Looking for the goddess Tinnit in winged imagery across the Mediterranean

Abstract

This study is inspired by the curious winged (alate) female figure on the Carthaginian votive stela CIS I 183, which is dedicated to the Punic deities, Tinnit and Baal Hammon. This winged female figure has long been identified as a representation of the goddess Tinnit, based on the presence of associated iconography and epigraphy on the same stela. The current research therefore investigates this particular image and any other similar alate female figures (associated with Tinnit or syncretised goddesses/entities) present on artefacts from Punic and Punico-Roman contexts. These artefacts include another Carthaginian votive stela, relief sculptures, terracotta statuettes and figurines, decorated pottery sherds, and numismatic iconography and legends.

In addition, the investigation provides a survey of the ‘winged female figure’ image across the Mediterranean, which likely originated in the Levant, and traces the extent of its dissemination in the Punic West. By analysing winged female imagery on the above-mentioned Punic and Punico-Roman artefacts, the analysis establishes the plausibility, or otherwise, of association between any winged female imagery with Tinnit.

The image of a winged female is scarce in Phoenician-Punic iconography, resulting in only fourteen artefact specimens (carrying winged female imagery) assembled in this study’s accompanying Catalogue. In order for the analytical approach to be holistic, each artefact is examined in the context of its historico-archaeological scenario, bearing in mind that these artefacts were a result of their socio-political and cultural environments.

The study concludes that only a few items (including stela CIS I 183) represent the highest contenders for their winged female images to be identified with Tinnit, while the rest leave room for further debate or reconsiderations regarding our current knowledge of Phoenician-Punic iconography and the role of the goddess Tinnit in the Phoenician-Punic world.