Professors from the Universities of Cádiz and Córdoba, as part of the Herakleion project, have presented a novel perspective on the configuration of ancient Gadir. According to their findings, Cádiz and San Fernando were not separate entities but rather part of the same city, a concept that challenges traditional interpretations.
During the conference ‘New methodologies for the investigation of the heritage of the temple of Melkart-Hercules’, held at the San Fernando Congress Center, the uniqueness of Gadir was highlighted. Unlike other Phoenician foundations where Melkart's temples were located within the city, in Gadir the temple was in San Fernando and the urban core in Cádiz, a layout that has been a subject of debate among experts.
“"In all foundations, the temples of Melkart were located at the city site, whether on land or an island, whereas here they were separated, the temple in San Fernando and Gadir in Cadiz, an anomaly that many experts have pointed out."
The main hypothesis suggests that the Phoenicians symbolically demarcated the bay with two major landmarks, possibly monumental fires dedicated to Melkart. One of these landmarks would be in Cádiz, functioning as a lighthouse, and the other in San Fernando, as a tower or altar. This arrangement would allow for an understanding of Strabo's descriptions, who mentioned the city on one side and the temple on the other, considering them part of the same urban entity, despite the presence of water or sand between them.
The temple of Gadir, according to researchers, was directly dependent on the king of Tyre and under the protection of his royal palace. Its economic machinery was overseen by a descendant or official of the monarch. Literary sources and archaeological remains indicate that the temple of Melkart in Gadir was an exact replica of the one in Tyre, both featuring the famous two columns at their entrance, symbolizing the known orb.
With the Roman and Alexander the Great's conquest of the sanctuary of Tyre, the temple of Gadir lost its original ties and aligned with Rome. It is believed that Julius Caesar played a crucial role in this transition. A relief from Ostia, previously studied by Ramón Corzo, has been identified with the Gaditan Hercules, symbolizing a new era for the temple after the city was granted the title of Urbs Iulia Gaditana.
The cult of the Gaditan Hercules, though existing, was not initially an official imperial cult. It was emperors like Trajan and Hadrian, without prestigious origins, who began to reference Hercules, the hero par excellence, associating him with their own ancestries and triumphs. Even Theodosius, the last emperor of Baetica, reformed the Forum Tauri in Constantinople with decorative motifs related to the Hercules of Cádiz.
The Herakleion project, promoted by the San Fernando City Council, the University of Cádiz, and the University of Córdoba, aims to move from traditional hypotheses to concrete material evidence through fieldwork, archaeological analysis, and the review of historical sources concerning the temple of Hercules.
