Phoenician Punic Archaeology

Abstract: Whilst one of the most prestigious cults in Antiquity, the Greek and Roman worship to the god Herakles settle down on an ancient Phoenician liturgy dedicated to the god Melqart. With the support of epigraphy, textual documentation and archaeological material culture, it is possible to establish the differences and the proximities of these two deities. In this article, I will present some of the main theories on the origin of the divinized ancestral until its recognition as the Greek hero via interpretatio graeca, which culminated in the identification of the Far West of the Mediterranean as the famous Herakles/Melqart Pillars.

Resumen: Enquanto um dos cultos mais prestigiados na Antiguidade, a vene-ração grega e romana ao deus Héracles e Hércule se estabeleceu sobre uma antiga liturgia fenícia dedicada ao deus Melqart. Com o suporte da epigrafia, da documentação textual e da cultura material arqueológica é possível estabelecer as diferenças e as proximidades dessas duas divindades. Nesse artigo apresen-taremos algumas das principais teorias sobre a origem do culto desse ancestral divinizado até a sua identificação com o herói grego via interpretatio graeca, essa que culminou no reconhecimento do Extremo Ocidente do Mediterrâneo en-quanto as Colunas de Héracles/Melqart. Resumen: Como uno de los cultos más prestigiosos de la Antigüedad, la vene-ración griega y romana del dios Heracles se estableció sobre una antigua litur-gia fenicia dedicada al dios Melqart. Con el apoyo de la epigrafía, la documen-tación textual y del material arqueológico, es posible establecer las diferencias y la proximidad de estas dos deidades. En este artículo presentaremos algunas de las principales teorías sobre el origen de la adoración de este ancestro deificado hasta su identificación con el héroe griego a través de interpretatio graeca, que culminó en la identificación del Extremo Occidente del Mediterráneo Oriental como las columnas de Heracles/Melqart.

La Sicilia occidentale ha conservato testimonianze storiche e archeologiche fondamentali per la conoscenza e la ricostruzione delle vicende dell'isola, anche di quel periodo celebrato enfaticamente dalle fonti come il parallelo occidentale della vittoria greca di Salamina contro il Barbaro orientale 1. Nel caso specifico, Cartagine, unica città assieme ad Atene il cui impianto costituzionale fu trattato da Aristotele 2 , venne considerata alla stregua di una barbara antagonista per meri interessi politici e propagandistici 3. Tuttavia, le indagini effettuate nel corso dei decenni dagli studiosi siciliani nella città di Himera sembrano offrire un panorama ben diverso, sia della città che delle vicende, nel quale Greci e Cartaginesi se forse non convissero, almeno collaborarono in modo fattivo e resero fiorente l'insediamento 4. Trattando l'argomento in questione, non posso non ricordare lo straordinario congresso organizzato nel 1972 da Eugenio Manni e da Maria Teresa Piraino, che permise a me, all'epoca all'inizio della carriera e ricercatore del CNR da poco più di un anno, di partecipare all'evento e di incontrare tanti indimenticabili maestri e altrettanti colleghi parimenti memorabili. Il ricordo diviene ancor più struggente perché è unito alla percezione della tradizionale grande ospitalità siciliana e dal viaggio in Tunisia compiuto durante i lavori congressuali. Conobbi anche Nicola Bonacasa, che in quel periodo era impegnato nei suoi fondamentali studi su Himera, e tanti altri studiosi che avrebbero reso illustri le indagini sulla Sicilia antica, tra i quali ricordo, oltre al caro Amico Giorgio Bejor, tre giovanissime Pietrina Anello, Antonella Spanò e Marisa Famà, tutte già impegnate a costruire i loro fondamentali futuri studi. A parte i due eminenti organizzatori dell'evento, ebbi modo di incontrare anche Vitaliano Merante, studioso che mi colpì in modo particolare perché dotato delle tre rare virtù che fanno di uno studioso un grande maestro: enorme sapienza, grande modestia e 1 Erod., VII, 166. 2 Arist., Politica, II, 11,7. 3 Trifirò 2014. 4 Vassallo 2005, 155-158.

Whilst one of the most prestigious cults in Antiquity, the Greek and Roman worship to the god Herakles settle down on an ancient Phoenician liturgy dedicated to the god Melqart. With the support of epigraphy, textual documentation and archaeological material culture, it is possible to establish the differences and the proximities of these two deities. In this article, I will present some of the main theories on the origin of the divinized ancestral until its recognition as the Greek hero via interpretatio graeca, which culminated in the identification of the Far West of the Mediterranean as the famous Herak-les/Melqart Pillars.

The Phoenicians live a revival: exhibitions, congresses and publications of major compilations in English have fueled interest in this mysterious people. In this article we address an issue that has been hotly debated over the past ten years, the very Phoenician essence. Did they exist or are they a historiographical invention?

During the Iron Age, several key Phoenician cities were located on the northern Coastal Plain of what is known today as modern Israel. As this area bordered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, it is the ideal location to look for evidence to explore the relationship between Phoenicia and Israel. Based on archaeological evidence, this paper sheds new light on the issue, which previously was almost exclusively reconstructed according to historical and biblical sources. Three distinctive chronological horizons with defi ned settlement patterns are outlined for Southern Phoenicia: During the 9th century BCE, hostility between Israel and Phoenicia, as attested by several fortresses, may have been resolved through the political marriage of Ahab and Jezebel. In the 8th century BCE, it was probably Jeroboam II who conquered part of the Southern Phoenician territory, bringing about a decline in their power. Only after the Assyrian conquest of the region did Phoenician sites fl ourish once again, in the context of the economic system of the Assyrian Empire.

Phoenician archaeology has a long history of being defined and redefined. Up until today, academics and institutions often have variable approaches to and perceptions of Phoenician material culture. This history has impacted the treatment of this material culture in museums, resulting in very different approaches from one museum to the other. This paper presents a comparative approach to Phoenician collections on display  in museums of different scales and in different countries, taking into considerations cues such as frequency and importance played by the Phoenicians within the larger context of the museum, the variable definitions of the word in each museum, and curatorial choices with the aim of understanding whether the scale of the museum is a key factor in its presentation of Phoenician collections.