Ullikummi
Ullikummi (probably translated as destroyer of the Kummiya ) is a gigantic stone demon of Hurrian mythology, which was adopted by the Hittites . He is an enemy of Teššub .
Kumarbi , overthrown by his son Teššub, whom he accidentally received through Anu , cannot accept the loss of his rule and ensures the support of the god of the sea . According to another variant, he marries the daughter of the sea god and fathered Ullikummi with her. This consists entirely of kukunuzzi stone, a diorite .
The Irširra Ammen goddesses hide the still young Ullikummi on the right shoulder of the world giant Ubelluri , who, like Atlas, carries the world in his arms. There, Ullikummi grows in height and strengthens to immense size, so that its shadow soon darkens the world. He is discovered by the sun god Šimige , who immediately informs the weather god Teššub. He sends Ištar / Šawoška , who tries to make the stone giant harmless with her seductive skills. But since the stone giant is blind and deaf, none of this is of any use. Now Teššub attacks himself with thunder and rain, but his weapons are unsuccessful. So Ullikummi wins, forces Teššub to abdicate and becomes king of the gods himself.
Teššub appeals to Ea to call on the gods in the freshwater ocean of the Abzu to see what can be done to meet the desperate situation. Ea consults Enlil , who shows him where to find the mythical copper sickle that once separated heaven and earth. With the help of the wise Ea, Ullikummi succeeds in toppling again by cutting off and destroying his feet with this sickle. Teššub regains power and rules over the earth.
The whole myth is related to a spring festival, which represents the renewed rule of Teššub.
Parallels
In the comparable legend of Zeus and Typhon , Zeus falls a huge mountain over Typhon, which is now trapped under it ( Etna ) and occasionally causes the earth to shake because he is furiously seeking revenge. Interestingly, Kronos is depicted with the attribute of a sickle.
The story also shows parallels to Loki's captivity and to the Persian literature Schahname , where the villain is locked in the crater of Damavand . This speaks for a successful spread of the myth during the rule of the Hittites.
literature
- Volkert Haas : The Hittite literature. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin 2006, pages 158 ff., ISBN 978-3-11-018877-6
- Liane Jakob-Rost (Hrsg.): The song of Ullikummi. Seals of the Hittites. Insel-Verlag, Leipzig 1977
credentials
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of World Mythology