The Kumarbi Cycle is a collection of Hittite and Hurrian epics from circa 13th/14th century BCE, making them Older Than Dirt.
It's a group of episodic stories about Kumarbi and his repeat attempts to overthrow his Arch-Enemy, Teshub, the Top God. Kumarbi is also Teshub's father.
The stories have been given all sorts of titles by scholars.
- Song of Kumarbi, Kingship in Heaven (or Kingship among the Gods), Song of Emergence (or Song of Going Forth)
- Song of Lamma or Song of Kal
- Song of Ḫedammu
- Song of Ullikummi
We know the first one goes first, since it sets up the story, but the rest are episodic so who really knows if they're meant to go in any sort of order.
There are a couple other stories — Song of the Sea and Song of Oil, which are too fragmentary to say much about. There's Song of Silver, which deals with the same characters but does not focus on the Kumarbi-Teshub rivalry.
It's thought that the Song of Emergence may be a predecessor of the Greek Theogony, due to the shared plot points of: The Coup, Crippling Castration, defying Eats Babies with a fake rock baby, and a father vomiting up a baby.
The Kumarbi Cycle provides examples of:
open/close all folders
Tropes in the cycle overall
- Continuity Snarl: Šauška appears as Teshub and Tašmišu's sister, but isn't mentioned in their birth myth.
- Only Sane Man: Ea is consistently the only sensible character.
- Road Runner vs. Coyote
- What Happened to the Mouse?: One of Kumarbi's babies, Aranzaḫ (the river Tigris) vanishes from the narrative after being born.
Tropes in Song of Emergence
- The Coup: Alalu is overthrown by his cupbearer Anu. Anu is overthrown by Kumarbi. Kumarbi is overthrown by his Teshub. Some older translations assumed Alalu was Anu's father and Anu Kumarbi's (Child Supplants Parent), but newer translations found that's not actually the case. It's a conflict between two dynasties, not generations of the same dynasty. Kumarbi is Alalu's son (making him a Hidden Backup Prince) and both of them are unrelated from Anu.
- Crippling Castration: Kumarbi bites off the testicles of Anu and swallows them. He's specifically trying to end his rival's bloodline, to cut off potential rivals. However, it's a Subverted Trope. Rather than being made infertile, Anu accomplishes one last feat of fertility: those bitten off testicles impregnate Kumarbi with with multiple gods.Anu: Do not rejoice over your belly, for I have placed a burden in your belly. First, I have impregnated you with the mighty Storm-god. Second, I have impregnated you with the River Tigris, not to be borne. Third, I have impregnated you with the mighty Tašmišu.
- Eats Babies: Kumarbi is pregnant and then gives birth. This is emasculating, and he's so enraged by this that he wants to eat his babies as revenge. A Defied Trope because Ea — and attendant at the birth — gives Kumarbi a rock to eat instead. Kumarbi breaks his teeth on it as he eats it.
- Mister Seahorse: Kumarbi wants to overpower Anu, and he bites off his genitals. Kumarbi ends up pregnant with several gods: Teshub (the storm god), Aranzaḫ (the river Tigris), and Tašmišu. These kids are explicitly stated to be the result of Homosexual Reproduction, made in part from both their fathers, just as tin and copper fuse to make bronze.
- Orifice Evacuation: The god Kumarbi decided to overthrow the sky god Anu, wrestling him and biting off his genitals. This made Kumarbi pregnant with multiple deities. Since he had no actual birth canal, they had to emerge by other means — through this mouth, through his head, through "the good place" (it's unstated where that is).
Tropes in Song of Lamma
- The Coup: Lamma deposed Teshub and ruled for nine years. Once Lamma is revealed to be a bad ruler (for the gods' interests), Ea and Kumarbi pull their support, build a coalition, and Teshub defeats Lamma.
- The Good King: Lamma's rule was great — for people. But all being well means people forget to pray to the gods. Lamma being a great god for people didn't mean much when the gods are the ones whose support he needs.
Tropes in Song of Ḫedammu
- Honey Trap: Šauška uses sex to lure Ḫedammu out of the sea, where he looses his Home Field Advantage.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Ḫedammu is propositioned by Šauška (Love Goddess) and they have so much sex that they give birth to 130 cities, and then 70 more.
- Sea Serpent: Ḫedammu
Tropes in Song of Ullikummi
- Ignore the Fanservice: Šauška prepares to seduce Kumarbi, but a huge animate wave shows up to tell her that he's deaf, blind, and incapable of compassion, thus he won't respond to her seduction. She calls the plan off.
- Mystical Pregnancy: Kumarbi has sex with a rock. Not a goddess of stone; not a human-shaped rock; not a magical animate rock. A just regular rock. He impregnates the rock, and from this the Rock Monster Ullikummi is born.
- Rock Monster: Ullikummi is born from Kumarbi having sex with a rock. Ullikummi inherits Kumarbi's hominoid shape and animacy, and the rock's basalt composition.
