#fenici

«Buongiorno, Briganti della Cultura!»

Vi auguriamo un Ferragosto sereno e stimolante.

Che sia un momento di autentico riposo per il corpo e per la mente, per ricaricare le energie e dedicarsi alle passioni che ci uniscono: la storia e la conoscenza.

Un viaggio tra mito, storia e metalli

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Testo: archeology Com.

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AROUND SARDINIA

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The cult of Astarte: between sacredness and myth

Generally identified with the Aphrodite of the Greeks and the Venus of the Romans, Astarte is actually a divinity with numerous attributes and facets. Her cult was widespread throughout the Mediterranean and she had an undoubted warrior, but also seafaring, character.

The cult of Astarte in Cagliari is attested from the 3rd century BC, but it could be older. Numerous material traces remain today to testify to this, including an inscription in Punic characters found during the excavations of the small church of Sant'Elia al monte on the Colle di Sant'Elia, which reports the dedication of a bronze altar to the goddess. This inscription, now kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, could refer to the presence of an ancient temple dedicated to Astarte right on the top of the promontory which today takes the name of the Devil's Saddle due to a well-known popular legend [read it here].

The environmental context

Capo Sant'Elia is the last part of a system of parallel hills; the clear fracture of the southern end, due to its particular shape known as the Devil's Saddle, has characterized the landscape of Cagliari since time immemorial, taking root in the collective imagination and becoming a real identifying feature, so much so that it is even hidden in the name of the inhabited: Krly.  

The Devil's Saddle seen from Poetto beach

Krly, in fact, is the first written form we know of the toponym. It appears on some inscriptions from the Punic age found in the temple of Antas, in Fluminimaggiore and, if the linguistic interpretation is correct, it could be linked to the importance of the promontory, to its founding and identifying value. Kr would, in fact, mean rock, the -l would make the collective noun, and it could be translated as "the hills" or "the promontory".

And on this promontory, in 1870, an inscription from the 3rd century BC was found, which reports the presence of a sanctuary overlooking the sea; an extra-urban sanctuary, dedicated to the Phoenician deity Astarte.

According to Canon Spano's account of the discovery, the inscription was "detached from the remains of a wall located at the top of Cape Sant'Elia, near the tower of the same name". Spano, in particular, specifies that the inscription was "made horizontally on the southern part of the internal wall". In light of the data at our disposal, therefore, we can hypothesize that the stone block bearing the inscription was inserted in the internal right wall of the Church of Sant'Elia al Monte, built on the same site previously occupied by the temple of Astarte, perhaps reusing it, completely or partially.

Ruins of the church of Sant'Elia al monte, where the temple of Astarte probably stood. Image Source: Honebu Daily History and Archaeology

The position, then, at a point on the promontory from which one can control the Gulf and be seen from the sea, was both strategic, for a sacred place whose cult was dedicated to one of the main protective deities of navigation, and functional, as an indicator for place recognition. One of the latest hypotheses, in fact, is that of a lighthouse temple, which we await to be confirmed by the excavations still in progress.

The genesis of the cult of Astarte in Cagliari

The deities of the ancient world always have many characteristics and facets: Astarte is no exception. Her cult was widespread in the Mediterranean: it was linked to oracular and fertility rituals.

Astarte is a warrior deity; she watches over sailors and protects cities. Her many attributes have led to the grafting of many divinities to continue her cult, but, generally, she is identified with the Aphrodite of the Greeks, and the Venus of the Romans (fertility, motherhood, war and navigation, are the areas in which they act these deities).

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