Kumarbi

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Kumarbi (in Ugarit : kmrb, kmrw ) is the grain god in Hurrian - Hittite mythology , who is nicknamed "Father of the Gods". It is similar to the Greek Kronos . His cult city was Urkeš .

Duties and family

Kumarbi, the god of barley, was a Pan-Hurrian deity. He was responsible for all kinds of catastrophes, for wars, famines, epidemics, earthquakes and storm surges, with which he challenged the king of the gods Teššub .

The wife of Kumarbi was the goddess Šalaš or Šaluš. The god Mukišanu served as vizier of the Kumarbi .

myth

After nine years as cupbearer, Kumarbi overthrew the second king of the gods, Anu . He bit off the genitals of Anu and thereby became pregnant with the gods Teššub (Hittite Tarḫunna ), Aranzaḫ and Tašmišu (Heth. Šuwaliyat ). Kumarbi spat out the sperm of Anu on Mount Kanzura , who then gave birth to the river goddess Aranzaḫ. Teššub, however, rose from the skull of Kumarbi. The barley god Kumarbi then asked his son Teššub to eat , but instead received the kukunuzzi stone, on which he broke his teeth.

To overthrow Teššub, who succeeded him as the king of the gods, again, Kumarbi had various children who appeared as enemies of the gods, but were defeated again and again. With a human woman , Kumarbi had the enemy of the gods "silver", Hurrian Ušḫuni , who became a danger to the gods, but was probably rendered harmless by Ištar , Hurrian Šawoška . Kumarbi married the daughter of the sea , Šertapšuruḫi , with whom he fathered the sea dragon Ḫedammu , Hurrian simply Apše ("snake"). Ḫedammu was also defeated by Ištar's seduction skills. Kumarbi then impregnated a rock with the stone demon Ullikummi , which the Irširra placed on the shoulder of the world giant Ubelluri . Ištar was unable to defeat the blind and deaf Ullikummi, but the god Eya ( Ea ) succeeds.

After Teššub's final victory over Kumarbi, the latter banished Kumarbi and the gods surrounding him to the underworld, denied them the sacrifice of cattle and sheep and only agreed to inferior bird sacrifices.

Equations

Kumarbi has been equated with various deities. Its Mesopotamian equivalent was Enlil . In Syria he was identified with the god Dagan . Otherwise he was also equated with the Ugaritic god El . In Hittite texts, Kumarbi was given the name Ḫalki , which actually belonged to the Hittite grain goddess. Like them, it was also written with the sumerogram D NISABA .

Later worship

Kumarbi was still worshiped in the Neo-Hittite period. The hieroglyphic Luwian sources mention him under the name Kumarma and give him the nickname "Good Deity".

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 225.
  2. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 181.
  3. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 119.
  4. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 192.
  5. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 127.
  6. ↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 198.
  7. ^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 127.
  8. ^ Maciej Popko: Peoples and Languages ​​of Old Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2008, p. 80.
  9. ↑ Annick Payne: Iron Age Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions . Atlanta 2012, p. 105.

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