![Hetite God in Aleppo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Hetite_God_in_Aleppo.jpg)
Tarḫunz (stem: ''Tarḫunt-'') was the weather god and chief god of the
Luwians
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 ...
, a people of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
and early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
Anatolia. He is closely associated with the Hittite god
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 ...
and the Hurrian god
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. ...
.
Name
The name of the
Proto-Anatolian
Proto-Anatolian is the proto-language from which the ancient Anatolian languages emerged (i.e. Hittite and its closest relatives). As with almost all other proto-languages, no attested writings have been found; the language has been reconstruc ...
weather god can be reconstructed as ''*Tṛḫu-ent-'' ("conquering"), a
participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
form of the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
root ''*terh
2'', "to cross over, pass through, overcome". It has cognates in
Hittite ''tarḫu-'',
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''trans-'', Dutch ''door'',
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
''durch'', and English ''through''.
The same name was used in almost all
Anatolian languages: Hittite ''
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 ...
-'';
Carian
The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, ...
''Trquδ-'';
Milyan
Milyan, also known as Lycian B and previously Lycian 2, is an extinct ancient Anatolian language. It is attested from three inscriptions: two poems of 34 and 71 engraved lines, respectively, on the so-called Xanthian stele (or Xanthian O ...
''Trqqñt-'', and
Lycian: ''Trqqas'' (A), ''Trqqiz'' (B), who has been identified with
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
.
Norbert Oettinger has argued that the functions of the Anatolian weather god ultimately come from the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
god
Perkwunos, but that they did not preserve the old name to coin instead the new epithet *''Tṛḫu-ent-'' ("conquering"), which sounded close to the name of the
Hattian Storm-god
Taru.
In
Luwian cuneiform
Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') ...
of the Bronze Age, his name appears as ''Tarḫunt-'' (''Tarḫuwant-'' in the oldest texts). He is also named using the
Sumerogram
A Sumerogram is the use of a Sumerian cuneiform character or group of characters as an ideogram or logogram rather than a syllabogram in the graphic representation of a language other than Sumerian, such as Akkadian or Hittite.
Sumerograms are n ...
s
dU ("God 10") or
dIM ("God Wind"). In
hieroglyphic Luwian
Hieroglyphic Luwian (''luwili'') is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs.
A decipherment was pr ...
, his name was written as ''Tarhunza-'' and ''Tarhunta-'' or with the ideograms (DEUS) TONITRUS ("God Thunder").
According to scholarship, the name ''Tarhunt-'' is also cognate to present participle ''turvant-'', also meaning "vanquishing, conquering", an epithet of Vedic deity Indra.
Onomastic legacy
The god's name often appears in personal names. The oldest example is "Tarḫuan", known from a 19th-century BC Hittite text from
Kültepe
Kültepe ( Turkish: ''ash-hill''), also known as Kanesh or Nesha, is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey, inhabited from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age.Kloekhorst, Alwin, (2019)Kanišite Hittite: ...
. Among the Luwians, it was customary for people to bear a simple god's name, but names were often combined. In the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, these names are very common. The latest examples derive from
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
southern Anatolia, like Tarkumbios (Ταρκυμβίος, luw. *''Tarhun-piya-'' "Tarhun-Gift“) or Trokombigremis (Τροκομβίγρεμις; *''Tarhun-pihra-mi-'' "Shining Tarhun") which are attested in
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
.
Further attestations of the deity's name appear as ''Tarhundaradu'', a king of
Arzawa
Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a " kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core ...
, and variation ''Tarhunnaradu'', believed to be the Hittite version of the former, and both referring to the same person, attested in the Ortaköy Letters. In a 2022 paper, scholar postulates the existence of "four different Luwian (and Luwic) stems: Tarhu̯ant-/Tarhunt-, Tarhun-, Tarhu- and Tarhunza". In addition, following Starke, he adduces further onomastic evidence, namely, a royal scribe's name ''Tarḫu(n)mii̯a'', Cilician names Ταρκυννις, Ταρκυμ-βιας, Τροκον-βιας, Τροκομ-βιγρεμις, Τροκον-γιλανις; and a Lycian name Τροκομ-μας.
Additionally, the Hittite city of
Tarhuntassa was named after the Luwian weather god.
Description
![IvrizRelief](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/IvrizRelief.JPG)
The Luwian weather god retained his Indo-European roots more clearly than the Hittite weather god
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 ...
. Thus, he was less closely linked with the bull, which was
common in Anatolia, than with the horse. According to the ritual against horse-plague of Uḫḫamuwa in
Arzawa
Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a " kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core ...
, the horses of the weather god were fed and his chariot was oiled with sheep fat.
The various Luwian epithets of Tarhunz indicate his functions. He was 'powerful' (cuneiform:
dU ''muwatalla/i-''; hieroglyphic: ''muwatalis Tarhunz'') and 'helpful' (cuneiform:
dU ''warraḫitaššaš''; "Tarhunz the Helper"), but also 'stern' (cuneiform: ''tapattanašši-''
dU). Thus, in Iron Age depictions, Tarhunz is shown slaying enemies with his axe. In battle he rushed ahead of the king, ensuring victory, and he could therefore be referred to as "Tarhunz of the (battle)field" (cuneiform: ''immarašša-''
dIM) or "Tarhunz of the commander" (hieroglyphic: ''kuwalanassis Tarhunz''). The weather god is also connected with mountains (cuneiform: ''ariyattališ''
dIM''-anz''; hieroglyphic: ''aritalasis Tarhunz''; "Mountain-Tarhunz"). In Iron Age
Carchemish
Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during it ...
, there was a cult of Tarhunz of Mount Arputa (''Arputawanis Tarhunz''). As a sky god, he was referred to as Tarhunz of the Heavens. As a shining or lightning-wielding god he bore the epithets ''piḫaimiš'' ("flashing, shining") and ''piḫaššaššiš'' ("of the thunderbolt, of the flash"). The name of the winged horse
Pegasus
Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...
in Greek mythology is derived from this last epithet.
Personal god of Muwatalli II
The Hittite Great King
Muwatalli II
:''See also Muwatalli I''
Muwatalli II (also Muwatallis, or Muwatallish) was a king of the New Kingdom of the Hittite empire c. 1295–1282 (middle chronology) and 1295–1272 BC in the short chronology.
Biography
He was the eldest son of Murs ...
named the weather god of the thunderbolt (
dU ''piḫaššaššiš'') as his protective deity, calling him "weather god of the thunderbolt, my lord, king of heaven." By his account, the god raised him and installed him as king of the Hittite realm. His prayer to the god shows Luwian characteristics:
:"Weather god of the thunderbolt, glow on me like the moonlight, shine over me like the son god of heaven!"
:(KUB 6.45 iii 68-70)
Tarhunz of the vineyard
A Luwian innovation is the idea of the weather god of the vineyard. He is first attested in a southern Anatolian vineyard ritual from the 16th century BC, in which he is called upon to make the royal vineyard thrive, along with the goddess Mamma and other divine couples, like
Runtiya __NOTOC__
Runtiya was the Luwian god of the hunt, who had a close connection with deer. He was among the most important gods of the Luwians.
Name
The name was written in the Luwian cuneiform of the Bronze Age as , which can be read as *Runtiya ...
and
Ala Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to:
Places
* Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village
* Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village
* Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village
* Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province
* Ala, Gotland, Sweden
* Alad, S ...
or
Telipinu
Telipinu was the last king of the Hittites Old Kingdom, living in 16th century BC, reigned c. 1525-1500 BC in middle chronology. At the beginning of his reign, the Hittite Empire had contracted to its core territories, having long since lost all ...
and
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 ...
.
During the Iron Age, Tarhunz of the vineyard (''turwarasina Tarhunza'') was worshipped with particular intensity in
Tabal
Tabal (c.f. biblical ''Tubal''; Assyrian: 𒋫𒁄) was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom (and/or collection of kingdoms) of South Central Anatolia during the Iron Age. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, references to Tabal first appeare ...
. King
Warpalawas
Warpalawa(s) (possibly ''Warpalawa II'') was a late 8th century BC (ca 730-710 BC?) Late Hittite (or Neo-Hittite) king of Tabal in south-central Anatolia (modern Turkey). The political center of this Early Iron Age regional state was probably ...
II of
Tuwana (2nd half of the 8th century BC) had an
imposing rock relief with a depiction of this aspect of the god erected near a productive spring at İvriz. Tarhunz is depicted as a bearded god with curly hair and a helmet. He wears a knee-length skirt and a belt, but no sword. In his left hand he holds a bunch of grapes and ears of wheat in his right hand. Animals were offered to him and in return "Plenty came down from the heavens and plenty came up from the earth." In
Sam'al he appears in an
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
version as
Hadad of the vineyard (''hdd krmn'' 'Hadad Karmîn').
Cult sites
Already in the early Bronze Age,
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
(Halpa) was a major city of the weather god. With the conquest of Syria by
Suppiluliuma I (1355-1325 BC), this city was incorporated into the Hittite realm and Suppiluliuma installed his son Telipinu as priest-king of Aleppo. The temple of the
weather god of Aleppo was adjusted to conform to Hittite cult. During the Iron Age, a new temple was dedicated to Tarhunz of Halpa.
Dragon slayer
![Museum of Anatolian Civilizations082 kopie1jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Museum_of_Anatolian_Civilizations082_kopie1jpg.jpg)
In a relief from
Arslantepe, the weather god and a companion are shown battling against a snake-like water creature. This depiction recalls the Hittite
Illuyanka
In Hittite mythology, Illuyanka was a serpentine dragon slain by Tarḫunz (), the Hittite incarnation of the Hurrian god of sky and storm. It is known from Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Çorum-Boğazköy, the former Hittite capital Hattu ...
and Hurrian
Ḫedammu Ḫedammu, Hurrian Apše ("Snake"), is a sea-dragon from Hurrian-Hittite mythology , which caused trouble on the Syrian coast. His Hittite counterpart was Illuyanka.
Ḫedammu is the son of the god Kumarbi and , the daughter of the personification ...
, a myth which is widespread in
Proto-Indo-European religion
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...
and in the Near East.
The Anatolian myth was taken over into
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, in which
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
battles with the dragon-like
Typhon
Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...
. It has been suggested that the myth was taken over from Cilicia in particular, since there was intensive contact between Greeks and Anatolians there from a very early date. The key locations of the myth also point in this direction:
Mount Kasios in northwestern Syria and the area around
Corycus in Rough Cilicia, where Luwian religion endured into the Roman period.
Depiction
![Römermuseum Osterburken (DerHexer) 2012-09-30 038](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/R%C3%B6mermuseum_Osterburken_%28DerHexer%29_2012-09-30_038.jpg)
There are no depictions from the Bronze Age that can be identified as the Luwian weather god. However, over sixty reliefs and statues of the weather god are known from the Iron Age. These can be divided into three types.
In the first type of depiction, he is shown as a bearded god with a horned helmet, short skirt, and a sword hanging from his belt. In the rear hand he holds an axe and in the front hand he holds a thunderbolt. A
winged sun
The winged sun is a solar symbol associated with divinity, royalty, and power in the Ancient Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Persia).
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, the symbol is attested from the Old Kingdom (Sneferu, 26th cen ...
may be depicted above his head, indicating his divine authority.
The second type depicts him similarly, but standing atop a bull. This image was used for the weather god of Aleppo, which exercised a strong influence over perceptions of Tarhunz in Syria. This depiction disappeared in the 7th century BC, but reappeared in Northern Syria at the beginning of the Roman Imperial period and was brought to central Europe as
Jupiter Dolichenus
Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman god whose mystery cult was widespread in the Roman Empire from the early-2nd to mid-3rd centuries AD. Like several other figures of the mystery cults, Jupiter Dolichenus was one of the so-called 'oriental' gods; tha ...
, whose cult centre lay in
Doliche, northwest of Carchemish. The , in particular, shows obvious similarities to the Luwian depiction of Tarhunz in Northern Syria.
The third type shows the weather god with ears of corn and bunches of grapes. This type is common in
Tabal
Tabal (c.f. biblical ''Tubal''; Assyrian: 𒋫𒁄) was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom (and/or collection of kingdoms) of South Central Anatolia during the Iron Age. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, references to Tabal first appeare ...
(Anatolia). The aforementioned İvriz relief is the best known example. This version of Tarhunz may be depicted unarmed or shown with an axe or thunderbolt.
Depictions of Tarhunz
* : inscription, probably of
* : inscription of Lakawani
*
Çineköy inscription
The Çineköy inscription is an ancient bilingual inscription, written in Hieroglyphic Luwian and Phoenician languages. The inscription is dated to the second half of the 8th century BC. It was uncovered in 1997 near the village of Çine, tha ...
: inscription of Awariku
*
Gökbez relief: no inscription
*
İvriz relief
The İvriz relief is a Hittite rock relief in south-central Anatolia, located in the town of Aydınkent, formerly called İvriz (modern Turkey, Konya Province, about 17 km south-east of the modern town of Ereğli). The rock relief is on a ro ...
: inscription of Warpalawas II
*
Keşlik Stele
The Keşlik Stele is a Neo-Hittite monument from northern Tyana, near Niğde discovered in 1962 in southern Turkey, which dates from the 8th century BC.
Discovery
The stele was discovered by Vural Sezer in the ''Bayındır Yaylası'' summer ...
: illegible inscription
* : inscription of La
*
Niğde Stele: inscription of Muwaharani II
See also
*
Luwian religion
Luwian religion was the religious and mythological beliefs and practices of the Luwians, an Indo-European people of Asia Minor, which is detectable from the Bronze Age until the early Roman empire. It was strongly affected by foreign influence i ...
*
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 ...
*
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. ...
*
Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, f ...
*
Perkūnas
Perkūnas ( lt, Perkūnas, lv, Pērkons, Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic god of thunder, and the second most important deity in the Baltic pantheon after Di ...
*
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
*
Taranis
In Celtic mythology, Taranis (Proto-Celtic: *''Toranos'', earlier ''*Tonaros''; Latin: Taranus, earlier Tanarus) is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube r ...
*
Tarchon
In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon and his brother, Tyrrhenus, were culture heroes who founded the Etruscan League of twelve cities, the Dodecapoli. One author, Joannes Laurentius Lydus, distinguishes two legendary persons named Tarchon, the Younge ...
*
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
*
Ninurta
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
Further reading
* {{Cite journal , last=Weeden , first=Mark , title=The Good God, the Wine-god and the Storm-god of the Vineyard , journal=Die Welt Des Orients , volume=48 , issue=2 , date=2018 , pages=330–56 , doi=10.2307/26606982.
* Zolotnikova, Olga. "The Storm-God with a Battle-Axe on the Early 1st Millennium BC Reliefs from Eastern Anatolia/Northern Syria". In: ''Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: June 9–13, 2014, University of Basel''. Volume 1: Travelling Images - Transfer and Transformation of Visual Ideas; Dealing with the Past: Finds, Booty, Gifts, Spoils, Heirlooms; Collections at Risk: Sustainable Strategies for Managing Near Eastern Archaeolo, edited by Kaelin Oskar, Stucky Rolf, and Jamieson Andrew. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2016. pp. 295–306. www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc770z3.26.
Luwian gods
Sky and weather gods