Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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The death of the Hittite king was an event of cosmogonic proportions for Hittite society. The political, religious and social vacuum created by this event signaled the beginning of a an elaborate...Show moreThe death of the Hittite king was an event of cosmogonic proportions for Hittite society. The political, religious and social vacuum created by this event signaled the beginning of a an elaborate fourteen-day-long funerary ritual known among scholars as the “Šalliš Wastaiš ritual”. Its main purpose was the orderly transition of the king’s soul to the underworld. At the same time, the usage of various ritual objects aimed, among others, at presenting the deceased as an otherworldly hunter. Of these objects, the bow, the arrow, the quiver, the spear and the hunting bag were closely connected with Hittite royal hunting, something which is also visible in the textual and iconographic sources of the wider ancient Near East. The construction of a post-mortem image of the deceased king as a hunter was based on the apparent close relation of hunting with religion, warfare and Hittite royal ideology. Considering that Hittite textual and iconographic evidence show that success in the hunt was directly proportional to the offerings toward the gods, the presentation of the ruler as an accomplished hunter propagated his privileged relationship with the divine, and indicated that hunting was treated as a ritual act of great importance. At the same time, given the importance of warfare for the Hittite state, and the equation of the hunt with war, the inclusion of hunting objects in the royal funeral demonstrated that according to Hittite royal ideology the successful hunter was also a mighty and undefeated warrior. Moreover, the hunt acquired a political dimension too, because it sustained the royal propaganda. The killing of big game by the king was indicative of strength and courage, and symbolized his superhuman abilities. Hunting had important cosmological implications as well, since its mastery by the king illustrated his physical and spiritual dominion over the wild beasts which represented one of the aggressive aspects of nature. By showing his command of the animal world, the king emerged, in life and in death, as the defender of civilization against the menace of nature.Show less
