The Hittite Gökbez relief is a rock relief at Gökbez and dates from the time of the Neo-Hittite states. Rock reliefs are a prominent aspect of

Hittite art Hittite art was produced by the Hittite civilization in ancient Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey, and also stretching into Syria during the second millennium BCE from the nineteenth century up until the twelfth century BCE. This period falls under ...

Location

The relief is in a courtyard in Gökbez, Bor District, Niğde Province,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, about 12 km southeast of Kemerhisar and 22 km south of the provincial capital of

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

. Kemerhisar is the site of the ancient city of Tyana and was centre of the minor Luwian state of

Tuwanuwa Tyana ( grc, Τύανα), earlier known as Tuwana (Hieroglyphic Luwian: ; Akkadian: ) and Tuwanuwa ( Hittite: ) was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was ...

. The ancient route from Tyana, through Halala to the Cilician Gates, was probably already in use in Hittite times. The relief lies beside the old path.

Description

The relief lies broken away and on its side in a courtyard in the village, leaning on the exterior wall of a house. The stone block measures 3 metres wide and 2.4 metres high, the relief is 2 metres x 2 metres. The badly weathered image shows the god Tarhunzas facing left. He holds a

double axe ''Labrys'' ( gr, , lábrus) is, according to Plutarch (''Quaestiones Graecae'' 2.302a), the Lydian word for the double-bitted axe. In Greek it was called (''pélekus''). The Ancient Greek plural of ''labrys'' is ''labryes'' (). Etymology P ...

in his right hand and a thunderbolt in his left. The god has a beard and long hair which falls to his shoulders. He is dressed in a knee-length robe with a broad belt. A vine grows up between his legs and grape clusters hang down beside him to the left. To the right of the figure is a double arch with a horizontal line running across it two thirds of the way up.

Dietrich Berges Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "Ruler of the People.” Also "keeper of the keys" or a "lockpick" either the tool or the profession. Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398 – 1440) * Thierry of Alsace (german: Dietric ...

and

Johannes Nollé Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

suggest that it probably originally contained (or was intended to contain) an inscription. Horst Eringhaus thought it was a

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

n double idol, like that described by Dietrich Berndt at Midas Kenti.Dietrich Berndt. "Midasstadt: Kleine und kleinste Felsmonumente. Überlegungen zu einer frühen Besiedlung." in Elmar Schwertheim, Engelbert Winter (Ed.): ''Neue Funde und Forschungen in Phrygien.'' Asia Minor Studien 61, 2006 pp. 1–32. The posture and costume of the figure show strong similarities to the

Niğde Stele The Niğde Stele is a Neo-Hittite monument from the modern Turkish city of Niğde, which dates from the end of the 8th century BC. Discovery The stele was found on 27 September 1975 near the Citadel of Niğde in the Çelebi Hüsamettin Bey Mo ...

(on display in the

Niğde Archaeological Museum Niğde Archaeological Museum () is located in the centre of the Turkish provincial capital, Niğde between ''Dışarı Cami Sokak'' and ''Öğretmenler Caddesi''. It contains objects found at sites in the surrounding area, including the tell of K ...

), which also depicts Tarhunzas. For this reason, the relief is dated to the late 8th or early 7th century BC.

References

Bibliography

* Erol Faydalı. "Gökbez Kaya Kabartması." ''Anadolu'' 18, 1974, pp. 135–136
PDF
. *

. ''Tyana - Archäologisch-historische Untersuchungen zum südwestlichen Kappadokien''. Rudolf Habelt, Bonn 2000 pp. 103–104. *

Horst Ehringhaus Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Horst, ...

. ''Das Ende, das ein Anfang war - Felsreliefs und Felsinschriften der luwischen Staaten Kleinasiens vom 12. bis 8./7. Jahrhundert v. Chr.'' Nünnerich-Asmus, Mainz 2014, pp. 61–66.

External links

Description on hittitemonuments.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokbez relief Hittite art Hittite sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey Rock reliefs in Turkey Niğde Province