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Today, most people know little about the culture of the ancient Phoenicians, but for several centuries in the first millennium BC they were the premier merchants and explorers of the ancient world. Phoenician culture began in the Levant (the area roughly congruent with the modern nation-state of Lebanon), and quickly expanded through colonization to both sides of the Mediterranean basin. For the most part they were distinct city-states and they did not necessarily share languages or cultures with one and another. Even though they were distinct groups, as a whole, the people of the Levant (despite their differences, were outstanding traders.<ref>Quinn, Josephine. "[https://aeon.co/essays/phoenicia-an-imaginary-friend-to-nations-in-need-of-ancestors Phantasmic Phoenicia]" ''Aeon.co''</ref> The Phoenicians developed extensive contacts with their neighbors and influenced them in a number of different ways, one being the use of a syllabic alphabet, which was adapted by the Greeks. Most of the contact the Phoenicians had with other peoples came in the form of trade and merchant activities, which is what they were known for and what made their cities wealthy. It was not mere luck that led the Phoenicians to monopolize merchant activities in the Mediterranean, but a fearless spirit that propelled them to explore and colonize parts of the world that few people knew about at the time.