Iyarri

Iyarri or Yarri was a Luwian and Hittite god of plague and war .

He is mentioned among the oath gods in the Šuppiluliuma-Šattiwazza treaty. He could appear to the king in dreams. He was depicted as a man standing on a lion. Iyarri rushes ahead of the army and shoots his arrows into the enemy camp. These arrows bring epidemics to the enemy. In Hittite ritual texts and prayers against plagues and epidemics, he is referred to as "Lord of the bow" and "God of destruction". Queen Puduḫepa promised the Iyarri a horse vessel and carriage.

Iyarri shows a strong resemblance to the Luwian god Šanta . Both gods carry bows and arrows with them and are responsible for epidemics and war. Both also appear in communion with the Marwainzi deities. The name of these deities means "the dark ones".

The Greek Apollo and the Syrian Rešep as archery plague gods share certain traits with Iyarri. It is unclear whether there is a connection with the Babylonian Erra . It is also possible that he is hiding behind Zababa in his function as the god of war .

literature

Volkert Haas : History of the Hittite Religion (Handbook of Oriental Studies I / XV) . Brill, Leiden / New York / Cologne 1994, ISBN 90-04-09799-6 .
Volkert Haas , Heidemarie Koch : Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-51695-9 .
Piotr Taracha : Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-05885-8 .
Heinrich Otten : Jarri. In: Dietz Otto Edzard (Hrsg.): Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Aräologie . Volume 5, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1976–1980, ISBN 3-11-007192-4 , pp. 267–268.

Individual evidence

↑ DD Luckenbill : Hittite Treaties and Letters. In: The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. 37/3, 1921, p. 168. ( JSTOR 528149 ).
↑ Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 288.
^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 113.
^ Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 100.

[1] DD Luckenbill : Hittite Treaties and Letters. In: The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. 37/3, 1921, p. 168. ( JSTOR 528149 ).

[2] Volkert Haas, Heidemarie Koch: Religions of the ancient Orient: Hittites and Iran . Göttingen 2011, p. 288.

[3] Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 113.

[4] Piotr Taracha: Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia . Wiesbaden 2009, p. 100.