-Caveat Lector- at the height of their shipbuilding capabilities, the phoenicians emblazoned some of their ships with a feathered serpent...holy quetzelcoatl!
http://phoenicia.org/ For Stifling Phoenician History, I Accuse: Eurocentrism, Judeocentrism, Afrocentrisn, Arabists and Fundamentalist Christians It became evident to me during my research that various forces impacted almost all Phoenician/Canaanite subjects. In short, I found that historians and archaeologists were predominantly inclined to Eurocentrism or Judeocentrism. Specifically, Phoenician mathematicians, philosophers, astronomers or other thinkers were ignored and their work credited to the Greeks or the Jews. This happened while the Sidonian school specially affected astronomy and arithmetic, in which the Phoenicians made so much progress that the Greeks acknowledged themselves their debtors in those branches of knowledge. Nevertheless, credit to the Greeks in various fields of thought cannot be denied by anyone. Further, for example, the Jews received credit for the knowledge of pi while the credit goes to Hiram the Phoenician architect. Similarly, Mystic Jews maintain a belief that the Hebrew language of the Torah itself was dictated by God (as is the case with Islam and Arabic) and even the script of the Hebrew letters contained/contains hidden and prophetic meaning in the form of numerical values. This incantationary belief and approach to the Torah dismisses scientific theory regarding the origin of Semitic languages, the Phoenician origin of the alphabet and blurs the history of the people who were the neighbors to the Jews. On the other hand, Minimalists (Jews and non-Jews) claim that there is no truth in the Old Testament and that the Children of Israel were never in Egypt and there was no Exodus but that they were people who separated themselves from and were themselves Canaanites. Eurocentrism may have its roots in the colonial past while Judeocentrism in Israeli accomplishments in the field of archaeology, in addition to Jewish mysticism, and the Fundamentalist Christians' obsession with the literal truths of the Bible. Another problem which plagued Phoenician/Canaanite history is the confusion caused by some fundamentalist Christian's claim that the Phoenicians and the Jews were the same people. They further insisted and continue to insist that the Phoenicians had reached America as Jewish tribes or as one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. This is also expressed in the ridiculous claims of British Israelism groups. "The claim that the Phoenician Canaanites are Arabs is an heresy. The Canaanite Phoenicians predate the Arabs and were NEVER the same people." Roman Bad Press and Bible Writers Also, anti-Phoenician sentiments were the result of bad press by Roman historians, particularly after the Punic wars, and Jewish zealotism and hate of Phoenician religion by Bible writers. This was particularly so because of the infestation of pagan worship in the religion of the Jews such as that caused by Queen Jezebel of Israel (a Phoenician Princess). Arabists and The Phoenician Complex in Some Arab Countries Many individuals of various religious backgrounds from Arab countries as well as Arabists of the Eastern Mediterranean simply cannot tolerate the mention of the Phoenicians or their descendent in the modern world because they assume such a mention has political and religious overtones. However, Phoenician blood runs in veins of people of all religions in the area. Further, there is no reason for those who suffer from this Phoenician Complex to deny their heritage yet still entertain pride in other cultures they may jointly belong to. At the same time, many people of the Western Mediterranean including European and North African Arab countries proudly claim Phoenician as their heritage and ancestry. Afrocentrism Afrocentrism was/is not without blame in smothering Phoenician contribution to the ancient world. Many historians and archaeologists of that persuasion claimed that the Phoenicians themselves where sub-Saharan African based on unscientific Biblical myths. They, therefore, denied the Canaanites their proper place in history. Semitic Phoenicians of the Eastern Mediterranean or the Western Mediterranean (such as famous Hannibal or the Phoenicians of Carthage, Spain, Portugal, Sicily...etc.), the Punic, were NEVER black Africans. Please DO NOT write to me about this subject and do not present me with arguments based on Bible stories to support historical or genealogical information. As far as I am concerned, the Bible is a book about faith and not about history. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
