Hittite hearth cult (Master thesis)

While fire and the hearth, built to control fire, met the basic needs of human beings such as cooking and heating; on the other side, with the qualification of burning and destroying anything, it gained reputation, respect and caused to be seen as a holy power. We can trace concrete evidences that shows the holiness of hearth in Anatolia in a wide period from Neolithic Era up to now. The stable hearth, seen in the Late Neolithic Era in Catalhoyuk (BCE 6500-6000) and not only covered with bukranion but also found in places adorned with wall paintings, played an important role on human-beings' belief system. The portable and stable hearth which is considered as a cult object in the early Bronze Age, adorned with antromorphic and zoomorphic icons, was the representative of this belief in the early Bronze Age. We can trace some cult ceremonies around these kinds of hearths through cuneiform written documents belongs to the Hittites which was one of the important civilization in Bronze Age. The hearth term represents family, home and the government. In the cuneiform written documents of Hittites, the existence of a king and the permanence of his strenght was emphasized by the fire built or put out in the hearth. The sacrificial rites, eids, mythologies, magic, fortunetelling and some variety of rituals found in the cuneiform written documents belongs to the Hittites highlights the cult side of the hearth. According to these documents, the hearth was a holy tool to reach the Gods. The sacrificial rites held in or around the hearth was the shortest way to communicate with the Gods or Goddesses. Burning out the objects thrown inside and getting rid of the unintended situations made the hearth a holy structure used for magic. Besides, by throwing an object inside the hearth a belief of healing also came out. Having named the hearth Goddess Kamrusepas as a healer Goddess suports this belief as well. Hearth Gods exist in the cuneiform written documents belongs to the Hittites shows the importance of hearth term in the Hittites belief system. It's also possible to follow the traces of hearth cult in the Hittites era in many fields of their lives within some practices based on the geographical and geocultural memory of traditional Anatolian Culture. Key Words: Fire, Hearth, Hittites, Cult, Ancestor Cult.