Hittite mythology and religion

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Seated deity, late Hittite Empire (13th century BC)

Though heavily influenced by Mesopotamian mythology, the religion of the Hittites and Luwians retains noticeable Indo-European elements, for example Tarhunt the god of thunder, and his conflict with the serpent Illuyanka, which resembles, among other things, the conflict between Indra and the cosmic serpent Vrtra in Indo-Aryan mythology.

Tarhunt has a son, Telepinu and a daughter, Inara. Inara is a protective deity (LAMMA) involved with the Puruli spring festival. Ishara is a goddess of the oath.

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

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.

Arinna, a city a day's march from Hattusa the capital of the Hittites, was perhaps the major cult center of the Hittites, and certainly of their major sun goddess, known as UTU Arinna "sun goddess of Arinna".

The Hittites often worshipped their gods through Huwasi stones, which represented deities and were treated as sacred objects.

Literature

Gary Beckman, The Religion of the Hittites, The Biblical Archaeologist (1989).
J. G. Macqueen, Hattian Mythology and Hittite Monarchy, Anatolian Studies (1959).

References

Burney, Charles Allen (2004). Historical dictionary of the Hittites. Scarecrow Press. p. 28. ISBN 0810849364, 9780810849365. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)