Home of the The Hall of Ma'at on the Internet
Home
Discussion Forums
Papers
Authors
Web Links

April 29, 2024, 12:32 am UTC    
July 19, 2005 12:49AM
I was searching on the internet to find some sources about the topic as I wait for my books about the Phoenicians to come in. (Thanks for the suggestions folks!) I came upon www.livius.org it is a source site for ancient writings, and found this one about Herodotus and the Phoenicians, the author of the article tries to go through the voyage. What I found interesting was the author's note on where Punt is to her:

"They must have started their expedition in July, and they must have reached the Horn of Africa after an uneventful trip, relying on the northern wind. The Red Sea (which Herodotus calls 'Arabian Gulf') was well known to their Egyptian pilots, because the Egyptians traded incense with the Arabs of modern Yemen."

This is the more interesting part on Punt:

"The Egyptian sources inform us also about the legendary country named Pwanit or Punt. Usually, this is identified with the north coast of modern Somalia, but this is unlikely, since the Egyptians report that they obtained antimony in Punt. This was not produced in the Horn of Africa, but in modern Mozambique. It may be noticed that Pwani is the Swahili word indicating 'seaside'; a similar word may have existed 2,600 years ago. In later times, the route to 'Rhapta' (somewhere in the neighborhood of Dar-es-Salaam) was well known to Egyptian and Roman sailors. Whatever the precise location of Punt, the first part of the expedition of the Phoenicians covered known territories."

"After they had passed Africa's most eastern shores, the northeast monsoon -which started in October- sped up their journey, and in March they must have reached the equator. The Agulhas Current must have brought them through the Mozambique Channel and along the coast of modern South Africa. Sailing on their westerly course, they must have observed that they had the sun on their right. (Something that Herodotus, who was unaware of the earth's spherical shape, was unable to believe.) Something else must have fascinated these men, too: they must have seen whales."

"When they reached Cape Agulhas, they left the current that had helped them to the south. At the same time, they encountered the contrary South East trade winds. And they must have been surprised to discover that here, on the southern hemisphere, the winter was already approaching. However, they must happily have noticed that they had started to go north. The plane behind Saint Helena Bay, 150 kilometers north of modern Cape town, offered a fine opportunity to land. They must have sowed their wheat in June, started to repair their ships, and harvested in November."

"The Benguela Current and the now favorable South East trade winds brought the Phoenician sailors back to the hot equatorial regions, and they will have experienced its effects in a most unpleasant way, when they sailed along the Namibian coast, which is a waterless desert. It took several weeks to reach a more fertile coast. In March, a new and equally unpleasant surprise awaited them: they had been traveling on a northerly course, but now, the coast curved to the west again. They may have benefited from the westward Guinea Current, but not for long, because it changes its direction during the spring. For weeks, they were struggling against the wind and the current, only to reach -in July- the African west coast, where they encountered the contrary Canary Current and the North Eastern trade winds. But they must have been relieved to find themselves rowing in a northerly direction again."

"Somehow they managed to beat against the wind and the current, and in November they must have landed somewhere on the coast of modern Mauritania, maybe at Bay of Arguin, where their Carthaginian compatriots were to build the trading post of Kerne in the not too distant future. The voyagers sowed their wheat, repaired their ships, and waited for the next harvest. Maybe they made contact with the Berber population; in that case, they may have learned that they could obtain gold from the Bambouk region if they returned to the mouth of the Senegal - something that the Carthaginian sailor Hanno probably did."

"In May, they brought their ships to the sea, and started to beat their way up to along the Moroccan coast, where they discovered that they had returned to the world they knew: the town on Mogador island was occupied by Phoenicians. Having told the incredible story of their trip to the southern hemisphere, and no doubt with new equipment, they continued their voyage; soon they reached Phoenician towns like Lixus, modern Cadiz and Malaga, and Carthage. They must have reached Egypt at the end of the summer. Their expedition had lasted three full years."

"This story, told by Herodotus, was generally questioned after the famous geographer Ptolemy had said that it was impossible to circumnavigate Africa. Another voyage was necessary to vindicate the Phoenician claims. This trip was made in 1488, when Bartolomeus Diaz reached the Cape of Good Hope."

Sources:
On the location of Pwanit/Punt, see W.F.G. Lacroix, Africa in Antiquity. A linguistic and toponymic analysis of Ptolemy's map of Africa (1998 Saarbrücken), appendix III.
Subject Author Posted

Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jay Lee July 17, 2005 02:03PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 17, 2005 02:17PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jay Lee July 17, 2005 03:25PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Katherine Reece July 17, 2005 03:31PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 17, 2005 03:36PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 17, 2005 04:18PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 17, 2005 03:43PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jay Lee July 17, 2005 05:45PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 18, 2005 07:19AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Allan Shumaker July 18, 2005 08:45AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 18, 2005 08:52AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Hermione July 18, 2005 08:58AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 18, 2005 09:03AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jay Lee July 18, 2005 10:09AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Hermione July 18, 2005 11:12AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Allan Shumaker July 18, 2005 09:09AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 18, 2005 09:24AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 18, 2005 11:01AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Allan Shumaker July 18, 2005 12:18PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 18, 2005 12:55PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Katherine Reece July 18, 2005 01:00PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jon K July 18, 2005 02:21PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 18, 2005 02:39PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 18, 2005 04:16PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

darkuser July 18, 2005 10:05PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Damian Walter July 19, 2005 04:31AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 19, 2005 04:36AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Hermione July 19, 2005 05:23AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jon K July 19, 2005 02:50PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

darkuser July 19, 2005 08:57PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

John Wall July 20, 2005 02:34AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

darkuser July 20, 2005 08:06PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

darkuser July 18, 2005 04:49PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Katherine Reece July 18, 2005 05:29PM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

Jay Lee July 19, 2005 12:49AM

Re: Phoenician Coastal Explorations

darkuser July 19, 2005 08:50PM



Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login