Philistines: Who were they?
January 17th 2007 08:44
Philistines. If you have ever read Bible, you must be familiar with the name. Yet who were these people? They are now generally thought to be of Indo- European origin and spoke an Indo_European lanaguage. For more on this, see below. You might have seen a series called Lost Tribes currently airing on television. I thought this week we'd rather dig through the colorless term called "Indo-Europeans" and find those lost tribes who still animate our thoughts even though they have vanished from history for thousands of years.
Philistines first appear on Egyptian insciptions as Prst, part of a naval confederacy that more or less simultaneously raided all the known empires back then. The Hittites, the Mitanni, the Myceneans and the Egyptians, some of the most glorious empires that ever were known. Of them only Egypt would survive the raids of these unknown raiders. Of the twelve or so tribes which comprised the confederacy, one was mentioned as PRST. After supplying the vowels it could be read pereset, pulasati and other forms.
These raiders then seized the Canaanite lands and established control in five cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Ashdod. Thecities would be called Pentapolis and the people gradually known as Philistines. They would remain visible in history for the next few centuries until finally subjugated by the Babylonians.
It is an immensely important time in history, if you measure the impact in terms of the effect on mental landscape. Men all over the world have not been able to shake of the impact of those times.
When Philistines were increasing their hold on Canaanite lands, the Hebrews too appear in history, locked in a struggle for the same territory with these people. It is also possible that the Hebrews themselves were dislodged from Egypt (if they were ever there) by the Sea People attacks. A major part of Old testament was authored in such a context.
The Philistines were also instrumental in eclipsing the beautiful Mycenean civilization that was thriving on Crete. Yes, it is from the continued memory of Crete that the legends of the minotaur , the bull-headed prince locked up in a maze called labyrinth, would germinate and grow.
One version of their name, Pulasati, is remarkably similar to Pulsatya, the father of Ravana in the Indian epic Ramayana. It has been conjectured that the Ramayana might preserve the distant echoes of those times.
From Wiki, I got to know another important tidbit of information. The Phjilistines had a monopoly on iron-smithing. The use of iron in war was first accomplished in Hittite empire, so that might have surivived in the people who deposed them. Wiki says that this is apparent in the Goliath legends. That is not the only legend which is based on iron. A significant portion of relgious mythology was affected by the arrival of iron. Remember the terms like golden, silver and bronze ages. These are eras before iron was discovered and both large scale destruction and large scale clearing of forests and settling was made possible. Iron is almost unanimously represented as evil. In Hindu mythology, we are living in Kali Yuga, a time of evil and general dissolution. It generally corresponds to changes wrought in by Iron.
Bible, Ramayana and the Greek legends: three mythic traditions central to our own consciousness. They were all shaped by the actions and memory of Philistines. They also have survived in our language. No small achievement for a people who remained in history for about five centuries and then disappeared completely.
Philistines first appear on Egyptian insciptions as Prst, part of a naval confederacy that more or less simultaneously raided all the known empires back then. The Hittites, the Mitanni, the Myceneans and the Egyptians, some of the most glorious empires that ever were known. Of them only Egypt would survive the raids of these unknown raiders. Of the twelve or so tribes which comprised the confederacy, one was mentioned as PRST. After supplying the vowels it could be read pereset, pulasati and other forms.
These raiders then seized the Canaanite lands and established control in five cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Ashdod. Thecities would be called Pentapolis and the people gradually known as Philistines. They would remain visible in history for the next few centuries until finally subjugated by the Babylonians.
It is an immensely important time in history, if you measure the impact in terms of the effect on mental landscape. Men all over the world have not been able to shake of the impact of those times.
When Philistines were increasing their hold on Canaanite lands, the Hebrews too appear in history, locked in a struggle for the same territory with these people. It is also possible that the Hebrews themselves were dislodged from Egypt (if they were ever there) by the Sea People attacks. A major part of Old testament was authored in such a context.
The Philistines were also instrumental in eclipsing the beautiful Mycenean civilization that was thriving on Crete. Yes, it is from the continued memory of Crete that the legends of the minotaur , the bull-headed prince locked up in a maze called labyrinth, would germinate and grow.
One version of their name, Pulasati, is remarkably similar to Pulsatya, the father of Ravana in the Indian epic Ramayana. It has been conjectured that the Ramayana might preserve the distant echoes of those times.
From Wiki, I got to know another important tidbit of information. The Phjilistines had a monopoly on iron-smithing. The use of iron in war was first accomplished in Hittite empire, so that might have surivived in the people who deposed them. Wiki says that this is apparent in the Goliath legends. That is not the only legend which is based on iron. A significant portion of relgious mythology was affected by the arrival of iron. Remember the terms like golden, silver and bronze ages. These are eras before iron was discovered and both large scale destruction and large scale clearing of forests and settling was made possible. Iron is almost unanimously represented as evil. In Hindu mythology, we are living in Kali Yuga, a time of evil and general dissolution. It generally corresponds to changes wrought in by Iron.
Bible, Ramayana and the Greek legends: three mythic traditions central to our own consciousness. They were all shaped by the actions and memory of Philistines. They also have survived in our language. No small achievement for a people who remained in history for about five centuries and then disappeared completely.
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