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Punic Religion
The Punic religion, Carthaginian religion, or Western Phoenician religion in the western Mediterranean was a direct continuation of the Phoenician variety of the polytheistic ancient Canaanite religion. However, significant local differences developed over the centuries following the foundation of Carthage and other Punic communities elsewhere in North Africa, southern Spain, Sardinia, western Sicily, and Malta from the ninth century BC onward. After the conquest of these regions by the Roman Republic in the third and second centuries BC, Punic religious practices continued, surviving until the fourth century AD in some cases. As with most cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, Punic religion suffused their society and there was no stark distinction between religious and secular spheres. Sources on Punic religion are poor. There are no surviving literary sources and Punic religion is primarily reconstructed from inscriptions and archaeological evidence. An important sacred space ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baal Hammon
Baal Hammon, properly Baʿal Ḥamon ( Phoenician and ), meaning "Lord Hammon", was the chief god of ancient Carthage. He was a weather god considered responsible for the fertility of vegetation and esteemed as king of the gods. He was depicted as a bearded older man with curling ram's horns. Baʿal Ḥammon's female cult partner was Tanit. Etymology He is identified as one of the Phoenician deities covered under the name of Baal. However, the meaning of his second name is unclear. Frank Moore Cross argued for a connection to ''Hamōn'', the Ugaritic name for Mount Amanus, a peak in the Nur Mountains that separate Syria from Cilicia. In the 19th century, when Ernest Renan excavated the ruins of Ḥammon, now Umm al-Amad, between Tyre and Acre, he found two Phoenician inscriptions dedicated to El-Ḥammon. Others have proposed Ḥammon as a syncretic association with Amun, the god of ancient Libya, In Siwa Oasis, a solitary oracle of Amun remained near the Libyan Desert, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sardus Pater
Sardus (), also Sid Addir and Sardus Pater ("Sardinian Father") was the eponymous mythological hero of the Nuragic Sardinians. Sardus appears in the writings of various classical authors, like Sallust, Solinus and Pausanias. Ancient sources According to Sallust, Sardus son of Hercules, left Libya along with a great multitude of men and occupied the island of Sardinia, which was so named after him. Later Pausanias confirms the story of Sallust and in the second century CE writes that Sardus was the son of Makeris (identifiable with ''Mecur'' / ''Macer'', a Libyan name deriving from the Berber ''imɣur'' "to grow"), and that the island of Sardinia changed its name from ''Ichnusa'' to ''Sardinia'' in honor of Sardus. Makeris is likely identifiable with Melqart, whom Pausanias and classical authors identified as the "Heracles" of Libyans and Egyptians. See also * Temple of Antas *Sherden * Norax *Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólāos'') was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shamash
Shamash (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: dutu "Sun") was the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian Solar deity, sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection of travelers. As a divine judge, he could be associated with the Ancient Mesopotamian underworld, underworld. Additionally, he could serve as the god of divination, typically alongside the weather god Adad. While he was universally regarded as one of the primary gods, he was particularly venerated in Sippar and Larsa. The Moon God, moon god Nanna (Sumerian deity), Nanna (Sin) and his wife Ningal were regarded as his parents, while his twin sister was Inanna (Ishtar). Occasionally other goddesses, such as Manzat (goddess), Manzat and Pinikir, could be regarded as his sisters too. The dawn goddess Aya (goddess), Aya (Sherida) was his wife, and multiple texts describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reshef
Resheph (also Reshef and many other variants, see below; Eblaite , ''Rašap'', , ''ršp'', Egyptian ', , ''ršp'', ''Rešep̄'') was a god associated with war and plague, originally worshiped in Ebla in the third millennium BCE. He was one of the main members of the local pantheon, and was worshiped in numerous hypostases, some of which were associated with other nearby settlements, such as Tunip. He was associated with the goddess Adamma, who was his spouse in Eblaite tradition. Eblaites considered him and the Mesopotamian god Nergal to be equivalents, most likely based on their shared role as war deities. In the second millennium BCE, Resheph continued to be worshiped in various cities in Syria and beyond. He is best attested in texts from Ugarit, where he was one of the most popular deities. While well attested in ritual texts and theophoric names, he does not play a large role in Ugaritic mythology. An omen text describes him as the doorkeeper of the sun goddess, Shapa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eshmun
Eshmun (or Eshmoun, less accurately Esmun or Esmoun; '; ''Yasumunu'') was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon. His name, which means "eighth," may reference his status as the eighth son of the god Sydyk. History Eshmun was known at least from the Iron Age period at Sidon and was worshipped also in Tyre, Beirut, Cyprus, Sardinia, and in Carthage where the site of Eshmun's temple is now occupied by the acropolium of Carthage. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, Phoenician author Sanchuniathon wrote that Sydyk (meaning "Righteousness;" sometimes equated with Jupiter) first fathered seven sons equated with the Greek Cabeiri or Dioscuri, no mother named, and then afterwards fathered an eighth son by one of the seven Titanides (possibly equivalent to the Kotharat). The name ''Eshmun'' appears to mean 'the Eighth'. The Neo-Platonist Damascius also stated that: Photius (''Bibliotheca'' Codex 242) summarizes Damascius as saying further that Asclepius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El (deity)
El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning 'god' or 'deity', or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ''ila'', represents the predicate form in the Old Akkadian and Amorite languages. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-. Originally a Canaanite deity known as ''El'', ''Al'' or ''Il'' the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia. Among the Hittites, El was known as Elkunirša ( ). Although El gained different appearances and meanings in different languages over time, it continues to exist as ''El-'', ''-il'' or ''-el'' in compound proper noun phrases such as Elizabeth, Ishmael, Israel, Samuel, Daniel, Michael, Gabriel (Arabic: Jibra'il), and Bethel. Linguistic forms and meanings Cognate forms of El are found throughout the Semitic languages. They include Ugaritic , pl. ; Phoenician pl. ; Hebrew , pl. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melqart
Melqart () was the tutelary god of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre and a major deity in the Phoenician and Punic pantheons. He may have been central to the founding-myths of various Phoenician colonies throughout the Mediterranean, as well as the source of several myths concerning the exploits of Heracles. Many cities were thought to be founded (in one way or another) and protected by Melqart, no doubt springing from the original Phoenician practice of building a Temple of Melqart at new colonies. Similar to Tammuz and Adonis, he symbolized an annual cycle of death and rebirth. Reflecting his dual role as both protector of the world and ruler of the underworld, he was often shown holding an Ankh or Flower as a symbol of life, and a fenestrated axe as a symbol of death. As Tyrian trade, colonization and settlement expanded, Melqart became venerated in Phoenician and Punic cultures across the Mediterranean, especially its colonies of Carthage and Cádiz. During the high ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asherah
Asherah (; ; ; ; Qatabanian language, Qatabanian: ') was a goddess in ancient Semitic religions. She also appears in Hittites, Hittite writings as ''Ašerdu(š)'' or ''Ašertu(š)'' (), and as Athirat in Ugarit. Some scholars hold that Asherah was venerated as Yahweh's consort in ancient Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) , Israel and Kingdom of Judah , Judah, while other scholars oppose this. Name Etymology Some have sought a common-noun meaning of her name, especially in Ugaritic appellation ''rabat athirat yam'', only found in the Baal Cycle. But a homophone's meaning to an Ugaritian doesn't equate an etymon, especially if the name is older than the Ugaritic language. There is no hypothesis for ''rabat athirat yam'' without significant issues, and if Asherah were a word from Ugarit it would be pronounced differently. The common NW Semitic meaning of ''šr'' is "king, prince, ruler." The NW Semitic root ''ʾṯr'' (Arabic ) means "tread". Grammar The -ot ending "Asherot" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astarte
Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic languages, East Semitic goddess Ishtar. Astarte was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity, and her name is particularly associated with her worship in the ancient Levant among the Canaanite religion, Canaanites and Phoenician religion, Phoenicians, though she was originally associated with Amorite cities like Ugarit and Emar, as well as Mari, Syria, Mari and Ebla. She was also celebrated in ancient Egyptian religion, Egypt, especially during the reign of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Ramessides, following the importation of foreign cults there. Phoenicians introduced her cult in their colonies on the Iberian Peninsula. Name The Proto-Semitic language, Proto-Semitic form of this goddess's name was . While earlier scholars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anat
Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; ''ʿnt''; ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:ꜥntjt, ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume that she originated in the Amorites, Amorite culture of Bronze Age upper Mesopotamia, and that the goddess Ḫanat, attested in the texts from Mari, Syria, Mari and worshiped in Anah, a city sharing her name located in Suhum, should be considered her forerunner. In Ugarit, Anat was one of the main goddesses, and regularly received offerings, as attested in texts written both in the local Ugaritic language and in Hurrian language, Hurrian. She also frequently appears in myths, including the ''Baal Cycle'' and the ''Epic of Aqhat''. In the former, she is portrayed as a staunch ally of the weather god Baal, who assists him in his struggle for kingship, helps him with obtaining the permission to obtain a dwelling of his own, and finally mourns a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sign Of Tanit
__NOTOC__ The sign of Tanit or sign of Tinnit is an anthropomorph symbol of the Punic goddess Tanit, present on many archaeological remains of the Carthaginian civilization. The symbol has many variants, but the basic form consists of a disc on top of a triangle, separated by a horizontal line, like a schematic image of a person. Punic stele containing the sign of Tannit were uncovered in the hundreds in the site of El-Hofra in Cirta (Constantine, Algeria) and are showcased in the Louvre Museum. A coin with the sign and a legend ''phanebalos'', presumably the Greek form of the Phoenician title of the goddess, i.e. ''tnt pn bʿl'', "Tanit ''the face of Baal (Hammon)''", was found in Ashkelon. The first report about the representations of the sign was in the beginning of the 19th century, on stele unearthed on the site of Carthage. Archaeological excavations have subsequently uncovered representations on other supports, such as mosaics or even on ceramics. The excavatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
