52 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



In tlie XVtli century B.C., The Phoenicians colonized Cadiz. 



,, Xllth ,, ,, They constructed the famous fleet 



which aided Semiramis in the 

 invasion of India. 



,, Xlth ,, ,, They taught navigation to the Jews. 



,, Vllth ,, ,5 They sailed round the whole continent 



of Africa, fi'om the Arabian Sea to 

 the Cape of Good Hope, and thence 

 to the pillars of Hercules. 



" Por some time, their settlements, of which Gades, now Cadiz, was 

 the fii'st and most powerful, were confined to the coast of Boetica, 

 whence they supply the natives with the traffic of Asia Minor, and the 

 shores of the Mediterranean in exchange for the more valuable 

 productions of the Peninsula, such as gold, silver, and iron. Coins, 

 medals, and ruins, attesting their continued location, have been found 

 in most provinces of Spain, and even at Pamplona in Xavarre." 



Too much insistance cannot be made on the predominance of the 

 Phoenicians as regards navigation, trade, and the arts, not only in the 

 Mediterranean, but more particularly outside the Straits and along the 

 "VV. coast of the Peninsula, dui'ing those early centuries. They were 

 admittedly the great explorers, conveyors, and instructors of those 

 times, and whatever they have left us of historical record cannot be 

 too carefully sifted. As bearing, therefore, on the probable nature of 

 the Milesian expedition, it is desirable to examine what is known of 

 the colonies or cities which the Phoenicians are said to have founded, 

 as regards their antiquity and the dates which have been, or may 

 be assigned to them, taking for granted that the}' had acquired a 

 knowledge of the trading advantages presented by the coast long before 

 they actually founded their cities and ports. Cadiz is one of the most 

 renowned of these, and in the article thereon in the Br. Encyclo- 

 pnedia (1976), it is stated: — "Cadiz, in Latin Gades, and formerly 

 called ' Cales ' by the English, is identical with the ancient Agadir, 

 Gadir, or Gaddir (in Greek Gadura), which was a flourishing 

 Phoenician colony, long before the beginning of the classical history. 

 Some remains of the ancient city, and particularly of the Temple of 

 Hercules, are said to be visible below the sea." 



The London Encyclopaedia (1829) states as regards these remains : 

 *'The earthquake of 1755 caused the sea when it retu-ed, to leave 

 behind it wrecks which appeared to have belonged to a temple. A 

 tradition that the ancient city of Cadiz was once swallowed up by au 



