Philistines

At the end of the Late Bronze Age, around 1200 BC, there were bad times all over the Mediterranean and West Asia. The Egyptian New Kingdom collapsed, and so did the Hittite Empire. We don't exactly know why. It may have been a change in the climate, which caused a drought and food shortages, but it might be something else. Whatever the reason was, a lot of people decided they had to leave their homes and move someplace else, to look for a better life. The Egyptians called these invaders the Sea Peoples.

Philistines on the Egyptian temple of Medinet Habu

One of these groups of people was the Philistines. They seem to have been a group of Mycenaean Greeks who left Greece and the islands of Crete and Cyprus in order to look for a better life along the Mediterranean coast of West Asia (modern Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon).

Philistine pottery (compare
Mycenaean Greek pottery)
(University of Pennsylvania)

The Philistines lost their battle with the Egyptians, but thanks to their iron weapons, they were able to defeat the Jews in Israel (this is told in the Bible under the story of Samson). But after a while the Jews broke free again, and established their own kingdom (this is the story of David and Goliath).

Our word "Palestine" comes from these Philistines - the Greeks!

To find out more about the history of the Philistines, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:

Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, by Marian Broida and Scott Noegel (2003). Activities for kids, covering Philistines and Phoenicians as well as Israelites. The book tends to mix fact and story, not making it clear what we know from archaeology and history, and what comes from the Bible.

People of the Sea: the Search for the Philistines, by Trude and Moshe Dothan (1992). This book was the first to really argue that the Philistines were Greek, but the case has been made more strongly since this was published.

Philistines: Giving Goliath His Due, by Neal Bierling (2002). More up to date, but less expert.

Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture, by William H. Stiebing (2002). Expensive, and hard to read, but it's a good up to date account.

Samson and Delilah
David and Goliath
Judah
Assyrians
Main West Asia history page

!!NEW!!
Science for Kids

Teachers - check out our social studies lesson plans for middle school ancient history! Kidipede covers Egyptian Art, the Middle Ages, Ancient Rome, Native Americans and much more. Instant museum in your classroom.

Parents and grandparents – find the perfect gift for your middle school kid in Kidipede’s store! Kidipede has history books and other educational gifts for kids, from Halloween costumes to CD’s and DVD’s to art supplies. Now that’s good parenting! Pay securely through Amazon.

Teens – Kidipede has the best homework help around. Find out about ancient Greek music, medieval clothing fashions, and Native American technology trends. What was trendy clothing in ancient China? Who were the most popular girls in ancient Rome? How did teens decorate their rooms in ancient India?