1 6Chapter 1that the Greeks admired the Egyptians for their wisdom
and would borrow heavily from them, especially after
the establishment of a Greco-Egyptian dynasty by
Ptolemy in 323 B.C.
Yet Egyptian culture, for all its concern with the
unseen world, was at another level deeply practical. Its
institutions, like its engineering, held up well. Conser-
vative, inward-looking, and less aggressive than many
empires, it served as a bridge not only between Africa
and Europe, but also between historic times and an al-
most unimaginably distant past. Growing involvement
with the outside world after about 900 B.C. was in some
ways a tragedy for the Egyptians. The country fell to a
succession of foreign rulers, but most of them, whether
Persian, Greek, or Roman, were content to preserve
Egyptian institutions. Only the triumph of Islam in the
the seventh century A.D. brought fundamental change.
By this time much of the Egyptian achievement had
been incorporated, often unconsciously, into the devel-
opment of the West.Canaan, Phoenicia, and Philistia
The eastern shore of the Mediterranean has been in-
habited since earliest times. Neanderthal and Cro-
Magnon remains are found in close proximity to one
another in the caves of Mt. Carmel, and agriculture was
established on the eastern shore before it was intro-
duced to Egypt or Mesopotamia. The climate is benign,
with mild winters and enough rainfall to support the
Mediterranean triad of crops—wheat, olives, and
grapes. The Bible calls it “the land of milk and honey,”
but it was also a corridor and at times a disputed fron-
tier between the civilizations of Mesopotamia and
Egypt. Its inhabitants never enjoyed the political stabil-
ity of the great river empires. The eastern shore of the
Mediterranean was from the beginning a world of
small, aggressive city-states whose wealth and strategic
position attracted the unwelcome attention of stronger
powers.
The first Canaanites or Phoenicians, as they were
known to the Greeks, spoke a variety of Semitic di-
alects and moved into the region during the fourth mil-
lennium, superseding or blending with an earlier
Neolithic population (see map 1.2). Their first urban
foundations, at Sidon, Byblos, and Ras Shamra (Ugarit),
date from around 3000 B.C. From the beginning, these
and a host of other cities traded actively with both
Egypt and Sumer. Their inhabitants were sailors, ship-
builders, and merchants who played a vital role in the
process of cultural exchange.
They were also skilled craftsmen. Carved furniture
of wood and ivory was an obvious speciality, but metal-
working was equally important. The Phoenicians ex-
ported fine gold and copper jewelry, bronze tools, and
weapons over a wide area. Around 1500 B.C. they seem
to have invented the process of casting glass around a
core of sand. Decorative glassware remained an impor-
tant export throughout antiquity, and glassblowing
likely was invented by their descendants in RomanDOCUMENT 1.3
An Egyptian Mortuary Text
This prayer or incantation was found on coffins during the
Middle Kingdom. It provides not only a vision of the here-
after, but also a sample of Egyptian religious imagery. The
Eastern Doors mark the entry into paradise. Re is the Sun
god, and Shu is the god of air who raised Heaven above the
Earth and planted trees to support it. A cubit measures between
seventeen and twenty-one inches.Going in and Out of the Eastern Doors of Heaven
among the Followers of Re. I know the Eastern
Souls.
I know the central door from which Re issues
in the east. Its south is the pool of kha-birds, in the
place where Re sails with the breeze; its north is
the waters of ro-fowl, in the place where Re sails
with rowing. I am the keeper of the halyard of the
boat of the god; I am the oarsman who does not
weary in the barque of Re.
I know those two sycamores of turquoise be-
tween which Re comes forth, the two which came
from the sowing of Shu at every eastern door at
which Re rises.
I know the Field of Reeds of Re. The wall
which is around it is of metal. The height of its
barley is four cubits; its beard is one cubit; and its
stalk is three cubits. Its emmer is seven cubits; its
beard is two cubits, and its stalk is five cubits. It is
the horizon dwellers, nine cubits in height, who
reap it by the side of the Eastern Souls.
I know the Eastern Souls. They are Har-akhti,
The Khurrer-Calf, and the Morning Star.Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Related to
the Old Testament, vol. 1, 2d ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1955.