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{{Short description|Anthropomorphic symbol of Punic goddess Tanit}}
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[[File:Tanit Symbol.svg|thumb|right]]

The '''sign of Tanit''' or '''sign of Tinnit''' is an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorph]] [[symbol]] of the [[Punic religion|Punic goddess]] [[Tanit]], present on many archaeological remains of the [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginian civilization]].

The symbol has many variants, but the basic form consists of a disc on top of a triangle, separated by a horizontal line, like a schematic image of a person.

Punic stele containing the sign of Tannit were uncovered in the hundreds in the site of El-Hofra in [[Cirta]] ([[Constantine, Algeria]]) and are showcased in the [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]]. <ref>{{Citation |title=stèle |date=0225 |url=https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010121308 |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bertrandy |first=S. |date=1994-02-01 |title=Cirta |url=https://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2289 |journal=Encyclopédie berbère |language=fr |issue=13 |pages=1964–1977 |doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2289 |issn=1015-7344}}</ref> 

A coin with the sign and a legend {{lang|grc|ΦΑΝΗΒΑΛΟΣ}} ''phanebalos'', presumably the Greek form of the [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] title of the goddess, i.e. {{script|Phoenician|𐤕𐤍𐤕 𐤐𐤍 𐤁𐤏𐤋}} ''tnt '''pn bʿl''''', "Tanit ''the face of [[Baal Hammon|Baal (Hammon)]]''", was found in Ashkelon.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yadin |first=Y. |author-link=Yigael Yadin |date=1967 |title=Symbols of Deities at Zinjirli, Carthage and Hazor |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23734250 |journal=Yediot Bahaqirat Eretz-Israel Weatiqoteha |language=Hebrew |volume=31 |issue=1/4 |pages=53 |jstor=23734250 |issn=2312-0061}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=George Francis |title=Catalogue of the Greek coins of Palestine |year=1914 |location=London |page=LIX |author-link=George Francis Hill}}</ref>

The first report about the representations of the sign was in the beginning of the 19th century, on [[stele]] unearthed on the site of [[Archaeological Site of Carthage|Carthage]]. Archaeological excavations have subsequently uncovered representations on other supports, such as [[mosaic (art)|mosaics]] or even on [[ceramic]]s.

The excavations of [[tophet]] of [[Carthage]], [[Sousse]] and Motya have highlighted the particularly important diffusion of the symbol in the western [[Mediterranean Basin]], although the lack of discoveries on primitive Phoenician land may only be due to continued occupation of sites, making searches more difficult.<ref>{{cite book|first=Edward|last=Lipinski|title=Dictionnaire de la civilization phénicienne et punique|publisher=Brepols|year=1992|isbn=2503500331}}</ref>

Modern scholars associate the symbol with the goddess Tanit, partner of [[Ba'al Hammon]] and the most important goddess in the [[Punic religion]]. This identification is widely, but not universally, accepted. The motif may have had an [[apotropaic]] purpose, intended to offer protection from the [[evil eye]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

The symbol is used in some contexts in modern [[Tunisia]]. For example, it has appeared on the [[Tanit d'or]], the grand prize of the biennial [[Carthage Film Festival]], since its establishment in 1966.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094229/awards IMDb, awards]</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Tanit symbols found at Ashkelon in modern Israel.png|Sign of Tanit pendants from Ashkelon
File:Tunisise Carthage Tophet Salambo 03.JPG|Stele of the necropolis of Carthage
File:Tophet Carthage.3.jpg|Stele of the necropolis of Carthage
File:Tophet Carthage.5.jpg|Stele of the necropolis of Carthage
File:Kerkouane2.JPG|Representation of Tanit's sign at [[Kerkouane]]
File:DSC00097 - Edicola funebre greco-punica da Marsala - Foto G. Dall'Orto.jpg|Graeco-Punic funerary [[Aedicula|aedicule]] of [[Marsala]], with painted Tanit's sign
File:Carthago exhibition - Stela with Cultic Scene & Votive Inscription (49340901392).jpg|Tanit's sign on [[Lilybaeum stele]]
File:Delos Haus der Delfine 02.jpg|Tanit's sign in a [[Delos|Delian]] mosaic in the [[Mosaics of Delos#House of the Dolphins|house of the dolphins]]
File:JCC 2018 opening ceremony 32.jpg|A Modern Tanit's sign at the opening ceremony of the [[Carthage Film Festival]] 2018
</gallery>
[[File:Cirta hofra funerary stele 03 mus constantine (Livius).jpg|none|thumb|200x200px|Hundreds of Funerary Stele with the sign of Tannit were found in [[Cirta]], [[Algeria]] are displayed in [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]]]]

==See also==
*[[Ankh]]
*[[poppy goddess|Poppy Goddess]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:19th-century archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Religious symbols]]
[[Category:Carthaginian mythology]]
[[Category:Tanit]]