The Hittites by Damien Stone

Author:Damien Stone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Reaktion Books

One of the bronze standards found at the Pre-Hittite tombs at Alaca Höyük. They feature the enduring imagery of deer, bulls and sun-discs that continued to be popular into the period of the Hittite Empire. This example, featuring a triad of deer, was the inspiration for the modern Hittite Sun Course Monument of Sıhhiye Square in Ankara.

Karasu relief depicting a god standing atop a stag.

Hittite king and queen before the cult statue of a god in the form of a bull.

In Hittite art, animals appear as the companions of gods, but they were also used to define the nature of gods’ powers. Lions, for instance, frequently accompany representations of war deities. The depiction of a sacred animal by itself could also indicate the presence of their presiding deity.8 The KI.LAM festival included a parade featuring the animals of the gods, rendered in precious metal. Gold and silver stags, a silver panther, a silver wolf, a golden lion, a lapis lazuli boar, a silver boar and a silver bear were included in this procession. Again, it is in cultic text that we find these rich descriptions of aspects of Hittite material culture which have not survived.

The sacred animals are often portrayed as being stood upon by their corresponding deity. The prerogative bulls of the Storm-god may alternatively be depicted pulling his chariot. On a relief at İmamkulu, his bull-drawn vehicle springs across the backs of three stooped mountain gods. Other animal–god associations are found in the literary arts, rather than visual representation. Ḫannaḫanna was associated with the bee in Hittite literature. The insect, with its notions of abundance, is most appropriate for a mother goddess who presides over the home. In a myth where the god Telipinu goes missing, Ḫannaḫanna sends a bee out to find him. She instructs the bee: ‘When you find him, sting his hands and feet and make him stand up. Then take wax and wipe him off. Then purify him and make him holy again. Then conduct him back here to me.’9 In the Song of Hedammu, we find another rather charming example of animal imagery used to described Šauška (the Hurrio-Hittite name for Ishtar, the fertility and war goddess): ‘Šauška anointed herself with fine perfumed oil. She adorned herself. And qualities that arouse love ran after her like puppies.’10

As with the gods, Hittite kings used animals to represent their royal prerogatives. Images of lions and eagles are closely associated with Hittite royalty. Recognizing their power, Hattusili I used both of these animals when describing the excellence of his person: ‘his teeth are those of a lion, his eyes are those of an eagle, and he sees like an eagle.’11 In his testament which stipulated the rules for succession, Hattusili I similarly used the lion as a metaphor for kingship: ‘The god will install only a lion in the place of the lion.’12 As we have seen, both Hattusa and Alaca Höyük featured lions and sphinxes (with their leonine features) as gateway guardians. These monumental stone

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