Tanit
A tombstone from Carthage with the symbol of Tanit
The goddess Tanit was brought to Africa
by the Phoenicians,
about 800 BC. Tanit was a moon goddess,
maybe the same as Ishtar
or Astarte. She
also seems to have absorbed an older Berber goddess.
People thought of Tanit as being
married to another Phoenician god, Baal.
Tanit's symbol appears on gravestones and temples all over North Africa,
not just during the Carthaginian
period but all through the Roman
Empire too, until most people converted to Islam
about 700 AD. Then Tanit faded away.
To find out more, check out these books on Amazon.com or at your library:
The Phoenicians, by Elsa Marston (2001). For teenagers.
The Phoenicians and the West : Politics, Colonies and Trade, by Maria Eugenia Aubet (2nd edition 2001).
The Sanctuary Of Tanit At Carthage In The Roman Period: A Re-interpretation (Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series), by Henry Hurst and others.
The Atlas of Islam: People, Daily Life and Traditions, by Neil Morris, Manuela Cappon, Gian Paulo Faleschini, Studio Stalio (2003)
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