Tanit
| Tanit | |
|---|---|
Goddess of civilized life | |
Carthaginian coin depicting the face of Tanit on the front, and her symbols the horse and the date palm tree in the opposite side. | |
| Other names | Thinnith, Tannit, Tinnit, Tinnith |
| Abode | In the heavens with Baal Hammon |
| Animals | Horse, lion, dove |
| Symbol | Aegis, spear, armor, chariot |
| Tree | Olive tree, date palm |
| Gender | female |
| Region | North Africa: Carthage, Numidia, Libya |
| Genealogy | |
| Avatar birth | Lake Tritonis |
| Parents | Atlas, Triton |
| Siblings | Pallas |
| Consort | Baal Hammon |
| Equivalents | |
| Canaanite | Anat |
| Roman | Minerva |
| Egyptian | Neith |
| Greek | Athena |
Tanit or Tinnit (Punic: š¤š¤š¤ TÄ«nnÄ«t) was a chief deity of Ancient Carthage. She is the consort of Baal Hammon. As Ammon is a local Libyan deity, so is Tanit, who represents the matriarchal aspect of Numidian society, and whom the Egyptians identify as Neith and the Greeks identify as Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom, civilization and the crafts; she is the defender of towns and homes where she is worshipped. Ancient North Africans used to put her sign on tombstones and homes to ask for protection. Her main temples were in Thinissut (Bir Bouregba, Tunisia), Cirta (Constantine, Algeria), Lambaesis (Batna, Algeria) and Theveste (Tebessa, Algeria). She had a yearly festival in Antiquity which persists to this day in many parts of North Africa but was banned by Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, who called it a pagan festival.
Tannit was also a goddess of rain, in modern-day Tunisia, it is customary to invoke Omek Tannou or Oumouk Tangou ('Mother Tannou' or 'Mother Tangou', depending on the region), in years of drought to bring rain.