Hittite mythology is the combined beliefs of ancient people that inhabited Anatolia, which is modern-day Turkey. Besides the eponymous Hittites, other simular warrior tribes included the Hurrians and Hattians. Worth mentioning is that Hittite people lived and prospered in the Bronze Age (circa 2000 BC), which means any tropes and examples from here are Older Than Dirt. These people's culture plus mythology was influenced by other civilizations in the Middle East region, particularly the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians. Around 1180 BC the Hittite kingdom declined and fell into ruin because of the combined internal struggles and the appearance of more powerful cultures like the Assyrians, the end of the Hittite rule was part of the larger Bronze Age collapse. Ironically, the Hittites did leave behind some legacy despite being lost to the sands of time- part of their culture and mythology alongside several other Anatolian people heavily influenced the early ancient Greeks who alongside the old Minoans laid the foundations of Hellenistic culture, and thus Europe itself as well as to a lesser degree the whole modern western world.
Hittite Mythology provides examples of:
- Divine Parentage: Song of Silver is about Silver, who is Kumarbi's son with a mortal woman. This was more notable because unlike Zeus, Hittite gods weren't getting with mortals left and right.
- God of Thunder: An example predating Zeus/Jupiter is the weather god Teshub wielding an axe and lightning bolt.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Interestingly the more famous greek Chimera was inspired by an older simular creature that distinctly resembled a winged lion with a snake for a tail plus a second human head between the shoulders and wings.
- Top God: Supreme divine ruler was Teshub, who replaced Kumarbi, who replaced Anu, who replaced Alalu. The sun goddess of Arinna is usually his consort and a powerful deity of her own right, sometimes even been identified together as the current generational mother and father of all the younger lesser pantheon gods.
