Allani
Allani ( Hurrian : allai = ni "the mistress"; in Ugarit : aln ) is the Hurrian goddess of the underworld. From the Hittites who started their cult in the 14th century BC. Took over, she was syncretized with the sun goddess of the earth .
Essence
Allani has her palace in the realm of the dead and her designation as the “bolt of the earth” indicates the gateway to the underworld, which can only be entered in one direction. When the weather god Teššub visited her in her palace, she danced in front of him and handed him food and drink. She is surrounded by the "ancient gods", deities that existed before the ruling class of deities around Teššub took over power.
At the Hittite-Hurrian ḫišuwa festival , her statuette is dressed in a blue robe, which indicates the dark aspect of the underworld.
Adoption into other cultures
The Hurrian Allani allied in Syria with the Syrian goddess Išḫara and both watched over oaths. The cult of the two goddesses reached southern Mesopotamia under the Semitic name Allatum.
With the Hittites she was equated with the sun goddess of the earth , sometimes also with Allatum, as in the rock sanctuary Yazılıkaya . Allatum was also syncretized with the originally Hattic god of the dead Lelwani , who was then regarded as a goddess. There was, however, no equation between Allani and Lelwani.
literature
- Volkert Haas : History of the Hittite religion (= Handbook of Oriental Studies . Volume 1.15). Brill, Leiden 1994, ISBN 90-04-09799-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Doris Prechel: The goddess Išḫara: A contribution to the ancient oriental religious history (= treatises on the literature of Old Syria-Palestine and Mesopotamia. Volume 11). Ugarit-Verlag, Münster 1996, ISBN 3-927120-36-7 .