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Myths
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InHittite mythology,Illuyanka was aserpentinedragon slain byTarḫunz (dIM), theHittite incarnation of theHurrian god of sky and storm.[1] It is known fromHittite cuneiform tablets found at Çorum-Boğazköy, the former Hittite capitalHattusa. The contest is a ritual of theHattian spring festival ofPuruli.
The myth is found inCatalogue des Textes Hittites 321, which gives two consecutive versions.
Illuyanka is probably a compound, consisting of two words for "snake",Proto-Indo-European*h₁illu- and*h₂engʷeh₂-. The same compound members, inverted, appear inLatinanguilla "eel". The*h₁illu- word is cognate to Englisheel, and*h₂engʷeh₂ to Sanskrit ahi.
In the first version, the Storm God and Illuyanka fight, and the serpent wins. The Storm God then goes to the Hattian goddessInaras for advice. Having promised to sleep with a mortal named Hupasiyas in return for his help, she devises a trap for the dragon. She goes to him with large quantities of food anddrink and entices him to drink his fill. Once drunk, the dragon is bound by Hupasiyas with a rope. Then the Storm God appears with the other gods and kills the dragon.[2]
In the second version, after the two gods fight and the Hurrian Storm God Teshub loses, Illuyanka takes the Storm God's eyes and heart. To avenge himself upon the dragon, the Storm God marries the daughter of a poor man. They have a son Sarruma, who grows up and marries the daughter of the dragon Illuyanka. The Storm God tells his son to ask for the return of the Storm God's eyes and heart as a wedding gift and he does so. His eyes and heart restored, the Storm God goes to face the dragon Illuyanka once more. At the point of vanquishing the dragon, the Storm God's son finds out about the battle and realizes that he had been used for this purpose. He demands that his father take his life along with Illuyanka's and so Teshub kills them both.[3] A version of this narrative is illustrated on a relief which was discovered atMalatya (dating from 1050-850 BC) and is on display in theMuseum of Anatolian Civilizations inAnkara, Turkey.[4]
The Hittite texts were introduced in 1930 by W. Porzig, who first drew parallels between Teshub's battle against Illuyanka and the battle of the sky godZeus against serpent-likeTyphon, told in Pseudo-Apollodorus,Bibliotheke (I.6.3);[5] the Hittite-Greek parallels found few adherents at the time, the Hittite myth of the castration of the god of heaven byKumarbi, with its clearer parallels to Greek myth, not having yet been deciphered and edited.
Catalogue des Textes Hittites 321 consists of the following tablets:
None of the individual versions is complete. Text A is the most complete, including 30 out of 36 paragraphs.[6]
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