Melqart
| Deities of the ancient Near East |
|---|
| Religions of the ancient Near East |
Melqart (also Melkarth or Melicarthus) was the tutelary god of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre and a major deity in the Phoenician and Punic pantheons. Often titled the "Lord of Tyre" (Ba‘al Ṣūr), he was also known as the Son of Baal or El (the Ruler of the Universe), King of the Underworld, and Protector of the Universe.[1] He symbolized the annual cycle of vegetation and was associated with the Phoenician maternal goddess Astarte.
Melqart was typically depicted as a bearded figure, dressed only in a rounded hat and loincloth. Reflecting his dual role as both protector of the world and ruler of the underworld, he was often shown holding an Egyptian ankh or lotus flower as a symbol of life and a fenestrated axe as a symbol of death.
As Tyrian trade and settlement expanded, Melqart became venerated in Phoenician and Punic cultures across the Mediterranean, especially its colonies of Carthage and Cadiz.[2] During the high point of Phoenician civilization between 1000 and 500 BCE, Melqart was associated with other pantheons and often venerated accordingly. Most notably, he was identified with the Greek Herakles (Hercules) since at least the sixth century BCE, and eventually became interchangeable with his Greek counterpart. [3]
Etymology[]
Melqart was written in the Phoenician abjad as MLQRT (Phoenician: