Chief god in ancient Carthaginian religion
Baʿal Ḥammon |
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Statue of Baʿal Hammon on his throne with a crown and flanked by sphinges, 1st century. |
Consort | Tanit |
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Canaanite | El |
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Greek | Cronus |
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Roman | Saturn |
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Baal Hammon, properly Baʿal Ḥamon (Phoenician and Punic: 𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤇𐤌𐤍, romanized: Baʿl Ḥamōn),[1] meaning "Lord Hammon", was the chief god of ancient Carthage. He was a weather god considered responsible for the fertility of vegetation and esteemed as king of the gods. He was depicted as a bearded older man with curling ram's horns.[2] Baʿal Ḥammon's female cult partner was Tanit.[3] Baal Hammon was worshipped only in North Africa and Carthagenian colonies of the western mediterranean including Iberia, Sicily, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands.