Cording to the do ul des principle - influence their decisions with appropriate gifts,

Curry favor and protection, appease anger. The do ut des principle lies at the root of

The praetice of offering sacrifices to the gods, 1 Anceator cult also goes back to tbe

Earliest times. Undoubtedly derived from pre-Neolithic tradition, this cult drew from

A belief in the afterlife and was expressed in pari by special treatment of mortal re-

Mains of the dead members of a community or family and the burial place. Images of

The deceased were prepared and rites, including sacrifices, celebrated in their honor.

Contact with the gods was facilitated by their humanized appearance. Divinities

Were given material form — as an Idol, figurixie or statue — and they had need for

a hörne - a shrine. Later (but not. before the developed Chalcolithic), the gods took

Power over man and the world. They began to be perceived as creators and guard-

Ians of the cosmic Order, determining the course of events in nature and ir: the life

Of every man. Like the earthly rulers, they demanded daily Service provided by priests

Within the frame of a regularly celebrated cult, as well as homage expressed in hymns

And prayer. The latter, frequently enriched with a hymnal part, was intended as

A means of persuading the gods to man’s point of view and inducing them to fulfill

Bis or her needs and expectations.

The anthropomorphization of" divinities is a trait characteristic of civilizations of

The Ancient Near East. Consequently, the appearance of anthropomorphie cults in

Europe should be considered the effect of Near Piastern influence. At the same time,

The anthropomorphization determined the polytheistic nature of religion. The gods

Divided among themselves power over the cosmos, underworld, elements and forces

Of nature and the various spheres of man’s life. This was also reflected in the hier

Archic pantheon strncture modeled on Contemporary social relations. With the emer-

Gence of bigger politkal entities in the Ancient Near East, the position of a divinity

Was ofteri decided by the political Situation, Anatolia in Hittite times is an excellent

Example. The pantheon of the capital Hattusa, which also incorporated the divin

ities of the t raditional ‘holy cities’ and more important local centers, became the state

Pan» heon and the gods Standing at its head were charged with protection of the king

And kingdom.

In the earliest, pre-religion times, man’s attitude to phenomena of nature and

Supernatural forces was expressed primarily in magical thinking. It does not mean

That mag. lost importanee with the emergence of polytheistic religion. The gods were

1 The coneept of personi ß cation and anthropomorphization of the gods in the Ancient Near East

Has been propounded by M. Popko, whom I am grateful to for inspiring scholarly diseussion.

Included in magical rites. Siunmoned by appropriate spells and practices, they were

Present physically, often in the shape of figurines made for a given occasion. Mytho-

Logical incantation brought them onto the stage of events and involved them in the

Action. The psychological factor was undoubtedly of considerable importanee. In the

Participants’ view, magic done parallel in the world of the gods reinforced the effec-

Tiveness of the rites. Under such circumstances, new mythological themes tended to

Emerge ad hoc. The Anatolian myths of which we have knowledge were inextricabiy

Connected with ritual and their development into literary compositions had only just

Began.

In the Ancient Near Eastem attitude to the gods, cult and magic are not always

Exactly distinguishable. The respective rituals were complementary and were intended