Damnaššara sphinxes

Sphinx as gatekeeper in Alaca Höyük.

The Damnaššara sphinxes are Hittite goddesses in the shape of sphinxes .

The Damnaššara sphinxes are double deities, as can also be seen from the form of the name Damnaššareš, the plural. The sphinx goddesses are gatekeeper deities. The sphinxes depicted at the gates of the palace of Alaca Höyük could therefore be Damnaššara sphinxes. In the lists of sacrifices for the rounds of sacrifices in the temple of the weather god in the Hittite capital Ḫattuša , the Damnaššareš are right next to the god Šuwaliyat (also known as the dual deity Šuwaliyateš), which could indicate that this deity is also a guardian deity.

In one of his plague prayers, the Hittite king Muršili II reports that the Damnaššara sphinxes in the temple of the weather god kept watch over an oath made between Hittites and Egyptians . They also observed the correct execution of the rites performed by the Hittite king. A poorly preserved ritual text reports that ox skulls were sacrificed to the Damnaššareš.

The Šalawaneš have a similar function as gatekeepers .

literature

• Volkert Haas , Heidemarie Koch : Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-51695-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 239.
2. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 239 f.
3. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 240.