Who were the Philistines?

Few peoples throughout history are simultaneously so totally unknown, and so maligned, as the Philistines - the name alone has become a pejorative byword for an uncultured individual. We mostly know of the Philistines from the Bible, where they are the enemies of the people of Israel.
At the same time, the Philistines leave us very little in the historical record by which we can discern what their culture may have been like, a fact which itself has perhaps accentuated a reliance on biblical sources. We do not know what language the Philistines spoke, what alphabet they used, what their culture held dear; their gods are unclear, and their origins are an enduring mystery.

However, archaeology, in concert with what scant written sources we have, can help us build a clearer picture of this Levantine people. Today, we will try to discern the answer to this question: who were the Philistines?

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Music:
Blank Light - Adi Goldstein

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/adi-goldstein/blank-lightLicense code: OFUEEDOI7KU4H76M
Incantation - Scott Buckley


Sources:
The Philistines: The History of the Ancient Israelites' Most Notorious Enemy, Charles River Editors, 2015.

Aren M. Maeir. \