Punic Religion

The Punic, or Carthaginian religion was a heritage of Phoenician ancient polytheistic Canaanite religion. Hoever, significant local differences developed after the foundation of Carthage and its colonies. Subsequent to the Roman conquest of these regions by in the third and second centuries BCE, Punic religious practices managed to survive until the fourth century AD. As is the case with most ancient Mediterranean belief systems, Punic religion was integral to its setting. No distinction was made between the religious and secular spheres of life. It is difficult to reconstruct a hierarchy of the Carthaginian gods. At Carthage, the divine couple that stood above all other gods consisted of the god Baal Hammon and the goddess Tanit. The Carthaginians appear to have had both part-time and full-time priests. Part-time priests, appointed by the civil authorities, were in control of day to day religious affairs, while the full-time priests were primarily responsible for performing rites and interpretating myths. Animals and other valuables were sacrificed to propitiate the gods, and these sacrifices had to be performed according to strict specifications. Some Phoenician communities practiced sacred prostitution. In the Punic sphere of influence this is evidenced at Sicca Veneria in western Tunisia and the sanctuary of Venus Erycina in western Sicily. The funerary practices of the Carthaginians were very similar to those of their Phoenician progenitors. These include rituals concerning the disposal of the remains, funerary feasts, and subsequent ancestor worship. Provisions intended to provide the deceased with protection and symbolic nourishment have been discovered in the tombs of Carthaginians, which indicates that Punic worshipers believed in life after death.