Agenor.

to judge of the impoffibility of fixing on any thing certain in the chronology of even the belt and clearest times of the Phoenicians in general.

SECT. IV.

The Phenician Kings, from the ancient fabulous Hiflory of the Greeks.

BEFORE we enter upon the hiftory of the Phoenician kings, we are, in fome shape, obliged to infert the following dark and fabulous account of the family of Agenor, the first king of Phoenice mentioned by the Greeks.

Agenor and Belus were, according to Apollodorus, the fons of Neptune by Libya, daughter of Epaphus, king of a part of Egypt. Belus reigned in Egypt, and married Anchinoe, daughter of Nilus, by whom he had Ægyptus and Danaus. Agenor paffed from Egypt into Phoenice, where he fettled, and became the father of a numerous race, He married Telephaffa (Stephanus calls her Telephe), by whom he had Europa, Cadmus, Phoenix, Cilix, and, according to Paufanias, Electra, and Thafus. Pherecides, as quoted by the fcholiaft of Apollonius, gives him two wives, one named Damno, by whom he had Phoenix, Ifæa, aud Melia; the other called Argiope, who was mother to Cadmus and Europa. Plutarch mentions a fourth wife, called Diorippe, who brought forth Sipylus; Antonius Liberalis mentions a fifth, named Caffiopea, who bore him a daughter, by name Carina; and Cedrenus takes notice of a fixth, whom he calls. Tyrus, pretending that the city of Tyre borrowed its name from her. Europa (whom fome writers will have to be the daughter of Phoenix, and not of Agenor) was ftolen by Jupiter, transformed into a bull, that is, in a fhip named the Bull, or bearing the figure of a bull in her ftern; and carried into Crete. Agenor, being extremely grieved for the lofs of his daughter, fent his fon Cadmus, with a great fum of money, in queft of her; but he, not finding her, nor daring to return home without her, refolved to go and fettle elsewhere. With this defign, having fitted out a small fleet, he put to fea, and landed in Thrace, where he had the good luck to discover

e Paufan. in Boot. de Fluviis.

Idem in Eliac.

e Plutarch

a gold

a gold mine in Mount Pangæus. Being enriched with that metal, and in a condition to purfue his defign, he was advised by the oracle of Delphi to leave Thrace, and pafs into Boeotia. There, having expelled the Hyantes, who oppofed him, and allowed the Aones, who voluntarily fubmitted, to live in the country mixed with his Phoenicians, he founded a new kingdom, and built a city; which, in derivation from his own name, he called Cadmea. This was afterwards embellifhed and enlarged by Amphion and Zethus, the two fons of Antiope (for they invaded the throne, during the minority of Laius, the fon of Labdacus, Cadmus's grand-fon), and by them called Thebes, in honour of Thebe their aunt, by the mother's fidef (A),

f Paufan. in Boot.

(A) We find fuch a difagreement among authors, in the accounts they give of Agenor, and his defcendents, that it is impoffible to afcertain the truth. It is generally agreed, however, that, Agenor was by birth an Egyptian; that from Egypt he paffed into Phoenice, where he fettled, and became the father of a numerous race; that he was the first king of Phoenice, and founder of the cities of Sidon and Tyre. But in the fucceffion of the kings, fome of the Latins place Belus the elder before him; and most of the moderns, upon the authority of Jofephus, make Sidon, the eldest fon of Canaan, founder of the city of Sidon. The fame author tells us, that Tyre was founded two hundred and forty years before the building of Solomon's temple: from whence it is plain, that thefe two cities were not built by one and the fame perfon. Tyre was, without doubt, a colony of the Sidonians, it being called in

Ifæa

Scripture, the daughter of Sidon.

And Justin tells us in exprefs terms, that the city of Tyre was built before the taking of Troy, by the Sidonians, who, being driven out of their own country by the king of the Afcalonians, were forced to feek a new habitation. Most of the ancients allow, that Europa, Cadmus, Phoenix and Cilix, were the children of Agenor; and that with them, a great many Phoenicians and Syrians migrated into Afia Minor, Crete, Greece, and Libya; and there introduced letters, mufic, poetry, and other arts, fciences, and cuf toms of the Phoenicians. It is pretended, that Europa being carried away by Taurus king of Crete, Agenor fent her brother in queft of her; who, on that occafion, as they were enjoined not to return without her, founded feveral Phoenician colonies in Afia Minor, Greece, and Libya. But Sir Ifaac Newton is of opinion, that thofe Phoenicians went not

to

Phoenix.

Phalis.

Ifæa and Melia, Agenor's two daughters, married Agyptus and Danaus, their coufins german. Cilix is faid, by Apollodorus, to have fettled in Cilicia, and given his name to that country. The fame author adds, that Thafus built the city of Thafos in Thrace; a fact which is confirmed by Paufanias. All we know of Electra, is that one of the gates of Thebes borrowed its name from her. Of Sipylus we read in Plutarch, that Mount Sipylus was fo called from him. We fhall have occafion to relate more at length, what we read of Cadmus in the ancient Greek writers, when we come to write the history of the Theban kings.

Phoenix is fuppofed by the Greeks to have fucceeded his father in the kingdom of Phoenice, or rather of Sidon which city, as likewife that of Tyre, they pretend to have been built by Agenor; wherein they are followed, among the Latins, by Q. Curtius*. That country, according to them, borrowing its name from Phoenix, was called Phoenice, and the inhabitants, Phoenicians. Eufebius adds', that he was the first who found the fcarlet colour, which was therefore called at first Phoenicius, and afterwards, with a small alteration, Puniceus color.

The next king of Sidon we meet with in hiftory is Phalis, who flourished in the time of the Trojan war. He proved a faithful ally to the Greeks, and used his utmost endeavours, though in vain, to draw Sarpedon, king of Lycia, over to their fide ". He is mentioned by Homer, and honoured with the title of moft illustrious ́".

These are the kings of Sidon we find mentioned in the ancient Greek writers; but, as their accounts are no ways to be depended upon, we have thought fit to treat of them apart, left we fhould feem to confound what is fabulous with what is truly historical.

SECT. V.

The Reigns of the Kings of Phanice.

PHOENICE was divided into several small kingdoms; for, befides the kings of Sidon and Tyre, mentioned in Scripture, we read in hiftory of Elbafus king of Berytus, to whom Sanchoniatho, according to Eufebius", dedicated his hiftory of Erylus king of Byblus', and of other Phoenician monarchs, whofe dominions were generally confined within the narrow bounds of one city, and its territory. Of all the kings of Phoenice, thofe of Sidon, Tyre, and Arad, feem to have been the most powerful and wealthy, and they certainly make the most important figures in hiftory: but their fucceffions, and the years of their refpective reigns, are overcaft with such obfcurities, and interrupted with so many chasms, that it is impoffible to give a regular detail of their tranfactions. However, we fhall produce what occurs in hiftory, and feems chiefly to be depended upon; beginning with Sidon, the most ancient city of Phoenice.

The Kings of Sidon.

Sidon, the eldeft fon of Canaan, was, according to Sidon. Jofephus, the founder of this city, or, at least, the father of the people. But, as to his actions, or the years of his reign, we are left quite in the dark. Neither are we better acquainted with the fovereigns who fucceeded him; for, though the Sidonians are mentioned in the histories of Mofes, Joshua, and the Judges, yet we find not in holy Yr. of Fl. writ, exprefs mention made of their kings, till the time of the prophet Jeremiah, who fpeaks of ambaffadors fent by the king of Sidon to propofe to Zedekiah a league against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

The next Sidonian monarch we find mentioned in hiftory, is Tetramneftus, who affifted Xerxes in his expedition against Greece with three hundred galleys, and is counted by Herodotus among the chief commanders of the Persian navy.

Tennes appears next; but it is uncertain whom he fucceeded. In his reign the Sidonians, and other Phoeni

Eufeb. Præp. Evang. lib. i. cap. 6. Strabo, lib. xvi. p. 520.

i Herodot. lib. vii. cap. 98.

Arrian. lib. ii.

1750. Ante Chr.

598.

Yr. of Fl.

1867.

Ante Chr.

481. Tetram

neftus. Tennes

cians, exafperated by the haughty behaviour, and tyrannical proceedings, of those whom Darius Ochus king of Perfia had set over them, entered into a confederacy with Nectanebus king of Egypt, and rofe up in arms, with defign to shake off the Perfian yoke, and recover their ancient liberty. As the Perfians were then making vaft preparations to reclaim Egypt, which they could not well approach but by marching through Phoenice, this revolt hap pened very opportunely for Nectanebus. Therefore, to encourage the Phoenicians to perfift, he fent a body of four thoufand Greek mercenaries, under the command of Mentor the Rhodian, to their affiftance, hoping to make Phoenice a kind of barrier to Egypt, and carry on the war at a distance. On the other fide, Tennes king of Sidon (which city then exceeded all the others of Phoenice in wealth), having fitted out with great expedition, a powerful fleet, and raised a confiderable army in his own dominions, took the field; and, being ftrengthened by the Greek auxiliaries, engaged and routed the governors of Syria and Cilicia, whom Ochus had fent to reduce him, driving the Perfians quite out of Phoenice. The Sidonians, on their first taking up arms, had laid waste a delicious garden belonging to the kings of Persia, seized and burnt all the forage which the Perfian governor had laid up for the fubfiftence of his cavalry; and punished, with the utmost severity, fuch of their Perfian oppreffors as fell into their hands. Ochus was provoked to fuch a degree by these proceedings of the Sidonians, especially after news was brought him of his lieutenant's being defeated, and the Perfians driven out of Phoenice, that now he breathed nothing but revenge, threatening total destruction not only to the Sidonians, but to all the inhabitants of Phoenice. Thus bent upon revenge, he affembled all his forces; and, having muftered them at Babylon, marched from thence into Phoenice, at the head of an army of three hundred thoufand foot, and thirty thousand horfe. Mentor, who was then in Sidon, being terrified at the approach of fuch a formidable enemy, fent privately a trufty fervant, called Theffalion, to the king of Perfia, offering not only to put him in poffeffion of Sidon, but likewife to affift him in reducing Egypt. Ochus, glad of this offer, fpared no promises to engage Mentor in his fervice; who, having received fuch affurance from the king of Perfia as he defired, found means to draw Tennes king of Sidon into the fame treafon. In the mean time, the Sidonians, not mistrusting Mentor, and much lefs fufpecting