Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare

The Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the lunar cycle, both defined as EZEN4 ITUKAM, “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...

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Main Author: Francesco G. Barsacchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2019-03-01
Series:Asia Anteriore Antica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/asiana/article/view/71
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author Francesco G. Barsacchi
author_facet Francesco G. Barsacchi
author_sort Francesco G. Barsacchi
collection DOAJ
description The Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the lunar cycle, both defined as EZEN4 ITUKAM, “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.
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spelling doaj-art-b58beb70928a44a6a6bf5e6e92a617b02025-08-20T03:45:40ZengFirenze University PressAsia Anteriore Antica2611-89122019-03-011110.13128/asiana-71Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunareFrancesco G. Barsacchi0Università degli Studi di FirenzeThe Hittite sources document the existence of two different religious ceremonies connected to the lunar cycle, both defined as EZEN4 ITUKAM, “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. https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/asiana/article/view/71Hittite festivalsHittite religionLunar cycleMoonCult calendar
spellingShingle Francesco G. Barsacchi
Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
Asia Anteriore Antica
Hittite festivals
Hittite religion
Lunar cycle
Moon
Cult calendar
title Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
title_full Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
title_fullStr Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
title_full_unstemmed Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
title_short Considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
title_sort considerazioni sui culti ittiti connessi al ciclo lunare
topic Hittite festivals
Hittite religion
Lunar cycle
Moon
Cult calendar
url https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/asiana/article/view/71
work_keys_str_mv AT francescogbarsacchi considerazionisuicultiittiticonnessialciclolunare