Hittite mythology and religion

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Hittite mythology
)
"Kashkuh" redirects here. For the villages in Iran, see Kashkuh, Iran.
"Ellel" redirects here. For the village in Lancashire, England, see Ellel, Lancashire.
"Jarri" redirects here. Not to be confused with Jari (disambiguation), Jarrie, Jarry (disambiguation), or Jerri (disambiguation).
Seated deity, late Hittite Empire (13th century BCE)
Part of a series on
Ancient Near East mythology

Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in what is now Turkey from c. 1600–1180 BC.

Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of Hittite religion are lacking among the tablets recovered at the Hittite capital

cultic administration, reports of diviners, make up the main body of surviving texts.[5]

The understanding of Hittite mythology depends on readings of surviving stone carvings, deciphering of the iconology represented in

Huwasi stones, which represented deities and were treated as sacred objects. Gods were often depicted standing on the backs of their respective beasts, or may have been identifiable in their animal form.[6]

Overview

Mythology
Mythologies
Types
Lists
Related concepts
See also

Though drawing on

Vedic mythology, or Thor and the serpent Jörmungandr in Norse mythology. This myth also bears a resemblance to the daily struggle between Re and the serpent Apophis in Egyptian mythology
.

Hittite mythology was also influenced more directly by the

Old Hittite Kingdom, with significantly fewer sources beyond that.[1] Groups of Hittite documents that are found are called "cult inventories" and are valuable in learning about how Hittite myth and practice was included in daily life.[9]

Hittite mythology is a mix of

Canaanite influences enter the mythology of Anatolia through Hurrian mythology. There are no known details of what the Hittite creation myth may have been but scholars speculate that the Hattian mother goddess who is believed to be connected to the "great goddess" concept known from the Neolithic site Çatalhöyük may have been a consort of the Anatolian storm god (who is believed to be related to comparable deities from other traditions like Thor, Indra and Zeus).[10]

Priests and cult sites

The liminal figure mediating between the intimately connected worlds of gods and mankind was the king and priest; in a ritual dating from the

Hittite Old Kingdom
period:

Statue of a Hittite priest-king made from basalt and containing bone eyes
Hittite statue of a priest-king c. 1600 BC.

The gods, the Sun-God and the Storm-God, have entrusted to me, the king, the land and my household, so that I, the king, should protect my land and my household, for myself.[1]: 101 

The Hittites did not perform regularly scheduled ceremonies to appease the gods, but instead conducted rituals in answer to hard times or to mark occasions.[1][11] Myth and ritual were closely related, as many rituals were based on myth, and often involved performing the stories.[12] Many of the rituals were performed at pits, sites that were created to represent a closeness between man and the gods, particularly those that were chthonic, or related to the earth. This type of pit ritual is known as "necromantic",[11] because they were attempting to commune with gods of the Underworld and summon them into the living world.

The city of

deified, having served his people and worshiped the gods faithfully.[1] Responsibilities placed upon the priest-king were not one-sided: the gods had to provide for the people if they were being worshiped properly. Gods held much of the obvious power, but without dedicated practice and ritual from mortals, they couldn't function. King Mursili II
made a plea to the gods on behalf of his subjects, at a time when their agricultural livelihoods were struggling:

"All of the land of Hatti is dying, so that no one prepares the sacrificial loaf and libation for you [gods]. The plowmen who used to work the fields of the gods have died, so that no one works or reaps the fields of the gods any longer. The miller-women who used to prepare sacrificial loaves of the gods have died, so that they no longer make the sacrificial loaves. As for the corral and the sheepfold from which one used to cull the offerings of sheep and cattle – the cowherds and shepherds have died, and the corral and sheepfold are empty. So it happens that the sacrificial loaves, libation[s], and animal sacrifices are cut off. And you come to us, oh gods, and hold us culpable in this matter!"[1][a][full citation needed]

Obviously, the preservation of good relationships with deities that were closely affiliated with nature and agriculture, such as Arinna, would have been essential. If the balance between respect and criticism was significantly shifted, it could mean disfavor in the eyes of the gods, and likely a very unlucky harvest season at the very least. Despite this danger, the Hittites mostly communicated with their gods in an informal manner, and individuals often simply made requests of the gods without the accompaniment of rituals or the assistance of priests when the occasion was casual. The Hittites also utilized associations with the divine in a way similar to the ancient Egyptians, using the will of the gods to justify human actions.[8]

Deities and their myths

Relief from Yazılıkaya, a sanctuary at Hattusa, depicting twelve gods of the underworld

The Hittites referred to their own "thousand gods", of whom a staggering number appear in inscriptions but remain nothing more than names today.[14][15] This multiplicity has been ascribed to a Hittite resistance to syncretization: Beckman (1989)[1] observes "many Hittite towns maintained individual storm-gods, declining to identify the local deities as manifestations of a single national figure."[1]: 99  The multiplicity is doubtless an artifact of a level of social-political localization within the Hittite "empire" not easily reconstructed.

In the 13th century BC some explicit efforts toward

Puduhepa worked on organizing and rationalizing her people's religion.[16]
In an inscription she invokes:

Hebat.[1]
: 99 ff 

Many of the Hittite myths involve a large cast of characters, usually because the central problem in the story has widespread effects, and everyone has a stake in the issue(s) being resolved. Usually the solution can only be found by working together to overcome the issue, although these are not so much wholesome morality tales, but rather more like action-based epics with an ensemble cast.

The storm god of Nerik

For example, the Hittites believed the

Wurusemu, sun goddess of Arinna
. The weather god there was identified with Mount Zaliyanu, near Nerik, and was responsible for arranging for rain for the city's croplands. He was propitiated from Hattusa:

Because the men of Kaška have taken the land of Nerik for themselves, we are continually sending the rituals for the Storm God in Nerik and for the gods of Nerik from Ḫattuša in the city of Ḫakmišša, (namely) thick-breads, libations, oxen, and sheep.[18]

The children and grandchildren of Kumarbi

Kumarbi is the father of Tarhunt; his role in the Song of Kumarbi is reminiscent of that of Cronus in Hesiod's Theogony. Ullikummi is a stone monster fathered by Kumarbi, otherwise vaguely reminiscent of Hesiod's Typhon.

Among the crowd a few, such as

Telipinu and his sister Inara
stand out as more than local. Tarhunt has a son,
Telipinu's mother is the Hattic sun goddess of Arinna (Arinniti or Wuru(n)šemu). This divine couple were presumably worshipped in the twin cellas of the largest temple at Hattusa.[1]
: 99 

The deriliction of Telipinu

In the Telipinu myth, the disappearance of

Hannahannah
finds Telipinu, and stings him in order to wake him up. However this infuriates Telipinu further and he "diverts the flow of rivers and shatters the houses".

In the end, the goddess

Telipinu after which he returns home and restores the vegetation and fertility. In other references it is a mortal priest who prays for all of Telipinu's anger to be sent to bronze containers in the underworld, from which nothing escapes.[19]

Slaying of the dragon

Another myth reflecting this style of plot is The Slaying of the Dragon.[8] This myth was recited during New Year rituals, which were performed to ensure agricultural prosperity in the coming year.

The myth centers around a serpent (or dragon) that represents the "forces of evil" and defeats the Storm God in a fight. The goddess Inara comes up with a plan to trick and kill the serpent, and enlists a human, Ḫupašiya, to help. Ḫupašiya is, of course, reluctant to assist without some kind of incentive, so he gets Inara to sleep with him before they carry out her scheme. Inara then invites the serpent over and they have a feast, getting so drunk that Ḫupašiya is able to tie the serpent up. The Storm God then steps in and slays the serpent himself.

Much like in the

Telipinu
myth, a human was used to help the gods in their plots, which further emphasizes the familiar relationship between mortal and divine. The mortal doesn't have much of a role in the story, but his presence is a help, rather than hindrance.

The story also illustrates the roles that goddesses played within myth: The powerful gods provoke a fight or do something else to create the central issue of each myth, and then the goddesses clean up after them and solve everything with careful thought and good sense. Unfortunately despite their helpful interference, nature cannot return to its status quo until the god completes the final step before normality can resume: He must wake up and return to his duties, or kill the beast, or some other action that demonstrates that his power is better suited to his role than any others'.

The exchange of deities with adjacent cultures

Similar to other kingdoms at the time, the Hittites had a habit of adopting gods from other pantheons that they came into contact with, such as the

Ishtar, who is celebrated at her famous temple at Ain Dara. There also seem to be traces of Hittite / Anatolian deities that dispersed westward into Aeolis and Doreis
.

Hittite bas-relief: Mythological creatures, a lion-headed man and bull-legged man. Although distinct, both resemble later Mesopotamian images.

The Luwian god of weather and lightning, Pihassassa, may be at the origin of Greek Pegasus.

Depictions of hybrid animals (like hippogriffs, chimerae etc.) are typical for the Anatolian art of the period.

Myths regarding deities that were not originally Hittite were often adapted and assimilated.

The

Ishtar (Ištar) was one of the many adopted deities who were assimilated into Hittite pantheons through association with similar deities and adjustments to their myths. Since mythology was a large part of Hittite cult practice, an understanding of Ishtar's powers and history was essential to the development of rituals and incantations invoking her.[12]

Subtle changes like this were also made possible with her absorption or close association of other goddesses, namely

Geštinanna. With the personality traits of multiple other goddesses, Ishtar's power grew, as did her popularity. One innovative way that she was utilized was in purification rituals such as Allaiturahhi's, in which her affinity for the underworld was exploited and interpreted in a way that benefited the reader and cast her as a protector, rather than a victim, as in Mesopotamian myth. Ishtar's relationship with the underworld also made her a valuable chthonic deity, especially when her other affinities for war, sexuality, and magic were considered. The combination of these characteristics greatly increased her influence, as fertility of the earth was one of the most fundamental priorities for the Hittites.[11][12] The Hittites even recognized that she was fairly prominent in other cultures and created a ritual which "treats her as an international goddess".[12]
: 27  The differences between outsider deities like Ishtar were respected, even though she had been appropriated for Hittite usage.

List of Hittite deities

It is lists of divine witnesses to treaties that seem to represent the Hittite pantheon most clearly,[20] although some well-attested gods are inexplicably missing. Sources are Volkert (2006),[21] Collins (2002),[11] Jordan (1993),[22] and others as cited.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ quoted text is from KUB 24.3 ii 4'–17'
  2. ^ Mention of "land of cedars" refers Coastal Syria / modern Lebanon.

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 169554957
    .
  2. ^ Laroche, E. (1971) Catalogue des textes hittites
  3. ^ Bittel, K. (1970) Hattusa, the Capital of the Hittites.
  4. ^ Beckman (1989),[1] who cites Laroche (1971),[2] and Bittel (1970).[3]
  5. ^ Macqueen, J.G. (1959) "Hattian Mythology and Hittite Monarchy", Anatolian Studies.
  6. ^ Lebrun, R. (1985) "Le zoomorphisme dans la religion hittite," L'Animal, l'homme, le dieu dans le Proche-Orient ancien, pp 95–103, Leuven; cited in Beckman (1989).[1]
  7. ^ Leeming, David (2005) "Hittite-Hurrian mythology". The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press. pp 185–187.
  8. ^ a b c Ünal, Ahmet (2001) "The Power of Narrative in Hittite Literature." Across the Anatolian Plateau, pp 99–121. Boston, MA: American Schools of Oriental Research.
  9. ^ a b Cammarosano, Michele (2013) "Hittite Cult Inventories — Part One: The Hittite Cult Inventories as Textual Genre". Die Welt Des Orients 43 (1), pp 63–105.
  10. ^ Leeming, David A. Creation Myths of the World. p. 39.
  11. ^ a b c d Collins, Billie Jean (2002). "Necromancy, fertility, and the dark earth: The use of ritual pits in Hittite cult". In Mirecki, Paul; Meyer, Marvin (eds.). Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World. Leiden, NL: Brill. pp. 224–241.
  12. ^ a b c d Bachvarova, Mary R. (2013). "Adapting Mesopotamian myth in Hurro-Hittite rituals at Hattuša: Ištar, the underworld, and the legendary kings". In Collins, Billie Jean; Michalowski, Piotr (eds.). Beyond Hatti: A tribute to Gary Beckman. Atlanta, GA: Lockwood Press. pp. 23–44.
  13. ^ Burney, Charles Allen (2004). Historical Dictionary of the Hittites. Scarecrow Press. p. 28.
    ISBN 9780810849365
    .
  14. ^ Laroche, E. (1947) Recherches sur les noms des dieux hittites.
  15. ^ Gurney, O.R. (1976) "Some aspects of Hittite religion", Schweich Lectures, publ. 1977, pp 4–23.
  16. ISBN 9780199281329, pp 286–289
  17. ^ Haas, Volkert (1970). Der Kult von Nerik [The Religion of the City of Nerik]. Studia Pohl (in German). Vol. 4.
  18. ^ Great King Arnuwanda I & Great Queen Ašmu-Nikal. A Prayer Concerning the City of Nerik. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04.
  19. ISBN 0691002002
  20. ^ Kestemont, G. (1976) "Le Panthéon des instruments hittites de droit public", Orientalia, 45 pp 147–177.
  21. ISBN 978-3-11-018877-6
    .
  22. ^ Jordan, Michael (1993). Encyclopedia of Gods: Over 2,500 deities of the world. New York, NY: Facts on File – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ Güterbock, H.G. (1980) "An addition to the prayer of Muršili to the sun-goddess and its implications", Anatolian Studies.
  24. ^ Lurker, Manfred (1986 / 2004) The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons.

Further reading
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hittite_mythology_and_religion&oldid=1185454163"