Lelluri (also spelled Lilluri, Liluri) was a

Hurrian goddess The Hurrian pantheon consisted of gods of varied backgrounds, some of them natively Hurrian, while others adopted from other pantheons, for example Eblaite and Mesopotamian. Like the other inhabitants of the Ancient Near East, Hurrians regarded th ...

worshiped in southeastern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and northern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. She was associated with mountains, and in known sources appears in connection with the god

Manuzi Manuzi (also spelled Manuzzi) was a mountain god worshiped in Kizzuwatna. He shared his name with the mountain he represented and with a village. He is best attested from sources pertaining to the ''hišuwa'' festival, which indicate he was the hus ...

Character

Lelluri most likely originated in the

Nur Mountains The Nur Mountains ( tr, Nur Dağları, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Amanus ( grc, Ἁμανός), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south ...

, and her name ends with the

Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...

suffix -''luri'', known also from the

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...

Upelluri Upelluri or Ubelluri was a primordial giant in Hurrian mythology. He is only known from the ''Song of Ullikummi'', which is one of the few Hurrian texts offering a view of this culture's cosmology. It was believed that Upelluri was already alive ...

(a primordial giant from the

Kumarbi Kumarbi was an important god of the Hurrians, regarded as "the father of gods." He was also a member of the Hittite pantheon. According to Hurrian myths, he was a son of Alalu, and one of the parents of the storm-god Teshub, the other being Anu ...

Cycle), and Impaluri (''

sukkal Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various comm ...

'' of the

sea god A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Ano ...

), as well as a number of Hurrian mountain and stone names.

Assyriologist Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , '' -logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southea ...

Beate Pongratz-Leisten regards her as a deity "associated with Hurrian identity." Volkert Haas describes Lelluri as "lady of the mountains" ("die Herrin der Gebirge"). She was closely linked with

, a god associated with both the weather and mountains. She was likely his partner, and that they shared a temple in

Kummani Kummanni ( Hittite: ''Kummiya'') was the name of the main center of the Anatolian kingdom of Kizzuwatna. Its location is uncertain, but it may have been near the classical settlement of Comana in Cappadocia. Recent research also proposed as a loca ...

. A lexical text from

Emar ) , image = View_from_the_Byzantine_Tower_at_Meskene,_ancient_Barbalissos.jpg , alt = , caption = View from the Byzantine Tower at Meskene, ancient Barbalissos , map_type = Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 200 ...

indicates that she was understood as analogous to the

Mesopotamian goddess Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', an ambiguous substan ...

Ninmena Ninmena was a Mesopotamian goddess who represented the deified crown. She was closely associated with the deified scepter, Ninĝidru, and with various goddesses of birth, such as Ninhursag. Name and character The name Ninmena means "mistress of ...

Worship

According to

Volkert Haas Volkert may refer to: People *Edward Charles Volkert (1871–1935), American painter *Georg Volkert (1945–2020), German footballer * Stephan Volkert (born 1971), German rower *Volkert Doeksen (born 1963), Dutch money manager *Volkert van der Graa ...

, Lelluri was worshiped chiefly in the proximity of

and

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. ...

in the west and as far east as the middle of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

. In

Kizzuwatna Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode''), was an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the 2nd millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun, in modern-day Turkey. It enc ...

she was celebrated during the ''hišuwa'' festival, whose purpose was to guarantee the wellbeing of the king and his family. Among the other deities present in texts pertaining to it are "

Teshub Teshub (also written Teshup, Teššup, or Tešup; cuneiform ; hieroglyphic Luwian , read as ''Tarhunzas'';Annick Payne (2014), ''Hieroglyphic Luwian: An Introduction with Original Texts'', 3rd revised edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p.& ...

Manuzi" (

weather god A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...

of t.

)

Ishara Ishara (Išḫara) was the tutelary goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Ebla. The origin of her name is unknown. Both Hurrian and West Semitic etymologies have been proposed, but they found no broad support and today it is often assumed that ...

Allani Allani, also known under the Akkadian name Allatu (or Allatum) was the Hurrian goddess of the underworld, incorporated into Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons as well. Name and epithets The name Allani is derived from a Hurrian word meaning " ...

Maliya Maliya was a goddess worshiped by Hittites in the Bronze Age. She was most likely a deified river in origin, but she was also associated with gardens and with artisanship, specifically with leatherworking and carpentry. The oldest attestations of ...

and two hyposthases of

Nupatik Nupatik, also known as Lubadag, was a Hurrian god of uncertain character. He is attested in the earliest inscriptions from Urkesh, as well as in texts from many other Hurrian settlements, and possibly continued to be worshiped as late as in the n ...

. During the festival, the formula "Lelluri has achieved her heart's desire" had to be recited aloud after pouring an offering for her into a

rhyton A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...

. A so-called ''ambašši'' offering to her consisted out of a lamb, a goose, a sheep and a loaf of bread. Like the so-called "Syrian substrate" deities (

Kubaba Kubaba (in the ''Weidner'' or ''Esagila Chronicle''), sux, , , is the only queen on the ''Sumerian King List'', which states she reigned for 100 years – roughly in the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2500–2330 BC) of Sumerian history. A co ...

Aštabi Aštabi ( uga, 𐎀𐎌𐎚𐎁, ''aštb''), also known as Aštabil, was a god worshiped in the third millennium BCE in Ebla, later incorporated into Hurrian beliefs in locations such as Alalakh and Ugarit and as a result also into the religion o ...

, Adamma), Hebat and

Šarruma Šarruma or Sharruma was a Hurrian mountain god, who was also worshipped by the Hittites and Luwians. Name The original source and meaning of the name is unknown. In Hittite and Hurrian texts, his name was linked with the Akkadian ''šarri'' ("K ...

Lelluri was also incorporated into

Hittite religion 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 . Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that wo ...

. King

Ḫattušili I Hattusili I (''Ḫattušili'' I) was a king of the Hittite Old Kingdom. He reigned ca. 1650–1620 BCE as per middle chronology, the most accepted chronology nowadays, or alternatively ca. 1586–1556 BCE (short chronology). Excavations in Zincirl ...

mentions her (alongside

Allatum Allani, also known under the Akkadian name Allatu (or Allatum) was the Hurrian goddess of the underworld, incorporated into Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons as well. Name and epithets The name Allani is derived from a Hurrian word meaning ...

, the

storm god A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, and the mountain gods Adalur and Amaruk) among the deities whose statues he brought to Hatti as war booty. However, the exact location of the city of Haššuwa from which she was brought remains unknown.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Hurrian mythology Mountain goddesses Hurrian deities Hittite deities