Edge of the Known World

Patrick Wyman in his "Tides of History" podcast used a phrase about the Phoenicians that they had traveled to the end of the known world. In his context it was not a foolish cstatement, as they had traveled from the Levant to what is now Portugal, with no evidence of any intermediary steps after the first few like Cyprus, in contrast to the usual practice of gradually extending a trade network port by port and island by island.  For them, where that ship was headed when it set out was indeed the end of the known world. Many scholars believe they must have at least had some contacts in Sardinia, in order to get copper.

But of course once they got there the found a group of people who had a world with its own edges, north and south along the Atlantic coast as far north as Scandinavia and as far south as West Africa (where they likely got the apes and peacocks to trade with King Hiram to bring to King Solomon). Silver was what the Phoenicians were looking for, and found it at Huelva, near modern Cadiz. This is beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. Apes and peacocks were sent along because such presents were part of the culture of Eastern Mediterranean monarchs.

I have more on Phoenicians coming up, about a massive party they threw in what is now Tunisia. At least, "party" is the standard explanation these days when a large pile of drinking vessels, smashed pottery      and the presence of many tribes shows up on a dig with no layers below it, and lots of cool stuff after. They founded a colony, or two colonies closely related, one for themselves and one for the indigenous traders and tribes. We'll pick up on Utica (Tunisia) and that party fairly soon.