6. Describe the Hittites religion.

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The Hittite religion is mainly based off gaining favor with a local god. That god could be the god of many different things, but in the majority of cases it was a fertility god that controlled the weather. Similar to other religions, the Hittites built shrines for their god, and in this particular case the local god usually had a family as well as a wife. This idea of a female mother-goddess figure suggests a very early matrilineal society.

The Hittites religion soon changed, however. Once the country was unified by the ruler residing in Hattusa, the religion came together and formed a complicated pantheon which placed all of the local deities under one roof, so to speak. In Hittite culture, it became clear that the gods were held in a higher respect than, say, military conquests. Certain rituals must be upheld by the king, who spent a fair bit of time travelling the empire and officiating at the more important religious festivals. What is also interesting is that the king was also the high priest, meaning he was the political, military, and religious figurehead of the culture.

Lots of the time, the gods of the Hittites would be referenced in writings when being prayed to about sickness or plague of some sort.

Each of the deities have a unique name, that of which shows how ethnically diverse the Kingdom of Hatti was. The chief god of the religion seemed to be:

Hattia- the god who helps the king with military conquests and expeditions

This shows that the Hittites valued warfare in the highest respect, considering their chief god was similar to the god of war/victory, both gods in Greek and Roman mythology. The Hittites' religion was very similar to that of the Phoenician culture. It took bits and pieces from other religions and ideas found around Anatolia and incorporated it into their religion.

This in fact could be one of the gods that the Hittites worshiped

It is what we now believe is the ancient Hittite sun goddess.

This is not all of the information on the Hittite religion. You can check out some more information of the overall Hittite culture and religion right here: [1]

Information taken from Manual 112 and the website linked above.

Carson Harraman