Phoenician votive inscriptions

Phoenician votive inscriptions or Punic votive inscriptions are votive inscriptions in the Phoenician and Punic religion, dedicated to a certain god or gods, mostly on stelae. The inscriptions have a standard formula, including the name of the god (or gods), the statement of the vow, the name of the vower and a closing statement. Most of the inscriptions were found in Carthage, and dedicated to Tinnit, Baʿal Ḥammon or both.CIS I 185–3251

The standard formula

Most of the inscriptions are written in the exact same formula. This formula opens with the dedication to the god or gods (for example: = "To the lady - to Tinnit the face of Baal, and to the lord - to Baal Hammon"). After the dedication, the statement of the vow ( = "which devoted", "which vowed") and the name (and his/her ancestry, and sometimes the employment as well) appears (for example:CIS I 242 = "which Meherbaal the writer son of Bodastart son of Milkyathon son of Addirbaal devoted"). In quite a few cases the inscriptions end with a closing statement to the god/gods ( or = "for he/she/they (the go/gods) heard his/her (the vower) voice, may he/she/they bless him/her", or simply = "for he/she/they heard his/her voice", and other close variations), but it is frequently absent.

Exceptions

Most of the inscriptions include a general dedication (the part), but a minority of them include a certain specific vowed object(s): obelisks and masks,CIS I 139: "נצבם וחנטם", see copper altar,CIS I 140, 143 (Pauli Gerrei trilingual inscription) wooden cart/carts/female calf,CIS I 346: "עגלת עץ", see et cetera. Some of the inscriptions describe the stele of the vowed object as a gift, mostly in the version ("which gave", as opposed to ) or with ("gift"),In Phoenician (like in English), the words ("gave") and ("gift") are of the same root. – "a gift which erected" (KAI 102 = RÉS 1544, see )CIS I 89 = KAI 39 (Idalion bilingual) and KAI 41 = RÉS 1212 (Menaḥem bilingual): (which gave and erected), see also the Greek (in Cypriot syllabary) equivalents.KAI 282 = RÉS 930 (Abdmiskar cippus) – , with a short closing statement An inscription on a bronze bowl from Elyakhin: "אש יתן אשמניתן ומגן ובעלפלס לאדננם לעשתרם" ()Abdadoni inscription: "לאדני למלכעשתרת אל חמן כ[כ]רת חרץ שתם אש יתן עבדך//עבדאדני בן עבדאלנם ב[ן] עשתר[ר]תעזר בעל חמן כמ אמי//ל האלנם מלכעשתרת ומלאכ מלכעשתרת כ שמע קל יברך" ()CIS I 147 ( with the fool closing statemental) and some mix both the gift and the vow versions.: only ("a gift which vowed Adonibaal");: ("gave this gift, which vowed" – this version preserves the mainly as a traditional element);RÉS 355: ("a vow-gift which vowed") Some inscriptions are made in an extremely short formula, including only the vower's name and the word (as a noun – "the vow of")CIS I 176, 2131, (with only two words: ) and more. or ("the gift of").CIS I 192 The closing statement rarely appears as "for he/she/they heard the voice of his words".CIS I 3784, RÉS 234B There are also some exceptions in the order of the parts of the standard formula.CIS I 3778 = KAI 78 (Mitsri genealogy inscription), which opens with the closing statement. A few inscriptions warn a potential thief that Tinnit or Baal Hammon, to whom the stelae were dedicated, will punish him.CIS I 3783–3785

Examples An inscription written in a standard formula:CIS I 242, see [To] the lady, to Tinnit-face-of-Baal, and to the lor[d,] to Baal Hammon, thus vowed Meherbaalthe writer, son of Bodastart, son of Milk[ya]- -ton, for they heard his voice. May they bless him! A Phoenician votive inscription written in Greek transliteration:KAI 175, see ΛΑΔΟΥΝ ΛΥΒΑΛ ΑΜΟΥΝ ΟΥTo the lord, to Baal Hammon, andΛΥΡΥΒΑΘΩΝ ΘΙΝΙΘ ΦΑΝΕ ΒΑΛto our lady, to Tinnit-face-of-Baal,ΥΣ ΝΑΔΩΡ ΣΩΣΙΠΑΤΙΟΣ ΒΥΝthus vowed Sosipatios, son ofΖΟΠΥΡΟΣ ΣΑΜΩ ΚΟΥΛΩ ΒΑZopyros, (for) they heard his voice. May they bl-ΡΑΧΩ A second inscription, according to which the stele was erected as a gift, and not as a result of a vow, reads:KAI 102 = RÉS 1544, see To the lord, to Baal Hammon, and our Lady, Tinnit- -face-of-Baal, a gift which erectedYehawalon, son of Abdeshmunfor they heard his voice. May they bless him!

Distribution More than 3,000 votive inscriptions were found In Carthage itself. Outside Carthage, Phoenician votive inscription were also found in Hadrumetum (Hadrumetum Punic inscriptions), Cirta (Cirta steles), Malta (Cippi of Melqart), San Nicolò Gerrei (Pauli Gerrei trilingual inscription), Sulci,CIS I 147 Karaly,CIS I 138–139, 141 in Phoenicia proper, and in Hammon.CIS I 7–8, RÉS 504A+B Inscriptions in similar formulas were found in Sidon,KAI 282 = RÉS 930 (Abdmiskar cippus) near Tyre, in Athens,CIS I 118 (see Athenian Greek-Phoenician inscriptions) Rhodes,KAI 45 (Rhodes Phoenician-Greek bilingual inscriptions#Second inscription) Egypt,RÉS 535 KitionCIS I 10 and Idalion,CIS I 88–90, 93–94 as well as unstandard versions in Carthage. Outside Carthage, the vows to gods other than Tinnit and Baal Hammon.

Based on an inscription bearing the standard formula without the name of the vower,RÉS 330 as well as a Phoenician standard votive inscription with the name of the vower in Greek alphabet,CIS I 191 it is assumed that the stelae with the standard formula were manufactured in large quantities, and only when someone was to by a stele as a result of a vow he vowed, their name was added.

Symbolism

The stelae themselves were mostly artistic and stylized, and various decorations and religious symbols are engraved on them, often related to the content of the inscriptions. The most common symbols are Sign of Tinnit, a crescent with a disc, a hand or two spread up, and Caduceus. The first sign, called "Sign of Tinnit", symbolizes according to most researchers the goddess Tinnit; her common epithet, appears as ΦΑΝΗΒΑΛΟΣ on a coin from Ashkelon near the symbol of Tinnit. The second symbol, a crescent with a disc, is the symbol of Baʿal Ḥammon; it appears on stelae dedicated to both Tinnit and Baal Hammon or only to Baal Hammon, but does not appear on stelae dedicated only to Tinnit. Moreover, the symbol appears on stelae from Samʼal, on which Baal Hammon is mentioned (like Kilamuwa stele). The Caduceus might symbolize both gods in some sort of a joint cult, but it exact meaning remains unknown.

The epithet ("the face of Baal") is reflected on Punic masks of faces from Carthage, featuring the symbol of Baal Hammon on them, literally the "face of Baal" – . Some of the characteristics of this cult are tied to the Canaanite cult in Hazor, where (in its Orthostat temple) a stele, with a crescent with a disc and two hand spread ur towards them, was found. In the courtyard of the temple's workshop, a clay mask with no beard or mustache was found, similar to the Punic masks.

Lilybaeum stele, which was found near Motya – a Punic governmental centre in Sicily, bears a votive inscription, as well as symbols of Tinnit and Baal Hammon, Caduceus, an incense burner and a Priest spreads his right hand up, as well as a depiction of a line of stelae on a stage, similar to the stelae found in Hazor.

Gallery

Phoenician votive inscriptions

Bron en licentie