Salammbô is a fantasy 1862 novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set immediately before and during the Mercenary Revolt against Carthage in the third century BC. Flaubert's main source was Book I of Polybius' Histories.

The title character, a priestess and the daughter of Hamilcar Barca, an aristocratic Carthaginian general, is the object of the obsessive lust of Matho, leader of the mercenaries.

Matho steals a sacred veil, the Zaimph, prompting Salammbo to enter the mercenaries' camp in an attempt to steal it back. The book is largely an exercise in sensual exoticism.

Adaptations

Salammbô, an unfinished opera by Modest Mussorgsky (1863-66)
Salammbô, an opera composed by Ernest Reyer based on Flaubert's novel (1890).
Salammbô, a silent film by Pierre Marodon, with music by Florent Schmitt
Salammbô, a peplum by Sergio Grieco (1962)
Salammbo, a play by Charles Ludlam (1988)
Salammbô, a series of science fiction comic books by Phillippe Druillet
Salammbô, an opera by the French composer Philippe Fénélon, on a libretto by Jean-Yves Masson after Flaubert (1998)
Salammbo: Battle for Carthage is the title of a Windows game by Dreamcatcher Interactive with artwork by Druillet. Its story is based on both Gustave Flaubert's and Phillipe Druillet's works (2003)
Salammbo was also very freely adapted for the Italian silent movie classic Cabiria in 1914, which was the first of many films to star the recurring character Maciste.

~ from Wikipedia

~ ebook available here.