Century BC, the ceremonial throne Halmasuit was one of the cult objects in the temple

of the War-god on Büyükkale in Hattusa. A statue of Hattusili I was also Standing

There. Even so, the ideological and religious concept of royal authority underwent

Transformation in the Empire period (see 3.2.1).

246

(Propitious) Day ' (presumably a euphemism for the day of death) appears

Among nine chthonic deities whose cult was celebrated in Ilattusa in the mysterious

Hesta- house situated near the royal palace. 217 Contrary to what is said in the

Literature, there is no reason to believe that it was a place for worshiping the

dead." ‘ 9 According to Hattian beliefs, Lelwam was the lord of the netherworld. 2,30

In the cult of the hesta -house he was followed by; Day, Tasammat and Tasimmet,

Sun, fate goddesses Istustaya and Papaya (who sat by the sea according to one myth

And wove the threads of human life 2al), and the gods Hasam(m)ili and Zilipuri

(denoted with the logogram D U.GUR in later texts). 2o2 The latter two gods, present

Also in the aforementioned list of gods worshiped during the KI.LAM festival, were

Yoshida 1996: 247; Archi 2002a: 49f.; see now also Schwemer 2006b: 238.

KBo 4.9 Hi llf. See Tom 2008: 177f.

D Siwat/ D UD.SIG 5, translated to Hattian as Izzistanu. Cf. Laroche 1946-1947: 25; Otten 1950a;

Goetze 1953; 267; Yoshida 1996: 388ff.; Torri 1999: 13.

247 Haas - Wäfler 1976; 1977; Groddek 2001a. The old idea of the hesta to be located in chamber ß

At Yazihkaya (Singer 1983: 113 with n. 73, references) should be rejected. For the Location of

the hesta on the acropolis Büyükkale, see Popko 2003: 317f. Various attempts to identify the

hesta with various buildings on Büyükkale have not been verified in the sources, cf. Haas -•

Wäfler 1977: 121 with n. 151 (Building B); Haas 1994a: 61.8 (Building C); Meyer 1995; 132ff.

(Complex BGH). On the group of diviniti.es worshiped in the hesta, see Otten 1950a: 121. ff.; Haas

~ Wäfler 1977; Yoshida 1991: 58, 61; 1996: 94; Tom 1999: löff. In Empire-period texts (e.g.,

Middle Hittite KBo 17.40++ i off.. Groddek 2004d: 104) ‘holy places’ and other cult objects of

The hesta -house are listed right alter the group of nine chthonic deities from Lelwani’s cortege.

Mentioned in Order are: window, D Sitarzuna, wood of the holt, D Zappa, hearth, and ‘years/ see

Yoshida 1996: 94f.; Torri 1999: 2l£f.

248 Cf., among others, Haas 1994a: passim, esp, 269f£., 618. 720ff., 790ff.; Groddek 2001a; Archi

A.

Popko 2007b.

250 Otten 1950a; von Schüler 1980-1983; Klinger 1996: X67ff, Torri (1999: 53ff.) has argued, un-

Convincingly, that the Hattian Lelwani was in fact a goddess; see also 3.2.5.

KUB 29.1 ii Iff., Kellerman 1980: 13, 27; Garcia Trabazo 2002: 490ff.

252 KBo 17.15 obv.l 9’-17', Neu 1980: 72 (no. 27); Yoshida 1996: 94f. Cf. also Otten 1950a: 12Iff.;

Haas — Wäfler 1977: 87ff.; Yoshida 1991: 58, 61; Torri 1999; lOff.

;

responsible for the household and the well-being of the family.' (Propitious) Day

and Haäam(m)ili occur among the Kanesite gods (2.1), suggesting that the deities

Worshiped in the hesta are not exclusively Hattian. 2,4

The presence of a solar deity among the chthonic divinities of the hesta -house

Constitutes a mystery in itself, A list of the most important deities of the state pan-

Theon, written down in Hattian, sheds some light on the subject, for it mentions the

Sun-goddess together with the fate goddesses: Tara, Wasezzil, Estan, Esdustaya,

[Papaya], Pin-Kamma[mma] ‘child/son Kammamma,’ 205 Talipinn (=Telipinu), Wur-

unkatte, [Hajnwasuit."' ’ The text allows us to assume that it was the Sun-goddess

257

of Arinna, in her chthonic aspect, ' who was worshiped in the hesta- house. The

Sun-goddess (Hattian Estan) associates here with Istuitaya and Papaya responsible

For fbring man’s fate the moment he was born, which may suggest that she also

Decided the future of a newborn child. In the Luwian milieu the task was accom-

Plished by the Sun-goddess of the Earth together with the midwife and fate god

desses DINGIR,MAH MIj ^ / ':1I ' A /Darawes Gulses 2 ’’ 8 (see 3.2.4), and in Syria this was

The responsibiiity of the Sun-goddess Sapsu and her seven daughters, who were calied

Kötarätu in Ugarit. 2 ° 9

I

Local beliefs

The state cult in the Capital does not settle the nature of the beliefs of the city’s

Inhabitants nor even of the royal family itself. They must have been surely hete.ro-