ABSTRACT
Hamilcar Barca belonged more or less certainly to Carthage’s ruling élite. His family’s social distinction is suggested for instance by the Roman poet Silius’ claim that they were descended from a brother of Dido, the exiled princess of Tyre who in legend had founded the city around the year 814. The claim probably dates from Hamilcar’s or his sons’ time: Belus, Dido’s father, has the name not only of the chief Phoenician god Ba’al but also of a known (though later) king Ba’lu of Tyre, while her brother in the tale is named Barca, which was merely Hamilcar’s nickname. All the same, his appointment to a major military command while still fairly young suggests, though it does not prove, that his family was already an established one.
