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According to H. G. Wells' "Outline of History" There have been sea people since the Sumerians some 6000 years ago and artistic representations of large ships on the Nile predate the dynastic Egyptians. However, the people who seem to best fit the description of the legendary sea people may be the early Cretans who were related to the Iberians of Spain and Western Europe. As Wells says, they were a civilized people long before the "fair Nordic Greeks spread southward through Macedonia."
Though centered at Cnossos on Crete, they carried on a flourishing trade with others of their race who lived on Cyprus, Greece, Asia Minor and as far west as Italy. Archaeologists have found some remarkable artifacts and architecture on Crete that point to a very advanced civilization, including "waterpipes, bathrooms, and the like conveniences" These early Cretans enjoyed an unprecedented period of 3000 years of relative immunity from invasion, which allowed them to hone their artistic and architectural skills, which rival the best ever produced. No one is sure what brought the Cretan civilization down, but the horrific volcanic explosion of Thera at Santorini must have been devastating. It's also known that about 1450 B.C. Cnossos was destroyed by invaders and never fully recovered.
Later, the Phoenicians and the Greeks had powerful fleets on the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians traders, particularly, were known for their seafaring abilities, having settlements at Tyre and later Carthage.
H.G. Wells was best known for his science fiction writing, but he was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including his three-volume history of the world, which received mixed reviews. His War of the Worlds book was the subject of a radio play presented by Orson Welles (different spelling) on Halloween eve 1938 and was so dramatic that thousands of panicked listeners jammed the phone lines with calls to the radio station and the police.
Wells related Cnossos to Iberians because of bulls. He was a fiction writer fascinated by the recent discovery of Minoic civilization. Minoics were traders, but Sea people were predatory, some relate them to scites, invaders of Egipt. Some relate them to Indoeuropean invaders, some to Aqueans and Troy.
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