Innara

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The patron god of the hallway, relief from Gölpinar , Southeast Turkey

Innara is the Hittite name of the patron god who had various protective functions. In Luwian he is called Annari.

Surname

The name of the gods is derived from the word innara- "power, strength", which is traced back to * h 1 en-h 2 nor-o- "manliness in possession" and is placed at the Indo-European root h 2 ner- "man".

The name is usually written with the sumerogram KAL "stark", which is read as a god name with the god determinative DINGIR LAMMA (short: d LAMMA). In Mesopotamia it referred to the protective goddess Lamassu , whose nature is different from the Anatolian protective deity. The hieroglyphic Luwian symbol for the patron god is a deer - (DEUS) CERVUS 1 -, deer head - (DEUS) CERVUS 2 - or deer antlers - (DEUS) CERVUS 3 .

The associated adjective heth. innarawant- , luw. annarummi- "strong, strong" is an epithet of the patron god and his companions Ala , and in the plural it is the name of the collective gods of the Hittite Innarawanteš or Luwian Annarumminzi.

In the 18th century BC In Kültepe , a man's name Inar, which was borne by a king alongside other men, refers to the male patron god. The name Inaraḫšu, attested for Kültepe, can also be derived from God, while Inarawan belongs to the adjective.

distribution

The sumerogram d LAMMA denotes various protective deities, although it cannot always be decided which deity is meant. Anatolian protective deities appear for the first time in Hittite texts from the beginning of the 14th century BC. Chr. On. They are especially attested for Southeast Anatolia and probably originally a Luwian appearance. In the north the name was transferred to the hattic goddess Inar , the patron goddess of Ḫattuša , as she probably covered similar functions. The Hittite great king Tudḫaliya IV promoted the cult of the protective deity and his companion Ala and also had steles erected for these deities, for example on Arısama Dağı . One text mentions "the 112 names of the protective deities of the majesty Tudḫaliya, the great king, the hero".

function

Guardian deities are very diverse. They protect house, hearth and courtyard, the palace, cities, mountains and rivers, the corridor and the forest and animals, objects and body parts, but also people, king and queen, as well as their properties such as life, strength or wish fulfillment. They are also effective in warfare. Even deities can have their own patron god. Not all can be identified with Innara and the use of the mere sumerogram d LAMMA seldom makes it possible to identify which deity is meant exactly. Sometimes it can be seen on the attached final syllable, what god is meant: d LAMMA- ri represents Innara, d LAMMA- ti for Kurunta and Luwian d LAMMA- ya for Runtiya .

Representations

Accordingly, protective deities can also be represented differently, as Hittite descriptions of idols show. A statuette of the patron god standing on a stag is described, holding a silver lance in his right hand and a shield in his left. The golden statuette of the patron god of the hallway in Wiyanawanta stands on a silver stag, holding a bow in the right hand and an eagle and a hare in the left. He also carries a dagger and golden fruit. The patron god of the lance had a wooden statuette, further details are not given.

A special feature is the Hittite deer hyton from the Norbert Schimmel collection , as three of the most famous aspects of the patron god are united here. A worship scene is depicted on the rhyton . Three men make sacrifices to the patron god standing on a stag and his companion Ala . Both deities hold an eagle in their hand. Behind the pair of gods stand two erect lances, with the point downwards. Behind it is a tree - possibly the eya tree - with a deer underneath, and above it hang a quiver and a kurša hunting bag . Deer, eagle and quiver refer to the patron god of the field, the hunting bag to the patron god of the kurša hunting bag and the lances to the patron god of the lance.

Aspects

Many different protective deities appear in the Hittite texts, but these do not have to be all aspects of the same protective deity. From the reproduction of the god Innara / Annari, the group of gods Innarawanteš / Annaruminzi arose.

Patron god of the hallway

The guardian god of the hallway (Heth. Gimraš d LAMMA; sumerogr. D LAMMA LÍL and Akkadizing d LAMMA ṢĒRI ) is one of the most frequently mentioned guardian deities. As the god of the wilderness, he is also the god of hunting who is represented with a bow and arrow and an eagle, as well as a dead hare. Eagles can also be used for pickling. In the Luwian pantheon of the Hittite successor states he is known as imrassi Runtiya .

Patron god of the kurša hunting bag

The patron god of the kurša hunting bag , also known as the patron god of Askos (Heth. Kuršaš d LAMMA-ri) played an important role in the royal cult. The kurša hunting bag served, among other things, as a protective amulet, and one of these was worn on the AN.TAḪ.ŠUM spring nest from Arinna to Ḫattuša and on to Tawiniya and Ḫiyašna and from there back to Ḫattuša. In the Telipinu myth, a kurša hunting bag is described in more detail: it is filled with barley and grapes, fat and meat from sheep and beef, and hung on an eya tree with blessings . This was obviously an evergreen tree and it is sometimes translated as "yew", sometimes also as "oak". This clearly shows the fertility aspect of the kurša hunting bag.

Bird oracles were also part of the cult of the patron god of the kurša hunting bag. In a ritual for the royal family, the disgruntled patron god is asked to return to the land of Ḫatti and bring good birds with him.

Perhaps the Luwian god Tasku, who was worshiped together with Ala and Runtiya in the sanctuary near Ancoz in the Kommagene, was a deified hunting bag, provided the name may be placed too Hittite tašku "scrotum"; yet the meaning of the Hittite word is controversial. It was also suggested that the many breasts of the Ephesian Artemis had their origin in the cult of the kurša hunting bag, which went well with the nature of the goddess.

Patron god of the lance

The lance was a symbol of the patron god and was also divinely worshiped as such. The king gave liberty to the patron god of the lance ( d LAMMA GIŠ ŠUKUR) from a silver animal vessel in the shape of a boar.

Guardian deities of the king

Various protective deities were particularly close to the king and queen. As d LAMMA.LUGAL or Hittite ḫaššuwaš Innara and hattish Kattelikamamma he is the king's patron god. There was also a protective deity of the palace or one of the interior. Zitḫariya was the personal patron god of the king and queen in the form of a kurša hunting bag.

Protective deities of various deities

There were also protective deities for various deities, including Ḫuwaššanna , the sun goddess of the earth , or the seven deities .

Local protective deities

Certain locations could have their own protective deities. Most often the patron god of the country was called Ḫatti . The patron deity of the city of Karaḫna , which could be listed in state treaties, was important. The cult of the patron god of Tauriša showed clear Luwian influences and on Luwian he was called URU Taurišizzaš wašḫaz d LAMMA "Taurišean purest patron god". He was considered the son of the sun god and Kamrušepa .

A foreign non-Anatolian deity was Karḫuḫa , the long -established god of the city of Karkamiš . He was a companion of the city goddess Kubaba and is often mentioned with her in hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions from Karkamis of the Iron Age. His name could also be formed with the hieroglyphic Luwian character CERVUS, which identifies him as a patron god.

In addition, protective deities of the rivers Kella, Kummara and Šiḫiriya are mentioned, the latter can perhaps be equated with the Sakarya . Several mountains also have their own patron god, including Mount Šarpa, who was himself worshiped as a god. He is probably identical to the Arısama Dağı . In the male name Šarpa- d LAMMA, mountain and protective gods are united.

Other protective deities

Guardian deities could also be played off against each other. In the Anniwiyani ritual, a virgin enters the house of a man who wants to be cured of his weakness and sexual impotence with a dough bird in her hand. She asks the patron god lulimmi to leave the house and let the patron god innarawant in. The last epithet means "strong, vigorous" and indicates that this patron god should provide man with virility. The meaning of the other epithet is unknown, a connection with Akkadian lulīmu "deer" is considered unlikely.

Myths

In the Ḫaḫḫima myth, Tarḫunna sends out messengers to find Arinna's missing sun goddess . One of these messengers is the god Innara. The frost demon Ḫaḫḫima prevents his search and freezes him.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bedřich Hrozný : The language of the Hittites . Leipzig (1917), p. 74
  2. ↑ Alwin Kloekhorst: The Hittite Inherited Lexicon . P. 488
  3. ↑ Volkert Haas :: History of the Hittite religion . Leiden 1994, ISBN 978-9-004-09799-5 . P. 449
  4. ^ Alfonso Archi: The Singer of Kaneš and his Gods  ; in: Official religion, local cults and individual religiosity. Ugarit Verlag (2004). ISBN 3-934628-58-3 . P. 13, note 6
  5. ^ Alfonso Archi: The Singer of Kaneš and his Gods . P. 13
  6. ^ Maciej Popko : On the Luwian component in the religions of ancient Anatolia ; in: Altorient. Forsch. 34 (2007) 1, pp. 63-69
  7. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05885-8 . P. 84
  8. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 116.
  9. ^ Sarah Morris: The prehistoric background of Artemis Ephesia: A solution to the enigma of her 'breasts'? . in: Ulrike Muss: The Cosmos of Artemis from Ephesus , Vienna (2001). Pp. 135-150
  10. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 96.
  11. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 112.
  12. ↑ Volkert Haas: The Hittite literature. Berlin 2006, p. 118.