archaicwonder: Gold Trihemistater from Carthage, Zeugitana, C. 260 BCObverse: Head of Tanit facing t
archaicwonder: Gold Trihemistater from Carthage, Zeugitana, C. 260 BCObverse: Head of Tanit facing to left, wearing a wreath with corn-sprays and a leaf, a triple-pendant earring and a necklace. Reverse: Horse standing to right, its head turned back to face to left.Tanit was a Punic and Phoenician fertility goddess, the chief deity of Carthage alongside her consort Ba`al Hammon. She was equivalent to the moon-goddess Astarte, and later worshipped in Roman Carthage in her Romanized form as Dea Caelestis, Juno Caelestis or simply Caelestis.The horse was a symbol of the ancient city. Carthage (map) used the Tanit/horse motif along with a palm tree/horse motif on their coins for over two centuries.To read about Carthage’s coinage see this article. -- source link