Francesco Barsacchi | Università degli Studi di Torino (original) (raw)
Books by Francesco Barsacchi
Dresdner Beiträge zur Hethitologie , 2018
Dresdner Beiträge zur Hethitologie , 2018
Papers by Francesco Barsacchi
níĝ-ba dub-sar maḫ Studies on Ebla and the Ancient Near East presented to Amalia Catagnoti, 2024
The article aims at addressing the topic of the religious understanding of wilderness in Hittite ... more The article aims at addressing the topic of the religious understanding of wilderness in Hittite thought from a multiple perspective. First, the concept of “other place”, expressed in Hittite sources as dammel(i) pedan will be analyzed. This expression is often used to indicate a place separated from the normal space of human activity, and therefore particularly suited for the performance of cult practices and the disposal of impurities during the execution of magical rituals. Wilderness, however, can also represent a potentially dangerous place, where negative entities such as the IMIN(.IMIN).BI demons, are thought to dwell. Reconsidering the value and meaning of this fundamental concept, the paper aims to contribute to the study of the relationship between natural space and religious practice in Hittite Anatolia.
Applied Sciences, 2024
This work and manuscript focus on how 3D scanning methodologies and post-processing analyses may ... more This work and manuscript focus on how 3D scanning methodologies and post-processing analyses may help us to gain a deeper investigation of cuneiform tablets beyond the written content. The dataset proposed herein is a key part of the archaeological collection preserved in the Musei Reali of Turin in Italy; these archaeological artefacts enclose further important semantic information extractable through detailed 3D documentation and 3D model filtering. In fact, this scanning process is a fundamental tool for better reading of sealing impressions beneath the cuneiform text, as well as for understanding micrometric evidence of the fingerprints of scribes. Most of the seal impressions were made before the writing (like a watermark), and thus, they are not detectable to the naked eye due to cuneiform signs above them as well as the state of preservation. In this regard, 3D scanning and post-processing analysis could help in the analysis of these nearly invisible features impressed on tablets. For this reason, this work is also based on how 3D analyses may support the identification of the unperceived and almost invisible features concealed in clay tablets. Analysis of fingerprints and the depths of the signs can tell us about the worker's strategies and the people beyond the artefacts. Three-dimensional models generated inside the Artec 3D ecosystem via Space Spider scanner and Artec Studio software were further investigated by applying specific filters and shaders. Digital light manipulation can reveal, through the dynamic displacement of light and shadows, particular details that can be deeply analysed with specific post-processing operations: for example, the MSII (multi-scale integral invariant) filter is a powerful tool exploited for revealing hidden and unperceived features such as fingerprints and sealing impressions (stratigraphically below cuneiform signs). Finally, the collected data will be handled twofold: in an open-access repository and through a common data environment (CDE) to aid in the data exchange process for project collaborators and common users.
Theonyms, Panthea and Syncretisms in Hittite Anatolia and Northern Syria. Proceedings of the TeAI Workshop Held in Verona, March 25-26, 2022, 2023
In his investigation of the expansion of the cult of the "deity of the night" in Anatolia and her... more In his investigation of the expansion of the cult of the "deity of the night" in Anatolia and her relationship with Ištar (Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 46, 259-439), J. Miller exposed the complexity of a diachronical analysis of the religious phenomenon represented by the diffusion of local "forms" or "aspects" of Ištar during the late Hittite period. However, many relevant issues concerning the role of the goddess in the Hittite dynastic pantheon, heavily influenced by Hurrian beliefs, and her presence in local pantheons, are still to be dealt with. As a case study, the present contribution will focus in particular on the goddess Ištar of Ḫattarina, attested together with the "Kanešite gods" Pirwa and Aškašepa in Muwatalli II's prayer CTH 381. This unusual association may be derived from the interpretation of a local female deity traditionally defined as MUNUS. LUGAL, "queen" in Hittite local pantheons, as a form of Ištar.
C. Mora - G. Torri (eds.) Administrative Practices and Political Control in Anatolian and Syro-Anatolian Polities in the 2nd and 1st Millennium BCE, 2023
The nature of the administration of sacred time in Hittite Anatolia represents a complex problem,... more The nature of the administration of sacred time in Hittite Anatolia represents a complex problem, which has received little attention until recent years. This paper provides an overview of the topic, reconsidering the Hittite religious calendar as a whole and analysing some of the main issues connected with the Hittite calendrical system, such as the problem of the beginning of the year, the lunar nature of the Hittite month and the alleged existence of a system of intercalation.
Rivista degli Studi Orientali 95/3, 2022
The paper aims to provide a systematic overview of some of the most frequently attested verbs ind... more The paper aims to provide a systematic overview of some of the most
frequently attested verbs indicating acts of devotion or deference in Hittite sources, ḫaliya-, ḫenk-/ḫink- and aruwai-, the last two formally corresponding to the Akkadian verb šukênu. The study will attempt to establish their exact meaning and their respective extent of use, thus determining for each one of them the possible translation(s) according to the context. The verbs are documented in different text categories but, in this paper, attention will be given in particular to their meaning in religious contexts.
Oriens Antiquus_Series Nova 4, 2022
The cult of the goddess Ištar occupies a significant place in Hittite official religion at least ... more The cult of the goddess Ištar occupies a significant
place in Hittite official religion at least since the
time of king Tutḫaliya I, as testified by the great number
of festivals and rituals performed for the hyposthases of
the deity and currently collected under numbers 711-721
of the Catalogue des Textes Hittites. Alongside with standard
sequences of offerings and libations that represent a
common feature of all Hittite festivals, some tablets belonging
to this corpus of texts, such as KUB 27.16 and
KBo 19.142, present descriptions of food offerings that
clearly stand out as particularly rich and complex.
Special treatments of the sacrificial meat and the cultic
use of fruits, in particular of pomegranate, diverge from
the traditional Anatolian cult practice and seem to reflect
a Kizzuwatnean provenance. The present article
will address some of these descriptions, analyzing their
significance whithin the larger organization of the festivals,
in the broader context represented by the Hurrian
influence on the cult of the Hittite court.
Cult, Temple, Sacred Spaces Cult Practices and Cult Spaces in Hittite Anatolia and Neighbouring Cultures Proceedings of the First International HFR Symposium, Mainz, 3–5 June 2019, 2020
At particular times, Hittite ritual practices could take place on the flat roof of sacred or prof... more At particular times, Hittite ritual practices could take place on the flat roof of sacred or profane buildings, perceived as the ideal setting for the performance of rites directed to celestial or astral deities. This paper aims at analyzing some examples of cult activities taking place on the roof, before focusing on a particular group of texts describing a sequence of ritual actions performed by the Hittite king during the night, in connection with the first appearance of the new moon. Many fragments of this group are currently filed under CTH 645. Besides providing a general description of the text corpus, the paper will address the debated issue of the possible relationship of these rites with the great state festival of the month.
Acts of the IXth International Congress of Hittitology - Corum, September 08-14, 2014, 2019
Manfred Hutter - Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar (eds.) Economy of Religions in Anatolia : From the Early Second to the Middle of the First Millennium BCE - Proceedings of an International Conference in Bonn (23rd to 25th May 2018), 2019
Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures 1, 2019
The Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the... more The Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the lunar cycle, both defined as EZEN 4 ITU KAM , "festival of the month". The first one is performed either at the beginning of the month or at full moon, and it is often attested in the cult inventory texts as part of the cult due to local deities. In addition to these regular ceremonies, which should more correctly be indicated as "monthly festivals", a "festival of the month" is performed by the Hittite king at the beginning of every month in order to sacralyze a time perceived as particularly meaningful. In this official ceremony, whose fragments are currently filed under CTH 591, several originally autonomous rites directed to the moon in particular lunar phases were included. This paper, besides providing a general overview of the Hittite religious ceremonies connected to the moon cycle, briefly analyzes some of these rituals, trying to determine their potential relationship to CTH 591.
The short Hittite fragment 1086/c=KBo 20.64, currently listed among the texts related to the thun... more The short Hittite fragment 1086/c=KBo 20.64, currently listed among the texts related to the thunder festival under the number 631 of the Catalogue des Textes Hittites, presents some features that clearly distinguish it from the other documents collected under the same catalogue entry. It represents in my opinion what is left of an invocation ritual directed to a deity, probably to be identified with a hypostasis of the Storm-god, as the presence of the word tetḫeššar, " thunder " , in the colophon seems to suggest. The text must therefore be collocated elsewhere, and I propose, in consideration of its content and structure, to place it either among the fragments of mugawar rites for the Storm-god under CTH 332 or, more generally, under CTH 459 (Fragments of mugawar). This paper presents for the first time a transcription, translation and commentary of the fragment. Interesting elements emerge from a comparison with KBo 30.119, another fragmentary tablet, erroneously classified among the fragments of festivals under CTH 670, where a similar invocation ritual seems to be described.
Book Reviews by Francesco Barsacchi
Journal of the American Oriental Society , 2020
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 82, 2019
Talks by Francesco Barsacchi
Paper presented at the 66th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale , 2022
In the large number of festivals recorded by Hittites sources, the existence of two distinct typo... more In the large number of festivals recorded by Hittites sources, the existence of two distinct typologies of religious ceremonies defined with the sumerograms EZEN4.GAL, “great festival”, and EZEN4.SAG.UŠ, “regular festival”, stands out as a particularly relevant feature.
In his edition of the KI.LAM festival, I. Singer argumented in 1983 that with the term “regular” the Hittite scribes defined the standard version of a festival, performed on an annual basis as part of a rigidly organised cult calendar. The expression “great festival”, when referred to the same ceremony, would have been used to indicate a distinct version of it, perhaps more extended, to be celebrated only in certain years on particular occasions. Since then, this interpretation has generally been accepted by the scholars, but a systematic investigation of the two expressions, conducted through a close examination of the textual sources, still has to be undertaken. In the present paper, the authors will reconsider the problem, focusing in particular on the festivals that are recorded in the sources both as EZEN.4.GAL and as EZEN4.SAG.UŠ, such as the KI.LAM festival and the festival of the ḫešta- house (attested in both forms in the shelf list KUB 30.68), redefining the meaning of the terms GAL and SAG.UŠ when applied to festival descriptions and their significance for the classification of the ceremonies whithin the Hittite religious calendar.
Workshop: "Theonyms, Panthea and Syncretisms in Hittite Anatolia and Northern Syria – March 25-26, 2022", 2022
In his seminal paper “Ištar of Niniveh reconsidered”, published in 1998, G. Beckman, analyzing th... more In his seminal paper “Ištar of Niniveh reconsidered”, published in 1998, G. Beckman, analyzing the differenct aspects that the veneration of the great Mesopotamian goddess takes on in the Hittite cult, wrote as follows: “I believe that we are dealing with hyposthases of a single divine archetype, a situation similar to that surrounding the various Zeus figures of classical antiquity (…) In some respects these Ištar-figures partake of a common essence, while in others they are distinct, as demonstrated by the individual offerings made on occasion to large numbers of such Ištars” (G. Beckman, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 50: 4). The work by I. Wegner, Geštalt und Kult der Ištar-Šawuška in Kleinasien (1981) remains to date the only systematical research conducted on this divine figure. In his investigation of the expansion of the cult of the “deity of the night” in Anatolia and her relationship with Ištar (Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 46: 259ff.), J. Miller exposed the complexity of a diachronical analysis of the religious phenomenon represented by the diffusion of local “forms” or “aspects” of Ištar during the late Hittite period. However, many relevant issues concerning the role of the goddess in the dynastic pantheon, heavily influenced by Ḫurrian beliefs, and in particular her presence in local pantheons, are still to be dealt with. I believe therefore that a reappraisal of the topic is in order. Investigation of the subject entails the attempt to deal with many texts which are often extremely hard to understand, reflecting different stages of a long-term religious development.
níĝ-ba dub-sar maḫ Studies on Ebla and the Ancient Near East presented to Amalia Catagnoti, 2024
The article aims at addressing the topic of the religious understanding of wilderness in Hittite ... more The article aims at addressing the topic of the religious understanding of wilderness in Hittite thought from a multiple perspective. First, the concept of “other place”, expressed in Hittite sources as dammel(i) pedan will be analyzed. This expression is often used to indicate a place separated from the normal space of human activity, and therefore particularly suited for the performance of cult practices and the disposal of impurities during the execution of magical rituals. Wilderness, however, can also represent a potentially dangerous place, where negative entities such as the IMIN(.IMIN).BI demons, are thought to dwell. Reconsidering the value and meaning of this fundamental concept, the paper aims to contribute to the study of the relationship between natural space and religious practice in Hittite Anatolia.
Applied Sciences, 2024
This work and manuscript focus on how 3D scanning methodologies and post-processing analyses may ... more This work and manuscript focus on how 3D scanning methodologies and post-processing analyses may help us to gain a deeper investigation of cuneiform tablets beyond the written content. The dataset proposed herein is a key part of the archaeological collection preserved in the Musei Reali of Turin in Italy; these archaeological artefacts enclose further important semantic information extractable through detailed 3D documentation and 3D model filtering. In fact, this scanning process is a fundamental tool for better reading of sealing impressions beneath the cuneiform text, as well as for understanding micrometric evidence of the fingerprints of scribes. Most of the seal impressions were made before the writing (like a watermark), and thus, they are not detectable to the naked eye due to cuneiform signs above them as well as the state of preservation. In this regard, 3D scanning and post-processing analysis could help in the analysis of these nearly invisible features impressed on tablets. For this reason, this work is also based on how 3D analyses may support the identification of the unperceived and almost invisible features concealed in clay tablets. Analysis of fingerprints and the depths of the signs can tell us about the worker's strategies and the people beyond the artefacts. Three-dimensional models generated inside the Artec 3D ecosystem via Space Spider scanner and Artec Studio software were further investigated by applying specific filters and shaders. Digital light manipulation can reveal, through the dynamic displacement of light and shadows, particular details that can be deeply analysed with specific post-processing operations: for example, the MSII (multi-scale integral invariant) filter is a powerful tool exploited for revealing hidden and unperceived features such as fingerprints and sealing impressions (stratigraphically below cuneiform signs). Finally, the collected data will be handled twofold: in an open-access repository and through a common data environment (CDE) to aid in the data exchange process for project collaborators and common users.
Theonyms, Panthea and Syncretisms in Hittite Anatolia and Northern Syria. Proceedings of the TeAI Workshop Held in Verona, March 25-26, 2022, 2023
In his investigation of the expansion of the cult of the "deity of the night" in Anatolia and her... more In his investigation of the expansion of the cult of the "deity of the night" in Anatolia and her relationship with Ištar (Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 46, 259-439), J. Miller exposed the complexity of a diachronical analysis of the religious phenomenon represented by the diffusion of local "forms" or "aspects" of Ištar during the late Hittite period. However, many relevant issues concerning the role of the goddess in the Hittite dynastic pantheon, heavily influenced by Hurrian beliefs, and her presence in local pantheons, are still to be dealt with. As a case study, the present contribution will focus in particular on the goddess Ištar of Ḫattarina, attested together with the "Kanešite gods" Pirwa and Aškašepa in Muwatalli II's prayer CTH 381. This unusual association may be derived from the interpretation of a local female deity traditionally defined as MUNUS. LUGAL, "queen" in Hittite local pantheons, as a form of Ištar.
C. Mora - G. Torri (eds.) Administrative Practices and Political Control in Anatolian and Syro-Anatolian Polities in the 2nd and 1st Millennium BCE, 2023
The nature of the administration of sacred time in Hittite Anatolia represents a complex problem,... more The nature of the administration of sacred time in Hittite Anatolia represents a complex problem, which has received little attention until recent years. This paper provides an overview of the topic, reconsidering the Hittite religious calendar as a whole and analysing some of the main issues connected with the Hittite calendrical system, such as the problem of the beginning of the year, the lunar nature of the Hittite month and the alleged existence of a system of intercalation.
Rivista degli Studi Orientali 95/3, 2022
The paper aims to provide a systematic overview of some of the most frequently attested verbs ind... more The paper aims to provide a systematic overview of some of the most
frequently attested verbs indicating acts of devotion or deference in Hittite sources, ḫaliya-, ḫenk-/ḫink- and aruwai-, the last two formally corresponding to the Akkadian verb šukênu. The study will attempt to establish their exact meaning and their respective extent of use, thus determining for each one of them the possible translation(s) according to the context. The verbs are documented in different text categories but, in this paper, attention will be given in particular to their meaning in religious contexts.
Oriens Antiquus_Series Nova 4, 2022
The cult of the goddess Ištar occupies a significant place in Hittite official religion at least ... more The cult of the goddess Ištar occupies a significant
place in Hittite official religion at least since the
time of king Tutḫaliya I, as testified by the great number
of festivals and rituals performed for the hyposthases of
the deity and currently collected under numbers 711-721
of the Catalogue des Textes Hittites. Alongside with standard
sequences of offerings and libations that represent a
common feature of all Hittite festivals, some tablets belonging
to this corpus of texts, such as KUB 27.16 and
KBo 19.142, present descriptions of food offerings that
clearly stand out as particularly rich and complex.
Special treatments of the sacrificial meat and the cultic
use of fruits, in particular of pomegranate, diverge from
the traditional Anatolian cult practice and seem to reflect
a Kizzuwatnean provenance. The present article
will address some of these descriptions, analyzing their
significance whithin the larger organization of the festivals,
in the broader context represented by the Hurrian
influence on the cult of the Hittite court.
Cult, Temple, Sacred Spaces Cult Practices and Cult Spaces in Hittite Anatolia and Neighbouring Cultures Proceedings of the First International HFR Symposium, Mainz, 3–5 June 2019, 2020
At particular times, Hittite ritual practices could take place on the flat roof of sacred or prof... more At particular times, Hittite ritual practices could take place on the flat roof of sacred or profane buildings, perceived as the ideal setting for the performance of rites directed to celestial or astral deities. This paper aims at analyzing some examples of cult activities taking place on the roof, before focusing on a particular group of texts describing a sequence of ritual actions performed by the Hittite king during the night, in connection with the first appearance of the new moon. Many fragments of this group are currently filed under CTH 645. Besides providing a general description of the text corpus, the paper will address the debated issue of the possible relationship of these rites with the great state festival of the month.
Acts of the IXth International Congress of Hittitology - Corum, September 08-14, 2014, 2019
Manfred Hutter - Sylvia Hutter-Braunsar (eds.) Economy of Religions in Anatolia : From the Early Second to the Middle of the First Millennium BCE - Proceedings of an International Conference in Bonn (23rd to 25th May 2018), 2019
Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures 1, 2019
The Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the... more The Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the lunar cycle, both defined as EZEN 4 ITU KAM , "festival of the month". The first one is performed either at the beginning of the month or at full moon, and it is often attested in the cult inventory texts as part of the cult due to local deities. In addition to these regular ceremonies, which should more correctly be indicated as "monthly festivals", a "festival of the month" is performed by the Hittite king at the beginning of every month in order to sacralyze a time perceived as particularly meaningful. In this official ceremony, whose fragments are currently filed under CTH 591, several originally autonomous rites directed to the moon in particular lunar phases were included. This paper, besides providing a general overview of the Hittite religious ceremonies connected to the moon cycle, briefly analyzes some of these rituals, trying to determine their potential relationship to CTH 591.
The short Hittite fragment 1086/c=KBo 20.64, currently listed among the texts related to the thun... more The short Hittite fragment 1086/c=KBo 20.64, currently listed among the texts related to the thunder festival under the number 631 of the Catalogue des Textes Hittites, presents some features that clearly distinguish it from the other documents collected under the same catalogue entry. It represents in my opinion what is left of an invocation ritual directed to a deity, probably to be identified with a hypostasis of the Storm-god, as the presence of the word tetḫeššar, " thunder " , in the colophon seems to suggest. The text must therefore be collocated elsewhere, and I propose, in consideration of its content and structure, to place it either among the fragments of mugawar rites for the Storm-god under CTH 332 or, more generally, under CTH 459 (Fragments of mugawar). This paper presents for the first time a transcription, translation and commentary of the fragment. Interesting elements emerge from a comparison with KBo 30.119, another fragmentary tablet, erroneously classified among the fragments of festivals under CTH 670, where a similar invocation ritual seems to be described.
Paper presented at the 66th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale , 2022
In the large number of festivals recorded by Hittites sources, the existence of two distinct typo... more In the large number of festivals recorded by Hittites sources, the existence of two distinct typologies of religious ceremonies defined with the sumerograms EZEN4.GAL, “great festival”, and EZEN4.SAG.UŠ, “regular festival”, stands out as a particularly relevant feature.
In his edition of the KI.LAM festival, I. Singer argumented in 1983 that with the term “regular” the Hittite scribes defined the standard version of a festival, performed on an annual basis as part of a rigidly organised cult calendar. The expression “great festival”, when referred to the same ceremony, would have been used to indicate a distinct version of it, perhaps more extended, to be celebrated only in certain years on particular occasions. Since then, this interpretation has generally been accepted by the scholars, but a systematic investigation of the two expressions, conducted through a close examination of the textual sources, still has to be undertaken. In the present paper, the authors will reconsider the problem, focusing in particular on the festivals that are recorded in the sources both as EZEN.4.GAL and as EZEN4.SAG.UŠ, such as the KI.LAM festival and the festival of the ḫešta- house (attested in both forms in the shelf list KUB 30.68), redefining the meaning of the terms GAL and SAG.UŠ when applied to festival descriptions and their significance for the classification of the ceremonies whithin the Hittite religious calendar.
Workshop: "Theonyms, Panthea and Syncretisms in Hittite Anatolia and Northern Syria – March 25-26, 2022", 2022
In his seminal paper “Ištar of Niniveh reconsidered”, published in 1998, G. Beckman, analyzing th... more In his seminal paper “Ištar of Niniveh reconsidered”, published in 1998, G. Beckman, analyzing the differenct aspects that the veneration of the great Mesopotamian goddess takes on in the Hittite cult, wrote as follows: “I believe that we are dealing with hyposthases of a single divine archetype, a situation similar to that surrounding the various Zeus figures of classical antiquity (…) In some respects these Ištar-figures partake of a common essence, while in others they are distinct, as demonstrated by the individual offerings made on occasion to large numbers of such Ištars” (G. Beckman, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 50: 4). The work by I. Wegner, Geštalt und Kult der Ištar-Šawuška in Kleinasien (1981) remains to date the only systematical research conducted on this divine figure. In his investigation of the expansion of the cult of the “deity of the night” in Anatolia and her relationship with Ištar (Studien zu den Boğazköy-Texten 46: 259ff.), J. Miller exposed the complexity of a diachronical analysis of the religious phenomenon represented by the diffusion of local “forms” or “aspects” of Ištar during the late Hittite period. However, many relevant issues concerning the role of the goddess in the dynastic pantheon, heavily influenced by Ḫurrian beliefs, and in particular her presence in local pantheons, are still to be dealt with. I believe therefore that a reappraisal of the topic is in order. Investigation of the subject entails the attempt to deal with many texts which are often extremely hard to understand, reflecting different stages of a long-term religious development.
The cult of the goddess IŠTAR/Šaušga occupies a significant place in Hittite official religion at... more The cult of the goddess IŠTAR/Šaušga occupies a significant place in Hittite official religion at least since the time of Šuppiluliuma I, as testified by the great number of festivals and rituals performed for the hyposthases of the deity and her divine circle, or kaluti, and currently collected under numbers 711-721 of the Catalogue des Textes Hittites. Edited by I. Wegner in 1995, the festivals for the goddess have never been systematically investigated, despite their great heuristic potential. Alongside with standard sequences of offerings and libations that represent a common feature of all Hittite festivals, some tablets belonging to this corpus of texts present descriptions of food offerings that clearly stand out as particularly rich and complex. My paper will address some of these passages, analyzing their significance whithin the larger organization of the festival and in the broader context represented by the Hittite ritual feasting in the cult of IŠTAR.
Many Hittite ritual practices take place on the roof of the temple or the halentiu- building, whi... more Many Hittite ritual practices take place on the roof of the temple or the halentiu- building, which represents the ideal location where to perform rites directed to deities such as the Sun-goddess or the Moon-god. My contribution aims at analyzing a particular group of texts describing rituals performed on the roof during the night, in connection with the first appearance of the new moon. Many fragments of this group are filed under number 645 of the Catalogue des Textes Hittites. During these ceremonies the Hittite king goes up to the roof in order to perform a particular purification rite. The monthly renewal of the king’s purity ritually reinforces his power and his sacred role. This ritual practice was carried out in a regular pattern following specific lunar phases. External sources, such as the outline tablets of the AN.TAḪ.ŠUM festival, also refer to the purification of the king on occasion of the new month, defining the practice with the Hittite expression warp-, warpuwar. I believe that these purification rites could be identified with the ritual practices described in the fragments of CTH 645. Besides providing a general descriptions of the text corpus, the paper will approach the debated issue of the possible relationship of these rites with the great Month festival CTH 591.
The correct temporal organisation of the cult activities represented a fundamental aspect of Hitt... more The correct temporal organisation of the cult activities represented a fundamental aspect of Hittite religious life. A passage of the well-known Hittite text collecting the instructions for the Temple Personnel insists on the importance of celebrating the festivals "at the right time." The Hittite king Mursili II, in his Annals, frequently mentions the necessity of interrupting a military campaign in order to fulfil religious obligations. The nature and organisation of sacred time in Hittite Anatolia represents a complex problem, which has generally received little attention. In my contribution, I will briefly reconsider the Hittite religious calendar as a whole, analyzing the main issues connected with the Hittite calendrical organisation, such as the problem of the beginning of the year and the lunar nature of the Hittite month. On this background, I will examine some rites related to the moon cycle, focusing in particular on the so-called "monthly festivals" indicated in the texts with the Sumerographic writing EZEN4 ITUKAM. These ceremonies were performed in connection with specific lunar phases and represented an important part of both local cult calendars and the official cult of the state. The monthly festival celebrated by the Hittite king at the new moon could be identified with the "Festival of the Moon" mentioned in the incipit of the composition defined by the sources as "Festival of the Moon and the Thunder" (CTH 630).
http://www.anatolistica.unifi.it/ Adesso on-line il portale dell'Anatolistica Fiorentina. Il Por... more http://www.anatolistica.unifi.it/
Adesso on-line il portale dell'Anatolistica Fiorentina. Il Portale contiene informazioni sui progetti attivi e sullo scavo di Usakli Hoyuk, ripercorre la storia e la formazione degli studi di anatolistica a Firenze ed elenca le riviste e i volumi editi.
- La storia - I progetti - Lo scavo - Le pubblicazioni
This book contains studies on the symbolic significance of the landscape for the communities inha... more This book contains studies on the symbolic significance of the landscape for the communities inhabiting the central Anatolian plateau and the Upper Euphrates and Tigris valleys in the 2nd-1st millennia BC. Some of the scholars who attended to the international conference Sacred Landscapes of Hittites and Luwians held in Florence in February 2014, present here contributions on the religious, symbolic and social landscapes of Anatolia between the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Archaeologists, hittitologists and historians highlight how the ancient populations perceived many elements of the environment, like mountains, rivers and rocks, but also atmospheric agents, and natural phenomena as essential part of their religious and ideological world. Analysing landscapes, architectures and topographies built by the Anatolian communities in the second and first millennia BC, the framework of a symbolic construction intended for specific actions and practices clearly emerges.