Luwian religion was the religious and mythological beliefs and practices of the Luwians, an Indo-European people of Asia Minor, which is detectable from the Bronze Age until the early Roman empire. It was strongly affected by foreign influence in all periods and it is not possible to clearly separate it from neighbouring cultures, particularly Syrian and Hurrian religion. The Indo-European element in the Luwian religion was stronger than in the neighbouring Hittite religion. [1]
The Luwian religion can be divided into two periods: the Bronze Age period and the Iron Age or Late Luwian period. During the Bronze Age, the Luwians were under the control of the Hittites. They spoke the Luwian language, a close relative of the Hittite language. Although a hieroglyphic script existed in the Bronze Age, which was used for writing Luwian, there are only a few known religious texts of the Luwians from the Bronze Age.
After the collapse of the Hittite empire, several Late Luwian states formed in northern Syria and Southern Anatolia, which came partially under Aramaean influence and were conquered by the Assyrians by the 8th century BC. Important Luwian centres in this period included Carchemish, Melid, and Tabal.
The Luwian religion is attested up to the early Roman period in southern Anatolia, specially in Cilicia, mostly in theophoric personal names.
The earliest evidence of the Luwians comes from the Old Assyrian archive of traders at the Karum of Kaneš (c. 1900 BC), where some people bear clearly Luwian names, including theophoric names. These indicate that Šanta and Runtiya were worshipped as deities in this period.
In Hittite text, pieces of Luwian language often appear in magic rituals, intended to bring rain or heal the sick. These give an important role to the goddess Kamrusepa. However, local cults are also attested, like Ḫuwaššanna of Ḫubišna (modern Ereğli, Konya). The pantheon of the city of Ištanuwa , which is thought to be in the area of the Sakarya River, belongs to the Luwian religious zone.
Luwian rulers and traders left behind several inscriptions, from the 11th century BC onwards, which provide rich evidence about the religion of the Iron Age Luwians. Among these are depictions of the deities, in the form of statues or rock cut reliefs in the style of Hittite rock reliefs. Many images are known from Melid in particular, which were created by one especially pious king of the 10th century. The reliefs show the king giving libations before a number of deities. One of them also depicts an image of the weather god's battle with a snake-like demon, which recalls the Hittite myth of Illuyanka and the Greek myth of Typhon.
According to the evidence of theophoric personal names from ancient Anatolia, mainly Cilicia and Lycaonia, the Luwian religion survived into the Roman period. The cult of Sandan is attested at Tarsus, where he was identified with Heracles. Similar traces, but with clear differences, can be seen in the religion of the Lycians and Carians, who were close relatives of the Luwians.
The Luwian pantheon changed over time. Tarhunt, Tiwad, Arma, Runtiya, and Šanta can be pointed to as the typical Luwian gods, which were always worshipped (the Syrian Kubaba probably also belongs to this group). [2] The Hurrian element, which included Syrian and Babylonian influences, becomes visible later on, with deities like Iya, Hipatu, Šaruma, Alanzu, and Šauska. Unlike the Hittite religion, the Luwians were not significantly influenced by Hattian religion . In the Iron Age, there was also direct influence from Babylonian religion (e.g. Marutika = Marduk) and Aramaean religion (Pahalat = Baalat/Baltis), especially in the way the gods were depicted.
Tarḫunz /Tarhunt (Nominative: Tarḫunz, Tarhunzas) was the weather god and chief god of the Luwians. Unlike Hittite Tarḫunna and Hurrian Teššub, his chariot was pulled by horses, not bulls. Usually, the weather god takes on clear traits of a fertility god, as in Late Luwian images showing Tarhunza with bunches of grapes and ears of grain. One of his epithets, piḫaššašši ("of the thunderbolt") was especially venerated in Tarḫuntašša, which was at one point the capital of the Hittite empire. Tarḫunt piḫaššašši was even chosen as the personal guardian god of King Muwatalli II. It is assumed that the Greek winged horse, Pegasus, which carried Zeus' thunderbolt, derives its name from this Luwian epithet. [3]
According to Late Luwian texts, Tarhunz gave the king royal power, courage, and marched before him in battle. He brought victory and conquests. In curse formulae, Tarhunz is called upon to "smash enemies with his axe." Often he is referred to as "Tarhunz of the Heavens". His most important cult centre was Aleppo, where a cult went back to the Bronze Age. The Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I had appointed his son Telipinu as priest and king of Aleppo.
As "Tarhunza of the vineyard" (Tarhunzas Tuwarsas), he was worshipped in Tabal. King Warpalawas of Tuwanuwa depicted him with ears of grain and bunches of grapes on the İvriz relief. Near the relief is a natural spring, which underlined the fertility aspect of the weather god. Cows and sheep were offered to him as sacrifices, in the hope that he would make the grain and the wine grow.
In late Luwian reliefs, Tarhunza is depicted as a bearded god with a short skirt and a helmet. In his right hand he bears an axe or a hammer and in his left hand he holds a bundle of thunderbolts. Often he is shown standing on a bull, like the Weather god of Aleppo .
Late Luwian inscriptions from Arslantepe also indicate local weather gods, of which nothing more is known than their names.
Tiwad (Nom.: Tiwaz) was the Sun god. The Luwians had no female sun deity like the Hittite Sun goddess of Arinna. One of Tiwad's epithets was tati ("father"). The Late Luwian king Azatiwada ("Beloved of Tiwad") referred to him as "Tiwad of the Heavens".
Kamrušipa was the wife of Tiwad and mother of the guardian god Runtiya. She played an important role in magic rituals. In Late Luwian sources, she is not attested.
Arma was the moon god and appears in a large number of theophoric personal names (e.g. Armaziti, [4] "Man of Arma"), suggesting that he was a popular deity. In the Iron Age he completely merged with the moon god of Harran and is often referred to in inscriptions as "Harranian Arma". He is depicted as a winged and bearded god with a crescent moon on his helmet. His name was written in Luwian hieroglyphs with a lunette. In curse formulae he is asked to "spear" the victim "with his horn."
Runtiya was a guardian god. His animal was the deer and his name was written in hieroglyphs with a deer's antlers. In Late Luwian texts, he is connected to the wilderness and serves as a god of the hunt. He is depicted as a god armed with bow and arrow, standing on a deer. His partner is the goddess Ala, who was identified with Kubaba in Kummuh.
Šanta /Santa was a death-bringing god, named along with the dark Marwainzi , as is Nikarawa in Late Luwian texts. This largely unknown deity was called upon in curses to feed an enemy to his dogs or to eat the enemy himself. Šanta was identified with the Babylonian god Marduk in the Bronze Age. His cult endured in Cilician Tarsos until classical antiquity where he was identified with Sandan-Herakles.
The goddess of fate Kwanza and the plague god Iyarri are only attested indirectly in Late Luwian names. In the Bronze Age, the former was known as Gulza.
Kupapa was one of the most important goddesses of the Late Luwian pantheon. Her attributes were a mirror and a pomegranate. Her partner was Karhuha. Originally she was the civic goddess of Carchemish, but in the Iron Age, her cult spread over the whole of Anatolia and she was adopted by the Lydians as Kufaws/Kubaba. Whether the Phrygian goddess Cybele derives from Kubaba remains uncertain. The late Luwian king of Carchemish invoked her as "Kupapa, great queen of Carchemish". In curses, Kupapa is called upon to attack the enemy from behind or to unleash her hasami hound on them.
Hipatu or Hiputa was the Late Luwian name of the Hurro-Syrian goddess Ḫepat. She is depicted as an enthroned goddess together with Saruma (Hurrian Šarruma), standing on a mountain, who was her son according to Hittite sources. The latter is often named with Alanzu, who is his sister according to Hittite texts. Along with Tarhunz he marches ahead of the general in battle and "seizes victory from the enemy." His epithet is "mountain king."
Sauska is depicted on the Late Luwian relief at Melid as a winged goddess with an axe, standing upon two birds.
Kumarma was a grain goddess, who was worshipped along with Matili and the wine god Tipariya. She is related to the Hurrian god Kumarbi.
Teshub was the Hurrian weather god, as well as the head of the Hurrian pantheon. The etymology of his name is uncertain, though it is agreed it can be classified as linguistically Hurrian. Both phonetic and logographic writings are attested. As a deity associated with the weather, Teshub could be portrayed both as destructive and protective. Individual weather phenomena, including winds, lightning, thunder and rain, could be described as his weapons. He was also believed to enable the growth of vegetation and create rivers and springs. His high position in Hurrian religion reflected the widespread importance of weather gods in northern Mesopotamia and nearby areas, where in contrast with the south agriculture relied primarily on rainfall rather than irrigation. It was believed that his authority extended to both mortal and other gods, both on earth and in heaven. However, the sea and the underworld were not under his control. Depictions of Teshub are rare, though it is agreed he was typically portrayed as an armed, bearded figure, sometimes holding a bundle of lightning. One such example is known from Yazılıkaya. In some cases, he was depicted driving in a chariot drawn by two sacred bulls.
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.
Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir, Pirinkir, and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs. While she is only infrequently attested in Elamite documents, she achieved a degree of prominence in Hurrian religion. Due to her presence in pantheons of many parts of the Ancient Near East, from Anatolia to Iran, modern researchers refer to her as a "cosmopolitan deity."
Kamrušepa was a Hittite and Luwian goddess of medicine and magic, analogous to Hattic and Palaic goddess Kataḫzipuri. She is best known as one of the deities involved in the Telepinu Myth, in which her actions were crucial to pacify the anger of the "missing" vegetation god.
Nikkal or Nikkal-wa-Ib was a goddess worshiped in various areas of the ancient Near East west of Mesopotamia. She was derived from the Mesopotamian goddess Ningal, and like her forerunner was regarded as the spouse of a moon god, whose precise identity varied between locations. While well attested in Hurrian and Hittite sources, as well as in Ugarit, she is largely absent from documents from the western part of ancient Syria.
Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in what is now Turkey from c. 1600–1180 BC.
Šanta (Santa) was a god worshiped in Bronze Age Anatolia by Luwians and Hittites. It is presumed that he was regarded as a warlike deity, and that he could additionally be associated with plagues and possibly with the underworld, though the latter proposal is not universally accepted. In known texts he frequently appears alongside Iyarri, a deity of similar character. He is first attested in documents from Kanesh dated to the Old Assyrian period, and continues to appear in later treaties, ritual texts and theophoric names. He is also present in an offering lists from Emar written in Akkadian, though he did not belong to the local pantheon and rituals involving him were only performed on behalf of the Hittite administration by local inhabitants.
Tarḫunz was the weather god and chief god of the Luwians, a people of Bronze Age and early Iron Age Anatolia. He is closely associated with the Hittite god Tarḫunna and the Hurrian god Teshub.
Runtiya was the Luwian god of the hunt, who had a close connection with deer. He was among the most important gods of the Luwians.
Tiwaz was the Luwian Sun-god. He was among the most important gods of the Luwians.
Tarḫunna or Tarḫuna/i was the Hittite weather god. He was also referred to as the "Weather god of Heaven" or the "Lord of the Land of Hatti".
Maliya was a goddess worshiped by Hittites in the Bronze Age. She was most likely a deified river in origin, but she was also associated with gardens and with artisanship, specifically with leatherworking and carpentry. The oldest attestations of her have been identified in the Old Assyrian texts from Kanesh. This city continued to be associated with her in later tradition, though she was also worshiped in Hattusa and elsewhere in the Hittite Empire. She is also present in texts originating in Kizzuwatna, which indicate she had a temple in Kummanni, where she was worshiped alongside various Hurrian deities.
Kubaba was a goddess of uncertain origin worshiped in ancient Syria. Despite the similarity of her name to these of legendary queen Kubaba of Kish and Phrygian Cybele, she is considered a distinct figure from them both. Her character is poorly known. Multiple local traditions associating her with other deities existed, and they cannot necessarily be harmonized with each other. She is first documented in texts from Kanesh and Alalakh, though her main cult center was Carchemish. She was among the deities worshiped in northern Syria who were incorporated into Hurrian religion, and in Hurrian context she occurs in some of the Ugaritic texts. She was also incorporated into Hittite religion through Hurrian intermediaties. In the first millennium BCE she was worshiped by Luwians, Arameans and Lydians, and references to her can be found in a number of Greek texts.
Adamma was a goddess worshiped in Ebla in the third millennium BCE, later also documented in Hurrian sources and in Emar. The origin and meaning of her name remain a matter of debate among researchers. It is commonly assumed that it originated in one of the Semitic languages and that it can be compared to Hebrew ʾădāmâ, "soil" or "earth". An alternate view is that it belongs to a linguistic substrate at some point spoken in part of modern Syria. Hurrian origin has been proposed as well, but is considered implausible. In Ebla, Adamma received sacrificial sheep on behalf of the royal palace. She also had clergy of her own, as evidenced by references to a dam-dingir priestess in her service. Eblaite texts indicate she was also venerated in Hadani and Tunip. She was locally regarded as the spouse of Resheph, though the connection between them is not attested in later sources. After the fall of Ebla, she was incorporated into Hurrian religion, and in this context appears in Hittite and Ugaritic sources as well, often forming a pair with Kubaba. Furthermore, she was worshiped in Emar, where under the name Adammatera she might have been perceived as a deity associated with storage areas and the underworld. It is also possible that the goddess Admu known from Mari and from the Mesopotamian god list An = Anum was the same deity.
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.
Iyarri, also known as Yarri, was a god worshiped by Hittites and Luwians in Anatolia in the Bronze Age. He was associated with plague and war, and was portrayed as an archer whose arrows inflicted people with illnesses. While it is generally assumed that Iyarri was male, a female form of this deity is mentioned in a single text. It has been proposed that Iyarri might have developed from the Mesopotamian god Erra, or that he was influenced by him. A different proposal considers his name a cognate of that of Greek Ares, though the evidence in favor of this view is not conclusive.
Allanzu, later known under the name Alasuwa, was a Hurrian goddess regarded as a daughter of Ḫepat. She was described as a youthful deity and in known texts often appears in association with her mother and siblings. She was also worshiped by Hittites and Luwians.
Karhuha (Karḫuḫa), also known as Karḫuḫi, was the tutelary god of the ancient city of Carchemish. He was associated with deer, and it is presumed his character was similar to that of Hittite Kurunta. He is first attested in texts from the second half of the second millennium BCE, and there is no agreement among researchers if he was a Hurrian god in origin or if similarly to closely associated goddess Kubaba he predated Hurrian control over the region. He appears in a variety of Hittite and Luwian texts, and continued to be worshiped through the first millennium BCE.