Precinct of Melqart

The cult of Melqart spread across the Mediterranean from its Phoenician home city of Tyre, and shrines were eventually dedicated in cities as far away as Gades, or Cadiz, in Hispania. As Phoenician power waned, Melqart’s cult remained popular among the Carthaginians probably because of their reliance on trade. He was often invoked as a witness when a deal or bargain was struck. According to Livy, Hannibal was a devout follower and made a pilgrimage to Gades before beginning his invasion of Italy. His piety was apparently rewarded, and Melqart granted Hannibal visions of the destruction he would cause. The Greeks sometimes linked Melqart to their own semi-divine hero, Heracles.