Melqart

Melkarth or Melqart, actually Milk- Qart ( " King City " Baal of Tyre ), was the chief god of the Phoenician city of Tyre. Often it is referred to in inscriptions as Ba'l Sur ( Lord of Tyre ). He was also worshiped in their daughter city of Carthage. He is the patron god of navigation and colonization, the taming of the wild tribes to distant shores, the foundation of the Phoenician her towns, the introduction of law and order among the people is attributed. On a coin he is depicted as riding on a seahorse. Later, he was also considered a god of the sun, in which the charitable and the pernicious power of heaven ( Ba'al and Moloch ) united appear, which overcomes the hostile character of the Zodiac and the star of the summer heat and the winter cold again for a soothing effect returns. On his altar was burning an eternal fire. In interpretatio graeca he is equated with Heracles and often referred to as " Tyrian Heracles ".

Heracles Melkarth

From the Greeks, he was already identified with Heracles in the time of Herodotus. So Herodotus describes the temple of the Tyrian city of God as a temple of Heracles and reported that in the temple two pillars are located, are formed from a gold, the other of emerald, and so large that they light in the dark. However, Lucian expressly distinguishes the Greek Herakles from the Tyrian Heracles, who was far older.

Later Strabo describes the westernmost temple of Tyrian Heracles, near the east coast of the island of Gades / Gadeira (modern Cádiz). Strabo writes that the two, eight cubits high bronze pillars in the temple, the many who visited the place widely proclaimed to be the true Pillars of Heracles and Heracles there to present offerings had.

In the late antique epic Dionysiaca of Nonnus of Panopolis Dionysus visited on the way home from the war against the Indians Tyros and the Temple of the God who appears as Heracles Astrochiton ( " Herakles with the star-dress "). Dionysus praises God in a hymn-like speech. This tells him the founding legend of Tyre.

According to this legend Tyre was founded on before wandering through the sea rocks, which only came to rest, as the blood of an eagle was spilled on them. This eagle nestled in the branches of an olive tree, which by a snake, ringed in everlasting, ascending from a shell fire was without tree, eagle and snake would have been consumed by fire. Still on coins from the time Elagabal an olive tree between two beehive- shaped stones appear. It is unclear whether the two stones stand for the two legendary rocks on which Tyre was founded, or whether it is known from the Semitic sanctuaries cult stones ( Bätylen ) are corresponding to the columns, of which Herodotus. The rocks or stones were described as ambrosial rocks ( ἀμβρόσιε πέτρε ). Among them one can understand cult stones that were anointed with butter, oil or honey.

In Greek mythology, Heracles Melkarth was not only the founder of Tyre, but also as the discoverer of dyeing with purple. Heracles should therefore have readjusted once a nymph named Tyros. When the dog of Hercules took a bite of a person sitting on a cliff by the sea purple snail and his lips be stained with a beautiful red, told the nymph wanting to receive Heracles again until he gives her a dress with this color.

Due to the similarity of the name identifiability has been suggested with the Greek Melikertes, but the name similarity seems to be random.

Sanctuaries

A famous sanctuary of Melkarth consisted in Cádiz, a foundation of the Phoenicians, ( on the Isla de Sancti Petri ), which Hannibal is said to have visited before his famous train over the Alps. The Almoravid governor destroyed it in 1146 in search of a fabulous treasure. Also in Kition on Cyprus was a Melkarth sanctuary.