Greeks identified the Carthaginian Baal Hammon with Cronus, and Romans, in turn, with Saturn.
Why was that? Did Baal Hammon share any attributes with Cronus/Saturn?
asked Dec 19, 2016 at 14:33
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I suspect this has more to do with the Carthaginians practicing child sacrifice (remember that Cronus ate his children), rather than the deities actually sharing attributes or abilities.– yannis ♦Dec 19, 2016 at 15:08
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2 Answers
They sacrificed children to both
From Greek Religion and Culture, the Bible and the Ancient Near East
Kronos' connection to a human sacrifice was not uncommon. It also attested for Crete in the context of the Kouretes, and in Carthage Kronos was identified with Baal Hammon, the god to whom children were sacrificed... Sophocles already connects Kronos to human sacrifice by barbarians. In all these cases we may assume the influence of Kronos' mythical devouring of his children; in fact, an imperial inscription still calls him "Kronos the child-eater."
Speculation: Baal-Hammon was also an agriculture god, like Saturn in Roman mythology. That could be a possible connection, but it doesn't equate for Kronos.
More Speculation: Wikipedia states that
The potential cruelty of Saturn was enhanced by his identification with Cronus, known for devouring his own children. He was thus used in translation when referring to gods from other cultures the Romans perceived as severe;
And of course, the Romans hated the Carthaginians. So, they would associate severe with a god they hated.
More support to this answer, (credit to @Yannis again), Libyan Greeks were the most friendly with the Carthaginians, and they associated Baal Hammon with Zeus.
The Cyrenaican Greeks built temples for the Libyan god Amon[, another name for Baal-Hammon] instead of their original god Zeus. They later identified their supreme god Zeus with the Libyan Amon.
Eusebius recorded information about a Phoenician historian named sanchuniathon (in his book Praeparatio Evangelica). Who suggests that Ouranus and Noah were the same person. Based on the story of Kronos castrating Ouranus. So too did Ham castrate Noah by raping Noah's wife.
