WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - History Off Script: The Phoenicians - The Great Explorers History Forgot

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Long before Columbus or Magellan, the Phoenicians were exploring the limits of the known world. With ships later proven to be capable of crossing the Atlantic they discovered mysterious and frightening new places. This is their story.

That's how history can often feel, mechanical, one event after the other. But what's in the fine print? What happens if we peel back the layers? What kind of hidden dramas may unfold? It's time we went beyond the textbook. This is history off script. Here's your host, James Jocke. In 2019, a crowd stared in amazement as a strange vessel entered the port of Santo Domingo. Who could blame them? Such a ship had not been seen in over two millennia.

It was an exact replica of a Phoenician boat from the 6th century BC, and in 39 days it had sailed 6,000 miles from Tunisia to the Dominican Republic. It was all to show what the ancient Phoenicians could have been capable of. In a time long before Columbus or Magellan, the Phoenians was the Phoenician. were sailing to the edges of the gnome world. This is their story. But who were the Phoenicians? They were firstly traitors, living in city-states on the shores of modern-day Lebanon, Israel, and Syria.

They sailed far and wide, establishing colonies, trading valuable goods, and budding heads with the ancient Greeks as both vied for influence in the Mediterranean. Phoenicians spoke a Semitic language similar to Hebrew, but what you know them most for is our alphabet. That's right. The modern English alphabet is derived from that used by the early Phoenicians. In time, one of the Phoenician colonies grew to dwarf the rest, outshining even the original cities of Phoenicia. Its name was Carthage, and its people were every bit the explorers and traitors their predecessors were. As Carthage reached its height in the 6th century BC, it decided it would go where no Phoenician had gone before.

At this time, Rome was still a backwater ruled by Cairns. Greece was just experimenting with philosophy, and the Jews were still held captive in Babylon. But Carthage was sailing to the ends of the world. Two explorers set out on this quest, Himalco and Hano the Navigator. Himalco went north, Hanno went south. Both explorers kept journals of their adventures. However, Himalcos has been lost to time, only references to its survive in secondary sources. But what we do know is that from a Carthaginian colony in southern Spain, he sailed as far as the British Isles, but likely further. Some scholars believe he made it as far as the island of Helgoland near the shores of Germany, a distance of over 2,000 miles. Hanno, went much further. From Carthage, he set out on a voyage that would ultimately bring him over 5,000 miles away from home, a distance far enough to traverse one-fifth of the world's circumference.

Even more impressive, his personal account has survived the modern day, and is one of the few examples of Phoenician literature remaining. Hanno set out from Carthage with 60 oared ships and likely 5,000 men and women. His goal was to found colonies and established trade routes, but his exploration after is most impressive. Hanno completed his orders first, sent along the coast of West Africa he found in numerous colonies in Morocco and Mauritania. Going further south, he conducted trading and returned to the closest colony to deposit the expedition's valuable cargo. Now his ships were ready to go where none had gone before. As they sailed, they encountered vast rivers filled with crocodiles,

and hippopotam. Soon, their Berber translators stopped working, and the knights were filled with the sight of fires and the sounds of beating drums deep within the forest. As they sailed further, a great mountain of flame filled the night. They called it the chariot of the gods, though today we call it Mount Cameroon. Finally, the expedition found a strange island filled with short, hairy people that spoke in grunts. The interpreters called them gorillas. we still call them by that name. With provisions running short, Hanno had little choice

but to return home from his voyage to the edge of the known world. In a time long before the first Europeans set sail to explore the world, the Phoenicians had already beaten them. While often overshadowed by the accomplishments of their Greek rivals, the Phoenicians were no less impressive,

setting records that would stand for generations. This has been history off-serie. script with your host James Jawski on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.