Uncovering Carthage's Dark Child Sacrifice Secret

The Carthaginians Practiced Child Sacrifice On February 12, 146 BCE, the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus conquered Carthage, marking the end of the Third Punic War. The Roman historian Plutarch, writing in 100 CE, documented the discovery of a topheth, a burial ground for sacrificed children, in the Carthaginian colony of Motya, Sicily. Archaeologist Lawrence Stager excavated a similar site in Carthage in 1975, uncovering the remains of over 20,000 urns containing the cremated bones of children.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that the Carthaginians were a brutal and depraved society that regularly sacrificed their children to the gods. The standard story goes that the Carthaginians, in their desperation to appease their deities, would offer up their own children to the fire, believing that this would guarantee them victory in battle or a good harvest. This gruesome practice has been passed down through history as a hallmark of Carthaginian culture, with many regarding it as a barbaric and inhumane act that justified the Roman conquest of Carthage.

What History Actually Shows

Historians like Polybius, writing in 150 BCE, and Diodorus Siculus, writing in 60 BCE, documented the Carthaginian practice of child sacrifice, but their accounts are often biased and based on second-hand information. On the other hand, primary sources like the Punic inscriptions found in Carthage and the writings of the Greek historian Cleitarchus, who lived in the 4th century BCE, provide more nuanced evidence. The Carthaginians believed that the gods demanded the sacrifice of children in times of crisis, such as war or famine, as a means of purging the community of impurities. The Roman historian Quintus Fabius Pictor, writing in 200 BCE, noted that the Carthaginians only resorted to child sacrifice in extreme circumstances, such as during the Second Punic War, when they were facing defeat at the hands of the Romans. In 219 BCE, the Carthaginian general Hannibal, facing a severe shortage of troops, allegedly sacrificed a number of children to the god Baal in an attempt to turn the tide of the war. By 210 BCE, the practice of child sacrifice had become more widespread in Carthage, with many regarding it as a necessary evil to ensure the survival of the city. As the Greek historian Aristides, writing in 150 CE, observed, the Carthaginians were not the only ancient civilization to practice child sacrifice, and similar practices can be found in the cultures of the Phoenicians and the Romans themselves.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians like Polybius and Diodorus Siculus contributed to the suppression of the Carthaginian child sacrifice story by focusing on more sensational aspects of the Punic Wars, drawing attention away from the complexities of Carthaginian practices. The Roman Empire's destruction of Carthage and its records ensured that many primary sources were lost, making it difficult for later historians to separate fact from fiction. Edward Gibbon, in his seminal work "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," barely touches on the topic, instead choosing to emphasize the military conquests and political struggles of the time. This deliberate omission, combined with the lack of archaeological evidence, has hindered a nuanced understanding of the Carthaginian child sacrifice, allowing the Roman narrative to dominate the historical record. The decision by early Christian writers to highlight the practice as a symbol of pagan barbarity further solidified its place in the popular imagination, making it harder for scholars to approach the subject with objectivity.

The Ripple Effect

The Carthaginian child sacrifice has had a lasting impact on Western perceptions of the ancient world, influencing the way historians and artists depict the cultures of the Mediterranean. The French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, for example, created a dramatic and influential work titled "The Dispatch of the Carthaginian Ambassadors to the Camp of the Roman General," which reinforces the Roman narrative of Carthaginian brutality. This depiction, in turn, has contributed to a modern understanding of the conflict that emphasizes the supposed savagery of the Carthaginians, as seen in the modern film "Hannibal," which portrays the famous general as a product of a brutal and unforgiving culture.

The Line That Says It All

The archaeological excavation of the Tophet in Carthage has uncovered the remains of thousands of infants and young animals, dated to the time of the Punic Wars, providing physical evidence of a practice that was previously considered the stuff of Roman propaganda.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to the Punic Wars and ancient Carthaginian culture.