Remains of Punic Houses on the Acropolis of Selinunte, March 2005

The treaty between Dyonisus from Syracuse and Carthage suspends the hostilities of 409-405/406 b.C., ratifies the Carthaginian authority in Sicily, politically and operatively confirms the role of Carthago as big metropolis.

All through the fourth century b.C. and half of the third century b.C., Selinunte forms part of Carthage's dominion.

The introduction of the Punic civilization in Selinunte, in a greek milieu of ancient and blooming tradition proves the ability of Carthage's culture to become a part and determine a series of variants in "facies" already well-developed from a historical point of view.

The pleasant geographical position however particularly advantageous for a profitable trade with Carthage (which could be joined in two days of navigation), and the characteristic elements of the Punic urban landscape in the urban installation (erected on a promontory easy to defend thanks to its solid boundary walls, with two beautiful harbours surrounding the Acropolis attesting the prominent commercial importance of Selinunte and all around different quarters, emporia, craftsmans shops, sacred areas, necropolis and a sanctuary with temples sacred to the divinities of Carthage), made Selinunte a blooming Punic colony.

In any case, only recently this half and a century of "Punic Selinunte" has been adequately and archaeologically proved with documents.

The South-East side of the Acropolis, in the area of the so called "A" and "0" temples, was the quarter of Punic houses. The Carthaginian houses were little and humble.

Almost always they had no first floor; their structure proves the use of a "frame" wall, consisting in blocks placed at short distance among them with intermediate places, filled with heap of stones.

The distributive schema of the Punic Selinuntine house, constituted by two or three rooms, in succession one another, didn't show any perystyle( the main living and reception quarter).

Even if the Punic Selinuntine houses are humble, the religious symbols that one can note in the Punic mosaic are very interesting.

Examining the "pavimentum punicum" you can have an idea of a Punic mosaic, a kind of particular covering consisting of mortar in which there are usually mixed three parts of sand and one of lime and "caementa", that is some fragments of white marble.

The religious symbols shown by the mosaic inside the pronaos of the temple "A" undoubtedly testify the worship of Baal and Tanit.

But the "sign of Tanit is not only the expression of the most perfect artistic and religious demonstration: from it a humble human message is sent forth, the invocation to the Gods to grant peace, wealth and fecondity to family. Baal means "Lord" and he is the God of fertility, the personification of good Sun, the supreme God who fullfills wishes and grants richness.

The term Baal consists of three Carthaginian names: Aderbal (Baal is powerful); Hannibal (Baal supported); Asdrubal (Baal helped) Close to him there is "Tanit", the "Mistress of Carthage", the goddess of light and spring, who grants fecondity, protects the town and concedes its eternity.

The pavement, made of cocciopesto, shows the "symbol of Tanit", with the caduceus, constituted by white tesserae.

Tanit grants to the family harmony and prosperity in trade throgh the caduceus (a magic wand in whose extremities there two tangent circles representing two snakes that interlace in the bar.

On the same pavement you can note a crowned bull's head, representing richness and wealth. In the middle of the pavement there is the "sign of Tanit". The interpretation of the geometrical pattern leads to the schematization of the female frontal figure, stylized, with her body looking like a trapezium, lifted arms and head.

The symbolic meaning derives from the union of the schematization of the female figure (the triangle of fertility), the "betili" (vertical conic shaped ritual stones) symbolizing the divine presence