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The sign of Tanit or sign of Tinnit is an anthropomorph

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

of the Punic goddess

Tanit Tanit or Tinnit (Punic language, Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnnīt'' (JStor)) was a chief deity of Ancient Carthage; she derives from a local Berber deity and the consort of Baal Hammon. As Ammon is a local Libyan deity, so is Tannit, who represents ...

, 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 Cirta, also known by #Names, various other names in classical antiquity, antiquity, was the ancient Berbers, Berber, Punic people, Punic and Roman Empire, Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria, Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was ...

(

Constantine, Algeria Constantine (), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honour of Emperor Constantine the Great. Located somewh ...

) and are showcased in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. 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 A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

unearthed on the site of

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. Archaeological excavations have subsequently uncovered representations on other supports, such as

mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

or even on

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s. The excavations of

tophet In the Hebrew Bible, Tophet or Topheth (; ; ) is a location in Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), where worshipers engaged in a ritual involving "passing a child through the fire", most likely child sacrifice. Traditionally, the sacrifice ...

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

and Motya have highlighted the particularly important diffusion of the symbol in the western Mediterranean Basin, although the lack of discoveries on primitive Phoenician land may only be due to continued occupation of sites, making searches more difficult. Modern scholars associate the symbol with the goddess Tanit, partner of Ba'al Hammon and the most important goddess in the

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 de ...

. This identification is widely, but not universally, accepted. The motif may have had an

apotropaic Apotropaic magic (From ) or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tr ...

purpose, intended to offer protection from the

evil eye The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago. It is found in many cultures i ...

. The symbol is used in some contexts in modern

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. For example, it has appeared on the Tanit d'or, the grand prize of the biennial

Carthage Film Festival Carthage Film Festival (Journées cinématographiques de Carthage, or JCC) is an annual film festival that takes place in Tunis, founded in 1966. It is also known by its Arabic title, ("Cinema Days of Carthage"). Initially biennial alternating ...

, since its establishment in 1966.IMDb, awards
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Gallery

File:Tanit symbols found at Ashkelon in modern Israel.png, Sign of Tanit pendants from Ashkelon File:Tunisise Carthage Tophet Salambo 03.JPG, Stele of the necropolis of Carthage File:Tophet Carthage.3.jpg, Stele of the necropolis of Carthage File:Tophet Carthage.5.jpg, Stele of the necropolis of Carthage File:Kerkouane2.JPG, Representation of Tanit's sign at

Kerkouane Kerkouane or Kerkuane (, ''Karkwān'') is the site of an ancient Punic city in north-eastern Tunisia, near Cape Bon. Kerkouane was one of the most important Punic cities, with Carthage, Hadrumetum (modern Sousse), and Utica. This Phoenician cit ...

File:DSC00097 - Edicola funebre greco-punica da Marsala - Foto G. Dall'Orto.jpg, Graeco-Punic funerary

aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...

Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...

, with painted Tanit's sign File:Carthago exhibition - Stela with Cultic Scene & Votive Inscription (49340901392).jpg, Tanit's sign on Lilybaeum stele File:Delos Haus der Delfine 02.jpg, Tanit's sign in a

Delian The Delian League was a confederacy of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership ( hegemony) of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Bat ...

mosaic in the house of the dolphins File:JCC 2018 opening ceremony 32.jpg, A Modern Tanit's sign at the opening ceremony of the

2018

References

{{reflist, 2 19th-century archaeological discoveries Religious symbols Carthaginian mythology Tanit

Gallery

See also

References