The Sun goddess of the Earth ( Hittite: ''taknaš ^dUTU'',

Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fam ...

: tiyamaššiš Tiwaz) was the Hittite goddess of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

. Her

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 ...

equivalent was

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 ...

and her Sumerian/Akkadian equivalent was Ereshkigal, both of which had a marked influence on the Hittite goddess from an early date. In the Neo-Hittite period, the Hattian underworld god,

Lelwani Lelwani or Leluwani was a Hittite deity of the underworld of Hattic origin. While originally regarded as male and addressed as a "king," due to influence of Hurrian beliefs on the Hittites, Lelwani started to be viewed as female in later periods ...

was also syncretised with her. In Hittite texts, she is referred to as the "Queen of the Underworld" and possesses a palace with a vizier and servants. In the Hittite New Kingdom, she is attested as the mother of two weather gods. The

Weather god of Nerik The Weather god of Nerik is a Hittite weather god, who was mainly worshipped in the Hittite city of Nerik, whose cult was relocated to Kaštama and Takupša for two hundred years after the Hittites lost Nerik to the Kaskians. He was also referred t ...

was her son with the god

Šulinkatte Šulinkatte was a Hittite god of Hattian origin. He was regarded as a war deity. Additionally, he could fulfill the role of a protector of palaces and houses. In the local tradition of Nerik, he was regarded as the father of the weather god of Ne ...

, while the

Weather god of Zippalanda The Weather god of Zippalanda was a Hittite weather god, who was worshipped in the Hittite city of Zippalanda. The weather god of Zippalanda had several names, such as Ziplantil, Wašezzili,Piotr Taracha: ''Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia ...

was her son by the . The Sun goddess of the Earth, as a personification of the chthonic aspects of the Sun, had the task of opening the doors to the Underworld. She was also the source of all evil, impurity, and sickness on Earth.Piotr Taracha: ''Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia''. Wiesbaden 2009, p. 109. In the Hurrian-Hittite "Song of the Ransom," the Sun goddess of the Earth / Allani invites the king of the gods,

Tarḫunna Tarḫunna or Tarḫuna/i was the Hittite weather god. He was also referred to as the "Weather god of Heaven" or the "Lord of the Land of Hatti". Name Tarḫunna is a cognate of the Hittite verb ''tarḫu-zi'', "to prevail, conquer, be power ...

Teššub 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.& ...

and his brother Šuwaliyat/

Tašmišu Tašmišu (Tashmishu) was a Hurrian god. He was regarded as a brother of Teshub, and it is assumed he had a warlike character. Character Volkert Haas proposed that Tašmišu's name was derived from the Hurrian word ''tašmi'', which he translate ...

to a feast in the Underworld and dances before them. Otherwise, she is mostly attested in curses, oaths, and purification rituals. The Sun goddess of the Earth was worshipped in various places in the Hittite Empire, such as , A(n)galiya near ,

Ankuwa Ankuwa was an ancient Hattian and Hittite settlement in central Anatolia. Along with Hattusa and Katapa, it was one of the capitals from which the Hittite kings reigned during the year. Travelling from Hattusa, the royal entourage would arrive at ...

Nerik Nerik ( Hittite: ''Nerik(ka)''"Nerik(ka)." ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie.'') was a Bronze Age settlement to the north of the Hittite capitals Hattusa and Sapinuwa, probably in the Pontic region. Since 2005–2009, the site of Nerik has been id ...

, and

Zippalanda Zippalanda was a Hattic administrative and religious center of the Hittite Old Kingdom. Although its name was known from inscriptions, it was not until the latter 20th century that scholars placed it in Sorgun District of Yozgat Province, Turkey, ...

. Her worship is also attested in the land of

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 ...

References

Bibliography

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 ...

: ''Die hethitische Literatur.'' Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2006, , pp. 112, 178 ff., 227, 253. * Manfred Krebernik: ''Götter und Mythen des alten Orients.'' Verlag C.H. Beck, München 2012, , pp. 68, 75. *

Heidemarie Koch Heidemarie Koch (17 December 1943 – 28 January 2022) was a German Iranologist. Life and career Koch was born in Merseburg, Saxony, Prussia, Germany. She studied mathematics as her major between 1963 and 1966. Subsequently, she worked as a tea ...

: ''Religionen des alten Orients: Hethiter und Iran''. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, . * Piotr Taracha: ''Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia''. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, {{ISBN, 978-3-447-05885-8. Hittite deities Luwian goddesses Underworld goddesses Solar goddesses

See also

References

Bibliography