A Goddess in the Community of Hittite Goddess: Kappariyamu

Abstract

The Hittites, as one of the greatest civilizations of Ancient Anatolia, had established their civilization in 2nd B.C. on the fertile lands of Anatolia which has been a cradle to many civilizations and has witnessed various first strings throughout history. As one of the Indo-European tribes, the Hittites established the political unity and later, they pursued an expansionist policy in Anatolia where they call “the Hattian country”. As a consequence of this policy, the Hittites became an ample empire with a great influence in South and Southeast Anatolia, Mesopotamia and Northern Syria. According to the cuneiform clay tablets written in Hittite language that were discovered in result of the archeological researches in Boğazköy, it has been learned that the Hittites adopted a regime of governance based on religion. This work aims at revealing the Goddess Kappariḭamu’s origin, the meaning of her name and when and how the goddess was blessed in the official religion and pantheon of Hittites, who had a polytheistic belief system, based on the data provided by the Hittite cuneiform texts with philological analysis.