Unlike the Phoenician establishments that served as bridges or trading posts, Carthage (Qart Hadasht, Phoenician = New City) was a "daughter" of Tyre and had the attributes of a city from the moment of its foundation in 840 BC. Legends about its origin go back to the time of Princess Elishat (Elissa), daughter of the king of Tyre, who was deprived of her rights by her brother Pygmalion. She went into exile when Pygmalion murdered her husband Acerbas. The future Carthage therefore naturally enjoyed the protection of Melqart (assimilated to Heracles/Hercules), the god of Tyre – Acerbas had been his high priest. The colonists who sailed on Elyssa's ship were members of the Tyrian aristocracy, plus some newcomers who embarked in Cyprus – the high priest of Ashtart (Venus-Juno), his family and some girls consecrated to the goddess. Like other great cities, Carthage has its legend: the Libyan Maxitani granted Elyssa all the land she could cover with strips of bull's hide; using her intelligence, she cut the hide into very thin strips to cover as much land as possible. But she committed suicide by throwing herself into the fire to avoid marriage with Iarbas, King of the Maxitani. For three centuries the urban centre of Byrsa (Barsat, Phoenician = fortress) was bounded to the east by the sea, to the south by a lake and to the north and west by a belt of necropoleis: the Byrsa hill, the hill of Juno and the areas between the Odeon plateau and the sea. From the 4th century, the city grew beyond the necropolis into the area marked on the map as New City. The city was pushed out into the vast semi-arid suburb called Megara and overflowed the urban centre of Byrsa.
Full-size image restricted
Nausitoo images are intended exclusively for academic research and teaching. To view them at full size, register and accept the Terms of Use, or sign in.
