Hittite Religion Research Articles

A REVIEW ON THE TERM OF HEARTH IN HITTITE MYTHOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS: ANATOLIAN HEARTH BELIEF

In order to find out how the concept of “hearth” has come to Anatolia, it is inevitable to travel in time towards the prehistoric ages. It would not be wrong to indicate that the most important period of this journey has been the period of Hittite State. With their cuneiform documents, Hittites, who have the first Anatolian written documents, provide the earliest records of Anatolian cultural history. In these records, various rituals such as sacrificial rites, festivals, sorcery and fortune telling carried out around the hearth were depicted in detail. It is simply understood that the Hittites have highly valued the concept of hearth. Hittite mythological documents, which consist of a substantial part of these records, reflect the religious beliefs of Hittites. These documents point out that with its various new meanings, the term of hearth which has been considered very important since the settled life in Anatolia, becomes the inseparable part of Hittite religion. These documents that reflect the belief system including the fears, angers and hopes of the Hittites are regarded as the first records of Anatolian mythology related to the term of hearth. Among the studies on mythological documents of Hittites, there is a scarcity of the ones related to the hearth term. The lack of the studies carried out on the hearth term in mythological texts has been the reason of this study. This study aims to identify the hearth in Hittite mythological documents and to determine the relationship between this identification and Anatolian hearth belief.

Celestial Aspects of Hittite Religion, Part 2: Cosmic Symbolism at Yazilikaya

Evidence of systematic astronomical observation and the impact of celestial knowledge on culture is plentiful in the Bronze Age societies of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Europe. An interest in astral phenomena is also reflected in Hittite documents, architecture and art. The rock-cut reliefs of 64 deities in the main chamber of Yazilikaya, a Hittite rock sanctuary associated with Hattusa, the Hittite capital in central Anatolia, can be broken into groups marking days, synodic months and solar years. Here, we suggest that the sanctuary in its entirety represents a symbolic image of the cosmos, including its static levels (earth, sky, underworld) and the cyclical processes of renewal and rebirth (day/night, lunar phases, summer/winter). Static levels and celestial cyclicities are emphasised throughout the sanctuary – every single relief relates to this system. We interpret the central panel with the supreme deities, at the far north end of Chamber A, as a reference to the northern stars, the circumpolar realm and the world axis. Chamber B seems to symbolise the netherworld.

أمراض الملوک فى تاريخ المملکة الحيثية الحديثة من خلال الفکر العقائدى

يهدف هذا البحث إلى دراسة الأمراض التي أصابت بعض الملوک الحيثيين خلال عصر المملکة الحديثة، وهم الملک شوبيلوليوما الأول والملک أرنوواندا الثانى والملک مورشيلى الثانى وأخيرا الملک خاتوشيلى الثالث، ومما لاشک فيه أن لتلک الأمراض أسبابا و أثارا متعددة، أوضحها الملوک في کتاباتهم، ومن ثم تقدم الباحثة في هذه الدراسة عرضا للملوک الحيثيين الذين أصيبوا ببعض الأمراض التي ترکت أثرا واضحا في حياتهم الملکية،وکذلک في قرارتهم وتوجهاتهم وعلاقتهم بالعقيدة الحيثية ،فالخلفية التاريخية هو جزءا أساسيا في تلک الدراسة لإيضاح جوانب متعددة تخص الأسباب و النتائج، وقد لزم التنوية إلى أن هذه الدراسة لا تتناول الأمراض بوجه عام وإنما تختص فقط بأمراض الملوک وعلاقتها بالمعبودات الحيثية، ووصفها في الکتابات الأثرية والوسائل التي استعان بها الملوک من أجل الشفاء، وکيف أثر الفکر العقائدى على اتخاذ الملوک تصرفات بعينها، مما يعنى أن العقيدة الدينية هى المؤثر الأول فى الفکر الحيثى،ولأن لکل حالة مرضية ملکية ظروفها الخاصة، فقد تختلف عناصر البحث من ملک لأخر. Diseases of kings in the history of the New Hittite kingdom through Religious belief The present study investigated the causes and impacts of diseases afflicting some of the Hittite kings such as; King Suppiluliuma I, king Arnuwanda II, King Mursili II and finally King Ḫattusili III. These diseases had been described in royal archives of a dynasty of Hittite kings. These diseases had remarkable impacts on their royal life, decisions, directions and their Hittite religion policy. The historical background is an essential part of this study to clarify various aspects of diseases affecting Hittite kings only, and to investigate their relationship to the recital idolatry and their description in the archaeological writings and the means used by the kings for the sake of recovery, and because each disease has a property of its circumstances, the elements of research may differ from one property to another.

Celestial Aspects of Hittite Religion: An Investigation of the Rock Sanctuary Yazılıkaya

Regular celestial events assumed remarkable significance for the cultic rituals of the Hittite civilisation (c. 1600-1180 BC) in central Asia Minor. Numerous texts found at the capital Ḫattusa relate to solar deities and celestial divination reminiscent of Old Babylonian astronomical and astrological practices. Here we suggest that the rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya, which was considered one of the holiest places in the Hittite kingdom, had a calendrical function. It contains more than 90 rock-cut reliefs, dating to the second half of the thirteenth century BC, of deities, humans, animals and mythical figures. The reliefs in Chamber A are arranged in groups to mark the days, synodic months and solar years. Using this system, the Hittite priests were able to determine when additional months were required to keep lunar and solar years aligned. The astronomical and astrological interpretation of Yazilikaya serves as a point of departure for a brief re-examination of celestial aspects in Hittite religion. Open Access: CC BY

La disparition du dieu dans la Bible et les mythologie hittites: Essai anthropologique by Hélène Nutkowicz and Michel Mazoyer

Reviewed by: La disparition du dieu dans la Bible et les mythologie hittites: Essai anthropologique by Hélène Nutkowicz and Michel Mazoyer Michael S. Moore hélène nutkowicz and michel mazoyer, La disparition du dieu dans la Bible et les mythologie hittites: Essai anthropologique (Collection Kubaba, Série Antiquité; Paris: L'Harmattan, 2014). Pp. 211. €20.90. The Kubaba Association is an affiliation of Parisian scholars committed to publishing "populist surveys for public universities interested in investigating the connections between ancient and modern civilizations." The association takes its name from an ancient Near Eastern goddess of magic and fertility; its mission is to publish educational material focused on interdisciplinary rapprochements between "separate cultures, languages and beliefs" (cited from the vision statement at http://kubaba.univ-paris1.fr/). Overall, this is a good, serviceable introduction to a very important notion in ancient Near Eastern religious thought. These are separate survey articles nominally juxtaposed. The first is an introduction to and translation of the Hittite Telipinu myth by Mazoyer (the [End Page 122] president of Kubaba and author of "Le mythe de Telipinu et les rituels du Kizzuwatna," in La Cilicie: Espaces et pouvoirs locaux [ed. É. Jean et al.; Varia Anatolica 13; Paris: De Boccard, 2001] 115-22—an essay enthusiastically received by Jared L. Miller in his Studies in the Origins, Development, and Interpretation of the Kizzuwatna Rituals [Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 46; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004] 456). The second is an essay on the "disappearing deity" motif by Nutkowicz, to which she appends a substantive note on the deus absconditus notion in ancient Egypt, focusing on the "absence-renewal" hieroglyph of the kpr scarab ("dung-beetle"). Working from an amalgated text, M.'s essay on the "Disappearance of Telipinu" (CTH 324 [Catalogue des textes hittites] [Paris: Klincksieck, 1971]; Gary Beckman prefers to call it the "Wrath of Telipinu" in The Context of Scripture [ed. William W. Hallo; 3 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1997–2002] 1:151-55) shows how this myth helped Anatolians address some rather difficult socioeconomic questions. For example: What causes famine, pestilence, and death if not the disappearance of the deity responsible for keeping them away? What triggers the god's decision to leave his/her post? Is it anger, and if so, can this anger be measured (i.e., where "minor irritation" < "full-blown wrath")? Where does the deity go when he/she disappears? What ritual(s) help facilitate his/her return? Walking the reader through these questions, M. shows how "the theme of the disappearing god is a key element of Hittite religion. It furnishes an explanation for the organization of the pantheon and a 'philosophical' explanation for the order of the world. . . . An agrarian deity at the beginning, Telipinu returns" from his sabbatical "endowed with a new function: creator god," thereby ushering in the "dawn" of a new era "founded on fecundity, prosperity, and peace" (p. 40). Nutkowicz's essay, on the other hand, lists the primary verbs in Tanak signifying various degrees and types of divine absentia: ("to hide," Gen 3:10), ("to conceal," Exod 2:2), ("to conceal," Job 6:10), ("to hide," Isa 2:10), ("to shut," 1 Sam 12:3), ("to hide," Ps 10:11), the last of which sometimes occurs with , ("face[s]") to describe the deus absconditus. In addition, she lists other verbs referencing what writers imagine to be divine "sleep" (, Ps 44:24; 1 Kgs 18:27), "forgetfulness" (, Ps 10:11), "abandonment" (, Lam 5:20; Isa 54:7; , Ps 27:9), "rejection" (, Isa 41:9), "silence" (, Isa 1:15; N.B. , "to be deaf," does not appear in this verse, contra the reference on p. 94), even "detestation" (, Ps 89:39). After this she rather conservatively concludes that the Hebrew deity "is never truly absent, but can hide his face from humanity, taking as long as he wants to decide whether to turn away or return. His covenant is never called into question" because it is "the consequence of divine choice and the revealed word. God does not abandon men, but returns them to himself in freedom. Thus he appears to the individual, haunted by the divine absence, to start his/her search, but...

Outlines of The Hittite Religion

M.Ö. 2000 yıllarında Anadolu’ya gelen Hint-Avrupa kökenli Hititler M.Ö. 1650’de Kızılırmak Havzası’nda yer alan Hattuşa (Boğazköy) merkezli bir devlet kurmuşlardır. Orta Anadolu’da kurulan bu devlet ilerleyen süreçte büyük bir imparatorluk haline gelmiştir. Farklı etnik kökenlere sahip toplulukları bünyesinde barındıran Hititler kendilerini “Bin Tanrılı Halk” olarak adlandırmışlardır. Fethettikleri bölgelerin tanrılarını kendi tanrılarının arasına dâhil eden Hititler geniş bir tanrılar topluluğuna sahip olmuştur. Bu tanrıların arasında Hatti, Luvi, Pala, Sümer, Hurri, Asur, Babil ve Eski Hint kökenli tanrılar yer almaktadır. Boğazköy’de gerçekleştirilen kazılarda pek çok tapınak yapısının ortaya çıkarılması Hititlerin tanrılarına verdikleri önemi göstermektedir. Bu makalede kendisine kaynaklık eden arkeolojik ve filolojik verilerden yola çıkılarak bir devlet dini olan Hitit dini, Hitit dininin genel özellikleri, Hitit panteonunda yer alan tanrılar, bu tanrılar için yapılmış olan tapınaklar, tanrılar adına yapılan bayram törenleri, tanrıların ve insanların konumu, büyü ritüelleri, fal ve kehanet uygulamaları, dualar ve mitolojik hikâyeler çerçevesinde ele alınmıştır.

Aštata: A Case of Hittite Imperial Religious Policy

The Hittite documentation concerning the Land of Aštata on the Euphrates, with Emar as capital, can now be better evaluated thanks to a more precise chronological order of the documentation from Emar (1400–1180b.c.). Hittite rule did not exercise any religious imperialism, on the contrary, it was Mursili ii who transferred to Hattusa some Aštata cults for the Syrian goddess Išḫara. He did not refrain from calling to his court priests from Emar in order to celebrate the proper rites to the goddess in an emergency. The king of Karkamiš, who exercised Hittite control over Emar, sent there one of his diviners to enquire through oracles if the local gods were in favour of his travelling to the city. A reorganization of cults promoted by Tuthaliya iv was at the origin of the introduction in Emar of a liturgy for some Hittite gods. This was not a superimposition of a theological organized pantheon over the local gods, but personal gods of the king; their cult was committed to the local family of diviners in charge of the cults of the city, with which the Hittites maintained close relations. Apparently, Hittite religion never deeply penetrated Emar society. A group of seals used by some Emariotes, however, presents the same iconographies as Hittite seals, with gods of the Hittite pantheon, an evidence of adhesion to the Hittite rule.

Thinking Hattusha: Astronomy and Landscape in the Hittite Lands

It is of note that no special direction of the compass seems to have been preferred either for the orientation of the temples or for that of the cult chamber themselves.Jurgen SeeherAs a natural sequel to studies of temple orientation in the Mediterranean basin, and especially of the temples of ancient Egypt,1 the Hittite monuments of the Bronze Age offer an excellent laboratory to extend further the analysis of possible astronomical or topographical orientations, or both. This would be relevant not only for comparison with other neighbouring and contemporary cultures, but also to provide insights into such an important region of the Middle East as the Anatolian Peninsula.Contemporaneous with the Egyptian New Kingdom, the inhabitants of the Hittite Empire and their masters, the Kings of the Land of Hatti, produced a most sophisticated society, heir to a long Anatolian cultural tradition lasting several millennia.2 However, to our knowledge, cultural astronomy studies in this area and particular period have been practically nil.3 Preliminary analysis of some Hittite monuments and of the written sources had shown certain clues to a possible interest in the sky, but the judgement of Jurgen Seeher,4 the director of the team currently excavating at Hattusha, the Hittite capital, was so categorically negative regarding the question that apparently there was no hope of obtaining a positive result.However, it is the intention of this article to show that the analysis of a statistically significant sample of Hittite temples - and a handful of monumental gates - demonstrates that ancient Hittite monuments were not randomly orientated. On the contrary, there were well-defined patterns of orientation that could be interpreted within the context of Hittite culture and religion. The Hittite sample will be complemented with a preliminary set of data for Phrygian religious monuments. This will serve to analyse the transition of orientation customs from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. This sample from ancient Phrygia will be compared with data in the excellent work of Susanne Bernt-Ersoz.5The paper deals with different topics. In Section 1, we analyse the geographical, historical and anthropological context. Special care is devoted to analysing ancient Hittite religion within its Anatolian context, notably the solar cults and the festival calendar. Section 2 presents our data on the Hittite monuments and tries to offer clues to their interpretation. The Phrygian data are presented and analysed in Section 3, offering a basis for future research. Finally, Section 4 presents the conclusions, both definitive and preliminary, of our work.1. STATE OF THE QUESTION: INTRODUCTIONThe Hittite Empire was a multi-lingual, multi-cultural political entity that controlled the life of Anatolia and the Levant for more than three centuries. From their homeland in the Land of Hatti (see Figure 1), the Hittite kings dominated a vast territory of varying frontiers which at its maximum extent in the late thirteenth century b.c. included, thanks to a network of vassal states, most of Anatolia and the north of Syria. The nucleus of the kingdom was formed by the Land of Hatti proper, the Upper and Lower Lands, and the neighbouring territories of Kizuwatna and Tarhuntassa. This area was populated not only by Hittites, speaking Nesili, the language of Nesha, but also by Luwians and Palaians, speaking parentage languages of Indo-European lineage, Hurrians (notably in Kizuwatna) and, to an extent difficult to discern, ancient Hattians, the original inhabitants of the region. It has been argued that the latter group language, Hattic, was a dead language used only in religious rituals during most of Hittite history and that, at the end of the kingdom (c. 1200 b.c.), even Nesili was used only for state politics and religious purposes, while Luwian was the language spoken by the vast majority of the population.6As a consequence of this population mix, Hittite religion and social customs were a complicated blend of different traditions. …

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Sacred Space in the Ancient Near East

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Sacred Space in the Ancient Near East

Were Hittite Kings Divinely Anointed? A Palaic Invocation to the Sun-God and Its Significance for Hittite Religion

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to improve our understanding of a difficult Palaic invocation to the Sun-god, and to elucidate its implications for the study of Hittite religion. The first part of my account contains linguistic and philological discussion that concludes with a new translation of the scrutinized fragment. According to my interpretation, the Sun-god is requested to anoint the Hittite king and to exalt him. This is the only clear evidence that the gods were thought to be personally responsible for the anointment of Hittite kings. A counterpart to this nontrivial concept is well known from the Hebrew Bible and is inherited by the Christian tradition.The second part of this paper, which is meant to be accessible to all the historians of religion, discusses the anointment as a rite of passage among the Hittites, as well as the relevant parallels in other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. I am arguing that anointment with oil was extended to both Hittite priestly kings and certain other categories of Hittite priests, and that the underlying purpose of this act was ritual cleansing. The spread of this rite to those cultures where kings were not at the head of the religious hierarchy boosted the secondary association of divine anointment with empowerment rather that purification.

Towards a history of Hittite religion

Towards a history of Hittite religion

Some Aspects of Hittite Religion. O. R. Gurney

<i>Some Aspects of Hittite Religion</i>. O. R. Gurney

Nerik and its “Weather-God”

Hittite geography and Hittite religion have for many years been among Oliver Gurney's principal interests. It therefore gives me the greatest pleasure that this small contribution in his honour deals with both these subjects, especially since the text with which it is mainly concerned is one which I first studied many years ago under his supervision. Like so many others, I owe him a debt of gratitude which can never be adequately repaid.For many years now it has been clear that in any attempt to locate the site of Nerik the most important fact to be kept in mind is that the town was for a long period in the hands of the Gasga-peoples. Their capture of it was allegedly in the reign of Hantilis, and it was calculated that five hundred years passed before it was recovered by Hattusilis III. More probably however it fell into enemy hands in the reign of Arnuwandas I and his queen Asmunikkal, shortly after 1450 B.C. But whatever the exact details may be, it has to be accepted that any town subjected to an extended period of Gasgan occupation must have been situated to the north of Hattusas, in the direction of the area known in Classical times as Pontus. More recently there has been further evidence pointing to a similar conclusion.

REVIEWS

The Fate of Shechem, or the Politics of Sex. Essays in the Anthropology of the Mediterranean. By Julian Pitt‐Rivers Some Aspects of Hittite Religion. By O.R. Gurney Israelite and Judaean History. Edited by John H. Hayes and J. Maxwell Miller Form and Meaning. Studies in Literary Techniques in the Book of Jonah. By Jonathan Magonet Redating the New Testament. By J.A.T. Robinson Jesus in Contemporary Historical Research. By Gustaf Aulen The Good News according to Matthew. By Eduard Schweizer, Pp.574, London, SPCK, 1976, £7.50. Hippolytus of Rome: Contra Noetum. Text introduced, edited and translated by Robert Butterworth Du Corps Psychique au Corps Spirituel. By François Altermath Space, Time and Resurrection. By Thomas Torrance Patterns of Faith. By J.L. Houlden Principles of Christian Theology, Revised Edition. By John Macquarrie The Contradiction of Christianity. By David E. Jenkins The Church in the Power of the Spirit. By J. Moltmann Living Priesthood. By Michael Boilings African Christian Marriage. By Benezeri Kisembo, Laurenti Magesa and Aylward Shorter Freedom, Suffering and Love. By Andrew Elphinstone, Pp. xii, 147, London, SCM Press, 1976, £4.50. Spirituality for Mission: Historical, Theological and Cultural Factors for a Present‐Day Missionary Spirituality. By Michael Collins Reilly Choose Life: A Dialogue. By Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda, edited by Richard L. Gage From Cosmos to Love. By Jack Dominian &amp; A.R. Peacocke Providence and Evil. By P.T. Geach, Pp. xxii, 153, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977, £4.50. The Virtues. By P.T. Geach, Pp. xxxv, 173, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977, £4.95. Kierkegaard's Existential Ethics. By George J. Stack Hegel's Philosophy of Religion. By Bernard M.G. Reardon Religion, Truth and Language‐Games. By Patrick Sherry, Pp.x, 234 (Library of Philosophy and Religion), London, Macmillan, 1977, £8.95. Martin Heidegger's Philosophy of Religion. By John R. Williams, Pp.188, (SR Supplements 2), Waterloo, Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1977, £4.00. Martin Heidegger: An Illustrated Study. By Walter Biemel, translated by J.L. Mehta Unended Quest. By Karl Popper The Origins of Latin Christianity. By Jean Daniélou Records of the Trials of the Spanish Inquisition in Ciudad Real, Volume II, The Trials of 1494–1512 in Toledo. Edited by Haim Beinart The Roman Inquisition and the Venetian Press, 1540–1605. By Paul F. Grendler A History of the Churches in the United States and Canada. By Robert T. Handy The Old Religion in the Brave New World. By Sidney E. Mead A Nation of Behavers. By Martin E. Marty Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Gentle Radical. By J. Wade Caruthers More Roman than Rome. By J. Derek Holmes Bishops and Writers. Edited by Adrian Hastings

The Interrelationship Between Religion and Magic in Hittite Religion

The question of the interrelationship between religion and magic has often been touched upon by scholars. It has been so especially since the works of EWARD B. TYLOR1) and J. G. FRAZER 2), who helped to draw the lines in a clearer way, even if their solutions can no longer be accepted as the definite ones. The interest has mainly been concentrated on the interrelationship of magic and religion in primitive religion. Frazer, however, tried to trace the relation between the two phenomena during the centuries, in several cultures, thereby finding that magic represents the simplest and most elementary processes of the mind and thus is historically the former 3). Religion is more complicated and came later, after the failure of magic in bringing about what it wanted was obvious. Religion and magic, in FRAZER'S opinion, were founded upon conflicting views of the universe 4) which were in the end irreconcilable. He was, however, fully aware of the fact that they were both existing side by side in many religions and he discussed their interrelationship in several cases. For good reasons FRAZER did not discuss the interrelationship between religion and magic in Hittite religion, as the texts were not available to him. Actually it is first recently that they have been accessible to non-hittitologists in a greater measure, through good and reliable translations 5). In Hittite texts we find religion and magic side by side. Both seem

The Interrelationship between Religion and Magic in Hittite Religion

The Interrelationship between Religion and Magic in Hittite Religion

The Basic Aspect of Hittite Religion

The religions of ancient Western Asia, though presenting in detail a number of differences, agree in their conception of the relation between man and god. This is the same relation that exists between the servant and his master, or between the subject and his king or prince. According to the religions of ancient Western Asia, man had to serve his god, his king and his master, and this service constituted his religion. In fact, man was created solely to serve god, and all his life therefore was but a series of religious acts in the service of his god. The religious texts of all palaeo-oriental nations afford us ample proofs that this was the fundamental principle of their religion. I refer to Semitic nations, that is, to those who spoke Semitic languages, or to peoples of other tongues: the Sumerians or the Phoenicians, the Hittites or the South Arabs. All these saw divinity in masters, princes, or kings who had man as subject or servant.