IV.

Contributions

The Phoenician's most important contribution to civilization was the alphabet. Purple dye, called Tyrian purple, and the invention of glass, are also ascribed to them. Their industries, particularly the manufacture of textiles and dyes, metalworking, and glassmaking, were renowned in the ancient world, and the Phoenician cities were famous for their pantheistic religion. Each city had its special deity, usually known as its Baal, or lord, and in all cities the temple was the centre of civic life. The most important Phoenician deity was Astarte.