The Hurrian pantheon consisted of gods of varied backgrounds, some of them natively Hurrian, while others adopted from other pantheons,[1][2] for example Eblaite[3] and Mesopotamian.[4] Like the other inhabitants of the Ancient Near East, Hurrians regarded their gods as anthropomorphic.[5] They were usually represented in the form of statues holding the symbols associated with a specific deity.[6] The Yazılıkaya sanctuary, which was Hittite in origin but served as a center of the practice of Hurrian religion, is considered a valuable source of information about their iconography.[7]
Hurrians organized their gods into lists known as kaluti[8] or into similar lexical lists as the Mesopotamians.[9] The formal structure of the pantheon was most likely based on either Mesopotamian or Syrian theology.[10][4] The status of individual deities[11] and composition of the pantheon could vary between individual locations, but some can nonetheless be identified as "pan-Hurrian."[12]
The following list does not include deities only attested in the two Hurrian god lists whose names are transcriptions of Mesopotamian divine names, as it is unlikely that they were actively worshiped.[13] Identification of the Yazılıkaya reliefs used in the image column follows Piotr Taracha's analysis from the monograph Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia.[14]
Teššub was the Hurrian king of the gods, as well as a weather deity.[18] In Hurrian areas, as well as in these where the royal families were under the influence of Hurrian culture, he was often also the tutelary god of the ruling house.[21] While it is assumed that he was not necessarily regarded as the head of the pantheon from the very beginning,[4] he likely already acquired this role in the late third millennium BCE.[15] His principal sanctuaries were Kumme, located east of the Upper Tigris,[15] and Halab (modern Aleppo), where he merged with the local weather god Hadad.[16] His name could be written logographically as dIM.[15] A god with a cognate name, Teišeba, was present in the pantheon of Urartu, but his position was different.[18]
Šauška (šwšk or šušk in the Ugaritic alphabetic script[23]) was the main goddess of the Hurrian pantheon in locations like the kingdom of Arrapha, Alalakh and Ugarit.[11] Nineveh was particularly closely associated with her, and in myths she is often called the "Queen of Nineveh."[25] She was regarded as the sister of Teššub,[19] and by extension presumably as a daughter of Kumarbi and Anu, though references to the moon god as her father are also known.[26] Her spheres of influence included war, love, magic and medicine.[27] Šauška's gender could be ambiguous: in the Yazilikaya reliefs, Šauška is present both among gods and goddesses, while in a ritual text "female attributes" and "male attributes" are both mentioned.[28] Her name could be written logographically as dIŠTAR.[22] She was also introduced into the Mesopotamian pantheon, and appears in texts from Puzrish-Dagan, Umma, Isin and Uruk.[22]
Kumarbi was regarded as the "father of gods," and as one of the parents of Teššub.[31] He might have also been the god of grain, though the evidence is inconclusive.[32] His name might mean "he of Kumar," Kumar presumably being a place name, though other proposed etymologies connect it with Kumme, the cult center of Teššub, and with the word kum, "tower."[15] He is also attested as one of the Hurrian deities from Taite in the Assyrian Takultu ritual, alongside Nabarbi and Samnuha.[28] In myths, he was described as allied with forces hostile to the rule of Teššub: the "former gods" inhabiting the underworld, gods and monsters living in the sea, and a stone giant named Ullikummi, "Destroy Kumme."[33]
Ḫepat was the wife of the head of the Hurrian pantheon, Teššub.[35] She was initially the wife of the storm god of Halab (Aleppo), Hadad.[20] In some western locations her position in the pantheon surpassed that of Šauška,[11] but in the eastern Hurrian centers she is only present in theophoric names and likely was not one of the major deities.[39]
Šimige was the Hurrian sun god.[12] His name means "sun."[42] He also served as a god of oracles.[30]A Hurrian incantation from Mari indicates that he was believed to have seven daughters.[44] His name could be written logographically as dUTU.[17] Due to syncretism between him and Shamash, Aya was adopted into the Hurrian pantheon as his wife, and one text from Hattusa lists Sippar as his cult city.[42] It is also possible that the Hittite Sun god of Heaven was patterned after him, or was outright the same deity.[30] A god with a cognate name, Šiwini, was also present in the pantheon of Urartu.[42]
Kušuḫ was the Hurrian moon god.[40] He was also the god of oaths.[30] His name might be derived from Kuzina,[40][47] the Hurrian name of Harran.[45] In a single text he is named as the father of Teššub.[51] His name could be represented logographically as dEN.ZU[48] or dXXX.[52] It is unclear if Umbu was his alternate name, a manifestation linked to a specific phase of the moon, or a separate moon god originating in an unidentified Anatolian or Syrian pantheon.[53] Origin in the northern part of Jezirah has been proposed,[20] though a Hurrian etymology is also not implausible.[54] In Kizzuwatna, Kušuḫ was syncretised with the Luwian moon god Arma, and they were depicted identically in art.[50]
Allani ("the lady") was the goddess of the underworld.[56] She resided in a palace located at the gates of the land of the dead.[61] While according to Gernot Wilhelm she was only worshiped in the western Hurrian areas,[62] Tonia Sharlach in a more recent publication points out that Mesopotamian sources seem to associate her with Zimudar, a city in the Diyala area.[55] She is well attested in theophoric names from the Tur Abdin area as well.[55]
Ishara was originally one of the deities of Ebla in the third millennium BCE, and served as the tutelary goddess of the royal family.[67] Later she came to be incorporated into the pantheons of various cultures of ancient Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia.[2] She had a variety of functions, including those of a love goddess, guardian of oaths, disease deity and underworld goddess associated with divine ancestors.[68] She was frequently associated with Allani, most likely based on their shared association with the underworld,[65] and they could be worshiped as a dyad.[59]
Hayya was the Hurrian spelling of the name of the Mesopotamian god of wisdom Ea,[48] who most likely was incorporated into Hurrian religion in the Sargonic period.[71] He was referred to with his Akkadian epithets, such as "lord of wisdom," and played the same role as in Mesopotamia in Hurrian sources.[48] According to Alfonso Archi, his position in the Hurrian pantheon was comparable to that of gods like Kumarbi or Kušuḫ,[52] and to that he held in Babylonia.[72] THe is well attested in Mitanni sources.[73]
Hutena and Hutellura were goddesses of fate[75] and divine midwives.[80] It is possible they were similarly believed to be responsible for forming the child during pregnancy.[81] It has been proposed that Hutena means "she of favoring"[75] and Hutellura (or Hutelluri) - "midwife."[76] Piotr Taracha assumes the names might only refer to a pair of goddesses,[82] but it has also been proposed that the term referred to a heptad of deities similar to Ugaritic Kotharāt.[80] It is also possible that Hutena and Hutellura were based on the latter group.[83]
Nabarbi ("she of Nawar," from Hurrian naw, "pasture"[15]) was a goddess worshiped chiefly in the Upper Khabur area.[84] Piotr Taracha argues that Nabarbi is one and the same as Belet Nagar,[84] and therefore believes she should not be considered a Hurrian deity in origin.[77] However, according to Alfonso Archi Nawar from Nabarbi s name and Nagar from Belet Nagar s name were two distinct places.[15] At the same time, he does not rule out the possibility that Nabarbi and Belet Nagar were identified with each other.[15] Nabarbi is also attested as one of the Hurrian deities from in the Neo-Assyrian Takultu text, alongside Kumarbi and Samnuha.[28]
Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of war and death, was worshiped in various locations in the eastern Hurrian kingdoms, including the city of Arrapha itself.[71] In Azuhinnu he was regarded as the third most prominent member of the pantheon after Teššub and Šauška.[71] He was also worshiped in Ulamme, where he was associated with a goddess referred to as "dIŠTAR Ḫumella,"[85] whose identity remains unknown.[22] It is possible that in some cases in the west his name served as a logographic representation of one belonging to a Hurrian god (proposals include Aštabi and Kumarbi), but it also cannot be ruled out that he was worshiped under his Mesopotamian name there as well.[17]
Nupatik was one of the "pan-Hurrian" gods,[12] but his character, functions and genealogy are poorly known.[40][88] He appears already in the inscriptions of Hurrian king Atalšen of Urkesh, where his name is spelled syllabically (dLu-ba-da-ga), rather than logographically.[86] He is also present in Hurrian texts from Ugarit, where his name is spelled in the local alphabetic script as Nbdg.[86]
Tilla was a god worshiped in eastern Hurrian cities in the kingdom of Arrapha, such as Nuzi[89][91] and Kuruḫanni (modern Tell al-Fakhar).[90] An entu priestess dedicated to him lived in the latter city.[90] Documents from Nuzi indicate he was very commonly worshiped in the east, and he appears in theophoric names with comparable frequency to Teššub.[91] While he is commonly described as a "bull god" in modern literature,[92] there is presently no evidence that he was necessarily depicted as a bull.[93] The only exception is the myth Song of Ullikummi,[93] where he a is one of the two bulls who pull Teššub's chariot, the other one being Šeriš, but in most other sources, such as offering lists, Šeriš is paired with Hurriš, not Tilla.[94]
Allanzu was one of the two daughters of Ḫepat and Teššub.[96] She could be referred to as šiduri ("young woman").[97] In the first millennium BCE, she continued to be worshiped by Luwians under the name Alasuwa.[98]
Anat was an Ugaritic goddess regarded as warlike.[100] She appears regularly in Hurrian offering lists from Ugarit, according to Daniel Schwemer most likely because she had no close counterpart in the Hurrian pantheon, unlike the other local gods such as Baal, Aštart, Šapšu, Yarikh or Yam.[74] The only other deity of Ugaritic origin attested in them is El,[74] her father.[101]
Aranzaḫ was a divine personification of the river Tigris.[103] In the Song of Kumarbi, his name is written with the determinative ID ("river") rather than with a dingir, the sign designating divine names in cuneiform.[104] In the poorly preserved myth about the hero Gurparanzaḫ, he appears in an active role as his ally.[102]
Aštabi (aštb in the alphabetic script from Ugarit) was a warrior god.[95] While he was initially viewed as a god of Hurrian origin by researchers,[62] further discoveries revealed that his background was Eblaite.[106] His name could be represented logographically as dNIN.URTA.[48] He is absent from eastern Hurrian sources.[108]
Ayakun is a deity known from the trilingual god list from Ugarit, where this name is treated as the Hurrian explanation of two Mesopotamian deities, Ninsun and Alammuš.[109] According to Frank Simons the reasoning behind this equation is difficult to explain.[109]
Ayu-Ikalti was the Hurrian spelling of Aya kallatu, "Aya, the bride," the name and most common epithet of the wife of Mesopotamian sun god Shamash.[48] The Hurrians regarded her as the wife of Šimige.[30]
Belet Nagar, "lady of Nagar," was a Syrian goddess.[110] Similar as in the case Assyrian city Assur and its god, her name was derived from the city she represented.[110] She is attested for the first time in an inscription of the Hurrian king Tishatal[111] alongside various Hurrian deities.[17]
Dadmiš or Tadmiš (ddmš in the Ugaritic script, but syllabically dta-ad-mi-iš)[60] is attested in Hurrian ritual texts from Ugarit.[113] Her origin is presently unknown.[112] Her name might be derived from the Akkadian word dādmu ("dwellings"), which has also been linked with Dadmum, the Amorite name for the area of modern Aleppo.[114] A different proposal connects her name with that of Tadmuštum, a Mesopotamian goddess associated with the underworld.[115] It has been suggested that Dadmiš was either a healing goddess[112] or an underworld deity associated with Resheph.[60]
DINGIR.GE6, tentatively referred to as "Goddess of the Night"[117] or formerly as the "Black Goddess" in modern scholarship,[116] was a deity worshiped by Hurrians living in Kizzuwatna.[11] She was associated with the nighttime and dreaming.[119] She formed a dyad with Pinikir,[120] and it is possible that like her she was associated with Ishtar.[118]
Ebrimuša (also Ibrimuša; ebrmž in alphabetic Ugaritic texts) was a Hurrian god attested in an Old Assyrian document, in Hittite rituals of Hurrian origin, and in texts from Ugarit.[121] His name means "king of justice."[15] He was associated with Ḫepat, and in rituals also appears with her son Šarruma and sukkal Tiyabenti.[121]
Ḫabūrītum was a goddess representing the river Khabur.[123] Based on the location of her presumed cult center and on the fact that she was introduced to Mesopotamia at the same time as many Hurrian goddesses, Tonia Sharlach concludes that either belonged to the Hurrian pantheon herself or at least was worshiped chiefly in a "Hurrian-dominated" area.[124] Alfonso Archi proposes that she was analogous to Belet Nagar and possibly by extension also to Nabarbi.[15]
Ḫešui was a war god.[127] The meaning of his name is unknown,[128] While annelies Kammenhauber consideref him a Hurrian god in origin,[126] according to Alfonso Archi this is presently impossible to tell with certainty.[129] He belonged to the circle of deities associated with Teššub,[125] and as such appears in kaluti (offering lists) connected with his cult.[8]
Ḫupuštukar was the sukkal of Ḫešui.[128] His name is derived from the Hurrian verb ḫub-, "to break."[125] In one ritual text, he appears alongside the sukkals of other deities: Izzumi, Undurumma, Tenu, Lipparuma and Mukišanu.[126]
Impaluri was the sukkal of the sea god (Kiaše).[131] Volkert Haas notes that the suffix -luri appears not only in his name, but also in these of other deities, as well some mountain and stone names.[130]
Iršappa (or Aršappa; eršp in the alphabetic Ugaritic script)[132] was a god from the circle of Teššub.[133] He was associated with markets,[132] and in Hittite texts he was referred to as damkarassi, a Sumerianloanword meaning "of commerce."[133] He was derived from the Syrian god Resheph,[132] who was himself associated with the marketplace in Emar.[134]
Irširra were a group of Hurrian deities who might have been the goddesses of nursing and midwifery.[135] In the Song of Ullikummi the eponymous rock creature is placed on the primordial giant Ullikummi's right shoulder by them, as ordered by Kumarbi.[135]
Iškalli was a sparsely attested deity from the court of Ḫepat, usually paired with Uršui.[136] She is described as the "witness of the goddess."[136] The name might be derived from Akkadian ešgallu, "great temple."[136]
In addition to Šauška, administrative documents from Nuzi attest the worship of other goddesses referred to with the logogram dIŠTAR (or rather with it shortened form dU4[90]), identified by the epithets Ḫumella, Akkupaweniwe, Tupukilḫe, Putaḫḫe, Allaiwašwe, and bēlat dūri.[137] It is agreed most of these epithets are either etymologically Hurrian or at least Hurrianised, but their meanings remain unknown.[22] An exception is bēlat dūri, which is Akkadian in origin and means “lady of the city walls.”[85] In Ulamme, another city located in the kingdom of Arraphe, dIŠTAR Ḫumella was closely associated with Nergal.[85]
Izzummi is the Hurrian spelling of the name of Isimud (Ušmu), the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ea, who was incorporated into Hurrian pantheon alongside his master.[48]
Karḫuḫi (or Karhuha) was a god worshiped in Carchemish, first attested in the fifteenth century BCE.[140] He was associated with Kubaba.[138] It is possible that the logogram dLAMMA, which designates one of the adversaries of Teššub in the Kumarbi Cycle, refers to him.[138] While a connection between him and the Anatolian god Kurunta is commonly proposed,[140] it cannot be conclusively proved, and his character is regarded as uncertain.[141]
dKASKAL.KUR.RA is one of the deities listed in the treaty between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza.[143] This logogram has multiple possible readings, including the deified version of the Balikh River.[144] The notion that a deified watercourse is meant in this document is tentatively supported by Alfonso Archi.[35]
The name Kiaše means "sea" in Hurrian.[145] The god is therefore sometimes simply referred to as "the Sea"[146] or "the Sea God" in modern publications.[147] He is mentioned in texts from Ugarit and Hattusa[148] and in a hymn to Teššub from Halab.[149] In myths about Kumarbi, he is one of his allies.[150]
Hurrian texts provide little information about Kubaba's character.[153] According to Alfonso Archi, she was regarded as the goddess of lawsuits.[154] She belonged to the circle of Ḫepat[99] and was closely associated with Adamma.[95] She should not be confused with the Sumerian queen Kubaba (Kug-Bau),[152] whose name is theophoric and invokes the tutelary goddess of Lagash, Bau.[155] The exact linguistic origin of Kubaba's name is unknown.[95] Kubaba is also not etymologically related with the Phrygian goddess Cybele attested in later time periods.[156]
Kunzišalli
Kunzišalli was one of the two daughters of Ḫepat and Teššub.[96]
Kurri was a god who was worshiped in the temple of Allani during the hišuwa festival.[158] It has been proposed that he is the same deity as the Eblaite god Kura, whose worshiped otherwise ceased with the first destruction of Ebla,[159] but it is impossible to establish this with certainty due to lack of information about the functions of either deity.[158]
Kurwe was most likely the city god of Azuhinnu.[157] He precedes Kumurwe (Kumarbi) in known offering lists.[157] It has been proposed that he was the same god as Kurri from Kizzuwatna, though this is uncertain and the latter might also be connected with Eblaite Kura instead.[157] It is possible that he continued to be invoked in theophoric names from Azuhinnu in the Neo-Assyrian period.[157]
Lelluri was a Hurrian mountain goddess, a "lady of the mountains."[164] She has been described as a deity "associated with Hurrian identity."[165] She had a temple in Kummanni in Kizzuwatna, where she was worshiped alongside Manuzi.[166]
Lipparuma[30] or Lipparu was the sukkal of the sun god, Šimige.[86] He was regarded as analogous to Mesopotamian Bunene,[30] and the latter in one case appears as a courtier of Šimige, with his name transcribed as dWu-u-un-ni-nu-wa-an.[42]
Maliya was a goddess of Anatolian origin, well known from Hittite documents.[167] She was associated with gardens and could be called the "mother of wine and grain."[168] She was originally associated with Kanesh.[167] She was worshiped by Hurrians in Kizzuwatna, where she was associated with a group of deities of Hurrian origin referred to as Kuzzina-Kuzpazena.[167] She appears alongside Hurrian deities such as Ishara, Allani and Nupatik in documents pertaining to the hišuwa festival.[169] She was also commonly worshiped by Luwians.[170] Her cult survived in the first millennium BCE, and bilingual texts from Lycia attest an association between her and Greek Athena Polias.[167]
Manuzi was a mountain god regarded as the husband of Lelluri.[4] He was associated with a mythical eagle, Eribuški,[171] whose name has Hurrian origin.[166] Volkert Haas noted the association of deified mountains with eagles is already attested in the case of the Eblaite Adarwan in the third millennium BCE.[171] Manuzi could also be identified as a form of Teššub,[4] and as such could be referred to as "Teššub Manuzi."[169]
Milkunni was most likely a god associated with the underworld.[174] His name is a combination of the name of an Ugaritic deity, Milku (mlk in the alphabetic texts), and the Hurrian suffix -nni.[172]
Mitanni dynastic deities Mitra-ššil, (W)aruna-ššil, Indra and Našattiyana[35]
The attested Mitanni deities of Indo-European origin include Indra, Mitra, Varuna and the Nasatya twins,[175] all of whom only appear in a single treaty between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza, where they act as tutelary deities of the latter king.[44] The Hurrianised spellings of their names are Mitra-ššil, (W)aruna-ššil, Indra and Našattiyana.[35] They most likely were only worshiped by the nobility[35] or the ruling dynasty of this kingdom.[175]
Mukišānu was the sukkal (attendant deity) of Kumarbi.[20] His name was derived from Mukiš, a geographic name designating the area around the city of Alalakh,[20] where a large percentage of the population spoke Hurrian.[177] Some researchers, such as Volkert Haas, nonetheless assume his origin was Syrian rather than Hurrian.[176]
The goddess Mušītu (dmu-ši-tu4, dmu-ši-ti[179]), "night,"[181] was worshiped in Emar.[178] According to Gary Beckman, her name most likely originates in a West Semitic language,[179] but Alfonso Archi notes it is possible she was a misunderstanding of the Hurrian theonym Mušuni.[180] In a ritual text found in Emar, but presumed to be of Anatolian provenance, she appears as a member of a group of Hurrian deities, consisting of Teššub, his bulls, the mountain gods Hazzi and Namni, Allani, "Madi" ("wisdom," an epithet of Ea in Hurrian texts), Nergal (according to Archi in this context possibly a logogram representing the name of another deity) and an unidentified heptad.[182] She is also attested as one of the deities venerated in the local zukru festival, in which she appears in association with Saggar.[181]
Mušuni was a goddess who formed a dyad with Ḫepat.[34] Her name means "she of justice."[15] It has been proposed that she was an underworld goddess, and in one case she appears in a ritual alongside Allani and Ishara.[34]
Namni and Ḫazzi were a pair of mountain gods who belonged to the retinue of Teššub.[20] Ḫazzi corresponded to Jebel Aqra, in the Bronze Age known as Saphon, but it is presently unknown what mountain was represented by Namni.[16] Fragment of a myth appears to indicate that they were believed to be former enemies of Teššub, who fought him with the same weapon he earlier used in his battle against the sea god.[184]
Namrazunna was a goddess from the entourage of Šauška.[185] While she is attested in Hurrian and Hittite sources from Anatolia, her name is derived from Akkadiannamru, "shining," and Zunna, a Hurrianized spelling of the name of the Mesopotamian moon god Suen,[185] also attested in Hurrian text in transcription of the name of king Naram-Sin of Akkad.[186] Volkert Haas proposed translating Namrazunna's name as "moonlight."[187] Ilse Wegener instead suggests "the moon (god) shines for me."[186] In ritual texts she could be grouped with other servants of Šauška, namely Ninatta, Kulitta and Šintal-irti.[188]
Nikkal was a Hurrian derivative of the Sumerian Ningal.[190] In texts from Ugarit she appears both with Hurrian Kušuḫ and local Yarikh.[20] In kaluti of Ḫepat she is attested alongside Umbu, which lead to the theory that Umbu was not a name of a moon deity but rather an epithet of Nikkal analogous to Ugaritic Nikkal-wa-Ib, though according to Mauro Giorgieri this is not plausible.[54]
Ninatta and Kulitta were handmaidens of Šauška.[191] Their only Bronze Age attestations come from western Hurrian sources from Ugarit and Hattusa,[191] though in later periods they are also attested in the entourages of Ishtar of Arbela,[194] Ishtar of Assur,[28] and Assyrian Ishtar of Nineveh.[195] The origins of their names are unknown, though it has been proposed that Kulitta's name might have Anatolian origin[192] and that Ninatta's might be derived from the place name Ninêt (Ni-ne-etki) or Nenit (Ne-en-itki) known from documents from Mari and Tell al-Rimah, which might be an Amorite spelling of Nineveh.[193] In ritual texts they could be grouped with other deities from Šauška's entourage, namely Namrazunna and Šintal-irti.[188]
Pairra were a group of Hurrian gods whose name can be translated as "they who built."[196] The singular form of the name is Pairi.[196] According to a ritual text pertaining to the worship of Teššub and Ḫepat, the Pairra could appear as both auspicious figures and as malign demons.[196] It has been proposed that in Hittite texts the logogram used to designate the Sebitti in Mesopotamia should be read as "Pairra."[196] A formal equivalence between these two groups of deities is attested in a god list from Emar.[196]
Partaḫi (also transcribed as Pardahi[35]) belonged to Hurrian pantheon of Mitanni, and appears as the deity of Šuda in the treaty between Šattiwaza with Šuppiluliuma I between a number of hypostases of Teššub from specific locations and Nabarbi.[197][143]
Pentikalli was the Hurrian form of the name Belet Ekalli or Ninegal.[200] In Hurrian texts, she is designated as a concubine of Teššub,[136] and was assimilated with Pithanu, described as a goddess who sits on Teššub's throne in a ritual text.[198]
Pinikir was a goddess of Elamite origin[203] worshiped by the western Hurrians.[17] It is possible that she was a divine representation of the planet Venus.[201] She was referred to with epithets such as "Lady of the Lands," "Lady of Gods and Kings," "Queen of Heaven"[206] and "Elamite goddess."[207] She has been characterized as a "cosmopolitan deity" due to being worshiped in various locations all across the Ancient Near East, from modern Turkey to Iran.[204] Pinikir's gender in Hurrian texts is not entirely consistent and in some offering lists he is counted among the male deities.[204]
Pišaišapḫi (pḏḏpẖ in the alphabetic Ugaritic script) was a mountain god whose name is an adjective, "(he) of the mount Pišaiša."[209] The corresponding landmark was most likely located close to the Mediterranean coast.[132] Sometimes in offering lists he forms a dyad with another deified mountain, Hatni, in which case he appears second.[208] However, unlike him Hatni is never mentioned on his own.[208] He is attested alongside other mountains in oath formulas as well.[209] He appears in a myth about Šauška,[132] in which he promises to tell her the story of rebellion of the mountain gods against Teššub in exchange for being forgiven for own misdeeds.[210]
Saggar was one of the gods incorporated into Hurrian religion who were originally worshiped in Ebla, but did not retain their former prominence after the fall of this city.[3] His name could be written logographically as dḪAR.[212] He was a divine representation of the Sinjar Mountains, but seemingly also a lunar deity.[213] He was also closely associated with Ishara.[213]
Samnuha (also spelled Samanuha) was the tutelary god of Šadikanni (modern Tell 'Ağağa).[215] Šamanminuḫi, a god known from a treaty of Šattiwaza, is likely the same deity.[214] He continued to be invoked in theophoric names as late as in the Achaemenid period.[214] He is also attested as one of the three Hurrian deities from Taite in the Neo-Assyrian Takultu ritual, the other two being Kumarbi and Nabarbi.[28]
Sumuqan was a god associated with wild animals, herding and wool.[217] He was already worshiped over a wide area in the third millennium, as attested in documents from Ebla, Nabada, Mari and various cities in Mesopotamia.[218] He appears as the deity of Gurta in the treaty between Šattiwaza with Šuppiluliuma I.[35]
Šaluš (Šalaš) was a Syrian goddess who was originally the wife of Dagan.[132] Due to syncretism between him and Kumarbi she came to also be viewed as the wife of the latter in Hurrian tradition.[220] However, she does not appear in this role in any Hurrian myths.[221] In Hurrian sources she could be referred to as Pidenḫi, in reference to her cult center Piten,[219] also known as Bitin.[95]
Šarrēna was a term collectively applied to deified kings in Hurrian culture.[222] Lists of them known from rituals include historical Hurrian kings (Atal-Shen of Urkesh and Nawar), members of the Akkadian Sargonic dynasty (Sargon, Naram-Sin, Manishtushu and Shar-Kali-Sharri), kings of various distant locations (Autalumma of Elam, Immashku of Lullubi, Kiklip-Atal of Tukrish[223]) and mythical figures (Ḫedammu and Silver known from the cycle of Kumarbi).[224]Šarrēna and its singular form šarri were not the same as the terms used in royal titulature of Hurrian rulers, ewri and endan.[224]
Šarruma was the son of Teššub and Ḫepat.[226] He was sometimes referred to as a "calf," possibly indicating that he could be depicted in theriomorphic form.[227] He was also associated with mountains.[228] Due to the similarity of his name to the Akkadian word šarru, "king," his name could be written as dLUGAL-da, LUGAL being a Sumerian logogram of analogous meaning.[229]
Šayu (Šaju) is an element attested in feminine personal names from Nuzi, identified as a possible name of a goddess by Gernot Wilhelm[189] and Thomas Richter.[230]
Šeri and Ḫurri were a pair of bulls believed to pull Teššub's chariot.[20] While Šeri is occasionally attested on his own and he had a distinct role as a mediator between worshipers and Teššub, nothing is known about Ḫurri's characteristics and in known texts he only appears paired with the other bull.[33] In the Song of Ullikummi, Tilla replaces the latter of the two bull gods.[231]
Šinan-tatukarni ("twofold at [?] love") was a deity associated with Šauška,[28] only known from a single document which lists four figures who bring bad luck, the other three being Ari, Halzari and Taruwi.[232]
Šintal-irti ("seven-breasted") was a deity associated with Šauška.[28] In ritual texts she could be grouped with other deities from her entourage, namely Ninatta, Kulitta and Namrazunna.[188] Like them, she was believed to be a bringer of good luck.[233] She is only attested in a single offering list, where her name is written without a divine determinative.[233]
Šuruḫḫe is one of the deities mentioned in the treaty between Šattiwaza with Šuppiluliuma I, after Partaḫi and Nabarbi.[235][143] The same deity is also attested in a list of offerings to Teššub and Ḫepat of Halab.[235] The name is most likely Hurrian in origin and according to Gernot Wilhelm should be interpreted as a nisba derived from the place name Šuri.[235]
Šuwala (ṯwl in alphabetic Ugaritic texts[237]) was an underworld goddess who served as the tutelary deity of Mardaman, a Hurrian city in the north of modern Iraq.[236] She belonged to the circle of Ḫepat and could be associated with Allani, but she is best attested in a dyad with Nabarbi.[236] She is attested from various locations across the ancient Near East: Nuzi in the kingdom of Arrapha, Ur in southern Mesopotamia, Hattusa in Anatolia, and Alalakh, Ugarit and Emar in Syria.[236] In the last of these cities she was associated with Ugur.[237]
Takitu (dqt in the Ugaritic alphabetic script; multiple spellings alternating between ta and tu and da and du are attested from Hurro-Hittite sources) was the sukkal of Ḫepat.[238] Her name is possibly derived from the Semitic root dqq, "small."[238] In myths she travels to various locations on behalf of her mistress.[239][240]
Tapšuwari is a deity known from a fragment of the Hurrian version of Song of Ullikummi, and from another literary fragment, both of which mention the sun and moon gods.[242] Meindert Dijkstra proposed that was the sukkal of Kušuḫ,[241] while Volkert Haas considered him a courtier of Kumarbi.[242]
Tašmišu was a god regarded as the brother and sukkal[51] of Teššub[48] and husband of Nabarbi.[84] It is assumed that his name is derived from the word tašmi, which might mean "strong."[244] He appears in ritual texts from Kizzuwatna, especially those connected to the worship of Teššub in Šapinuwa.[243]
In a number of ritual texts, Tenu is listed as the sukkal of Teššub in place of Tašmišu.[51] Daniel Schwemer proposes that this is an indication he originally belonged to the pantheon of Aleppo (Halab).[51] Gary Beckman also assumes he was a Syrian deity in origin.[245] However, Alfonso Archi considers him to simply be a Hurrian deity.[246]
Tirwi was a god worshiped in Azuhinnu in the kingdom of Arrapha.[199] It is assumed that he was a male deity.[247] He appears in theophoric names, such as Akit-Tirwi.[247]
Tiyabenti was a deity of unclear gender who could serve as Ḫepat's sukkal.[249] The name can be translated "he who speaks favorably" or "she who speaks favorably."[15] In many sources, Takitu is identified as Ḫepat's sukkal,[248] but she can appear alongside Tiyabenti in ritual texts, and it is unlikely that one of them was merely an epithet of the other.[248]
Ugur was originally the sukkal of Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of war of death.[251] In Mesopotamian sources his name eventually became a logographic representation of Nergal's.[252] The Hurrians viewed him as a god of war and as an underworld deity.[253] He is attested in theophoric names from Nuzi.[253] Under the epithet Šaum(m)atar he could be considered a member of a triad whose two other members were Nupatik and Aštabi.[250] In Emar he appears in ritual texts alongside Šuwala.[237]
Undurumma
Undurumma was the sukkal of Šauška, though only a single attestation of this deity is known.[254] It is uncertain if Unudurupa ( or Unduruwa), who appears in another document in association with Allani, should be considered identical with Undurumma.[254]
Uršui (or Uršue) was a goddess included in the circle of either Ḫepat or Šauška.[255] She was always paired with Iškalli, though the latter sporadically occurs alone.[136] The name might be derived from the name of the city Uršu(m),[136] likely located in the proximity of modern Gaziantep.[256] Alfonso Archi proposes that the joint name Uršui-Iškalli could initially mean "the great temple of the city of Uršu."[136] In the past a different etymology of Uršui's name has been proposed by Emmanuel Laroche, who explained it as a combination of the Hurrian words ur-, "to be available" and šui, "all."[255] It has also been proposed that Uršui was not a separate goddess but merely an epithet of Iškalli.[255]
Zarwan was a god worshiped in Apenaš and Azuhinnu in the kingdom of Arrapha.[199] It is assumed that he was a male deity.[247] He is attested in theophoric names such as Itḫiz-Zarwa.[247]
Ammatina Enna, whose name can be translated as "former gods" or "primordial gods," were a special type of Hurrian deities.[99] Typically twelve of them were listed at a time.[257] The standard group included Nara, Napšara, Minki, Tuḫuši, Ammunki, Ammizzadu, Alalu, Anu, Antu, Apantu, Enlil and Ninlil.[257] Additional names attested in various source include Eltara, Ta(i)štara, Muntara, Mutmuntara,[258] Aduntarri, Zulki [259] and Irpitiga.[258] Some of these deities were Mesopotamian in origin (for example Anu, Enlil and their spouses), while others have names which cannot be presently classified and possibly originate in Syria.[257]
Alalu was a primordial deity[260] of Mesopotamian origin.[261][258] He is mentioned in the proem of the first part of the Kumarbi Cycle according to which he was originally the king of the gods but later was dethroned by his cupbearer Anu and had to flee to the underworld.[262] While it is sometimes assumed in scholarship that he was the father of Anu and grandfather of Kumarbi,[257] most likely two separate dynasties of gods are described in the passage in mention, and Alalu and Anu were not regarded as father and son in Hurrian tradition.[263] Another myth directly refers to Kumarbi as his son.[264] A Mesopotamian text equates him with another primordial deity, Enmesharra.[265]
The Mesopotamian god Anu commonly appears in Hurrian enumerations of primordial deities.[257] He is also attested in the offering lists of the circle of Teššub from Šapinuwa.[8] In the Song of Kumarbi, he is one of the three former kings of gods, but his origin is not explained.[266] He initially acts as Alalu's cupbearer, but after nine years dethrones him.[266] After the same period of time, his own cupbearer Kumarbi dethrones him too and bits off his genitals while he tries to flee to heaven.[262] Teššub, the weather god, is his son.[267]
Silver was the son of Kumarbi and a mortal woman.[269] His name was written without the divine determinative,[25] and he was not worshiped as a deity.[270] In the myth Song of Silver he most likely temporarily became the king of the gods and dragged the Sun and the Moon down from heaven.[25]
Ḫedammu was a sea monster who was the son of Kumarbi and Šertapšuruḫi.[150] He is described as destructive and voracious.[147] Most likely in the end of the corresponding myth, known as Song of Ḫedammu, he was defeated by Šauška.[147]
Šertapšuruḫi was the daughter of the sea god Kiaše.[147] She is mentioned in the myth Song of Hedammu.[147] It is possible that her name means "belonging to Šertapšuri" (a term of unknown meaning).[271]
Ullikummi was a stone giant created by Kumarbi to defeat Teššub.[272] His name means "Destroy Kumme!"[273] It has been proposed that a monster depicted on the golden bowl of Hasanlu who has a human head but whose lower body is a mountain might be Ullikummi, and that the rest of the sculpted figures can be interpreted other characters and events from the same myth.[17]
Upelluri was a giant believed to bear the world on his back.[273] In the Song of Ullikummi, the eponymous monster is placed on his shoulder by Kumarbi's servants to let him grow away from the sight of Teššub and his allies.[274]
Enlil, the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon,[275] commonly appears in Hurrian enumerations of primordial deities.[257] In Hurrian tradition he was regarded as the father of Ishara.[65] Enlil and Kumarbi could be equated with each other in theological texts due to sharing the role of father of gods in their respective pantheons.[276] At the same time, in Hurrian myths they are treated as two different figures.[277] For example, in the Song of Kumarbi Enlil is among the deities invited to listen to the story of Kumarbi, while in the Song of Ullikummi he decries the latter god's intrigue as evil.[277]
Eltara was one of the deities who could be counted among the Ammatina Enna.[258] In this context he was paired with the deity Ta(i)štara.[258] His name is assumed to be a combination of the name of the Ugaritic god El and the suffix -tara.[278] El himself appears in Hurrian offering lists from Ugarit.[74] A poorly preserved myth describes a period during which Eltara was the king of the gods, and additionally alludes to a conflict involving the mountains.[279]
The concept of eni attanni, the "god father", developed among Hurrians living in Ugarit as an equivalent of the local deity Ilib, and functioned as a representation of a "generic ancestor of the gods".[280]
The Hurrian term referring to the deified Earth and Heaven was eše hawurni.[44] The worship of this concept is attested in sources from all areas inhabited by the Hurrians, similar to the major deities such as Teššub,[77] but there is no indication that Earth and Heaven were regarded as personified deities themselves.[44]
Hahharnum (Ḫamurnu) and Hayyashum were the Mesopotamian reflection of the Hurrian deified Heaven and Earth.[282] They appear as a pair of primordial deities in a small number of texts,[281][282] for example in the myth Theogony of Dunnu.[283] Hahharnum is also attested alone in the god list Anšar = Anum which equates him with Anu.[281]
Ḫiriḫibi (Ḫrḫb) is a god only known from the Ugaritic myth Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh.[285] He is assumed to have Hurrian origin,[285] which is also proposed for the myth itself.[286] It is possible that his name means "he of the mountain Ḫiriḫ(i)," and that it ends with suffix -bi (Ḫiriḫ(i)bi), similar to these of Hurrian deities Kumarbi and Nabarbi.[284]
It has been suggested that the presumed name of the Hattic moon god Kašku might be the evidence of early contact between the speakers of Hattic and Hurrian, as it resembles the name of Kušuḫ.[40] However, it has been recently proposed that the correct reading of the name is Kab, rather than Kašku.[53]
It has been proposed that the name of the deity Maḏḏara, who is only attested Ugaritic offering lists,[288] might have Hurrian origin.[287] This theory is based on the similarity between the syllabic writing of the name, dma-za-ra,[289] and the Hurrian word maziri, "help."[287] This proposal is not universally accepted.[287]
According to Manfred Krebernik, it is possible that the name of Pidar, an Ugaritic god associated with Baal, was derived from the Hurrian word pedari, "bull."[290] It is also possible his name is connected with that of the goddess Pidray from the same pantheon.[290]
The name of the Ugaritic deity dSu-ra-su-gu-WA (reading of the final sign uncertain), only known from a single offering list, might be Hurrian in origin.[291]
The name of Šala, a goddess who was the wife of the Mesopotamian weather god Adad, is assumed to be derived from the Hurrian word šāla, "daughter."[292] She might also be attested in the treaty between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza,[143] but according to Daniel Schwemer it is possible that this is a scribal mistake and the goddess meant there is instead Šalaš.[293]
Šaraššiya is only known from offering lists from Ugarit.[294] His name is most likely derived from Hurrian šarašše-, "kingship."[294] In Hurro-Hittite texts an essive form of this word, šaraššiya, "for kingship," functioned as a designation of offerings.[294] It is assumed that the god Šaraššiya was a divine personification of kingship.[294]
Šiduri is the name assigned to an originally nameless divine alewife in the so-called "Standard Babylonian" version of the Epic of Gilgamesh.[295] The etymology of her name is a matter of debate, but it is possible it was derived from the Hurrian word šiduri, "young woman."[97] In Hurrian and Hitttie translations of the Epic of Gilgamesh known from Hattusa, the alewife is named, Naḫmazulel or Naḫmizulen (an ordinary Hurrian given name), but she is described as a šiduri.[296] Gary Beckman proposes that his was the origin of her name in the Standard Babylonian version.[296]
While many researchers today favor the view that Tishpak, the city god of Eshnunna, had Elamite origin,[298][297] the possibilities that he was either derived directly from Teššub[104] or an Elamite reflection of him have also been proposed.[299]
Umbidaki was a god worshiped in the temple of Ishtar of Arbela in Neo-Assyrian times who might have been derived from Nupatik, possibly introduced to this city after a war which led to Assyrians acquiring a statue of him.[194]
Related Research Articles
Šarruma, also romanized as Šarrumma or Sharruma, was a Hurrian god. He could be depicted in both anthropomorphic form, sometimes riding on the back of a leopard, and in the theriomorphic form as a bull. His character is not fully understood, though it is known that he could function as a mountain god. He was regarded as a son of Ḫepat and Teshub. He was also linked to various moon deities. Additionally, the only mythological text he appears in addresses him as a messenger (sukkalu) of Kumarbi. He was worshiped by Hurrians in southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria, for example in Kummanni and Lawazantiya in Kizzuwatna. From this kingdom he was introduced to the Hittite pantheon as well. Hittite influence in turn resulted in his introduction to cities such as Aleppo, Emar and Ugarit. He was also venerated in Luwian religion in the first millennium BCE, with theophoric names invoking him attested from as late as the Hellenistic period in Cilicia and Lycia.
Ḫepat was a goddess associated with Aleppo, originally worshiped in the north of modern Syria in the third millennium BCE. Her name is often presumed to be either a feminine nisba referring to her connection to this city, or alternatively a derivative of the root ḫbb, "to love". Her best attested role is that of the spouse of various weather gods. She was already associated with Adad in Ebla and Aleppo in the third millennium BCE, and in later times they are attested as a couple in cities such as Alalakh and Emar. In Hurrian religion she instead came to be linked with Teshub, which in the first millennium BCE led to the development of a tradition in which she was the spouse of his Luwian counterpart Tarḫunz. Associations between her and numerous other deities are described in Hurrian ritual texts, where she heads her own kaluti, a type of offering lists dedicated to the circle of a specific deity. She commonly appears in them alongside her children, Šarruma, Allanzu and Kunzišalli. Her divine attendant was the goddess Takitu. In Hittite sources, she could sometimes be recognized as the counterpart of the Sun goddess of Arinna, though their respective roles were distinct and most likely this theological conception only had limited recognition. In Ugarit the local goddess Pidray could be considered analogous to her instead.
Kušuḫ, also known under the name Umbu, was the god of the moon in Hurrian pantheon. He is attested in cuneiform texts from many sites, from Hattusa in modern Turkey, through Ugarit, Alalakh, Mari and other locations in Syria, to Nuzi, located near modern Kirkuk in Iraq, but known sources do not indicate that he was associated with a single city. His name might be derived from the toponym Kuzina, possibly the Hurrian name of Harran, a city in Upper Mesopotamia, but both this etymology and identification of this sparsely attested place name remain uncertain. He was a popular, commonly worshiped god, and many theophoric names invoking him are known. In addition to serving as a divine representation of the moon, he was also associated with oaths, oracles and pregnancy. Some aspects of his character were likely influenced by his Mesopotamian counterpart Sin, while he in turn was an influence on the Ugaritic god Yarikh and Luwian Arma.
Šauška (Shaushka), also called Šauša or Šawuška, was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon. She was associated with love and war, as well as with incantations and by extension with healing. While she was usually referred to as a goddess and with feminine titles, such as allai, references to masculine Šauška are also known. The Hurrians associated her with Nineveh, but she was also worshiped in many other centers associated with this culture, from Anatolian cities in Kizzuwatna, through Alalakh and Ugarit in Syria, to Nuzi and Ulamme in northeastern Mesopotamia. She was also worshiped in southern Mesopotamia, where she was introduced alongside a number of other foreign deities in the Ur III period. In this area, she came to be associated with Ishtar. At a later point in time, growing Hurrian influence on Hittite culture resulted in the adoption of Šauška into the Hittite state pantheon.
Allani, also known under the Akkadian name Allatu, was the Hurrian goddess of the underworld. She was also associated with the determination of fate. She was closely linked with Ishara, and they could be invoked or receive offerings together. She also developed connection with other underworld deities from neighboring cultures, such as Mesopotamian Ereshkigal, Anatolian Sun goddess of the Earth and Lelwani, and possibly Ugaritic Arsay. It is presumed she was chiefly worshiped in western areas inhabited by the Hurrians, though the location of her main cult center is uncertain. She is attested in texts from sites such as Tigunani, Tuttul and Ugarit. She was also incorporated into the Mesopotamian pantheon, and was venerated in Ur, Nippur and Sippar. Hittite sources mentioning her are known too.
The Hurrian religion was the polytheistic religion of the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of the Near East who chiefly inhabited the north of the Fertile Crescent. While the oldest evidence goes back to the third millennium BCE, it is best attested in cuneiform sources from the second millennium BCE written not only in the Hurrian language, but also Akkadian, Hittite and Ugaritic. It was shaped by the contacts between Hurrians and various cultures they coexisted with. As a result, the Hurrian pantheon included both natively Hurrian deities and those of foreign origin, adopted from Mesopotamian, Syrian, Anatolian and Elamite beliefs. The culture of the Hurrians was not entirely homogeneous, and different local religious traditions are documented in sources from Hurrian kingdoms such as Arrapha, Kizzuwatna and Mitanni, as well as from cities with sizeable Hurrian populations, such as Ugarit and Alalakh.
Ninatta and Kulitta were a dyad of Hurrian goddesses regarded as the handmaidens of Šauška. They were primarily considered divine musicians, though they also had a warlike aspect. They are attested in western Hurrian sources from Ugarit and Hattusa. They were also incorporated into the Hittite and Mesopotamian pantheons.
Sukkal was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various commands of the kings and acted as diplomatic envoys and translators for foreign dignitaries. The deities referred to as sukkals fulfilled a similar role in mythology, acting as servants, advisors and envoys of the main gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon, such as Enlil or Inanna. The best known sukkal is the goddess Ninshubur. In art, they were depicted carrying staves, most likely understood as their attribute. They could function as intercessory deities, believed to mediate between worshipers and the major gods.
Nupatik, in early sources known as Lubadag, was a Hurrian god of uncertain character. He is attested in the earliest inscriptions from Urkesh, as well as in texts from other Hurrian settlements and Ugarit. He was also incorporated into Hittite religion. A similarly named deity continued to be venerated in Arbela as late as in the Neo-Assyrian period.
Shuwala (Šuwala) was a Hurrian goddess who was regarded as the tutelary deity of Mardaman, a Hurrian city in the north of modern Iraq. She was also worshiped in other Hurrian centers, such as Nuzi and Alalakh, as well as in Ur in Mesopotamia, Hattusa in the Hittite Empire and in the Syrian cities Emar and Ugarit.
Ugur was a Mesopotamian god associated with war and death, originally regarded as an attendant deity (sukkal) of Nergal. After the Old Babylonian period he was replaced in this role by Ishum, and in the Middle Babylonian period his name started to function as a logogram representing Nergal. Temples dedicated to him existed in Isin and Girsu. He was also worshiped outside Mesopotamia by Hurrians and Hittites. He might also be attested in sources from Emar.
Nabarbi or Nawarni was a Hurrian goddess possibly associated with pastures. She was one of the major deities in Hurrian religion, and was chiefly worshiped in the proximity of the river Khabur, especially in Taite. It has been proposed that she was associated with the goddess Belet Nagar, linked to the Upper Mesopotamian city of Nagar. In addition to being venerated in Hurrian religion, she was also incorporated into the beliefs of the Hittites and into the local pantheon of Emar. She also continued to be worshiped in Taite in the Neo-Assyrian period, as attested in a text from the reign of Ashurbanipal, where she is one of the deities invoked to bless the king.
Takitu, Takiti or Daqitu was a Hurrian goddess who served as the sukkal of Ḫepat. She appears alongside her mistress in a number of Hurrian myths, in which she is portrayed as her closest confidante. Her name is usually assumed to have its origin in a Semitic language, though a possible Hurrian etymology has also been proposed. She was worshiped in Hattusa, Lawazantiya and Ugarit.
Tašmišu (Tashmishu) was a Hurrian god. He was regarded as a brother of Teshub, and it is assumed he had a warlike character.
Ḫešui, also known as Ḫišue, was a Hurrian war god. He was also incorporated into the Hittite pantheon. He is sparsely attested in known sources, and his origin and the meaning of his name remain unknown.
Šeri and Ḫurri were a pair of theriomorphic Hurrian gods who almost always appear together in known sources. They were believed to pull the chariot of Teššub, the Hurrian weather god. Šeri additionally could function as a deity mediating between petitioners and his master, but no individual role was ever assigned to Ḫurri. In addition to appearing in Hurrian offering lists and theophoric names, for example from Nuzi, Šeri and Ḫurri are also attested in Hittite and Mesopotamian sources. While the Hittites incorporated them into their pantheon alongside Teššub and other deities from his circle, in Mesopotamia they instead came to be associated with Adad.
Namni and Ḫazzi were two mountain gods who belonged to the Hurrian pantheon. They are usually mentioned together in known texts. Ḫazzi corresponds to Jebel al-Aqra, while the identification of the mountain Namni represented is disputed. Both of them belonged to the court of the Hurrian weather god, Teššub, and it is possible they were worshiped alongside him in Aleppo. They are also attested in a variety of Hurrian and Hittite religious texts. They do not play an active role in known myths of Hurrian origin, though allusions to a conflict involving them have been identified in texts dealing with other deities.
Pišaišapḫi was a Hurrian mountain god. His name was derived from that of the associated mountain, Pišaiša, which was most likely located next the Mediterranean coast. He is attested in Hurrian and Hittite ritual texts from cities such as Hattusa, Šapinuwa and Ugarit. A Hittite literary text known as Myth of Pišaiša is focused on him, though its origin and the reading of the names of other deities who play roles in it remains a matter of debate among researchers.
Hurrian primeval deities were regarded as an early generation of gods in Hurrian mythology. A variety of Hurrian, Hittite and Akkadian labels could be used to refer to them. They were believed to inhabit the underworld, where they were seemingly confined by Teshub. Individual texts contain a variety of different listings of primeval deities, with as many as thirty names known, though many are very sparasely attested. Some among them were received from Mesopotamia, but others might have names originating in Hurrian or a linguistic substrate. No specific cult centers of the primeval deities have been identified, and they were not worshiped by all Hurrian communities. They were also incorporated into Hittite religion, presumably either from Kizzuwatna or Syria. Offers were made to them in sacrificial pits, examples of which have been identified in Urkesh and Hattusa. The primeval deities also appear in a number of Hurrian myths, including multiple sections of the Kumarbi Cycle and the Song of Release.
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