SIDON (Heb. Stidhön). - One of the oldest and most important maritime cities of Phoenicia, whose name, preserved in the modern Sajdá, 35 km north of Tyre, may derive from the cult of the god Sid, attested in the texts of Ras Shamra.
Its origin is obscure, but the designation of Sidhön in the table of nations as the firstborn of Canaan (Gen. 10:15) and the use in biblical texts (Josh. 13:6) and in Homeric poems of calling the Phoenicians by the name of Sidonians (Il. VI,289; XXIII,743; Odyss. XV,415; XVII,424) indicates the supremacy that Sidon had acquired among the cities of Phoenicia. Even when the powerful rivalry of Tyre prevailed, the name of Sidon remained synonymous with Phoenicia (1 Kings 16:31). In the Bible, Sidon is mentioned both as a city (Judg. 1:31; 18:28; Isa. 23:2; Ezek. 27:8) and as a territory that marked the northern border of Canaan (Gen. 10:19) and bordered the tribes of Zebulun (ibid. 49:13) and Asher (Josh. 19:28). It is called "great Sidon" (ibid. 11:8; 19:28) with its suburbs and surroundings, in contrast to the original "small city," distinguished in the list of cities conquered in the glorious campaign of Sennacherib. Having rebelled against Esarhaddon, it was again defeated and sacked by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek. 32:22) and in 356 by Artaxerxes Ochus. It surrendered to Alexander; in 197 it passed from the dominion of the Ptolemies to that of the Seleucids. In 64 B.C. it was declared by the Romans a free city, but Augustus deprived it of this privilege. The inhabitants of Sidon, drawn by the fame of the miracles of the Savior, went to Galilee to listen to His teachings (Mark 3:8). Jesus Himself visited its territory (Matt. 15:21; Mark 7:24) and during the journey healed the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Matt. 15:22-28; Mark 7:25-30). St. Paul stopped there on his journey from Caesarea to Rome (Acts 27:3). Christianity developed there early, and the bishop of Sidon attended the Council of Nicaea.
Excavations, carried out only partially since the city is densely populated, have revealed its ancient origin, with Paleolithic finds and Middle Bronze Age pottery in the citadel. The fine sarcophagi found in the nearby necropolis are attributed to the Hellenistic period.
SIDON. - 1) Diocese of the Maronites, founded in 1635, then united with Tyre in 1838 and again separated in 1900. Faithful: 57,000; churches: 108; secular priests: 74; religious: 20.
2) Diocese of the Melkites: a see already existing in the 3rd century. The Catholic series begins again in 1683. Faithful: 16,000; churches: 55; secular priests: 13; religious: 12.