Hurrian primeval deities

Ammatina enna
Primeval deities in Hurrian mythology
Part of a relief from Yazılıkaya depicting primordial gods.[1]
Other namesEnna turenna, karuilieš šiuneš, kattereš šiuneš, taknaš šiuneš
Equivalents
Mesopotamian equivalentAncestors of Enlil
Ugaritic equivalentIlib

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.

  1. ^ Wilhelm 2014, pp. 346–348.

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