the army contained a legion composed of young men belonging to the
best families in the state; this force was important as a nursery of
officers.

_Religion_.--The religion of Carthage was that of the Phoenicians.
Over an army of minor deities (_alonim_ and _baalim_) towered the
trinity of great gods composed of Baal-Ammon or Moloch (identified by
the Romans with Cronus or Saturn); Tanit, the virgin goddess of the
heavens and the moon, the Phoenician Astarte, and known as Juno
Caelestis in the Roman period; Eshmun, the protecting deity and
protector of the acropolis, generally identified with Aesculapius.
There were also special cults: of Iolaus or Tammuz-Adonis, whom the
Romans identified to some extent with Mercury; of the god Patechus or
Pygmaeus, a deformed and repulsive monster like the Egyptian Ptah,
whose images were placed on the prows of ships to frighten the enemy;
and lastly of the Tyrian Melkarth, whose functions were analogous to
those of Hercules. The statue of this god was carried to Rome after
the siege of 146 (Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxxvi. 12. 39). From
inscriptions we know the names of other minor deities, which are
perhaps only other names of the same gods, e.g. Rabbat Umma, "the
great mother"; Baalat haedrat, "mistress of the sanctuary"; Ashtoreth
(Astarte), Illat, Sakon, Tsaphon, Sid, Aris (? Ares).

From the close of the 4th century B.C. the intimate relations between
the Carthaginians and the Sicilian Greeks began to introduce Hellenic
elements into this religion. In the forum of Carthage was a temple to
Apollo containing a colossal statue, which was transported to Rome.
The Carthaginians once at least sent offerings to Delphi, and Tanit
approximated to some extent to Demeter; hence on the coins we find the
head of Tanit or the Punic Astarte crowned with ears of corn, in
imitation of the coins of the Greek Sicilian colonies. The symbol of
Tanit is the crescent moon; in her temple at Carthage was preserved a
famous veil or _peplus_ which was venerated as the city's palladium.
On the innumerable votive stelae which have been unearthed, we find
invocations to Tanit and Baal-Ammon, as two associate deities ([Greek:
theoi paredroi]). The usual formula in these inscriptions is, "To the
great lady Tanit, the manifestation [reflex, face] of Baal
(_Tanti-Pene-Baal_) and to our lord Baal-Ammon, the vow of Bomilcar,
son of Mago, son of Bom