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- From: cbsiren@hopper.unh.edu (Christopher B. Siren)
- Newsgroups: alt.mythology,alt.answers,news.answers
- Subject: alt.mythology Hittite/Hurrian Mythology REF, ver. 1.2
- Followup-To: alt.mythology
- Date: 4 Jan 1998 04:22:02 GMT
- Organization: University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH
- Lines: 600
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
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- Summary: This posting contains a description of the pantheon,
- and history of the Hittites, who drew heavily upon the pantheon of
- their neighbors the Hurrians. These peoples lived primarily in the
- central and eastern portions of Anatolia during the second millenium
- B.C.
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.mythology:43323 alt.answers:31243 news.answers:120099
-
- Archive-name: mythology/hittite-ref
- Posting-Frequency:
- Last-modified: 1997/8/6
- Version: 1.2
- URL: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/hittite-ref.html
-
- Hittite/Hurrian Mythology REF 1.2
-
- by Christopher B. Siren
- last modified: August 6th, 1997 - added a bunch of information from
- the first half of Hoffner.
- Mar. 14th, 1996 - fixed a bunch of misprints discovered
- while editing the hypertext version.
-
- I. Who were the 'Hittites'?
- II. What Deities did they worship?
- A. Hittite and Hurrian deities.
- B. Akkadian Imports.
- C. Demons.
- D. Mortals.
- III. What was the Hittite cosmology and how did they perceive the
- structure of the universe?
- IV. Source material.
-
- I. Who were the 'Hittites'?
-
- During the second millennium B.C. the Indo-European people known as
- the Hittites ruled over the 'Land of Hatti', in central and eastern
- Anatolia, that peninsula which is modern Turkey. They had displaced the
- previous occupants, the non-Indo-European Hattians, and ruled from the
- city of Hattusas near the modern Boghazkoy in northern central Turkey,
- possibly as early as 1900 B.C. Much of the Cappadocian plateau was
- under their control through satellite kingdoms before 1800 B.C. and they
- enjoyed a thriving trade with the Assyrians. Around 1800 B.C. Anittas
- and his father Pitkhanas of Kussara sacked several Hittite cities,
- including Hattusas, though Anittas laid a curse upon that city and trade
- broke off until the founding of the Old Kingdom under King Labarnas
- around 1680 B.C. He and his descendents greatly expanded the region of
- Hittite control, crossing the Taurus mountains and waging war on Syria
- and Assyria. King Mursilis (~1620-1590 B.C.), Labarnas' grandson by
- adoption, brought down the Old Kingdom of Babylon - Hamurabi's dynasty.
- This expanded realm, also stretching to Anatolia's west coast, proved to
- susceptible to internal power struggles. In 1525 B.C., Telepinus, last
- king of the Old Kingdom seized control and sacrificed some of the
- Western districts and all of the territory east of the Taurus mountains
- in favor of a more easily managed kingdom.
- The Hurrians occupied the land between the Hittites and Assyria,
- having descended from the mountains south of the Caspian Sea. They
- ruled the kingdom of Mitanni. In the late 15th century B.C. the Hittite
- empire's beginning is marked by an influx of Hurrian names into the
- royal family. Tudhalyas I (1420 B.C.) reunited Western Anatolia under
- Hittite rule, and retook Allepo but lost the Black Sea coast to the
- Kaska tribes. After some difficulty with the Mittani the Hittites
- resurged under King Suppilulimas around 1344-1322 taking a firmer hold
- on Syria. With Egypt, they dominated the lands of Canaan and the Levant
- during the 1200's. Their prosperity came to a sudden end when the
- invasion of the Sea Peoples coincided with increasing trouble from the
- Kaskas. While Hittite culture continued through about 700 B.C., the
- Empire was shattered into several kingdoms and pressures such as the
- growing Assyrian Empire helped keep it from uniting again.
- The Hittites were a patriarchal, highly agricultural society. They
- had rich iron deposits which they mined and traded with the Assyrians.
- They also used it for weaponry and were rather successful in the use of
- a three-man chariot. Through trade and conquest the languages and
- cultures of their neighbors seeped into Hittite society. Babylonian and
- Hurrian deities were worshiped along-side or assimilated with the native
- Hittite deities. This merging of cultures and free use of foreign
- languages is rather fortuitous. Parallel Hittite and Akkadian treaties
- and similar texts helped in cracking the Hittite hieroglyphic code.
- Unfortunately, while the ability to translate Hittite hieroglyphics has
- improved, the pronunciation of several Hittite ideograms, and hence
- their transcription into English, remains elusive. Often, as in the
- case with the Storm-god, we must resort to a descriptive name, or else
- use the appropriate Hurrian or Akkadian name.
-
- II. What Deities did they worship?
- The Hittites had an abundant number of local cult deities and sets
- of local pantheons. As the government became more centralized,
- particularly during the imperial period around 1400 - 1200 B.C., there
- were efforts to equate many of these local deities and form a state
- pantheon. Such a pantheon was headed by the Weather-god/Storm-god, who
- also represented the mountains, and his consort - usually the earth
- goddess, who was also attached to the waters of rivers and the sea. The
- Hittites themselves write of 'the thousand gods of Hatti', and more than
- eight-hundred such names have been discovered. (Considerably fewer will
- be dealt with here.) The associated myths have both Hittite and Hurrian
- content, with the origin of many suspected to be Hurrian. The Kumarbis-
- Ullukummis is chief among the Hurrian tales and the Illuyankas stories
- and missing god myths of Telipinus and the missing Storm-god are thought
- to be more Hattic. There also exist fragments of a Hittite version of
- the Gilgamesh epic and many Akkadian deities are worshiped outright.
- You will notice that many of the names carry an optional 's' as a
- suffix, which comes from the nominative case ending for Hittite.
-
- A. Hittite and Hurrian deities.
- Alalu(s) - was king in heaven in olden days and Anus was the first
- among the gods. Anus served as his cupbearer for 9 years before
- defeating him and dispatched him to under the earth.
-
- Anu(s) (Akkadian in origin) - while Alalus was king in heaven, Anus
- was more powerful. He served as Alalus' cup bearer for nine years and
- then defeated him, dispatching him to under the earth. He took his seat
- on the thrown and had Kumarbis as his cupbearer. Likewise, after nine
- years Kumarbis rebelled, chased Anus - who fled in the sky like a bird,
- and bit off and swallowed his phallus. In this act Anus had some
- revenge by impregnating Kumarbis with the Storm-god, the Aranzahus
- (Tigris) river, and Tasmisus. He then hides himself in heaven. He
- advises the Storm-god on the places where he might exit Kumarbis. After
- the Storm-god's birth, they plot to destroy Kumarbis and, with his other
- children, apparently succeed.
-
- Kumarbi(s) - 'the father of all gods' according to the Hurrians. He
- is sometimes equated with Enlil and Dagan. His city is Urkis. He
- thinks wise thoughts and carries a staff. He served as Anus' cup-bearer
- for nine years and then rebelled, chased Anus, and bit off and swallowed
- his phallus, thereby becoming impregnated with the Storm-god, the
- Aranzahus (Tigris) river, and Tasmisus. With that news, he spat out
- Aranzahus and Tasmisus of on Mount Kanzuras. The Storm-god begins to
- exit through Kumarbis' 'tarnassus', causing him to moan in pain. He
- asks Ayas to give him his son to devour, which he does. Ayas has 'poor'
- magic worked on him and his 'tarnassus' is secured, so the Storm-god
- exits through his 'good place' instead. He is then presumably defeated
- by the Storm-god, Anus, and his offspring.
- During a plot to overthrow the Storm-god, he lay with a Rock as if
- it were a woman. He instructs Imbaluris, his messenger to send a
- message to the Sea, that Kumarbis should remain father of the gods. The
- Sea hosts a feast for him and later Kumarbis' Rock gives birth to
- Ullikummis. Kumarbis announces that his son will defeat the Storm-god,
- his city Kummiya, his brother Tasmisus and the gods from the sky. He
- charges Imbaluris to seek out the Irsirra deities to hide Ullikummis
- from the Sun-god, the Storm-god, and Ishtar.
-
- Imbaluris - Kumarbis' messenger. He is sent to warn the Sea that
- Kumarbis' must remain the father of the gods.
-
- Mukisanus - Kumarbis' vizier
-
- Hannahanna(s) (Nintu, Mah) - the mother of all the gods. She is
- associated with Gulses. After Telipinu disappears, the Storm-god
- complains to her. She sends him to search himself and when he gives up,
- she dispatches a bee, charging it to purify the god by stinging his
- hands and feat and wiping his eyes and feet with wax.
- She recommends to the Storm-god that he pay the Sea-god the bride-
- price for the Sea-god's daughter on her wedding to Telipinu.
- Apparently she also disappears in a fit of anger and while she is
- gone cattle and sheep are stifled and mothers, both human and animal
- take no account of their children. After her anger is banished to the
- Dark Earth, she returns rejoicing. Another means of banishing her anger
- is through burning brushwood and alowing the vapor to enter her body.
- After Inara consulted with her, she gave her a man and land. Soon
- after, Inara is missing and when Hannahanna is informed thereof by the
- Storm-god's bee, she apparently begins a search with the help of her
- Female Attendant a. She appears to consult with the Sun-god and the
- War-god, but much of the text is missing.
-
- Upelluri (Ubelluris) - similar to Atlas, this giant carries the world
- on his shoulders. The olden gods built the earth and heaven upon him -
- though he did not notice, even when they those two were separated with a
- cleaver. On the direction of Kumarbis' messenger Imaluris, the Issira
- deities place Ullikummis on his right shoulder where the child grows.
- Ea interviews him, in search of Ullikummis and Upelluri admits to a
- small pain on his shoulder, although he can't identify which god is
- causing it.
-
- Storm/Weather-god (Hurrian's Teshub, Taru, Luwian's Tarhun(t) - 'The
- Conqueror'), 'The king of Kummiya', 'King of Heaven, Lord of the land of
- Hatti', 'The divine Kazal, the valiant king'. He is chief among the
- gods and his symbol is the bull. As Teshub he has been pictured as a
- bearded man astride two mountains and bearing a club. He is a god of
- battle and victory, especially when the battle is with a foreign power.
- As Taru, he is the consort of Wurusemu. - He was the child of Anus and
- Kumarbis - conceived along with Tasmisus and the Aranzahus (Tigris)
- river when Kumarbis bit off and swallowed Anus' phallus. He is,
- however, considered Ea's son in the myth of Ullikummis. He is
- informed by Anus of the possible exits from Kumarbis, and tries to exit
- through Kumarbis' 'tarnassas', causing him great pain. With the
- 'tarnassas' blocked, he exits through Kumarbis' 'good place'. He plots
- with Anus, Tasmisus, and Aranzhus to destroy Kumarbis, and apparently
- succeeds seizing kingship in heaven.
- He sent rain after the fallen Moon-god/Kashku when he fell from
- heaven.
- Alerted to the imminent arrival of the Sun-god, who in some myths is
- his son, he has Tasmisus prepare a meal for their guest and listens to
- his report about the sudden appearance of the giant Ullikummis. He and
- Tasmisus then leave the kuntarra and are led to Mount Hazzi by his
- sister, Ishtar, where they behold the monstrous creature. He looks upon
- Kumarbis' son with fear and Ishtar chides him. Later, emboldened, he
- has Tasmisus prepare his bulls and wagon for battle, and has him call
- out the thunderstorms, lightning and rains. Their first battle resulted
- in his incomplete defeat. He dispatches Tasmisus to his wife, Hebat, to
- tell her that he must remain in a 'lowly place' for a term. When
- Tasmisus returns, he encourages the Storm-god to seek Ea in the city
- Abzu/Apsu and ask for the 'tablets with the words of fate' (Tablets of
- Destiny? 'me'?). After Ea cleaves off Ullukummis' feet, he spurs
- Tasmisus and the Storm-god on to battle the crippled giant. Despite the
- diorite man's boasting, the Storm-god presumably defeats him.
- He fought with the Dragon Illuyankas in Kiskilussa and was defeated.
- He called the gods for aid asking that Inaras prepare a celebration.
- She does so and when the dragon and his children have gorged themselves
- on her feast, the mortal Hupasiyas binds him with a rope. Then the
- Storm-god, accompanied by the gods, sets upon them and destroys them.
- In another version of that myth, he looses his eyes and heart to
- Illuyankas after his first battle. He then marries a poor mortal woman
- and marries their son to Illuyankas daughter. He has the son ask for
- his eyes and heart. With their return, he attacks the dragon again.
- When his son sides with Illuyankas, the Storm-god kills them both.
- When his son, Telepinus, is missing he despairs and complains to the
- Sun-god and then to Hannahannas, who tells him to search for him
- himself. After searching Telepinus' city he gives up.
- In other versions of this myth, it is the Storm-god who is missing.
- One is almost exactly the same, and in another, he is journeys to the
- Dark Earth in his anger, and is returned with the help of his mother -
- here Wuruntemu/Ereshkigal/the Sun goddess of Arinna.
- He sends Telipinu to recover the Sun-god who had been kidnapped by
- the Sea-god. The Sea-god is so intimidated that he gives Telipinu his
- daughter in marriage but demands a bride-price from the Storm-god.
- After consulting with Hannahanna, he pays the price of a thousand sheep
- and a thousand cattle.
- He notices his daughter, Inara, is missing and sends a bee to
- Hannahanna to have her search for her.
-
- Seris (Serisu) - a bull sacred to the Storm-god. In preparation for
- battle, the Storm-god has Tasmisus anoint his horns with oil and drive
- him up Mount Imgarra with Tella and the battle wagon.
-
- Tella (Hurris) - another bull sacred to the Storm-god. In
- preparation for battle, the Storm-god has Tasmisus plate his tail with
- gold and drive him up Mount Imgarra with Seris and the battle wagon.
-
- Aranzahas - The Tigris river deified. A child of Anus and Kumarbis,
- he was the brother of the Storm-god and Tasmisus, spat out of Kumarbis'
- mouth onto Mount Kanzuras. Later he colludes with Anus and the Storm-
- god to destroy Kumarbis.
-
- Tasmisus - A child of Anus and Kumarbis, conceived along with the
- Storm-god and Aranzahus. The brother of the Storm-god and Aranzahus, he
- was spat out of Kumarbis upon Mount Kanzuras. Later he colludes with
- Anus and the Storm-god to destroy Kumarbis. He serves as the Storm-
- god's attendant.
- He spies the Sun-god approaching and informs the Storm-god that this
- visit bodes ill. At the Storm-god's command he has a meal set up for
- their visitor. After the Sun-god's tale, he and the Storm-god depart
- and are met by Ishtar, who takes them to Mt. Hazzi near Ugarit, where
- they can see Ullikummis. The Storm-god has him take his bulls up Mt.
- Imgarra and prepare them for battle. He is also ordered to bring forth
- the storms, rains, winds, and lightning. After their defeat, he is
- dispatched by the Storm-god to Hebat, to tell her that he must remain in
- a 'lowly place' for a term. He returns and encourages the Storm-god to
- seek Ea in the city Abzu/Apsu and ask for the 'tablets with the words of
- fate' (Tablets of Destiny? 'me'?). After Ea cleaves off Ullukummis'
- feet, he spurs Tasmisus and the Storm-god on to battle the crippled
- giant.
-
- Suwaliyattas - a warrior god and probably the brother of the Storm-
- god.
-
- (Hurrian Hebat, Hepit, Hepatu) - The matronly wife of the Storm-god.
- She is sometimes found standing on her sacred animal, the lion. After
- the Storm-god and Astabis' failed attacks on Ullikummis, the giant
- forced her out of her temple, causing her to lose communication with the
- gods. She frets that Ullikummis may have defeated her husband and
- expresses her concern to her servant Takitis, charging him to convene
- the assembly of the gods and bring back word of her husband. Presumably
- she is brought word of his defeat. Tasmisus visits her in the high
- watchtower, telling her that the Storm-god is consigned to a 'lowly
- place' for a length of time. She is the mother of Sharruma.
-
- Wurusemu, (Wuruntemu?), 'Sun Goddess of Arrina', 'mistress of the
- Hatti lands, the queen of heaven and earth', 'mistress of the kings and
- queens of Hatti, directing the government of the King and Queen of
- Hatti' - this goddess is later assimilated with Hebat. She made the
- cedar land. She is the primary goddess in Arrina, with Taru as her
- consort. She is a goddess of battle and is associated with Hittite
- military victory. She is the mother of the Storm-god of Nerik, and
- thereby possibly associated with Ereshkigal. She aids in returning him
- from the underworld.
-
- (Hurrian Sharruma), 'the calf of Teshub' - The son of Teshub and
- Hebat, this god is symbolized by a pair of human legs. He is later
- identified with the Weather-god of Nerik and Zippalanda.
-
- Takitis - Hebat's servant. After Hebat was driven from her temple
- he is told of her concern for her husband and charged with convening the
- assembly of the gods and returning with word of her husband's fate.
-
- Mezzullas - daughter of the Storm-god and the Sun-goddess of Arinna.
- She has influence with her parents.
-
- Zintuhis - granddaughter of the Storm-god and the Sun-goddess of
- Arinna.
-
- Telepinu(s), Telipinu (Hattic) 'the noble god' - an agricultural god,
- he is the favorite and firstborn son of the Storm-god. He 'harrows and
- plows. He irrigates the fields and makes the crops grow.' (Gurney p.
- 113) He flies into a rage and storms off, loosing
- himself in the steppe and becoming overcome with fatigue. With his
- departure, fertility of the land, crops and herds disappears and famine
- besets man and god. Hannahannas' bee finds him, stings his hands and
- feet, and wipes his eyes and feet with wax, purifying him. This further
- infuriates him, and he wrecks further havoc with the rivers and by
- shattering houses and windows. Eventually, the evil and malice is
- removed through magic by Kamrusepas, but not before Telepinus thunders
- with lightning. Telepinus returns home, restoring
- fertility and tending to the life and vitality of the royal family. His
- prosperity and fertility is symbolized by a pole suspending the fleece
- of a sheep. In other versions of this myth, the Storm-god or the Sun-
- god
- and several other gods are missing instead.
- He is asked by his father to recover the Sun-god from the Sea-god,
- and so intimidates the Sea-god that he is given his daughter as a bride.
-
- Ullikummi(s), the diorite man - born of Kumarbis and the Rock. This
- god is made entirely of diorite. He was born to be used as a weapon to
- defeat the Storm-god and his allies. Kumarbis had him delivered to the
- Irsirra deities to keep him hidden from the Storm-god, the Sun-god, and
- Ishtar. After the Irsirra deities presented him to Ellil, they placed
- him on the shoulder of Upelluri where he grows an acre in a month.
- After fifteen days he grows enough so that he stands waist deep in
- the sea when the Sun-god and he notice each other. Alerted by the
- Sun-god, the Storm-god eventually prepares for battle atop Mount Imgarra,
- yet their first battle results in an incomplete victory. He drives
- Hebat from her temple, cutting off her communication with the other
- gods. Astabis leads seventy gods on attack against him, attempting to
- draw up the water from around him, perhaps in order to stop his growth.
- They fall into the sea and he grows to be 9000 leagues tall and around,
- shaking the heavens, the earth, pushing up the sky, and towering over
- Kummiya. Ea locates him and cuts off his feet with the copper knife
- that separated the heaven from the earth. Despite his wounds he boasts
- to the Storm-god that he will take the kingship of heaven. Presumably,
- he is none-the-less defeated.
-
- Sun-god (of Heaven) - Probably an Akkadian import, this god one of
- justice and is sometimes the king of all gods. An ally and sometimes
- son of the Storm-god, he notices the giant Ullikummis in the sea and
- visited the Storm-god, refusing to eat until he reports his news. After he
- has done so, the Storm-god proclaims that the food on the table shall
- become pleasant, which it does, and so the Sun-god enjoys his meal and
- returns to his route in heaven.
- When Telepinus disappears, bringing a famine, he arranges a feast
- for the Thousand Gods, but it is ineffective in assuaging their hunger.
- At the Storm-god's complaint, he dispatches an eagle to search for the
- god, but the bird is unsuccessful. After the bee discovers Telepinus, he
- has man perform a ritual. In another version of the missing god myth, he
- is one of the missing gods. He keeps several sheep. At the end of the
- day, he travels through the nether-world.
- He was kidnapped by the Sea-god and released when Telipinu came for
- him.
- In a longer version of that story, the Sea-god caught him in a net,
- possibly putting him into a Kukubu-vessel when he fell. During his
- absence, Hahhimas (Frost) took hold.
-
- Hapantallis - the Sun-god's shepherd.
-
- Moon-god (Hurrian Kashku) - He fell upon the 'killamar', the gate
- complex, from heaven and disappeared. Storm-god/Taru rain-stormed after
- him, frightening him. Hapantali went to him and uttered the words of a
- spell over him. While known to bestow ill omens, he can be appeased by
- sheep sacrifice.
-
- The Sea - She is told by Imbaluris that 'Kumarbis must remain father
- of the gods!'. Struck with fear by this message, she makes ready here
- abode and prepares to act as hostess for a feast for Kumarbis. This
- feast may have served as a meeting of Mother-goddesses who delivered
- Kumarbis' child by the Rock, Ullikummis.
-
- The Sea-god - He quarreled and kidnapped the Sun-god of Heaven. When
- Telipinu came to recover the Sun-god, the Sea-god was so intimidated
- that he also gave him his daughter. He later demanded a bride-price for
- her of the Storm-god, and was eventually given a thousand cattle and a
- thousand sheep. In another version, he caught the Sun-god in a net as
- he fell and may have sealed him in a Kukubu-vessel, allowing Hahhimas
- (Frost) to take hold of most of the other gods.
- He questions the fire in its role in one of Kamrusepa's healing
- spells.
-
- Inara(s) - Daughter of the Storm-god and goddess of the wild animals
- of the steppe. After the Storm-god's initial defeat by Illuyankas, she
- follows his request to set up a feast. She recruits Hupasiyas of
- Zigaratta, to aid her in revenge on Illuyankas by taking him as a lover.
- She then sets about luring Illuyankas and his children to a feast. After
- the dragon and his children gorge themselves on her meal, Hupasiyas binds
- him with a rope. Then the Storm-god sets upon them and defeats them.
- She then gives Hupasiyas a house on a cliff to live in yet warns him
- not to look out the window, lest he see his wife and children. He
- disobeys her, and seeing his family begs to be allowed to go home.
- Gurney speculates that he was killed for his disobedience.
- She consults with Hannahanna who promises to give her land and a
- man. She then goes missing and is sought after by her father and
- Hannahanna with her bee.
-
- Illuyankas - the Dragon. He defeated the Storm-god in Kiskilussa.
- Later he was lured from his lair with his children by a well dressed
- Inaras with a feast. After they were too engorged to get into their lair
- again, the Storm-god, accompanied by the other gods, killed him.
- In another version of the myth, he defeated the Storm-god and stole
- his eyes and heart. Later, his daughter married the son of the
- Storm-god. Acting on the Storm-god's instruction, his son asked for the
- eyes and heart. When these were returned to him, the Storm-god
- vanquished Illuyankas, but slew his son as well when the youth sided
- with the dragon.
- The ritual of his defeat was invoked every spring to symbolize the
- earth's rebirth.
-
- Hedammu - a serpent who loved Ishtar.
-
- Irsirra deities - These gods who live in the dark earth are charged by
- Kumarbis through Imbaluris to hide Ullikummis from the sky gods, the
- Sun-god, the Storm-god, and Ishtar. They are also charged with placing
- the child on the shoulder of Upelluri. Later they accept the child and
- deliver it to Ellil, before placing it on Upelluri's right shoulder.
-
- Hapantali/Hapantalliyas - He took his place at the Moon-god's side
- when he fell from heaven on the gate complex and unttered a spell.
-
- Kamrusepa(s)/Katahziwuri ('Mother Kamrusepa') - She is the goddess of
- magic and healing. She witnessed and announced the Moon-god's fall from
- heaven on to the gate complex.
- After Telepinus has been found, yet remains angry, she is set to
- cure him of his temper. She performs an elaborate magical ritual,
- removing his evil and malice.
- In another tablet, she performs the spell of fire which removes
- various illnesses, changing them to a mist which ascends to heaven
- lifted by the Dark Earth. The Sea-god questions the fire on its role.
-
- Astabis (Zamama, Akkadian Ninurta) - a Hurrian warrior god. After the
- Storm-god's first attack on Ullikummis is unsuccessful, he leads seventy
- gods in battle wagons on an attack on the diorite giant. They try to
- draw the water away from him, perhaps in order to stop his growth, but
- they fall from the sky and Ullikummis grows even larger, towering over
- the gate of Kummiya.
-
- Uliliyassis - a minor god who, properly attended to, removes
- impotence.
-
- Kurunta? - This god's symbol is the stag. He is associated with rural
- areas.
-
- Kubaba - chief goddess of the Neo-Hittites, she became Cybebe to the
- Phrygians and Cybele to the Romans.
-
- Yarris - a god of pestilence. A festival was held for him every
- autumn.
-
- Hasamelis - a god who can protect travelers, possibly by causing them
- to be invisible.
-
- Zashapuna - He is the chief god of the town of Kastama, held in
- greater regard there than the Storm-god, possibly gaining such influence
- through drawing lots with the other gods.
- Zaliyanu - She is the wife of Zashapuna
- Zaliyanu - She is the concubine of Zashapuna
-
- Papaya - One of the deities who sat under the Hawthorn tree awaiting
- the return of Telipinus.
-
- Istustaya - One of the deities who sat under the Hawthorn tree
- awaiting the return of Telipinus.
-
- Miyatanzipa - One of the deities who sat under the Hawthorn tree
- awaiting the return of Telipinu. (S)he? also sat under the ippiyas tree
- when Hannahanna found the hunting bag.
-
- Fate-goddesses - They were among the deities who sat under the
- Hawthorn tree awaiting the return of Telipinu. In one myth, they and
- the Mother-goddesses are missing.
-
- Dark-goddess - One of the deities who sat under the Hawthorn tree
- awaiting the return of Telipinu.
-
- Tutelary-deity (Sumerian Lamma) - One of the deities who sat under the
- Hawthorn tree awaiting the return of Telipinu.
-
- Uruzimu - A deity involved in returning the lost Storm-god of Nerik.
-
- Hahhimas (Frost) - When the Sea-god captures the Sun-god, he takes
- hold of the other gods and of the lands plants and animals, paralyzing
- them. He is half brother to Hasamili's brothers and spares them from
- his grip.
-
- B. Akkadian Imports:
-
- Anu - See section A.
-
- Antu - Anu's female counterpart, imported to the Hittites through the
- Hurrians.
-
- Ellil - He is presented with Ullikummis by the Irsirra deities and
- declares that the child will bring the mightiest battles and an awesome
- rival to the Storm-god. Later, Ea and presumably the Storm-god present
- before him a case against Kumarbis' for his creation of Ullikummis. He
- counters with Kumarbis' good record of worship and sacrifice and is in
- turn countered with Ea's testimony describing Ullikummis.
-
- Ninlil - Ellil's wife. She was imported by way of the Hurrians.
-
- Lelwanis (Lilwani, Ereshkigal, sometimes assimilated with Ishtar),
- 'Sun of the Earth' - Goddess of the earth and the nether-world,
- appeasement of her through sheep sacrifices helps remove threats from
- evil omens.
-
- Ayas (Ea) - He is the keeper of the 'old tablets with the words of
- fate' (Tablets of Destiny? 'me'?). The Ullikummis' myth has him as the
- father of the Storm-god.
- He attends Kumarbis and fetches that god's son to be devoured as a
- means of releaving Kumarbis pains from the Storm-god. He advises
- Kumarbis to have experts work 'poor' magic to aid him in his distress,
- bringing bulls and sacrifices of meal. This magic helps secure
- Kumarbis' 'tarnassus'.
- He is prevailed upon by the Storm-god following his defeat by
- Ullikummis. He and presumably the Storm-god present a case against
- Kumarbis' for his creation of Ullikummis before Ellil. Rebutting
- Ellil's defense that Kumarbis is well behaved regarding worship and
- sacrifices, Ea proclaims that Ullikummis 'will block off heaven and the
- gods holy houses.' He seeks out Upelluri, and after interviewing him,
- locates Ullukummis feet on Upelluri's shoulder. He charges the olden
- gods to deliver the copper knife with which they severed heaven from
- earth, in order to cut through Ullukummis' feet. He then spurs Tasmisus
- and the Storm-god on to fight the crippled giant.
-
- (Hurrian Tapkina, Damkina) - Ea's wife, imported from the Akkadians by
- way of the Hurrians.
-
- (Hurrian Shaushka, Ishtar) - She takes the form of a winged female
- standing on a lion.
- She spies her brothers, the Storm-god and Tasmisus, leaving the
- kuntarra following word of the appearance of Ullikummis. She leads them
- by hand, up Mount Hazzi, from which they can view the giant. When the
- Storm-god is vexed and fearful at the site of Kumarbis' son, she chides
- him. Later, she takes up her galgalturi/harp and sings to the blind and
- deaf Ullikummis, but her folly is exposed to her by a great wave from
- the sea, who charges her to seek out her brother who is yet to be
- emboldened to the inevitable battle.
- She was loved by the serpent Hedammu.
-
- Ninatta - Shaushka's attendant.
-
- Kulitta - Shaushka's attendant.
-
- Ereshkigal - This goddess is the mother of the Storm-god. She plays a
- role in returning him from the underworld by opening the gates of the
- Dark Earth.
-
- C. Demons
- Various rituals were performed to call upon demons for protection or to
- drive away baneful deities summoned by sorcerers.
-
- Alauwaimis - properly propitiated with ritual, libation, and goat
- sacrifice, this demon drives away evil sickness.
-
- Tarpatassis - properly propitiated with ritual and the sacrifice of a
- buck, this demon staves off sickness and grants long, healthy life.
-
- D. Mortals
-
- Hupasiya(s) - a resident of Ziggaratta. He is recruited by Inaras
- to aid in defeating Illuyankas. He agrees to her plan after illiciting
- her promise to sleep with him. When Illuyankas and his children are
- gorged on Inaras' feast he ties them up for the Storm-god to kill. He
- is set up in a house by Inaras with the instructions not to look out the
- window while she is away lest he see his family. He does and begs to go
- home. Here the text is broken and some researchers assume he was
- killed.
-
- III. Cosmology and the structure of the universe.
- I haven't found as much about this as I would like:
-
- The olden gods built heaven and earth upon Upelluri. They had a copper
- knife which they used to cleave the heaven from the earth, after which
- they stored it in ancient storehouses and sealed them up - only to open
- them and retrieve it for use on Ullikummis.
-
- Kuntarra house - the house of the gods in heaven.
-
- The Dark Earth, i.e. the underworld, has an entrance with gates. It
- holds bronze or iron palhi-vessels with lead lids. That which enters
- them perishes within and doesn't return. Telipinu and Hannahanna's
- anger is banished there.
-
- IV. Source material:
-
- Goetze, Albrecht "Hittite Myths, Epics, and Legends",
- _Ancient_Near_East_Texts_Relating_to_the_Old_Testament_, ed. James
- Pritchard, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1955. This has been
- my primary source for the texts of the Hittite myths and prayers.
- Gurney, O. R. _The_Hittites_, Penguin Books, New York, 1990. Gurney's
- work is a solid overview of Hittite history, culture, religion, and
- mythology.
- Hoffner, Harry A. _Hittite_Myths_, Scholars Press, Atlanta, Georgia,
- 1990. Intended to be a more idiomatic translation, Hoffner's work
- also includes some material more recent than Goetz. I am replacing
- that material from Goetz with which this conflicts.
- Hooke, S. H. _Middle_Eastern_Mythology_ , Penguin Books, New York,1963.
- Hooke takes a comparative and summary approach to Sumerian, Babylonian,
- Canaanite, Hittite, and Hebrew mythological material.
- Laroche, Emmanuel articles within _Mythologies_Volume_One_, Bonnefoy,
- Yves (compiler), The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991.
- This handful of topically focused articles provides depth in some
- areas of Hittite and Hurrian religion but lacks an overall picture as
- Bonnefoy's work was designed for an encyclopedic format.
-
-