Hittite mythology and religion

Though drawing on ancient Mesopotamian religion, the religion of the Hittites and Luwians retains noticeable elements of reconstructed Proto-Indo-European mythology. For example, Tarhunt, the god of thunder and his conflict with the serpent Illuyanka resembles the conflict between Indra and the cosmic serpent Vritra in 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 Hurrians, a neighboring civilization close to Anatolia, where the Hittites were located. Hurrian mythology was so closely related that Oxford University Press published a guide to mythology and categorized Hittite and Hurrian mythology together as "Hittite-Hurrian".[7] Unfortunately, much of the knowledge about the Hittites has come from artistic, rather than textual, sources, making it difficult to ascertain specific details on this topic.[8] Hittite tablets regarding mythology often date back toward the end of 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 Hattian, Hurrian and Hittite influences. Mesopotamian and 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]

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:

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 Arinna, a day's march from Hattusa, was perhaps the major cult center of the Hittites, and certainly of their major sun goddess, known as ^dUTU ^URUArinna "sun goddess of Arinna".[13] Records found in cult-inventories show that local cults and practices were also active.[9] Traditions and the status of local cults were constantly changing due to the lack of a national standard for ritual practice. Smaller festivals and times of worship did not always require the priest-king's presence, so local places had more leeway when it came to worshiping the gods, however the king did make a point to observe every cult site and temple on his lands, since that was his duty to the gods and to his people. Once the king died, he was 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][lower-alpha 1]

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]

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 syncretism appear in inscriptions. The queen and priestess Puduhepa worked on organizing and rationalizing her people's religion.[16] In an inscription she invokes:

Sun goddess of Arinna, my lady, you are the queen of all lands! In the land of Hatti you have assumed the name of Sun-Goddess of Arinna, but in respect to the land which you made of cedars,[lower-alpha 2] you have assumed the name 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 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 Mesopotamian goddess 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 Mesopotamian goddess 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 Anzili, as well as Šawuška, and 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.

• Hittite military oath
• Hittite art
• Hurrian religion
• Luwian religion

• Cohen, Yoram (2006). "Hittite GIS/GI Kurtal(i), Akkadian naB-Bu, and the cuneiform sign NAB". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 126 (3): 419–423. JSTOR 20064518.
• Corti, Carlo (2018). "Along the road to Nerik: Local panthea of Hittite northern Anatolia". Die Welt des Orients. 48 (1): 24–71. doi:10.13109/wdor.2018.48.1.24. S2CID 134880821.
• Polvani, Anna Maria (2005). "The deity Imin.imin.bi in Hittite texts". Orientalia. Nova Series. 74 (3): 181–194. JSTOR 43076966.
• Popkin, P.R.W. (2013). "Hittite Animal Sacrifice, Integrating Zooarchaeology and Textual Analysis". In Ekroth, G.; Wallensten, J. (eds.). Bones, Behaviour and Belief: The Zooarchaeological Evidence as a Source for Ritual Practice in Ancient Greece and Beyond. Stockholm: Svenska Institutet i Athen. pp. 101–114. ISBN 978-91-7916-062-3.