Skip to content
Tanit

File:Carthago_-_350-250_BC_-_silver_tetradrachm_-_head_of_Tanit_-_head_of_horse_and_date_palm_-_München_SMS.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ877405· pop 38· linked from 187 articles

Also known as Tinit, Tīnīt

Tanit or Tinnit (Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 Tīnnīt) was a chief deity of Ancient Carthage. She is the consort of Baal Hammon. As Ammon is a local Libyan deity, so is Tanit, who represents the matriarchal aspect of Numidian society, and whom the Egyptians identify as Neith and the Greeks identify as Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom, civilization and the crafts; she is the defender of towns and homes where she is worshipped. Ancient North Africans used to put her sign on tombstones and homes to ask for protection. Her main temples were in Thinissut (Bir Bouregba, Tunisia), Cirta (Constantine, Algeria),

Key facts

Deity.type
Libyco-Berber
Deity.name
Tanit
Deity.image
Carthago - 350-250 BC - silver tetradrachm - head of Tanit - head of horse and date palm - München SMS.jpg
Deity.caption
Carthaginian coin depicting the face of Tanit on the front, and her symbols the horse and the date palm tree in the opposite side.
Deity.god_of
Goddess of wisdom, warfare (Protector), and handicraft
Deity.abode
In the heavens with Baal Hammon
Deity.tree
Olive tree, date palm
Deity.animals
Horse, lion, dove
Deity.symbol
Aegis, spear, armor, chariot
Deity.parents
Atlas, Triton
Deity.siblings
Pallas
Deity.Roman_equivalent
Minerva
Deity.equivalent1_type
Egyptian
Deity.equivalent1
Neith
Deity.Canaanite_equivalent
Anat
Deity.equivalent3_type
Greek
Deity.equivalent3
Athena
Deity.deity_of
Goddess of civilized life

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Mosaik der Tanit in Kerkouane, Tunesien Januar 2015.JPG
Show 1 more fact
Commons category
Tanit
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~16 min read

Article

12 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Worship
  • Iconography
  • Rituals
  • Child sacrifice
  • Archaeological evidence
  • Cultural references
  • Given name
  • Notes
  • References
  • See also
  • External links

Tanit or Tinnit (Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 Tīnnīt) was a chief deity of Ancient Carthage. She is the consort of Baal Hammon. As Ammon is a local Libyan deity, so is Tanit, who represents the matriarchal aspect of Numidian society, and whom the Egyptians identify as Neith and the Greeks identify as Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom, civilization and the crafts; she is the defender of towns and homes where she is worshipped. Ancient North Africans used to put her sign on tombstones and homes to ask for protection. Her main temples were in Thinissut (Bir Bouregba, Tunisia), Cirta (Constantine, Algeria), Lambaesis (Batna, Algeria) and Theveste (Tebessa, Algeria). She had a yearly festival in Antiquity which persists to this day in many parts of North Africa but was banned by Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, who called it a pagan festival.

Tannit was also a goddess of rain, in modern-day Tunisia, it is customary to invoke or ('Mother Tannou' or 'Mother Tangou', depending on the region), in years of drought to bring rain.

Gallery (23)

Connections

Categories