, from the days
they oppressed the Israelites and failed Lash
Units hour of need, down to the times when
they supplied the Sybarites OF the Imperial
City with perfumes for the bath and purple for
the toga. Above all things, they knew how to
choose good friends and eyade bad quarrels,
and it is perhaps for this reason that for SO
many centuries their riches remained to them,
even down to the Crusades, in the course OF
which they several times saved their city from
invasion by payments of heavy brides.
The first great blow to their strength was IN
doubtedly the treachery of their king, Tennes,
In delivering them mp to Artaxerxes Ill, and
they never regained any considerable indepen-
dent power losing all chance of participation
in the events which succeeded the death OF Al
exander and the distribution of his empire. AT
the begin ming of the Christian era, however,
by dint of keeping out OF difficulties, Pbenicia
once more amassed great wealth, and the new
Intercourse with the West infused fresh ACTIVE
~ into her ports of Tyre and Sidon, Antioch
and Laodicea. The peculiar refinements OF
the East, which have their charm even now
for Europeans, burst like a revelation upon the
almost rough simplicity of the Roman conquer
srs The ''Syrian merchandise OF Horace
was eagerly sought after, and in return the
novelties OF Europe were introduced into syria:
italian merchants thronged her ports and
flooded Rome with strange Oriental spices, per-
fumes. silks and embroideries. The yelled fig
ures that now steal along the miserable thor
oughfares are of the stock which once made
the scandal of the Censors and the fortunes OF
the slave-dealers. The trade in slaves, Jews
and Syrians-" aatioes nate serUituts," as Cice-
writer records with shame that the riches
gained by the dealers exceeded those OF the
Ialii and African, and dwarfed Proconsul's
provincial spoil. Juvenal and Tibullus have
told Us Of the slave mart OF Rome; Terence and
Plautus showed us the domesticated Syrian,
and Lucian and Martial the courtesan. The
character given to the Ph9nician importations
is always OF the worst, and it is curious TO read
in these old Satirists many description that
fits accurately their descendants of to-day.
What can be shrewder or more terse than the
axiom, ''Ut QuisQudns optlme Greece secret. at0
esse nequissinauna," applied to the parasites
and slaves that were the bane of society,
large majority of whom came from the East.
This observation coupled with the fact that
Strabo mentions Bosthus and Diodotus OF ST.
don as fellow students in Aristotle, would ar
que that at late period Greek was the COM
mon language of the Ph@nician coast towns.
n Ernest Renan dates the Greek influence
from B. G. 400 since which time, he says, ISL
don Sc HeLeniSe" Abundant proof of long
domination of Hellenic feeling is found in the
innumerable relics in stone and gold turned up
by the native treasure-seekers, and in the NOR
tuary inscriptions recorded and deciphered by
archaeological travellers. Though short and
imperfect many of them are extremely inter-
ssting in spite of their frequent sameness.
Still, modern Saida is but q puny representa-
tive of ancient Sidon, and the relics of its an
tiquity are bitterly disappointing. As matter
OF fact, the old town has entirely disappeared,
and few shafts of columns and rough-hewn
blocks OF stone are all that remain above
ground to mark the site of one of the Oldest
cities in the world Even below ground re-
searches have hitherto been eminently unsat-
failing altogether to disclose the re-
mains that might have been expected. This
result is, perhaps, due to the fact that success
i've generations have ransacked all places like
ly to contain marketable records of the past.
What has now become the business of explora-
Loot arlr,
but the sanctity of tombe has long since ceased
to be respected. Yet it is hard to believe that
nothing further remains to be found in a coun-
try which has yielded SO little in comparison
with what others of inferior promise have
done. The most valuable trougdtHe that has
ever been made at Sidon was that of the
sarcophagus of Eshmanazar, now in the
Louvre. This Gas disinterred in the plain out
side the walls, within ten yards of the Mugha-
rat ALBION, from an insignificant chamber in
the rock. High hopes were naturally raised,
and excavations on a large scale were at once
undertaken and carried on with more or less
vigor down to 1861. The fruits of the labor thus
expended were however, poor, and nothing
was found at all equal to the first sarcopha-
gus Many others were brought to light,
but in the absence of any inscription, it
Is extremely difficult to assign dates to any of
them. The scarab@, beads, figures, gold orna-
ments, and gold.leaf mummy masks found at
Sidon are in no way distinguishable from the
Egyptian specimens, and were also probably
imported ready manufactured. Phoenician art
rs . separate and distinct type can scarcely be
said to exist, the artifcers having alternately
copied from Egypt and borrowed from Greece,
missing the grandeur of the one and the deli
cacy of the other. As curious link between
these two great schools, it is deserving OF
study.
Passing centuries and changing dynasties
have not deprived Sidon of its magnificent
natural position Like almost all Ph@nician
ports, it was situated ON a cape, from which it
would seem that the old mariners aimed rather
1t a commanding point of reconnaissance than
10 shelter from storms The only real an
,horage which the Phenicians possessed was
that Of the island of Ruad. Sidon has three
hsrbors, none of which are at the present day
in bad weather or serviceable in
rood. Remembering those of Munychia and
Phalsrun, we shall not perhaps wonder SO
much at what first strikes the observer as their
The central and most commo-
lions one was purposely rendered useless by
Fakr Eddin, by sinking boats and throwing
iown the mole, in order to prevent the en-
rance of Turkish men-of-war. The most
prominent features of the town are the two
,astles built by the Crusaders in the thirteenth
Sidon having been first taken from
he Moslems in the beginning of the twelfth by
Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, and Sigur, the
Norwegian. In 1852 however, the Turcomans
ose in arms and massacred 1000 Christians,
lpOn winch LOUIS la. marc00U up ITOIn lyT6t
md, defeating them at Banias, took possession
II Sidon; but 1t does not appear that he did
much besides fortifying the place and building
he two castles now garrisoned by Turkish SOL
Iiers. That on the seashcre is of irregular
hape, and adapted TO the formation of the
ock on which it stands. 1t is built Of hetero-
'eneous materials, and is connected with the
hore by picturesque bridge of nine spans.
The second fortress commands the whole
own, and from its topmost tower, now used as
powder magazine, we obtain one of the finest
cast views of Syria. The rest of the structure
In ruins, ovelgrown with weeds and inhabit- |
by lizards. The baZaars are unworthy of |
office, and the few old buildings that remain |
re scarcely recognizable under their modern |
ravesty. One of the most striking of these is
he Khan Francois, belonging to the French |
Government, where various industries are car
led on. Here the lover of dried figs should |
ass with averted eyes. To see half-naked |
lan. smeared with dirt, perform a weird |
ance with bare feet on a swinging basket of |
ew figs is by no means appeuiziDg. On the |
hores OF the western harbor the soil is almost |
ompletely composed of millions of calcined |
bells, popularity supposed, with some reason, |
, be those from which the famous Tyrian pur- |
lie used to be extracted. On the south, be- |
Teen Sidon and the foot of the Lebanon, |
reich the gardens which are now the source |
I half the small wealth of the inhabitants |
he most important crop is that of lemons and |
ranges, and the perfume of their blossoms can
, perceived many miles out at sea-. Inside
10 gardens themselves the scent of violets,
Uses and honeysuckles mingles with that of the
range flowers which cover the trees and Garnet |