Writing. 408 Some of them are bilingual and the Hittite translation corresponds quite

Faithfully to the Hattian Version.

One of the better preserved rituals for building a new palace (CTH 414) is recon-

structed mainly thanks to a late copy. ‘ The ritual was performed during the fin-

ishing works: “When they begin plastering new houses, they speak these words: ‘The

Throne says: When you plaster a house inside, plaster Long Years, plaster Wealth.

405 KBo 17,1+ iii 3ff,, Ötten. Soucek 1969: 30f.

406 Oettinger 2004. For Hittite myths, see, in general, Güterbock 1961b; Laroche 1969b; Bernabe

Pecchioli Daddi - Polvani 1990; Beckman 1993—1997; Hoffner 1998: Garcia Trabazo 2002:

Ff.; Beckman 2005b; Haas 2006: 96ff,

Polvani 2001; 2004.

408 Cf, Haas 1994a; 250f£.; 723tT.

Kellerman 1980: 6ff.; Carini 1982; cf. also Haas 1994a: 724ff.; Garcia Trabazo 2002: 477ff.

The Old Hittite Period

But when you plaster it outside, plaster Awe, plaster Dominion’."' 1 ' These pobave

ideas are confirnu.d in the diaiogues of the king with the Throne-godc' -s Halmasuit

Who is a personification of the idea of royal authority and at the same r mc ihe king’s

Divine protectress. The ruler makes a pact of friendship with her, receives from her

Beams that were selected earlier by the Storm-god, Halmasuit also instructs the

Weavers of both sexes who are to cleanse the king and his fantih. Her messenger,

The eagle perceives the fate goddesses Istustaya and Papaya, sitting in the forest at the

edge of the sea and spinning the unending thread of the king's life. Other rites, called

The raising of the Great Sun, took place in the mountains that remained in the power

Of the Sun-goddess and the Storm-god. ln the presence of the assembly of gods. the

Sun-goddess and the Storm-god make a covenant with the king: they entrüst him

With the land and make him young again, this being materiahy evidenced by a royal

Statue of tin with a head of iron. Finally, a rite was celebrated inside the newly

Built palace. Members of the royal family come together around the domestic hearth

Which would now beconse the most important part of the palace. Thanks to sacrifices

The royal family will gain the hearth’s favor and protection.

Part, of a ritual for building a new palace was the myth about the Sun-goddess

Who erected her palace in the town of Lihzina with the help of other gods. 411 An-

Other myth, also connected with Lihzina, about the Moon that feil from Heaven, 412

War recited during one of the meteorological rituals. ln the case of these texts, as

Rauch as the tale about. the destruction of Lihzina by the Storm-god in a ritual con-

4 1 3

Text that is not wholly clear, the mythological milieu suggests ties with territo-

Ries lving to the north, in the lower run of the Kmhrmak. These texts, preserved in

Later copies, undoubtedly refer to the Old Hittite tradition.

The type of ritual which the Hittites called mugawar or mugessar (‘entreaty’) is

also thought to draw from an early Änatolian tradition. Its objective was to beseech

a deity and win her favor and protection. 11 * The vanishing-god myths about an of-

Fended god departing in anger were recited during such rituals. The myths which

410 KUB 29.1 iii 299'.. transiated by Watkins 2002: 175f.

CTH 726, Kl in gor 1996: 684 ff.; Schuster 2002: 151 ff.

CTH 727, Hoffner 1998: 34ff; Schuster 2002: 337ff.; Garcia Trabazo 2002: 2530.; Haas 2006:

Ff.

Groddek 1999. In this case the myth was probably part of an incantation in a magicaS ritu.O. to

Heai an eye iliness.

Laroche 1964-1965: 20ff.: (»locker 1997: 124ff.

Tlrrn Anatolia

Have come down to us, however, are mostly of imperial date and honce not free of

Luwian and Syro-Mesopotamian influence (see 3.2.9).

There is a tiny fragment of the story about the disappearance of the Sun, ' wnt-

Ten in the Old Script; 1 16 later copies have allowed the beginning and ending of the

Text to be reconstructed, revealing an entirely different scheine from what was typi-

Cal of this group of myths from later times. The motif of binding so characteristic of

Indigenous Anatolian magic is present here. The mysterious Hahixima (personified

Numbness/Frost?) paralyzed the Sand, dried the spring» and imprisoned the War-god,