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Tarḫunz (stem: ''Tarḫunt-'') was the weather god and chief god of the
Luwians The Luwians (also known as Luvians) were an ancient people in Anatolia who spoke the Luwian language. During the Bronze Age, Luwians formed part of the population of the Hittite Empire and adjoining states such as Kizzuwatna. During the Hittite ...
, a people of
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
and early
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
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 pow ...
and the Hurrian god
Teshub Teshub was the Hurrians, Hurrian weather god, as well as the head of the Hurrian pantheon. The etymology of his name is uncertain, though it is agreed it can be classified as linguistically Hurrian language, Hurrian. Both Phonetics, phonetic and L ...
.


Name

The name of the Proto-Anatolian weather god can be reconstructed as ''*Tṛḫu-ent-'' ("conquering"), a
participle In linguistics, a participle (; abbr. ) 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 a verb and used as an adject ...
form of the
Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
root ''*terh2'', "to cross over, pass through, overcome". It has cognates in Hittite ''tarḫu-'',
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''trans-'', Dutch ''door'',
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
''durch'', and English ''through''. The same name was used in almost all
Anatolian languages The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language. Undiscovered until the late ...
: 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 pow ...
-''; Carian ''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 ...
''Trqqñt-'', and Lycian: ''Trqqas'' (A), ''Trqqiz'' (B), who has been identified with
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
. 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. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
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 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, Eblaite, or Hittite. Th ...
s dU ("God 10") or dIM ("God Wind"). In
hieroglyphic Luwian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian languages, Anatolian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya ...
, his name was written as ''Tarhunza-'' and ''Tarhunta-'' or with the ideograms (DEUS) TONITRUS ("God Thunder"). The name ''Tarhunt-'' is also cognate to the present participle ''turvant-'', also meaning "vanquishing, conquering", an epithet of Vedic deity
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
.


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: ), also known under its ancient name Kaneš (Kanesh, sometimes also Kaniš/Kanish) or Neša (Nesha), is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It was already a major settlement at the beginning of the 3rd mille ...
. 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 Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
southern Anatolia, like Tarkumbios (Ταρκυμβίος, luw. *''Tarhun-piya-'' "Tarhun-Gift“) or Trokombigremis (Τροκομβίγρεμις; *''Tarhun-pihra-mi-'' "Shining Tarhun") which are attested in
Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...
. Further attestations of the deity's name appear as ''Tarhundaradu'', a king of
Arzawa Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...
, 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

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 pow ...
. 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 political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...
, 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 ( or ), also spelled Karkemish (), was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its history the city was independent, but it was also part of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo-Assyrian ...
, 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 (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
in Greek mythology is derived from this last epithet.


Personal god of Muwatalli II

The Hittite Great King
Muwatalli II Muwatalli II (also Muwatallis, or Muwatallish; meaning "mighty") 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 Mursili II ...
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 and Ala or Telipinu and Maliya. During the Iron Age, Tarhunz of the vineyard (''turwarasina Tarhunza'') was worshipped with particular intensity in
Tabal Tabal may refer to: * Tabal (region), a region of southern Central Anatolia during the Iron Age. * Tabal (state), a Luwian-speaking Syro-Hittite petty kingdom that existed during the Iron Age. {{disambiguation ...
. King Warpalawas II of
Tuwana Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia Region, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It wa ...
(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 In viticulture, the grape cluster (also bunch of grapes) is a fertilized inflorescence of the grapevine, the primary part of this plant used for food (grape leaves are also used in some culinary traditions). The size of the grape bunch greatly va ...
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 Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
version as
Hadad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...
of the vineyard (''hdd krmn'' 'Hadad Karmîn').


Cult sites

Already in the early Bronze Age,
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
(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

In a relief from
Arslantepe Arslantepe, also known as Melid, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey. It was na ...
, 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 Hat ...
and Hurrian
Ḫedammu Ḫedammu, Hurrian language, Hurrian Apše ("Snake"), is a sea-dragon from Hurrian religion, Hurrian-Hittite mythology, which caused trouble on the Syrian coast. His Hittite counterpart was Illuyanka. Ḫedammu is the son of the god Kumarbi and , t ...
, 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, speakers of the hypothesized Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested – since Proto-In ...
and in the Near East. The Anatolian myth was taken over into
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, in which
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
battles with the dragon-like
Typhon Typhon (; , ), also Typhoeus (; ), Typhaon () or Typhos (), was a monstrous serpentine giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus. However, one source has Typhon as t ...
. 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 Corycus (; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; ; , lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (for ...
in Rough Cilicia, where
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 in ...
endured into the Roman period.


Depiction

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, Royal family, royalty, and power in the Ancient Near East (Ancient Egypt, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Ancient Persia, Persia). The Illyrian religion#Sun, Illyrian Sun-deity is also ...
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; th ...
, 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 may refer to: * Tabal (region), a region of southern Central Anatolia during the Iron Age. * Tabal (state), a Luwian-speaking Syro-Hittite petty kingdom that existed during the Iron Age. {{disambiguation ...
(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: inscription of Awariku * Gökbez relief: no inscription * İvriz relief: inscription of Warpalawas II * Keşlik Stele: illegible inscription * : inscription of La *
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 24 September 1975 near the citadel of Niğde in the Çelebi Hüsamettin Bey Mo ...
: inscription of Muwaharani II


See also

*
Ninurta Ninurta (: , possible meaning "Lord fBarley"), also known as Ninĝirsu (: , meaning "Lord fGirsu"), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was f ...
*
Perkūnas Perkūnas (, , Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Sudovian language, Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian language, Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic languages, Baltic List of thunder gods, god of thunder, and the second m ...
*
Perun In Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, Perun () is the highest god of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, ir ...
*
Taranis Taranis (sometimes Taranus or Tanarus) is a Celtic thunder god attested in literary and epigraphic sources. The Roman poet Lucan's epic ''Pharsalia'' mentions Taranis, Esus, and Teutates as gods to whom the Gauls sacrificed humans. This rare ...
*
Tarchon In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon was a culture hero who co-founded the Etruscan dodecapolis along with his brother Tyrrhenus. He appears in literature such as Virgil's ''Aeneid'', where he is described as King of the Tyrrhenians. In the poem, he le ...
*
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 pow ...
*
Teshub Teshub was the Hurrians, Hurrian weather god, as well as the head of the Hurrian pantheon. The etymology of his name is uncertain, though it is agreed it can be classified as linguistically Hurrian language, Hurrian. Both Phonetics, phonetic and L ...
*
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


Further reading

* Lovejoy, Nathan. "The cult of the storm god in the Syro-Anatolian region: Regional continuity and local innovation in figurative representations between the Late Bronze and Iron Ages". In: ''Ancient Western Asia Beyond the Paradigm of Collapse and Regeneration (1200-900 BCE): Proceedings of the NYU-PSL International Colloquium, Paris Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, April 16–17, 2019''. Edited by Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault, Ilaria Calini, Robert Hawley and Lorenzo d’Alfonso. New York, USA:
New York University Press New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
, 2024. pp. 457–480. * . * 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.


External links

{{Commons category-inline Luwian gods Sky and weather gods