Phoenician: Motivate
Cadmus, a prince of the ancient Phoenician city Tyre, lived a blessed and cursed life. Roaming the lands in the 14th century BC, searching for his abducted sister Europa, he was instructed by the Oracle at Delphi to follow a white cow to the site where he would found a city. He obeyed the oracle, eventually arriving in a broad plain perfect for a walled city. Cadmus sent men to a nearby spring to fetch water, but they never returned. Investigating their disappearance, Cadmus discovered they were devoured by a fearsome dragon who was favored by the war god Ares. Sluggish from having eaten so many soldiers, the dragon was easily dispatched by the prince. The dragon's feast, however, left Cadmus no men with whom he could found a city. Since Cadmus had earlier sacrificed the white cow to the gods, Athena provided him with advice: "Sow the dragon's teeth, and you shall raise an army." Grown soldiers began to spring from the earth, but Ares, furious at Cadmus for murdering his pet, caused the soldiers to attack him. Athena again intervened on the Phoenician's behalf, and caused the bloodthirsty soldiers to attack one another. After the fight, there were only five men left (known as the Sparti), with whom Cadmus founded Thebes. As King of Thebes, Cadmus married Harmony, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. Favored by the gods as they were, their magnificent wedding was attended by many immortals, and they were bestowed fabulous gifts. Legend also tells that Cadmus also enjoyed the rarest honor a mortal could receive: to hear the Muses sing. Despite such fortune, however, Cadmus and his lineage remained cursed for slaying Ares' dragon—one of his unluckiest descendants was Oedipus. The Greek historian Herotodus, among others, credits Cadmus with introducing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece. Some interpreters of the legend suggest the dragon's teeth symbolize the (sometimes uncontrollable) power of the alphabet. Though they undoubtedly used Mesopotamian cuneiform in their early days, and were familiar with various other hieroglyphic and syllabary systems, the Phoenicians are generally credited with developing the most economic, flexible, and unambiguous writing system of their era. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Phoenician alphabet, like many other writing systems from the same era, was spread along trade routes. Artifacts bearing the alphabet have been discovered in modern Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Greece, North Africa, Marseille, and Spain, among other places. The 22-consonant system, dating back to the 15th century BC, underwent various local modifications for a while before the Greeks made the final innovation: symbols for vowel sounds. Further adapted by the Etruscans and early Romans to suit their languages, the resulting alphabet has remained more or less unchanged for almost 2800 years.
Drawing from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sumerian cuneiforms, and other rich traditions, the Phoenicians developed an alphabet to support their vision for ambitious expansion. How can you leverage your organization's history? How can you propel your organization toward its goals? How can you motivate key internal and external individuals and communities? It begins with communication. Throughout our nearly quarter century of helping organizations achieve their goals, we have developed communication programs that help organizations of diverse scale and scope—start-up to centenarians—motivate their constituents. Explore our client credentials, learn more about how we think, follow the trail below to more information about Phoenician, or contact us to learn how we can help you build effective communications systems. For more information"Writing" Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002. "Phoenicia" Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2002.
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