A STORY OF THE FLOOD IN THE HITTITES: ATRA(M)HAŠI
The conception of humanity’s destruction because of a flood plays an important role in the beliefs of the most ancient people in Mesopotamia. One of the literary texts, which depicts the extinction of human kind as a result of a deluge sent by gods, is Gilgameš; and the other is Atra-hasis. The Atra...
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | DE EN FR TR |
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Fırat University
2019
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| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/fac0635d88f84b718087592431e05667 |
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| Sumario: | The conception of humanity’s destruction because of a flood plays an important role in the beliefs of the most ancient people in Mesopotamia. One of the literary texts, which depicts the extinction of human kind as a result of a deluge sent by gods, is Gilgameš; and the other is Atra-hasis. The Atra-hasis epic, as in the example of Gilgameš, has been copied for many years and spread from Mesopotamia to the West. This epic begins with the creation of humans who toil instead of the gods. However, the population of the humans increase in number in time. Their noises disturb God Enlil very much and he gets annoyed at them. Thus, Enlil decides to wipe them out. His first attempt is a plague, the second is famine, and the third is a flood. Enki (Ea) saves the humans from those disasters with the orders given to Atra-hasis. The Atra-hasis epic can also be traced in the Hittites. There are some fragments of the Atra-hasis Epic in Hittite and Akkadian languages among the thousands of cuneiform tablets which were found in the archeological excavations dug in the capital city of the Hittites, Hattuša. Those fragments are broken in small pieces and small in number. The Hurrians are thought to have a part in the transmission of the epic to Anatolia. One of the copies in the Hittite language corresponds to the version of Old Babylon in terms of content. This tablet dates back to Middle Hittite Period, and there is a possibility that it belongs to a bilingual tablet of Akkadian-Hittite languages. The other version in the Hittite language is thought to be translated from the Hurrian language. This version adds new heroes to the epic. Those are the father of Atra-hasis, Hamša and God Kumarbi. Kumarbi in the role of Enlil sends the disaster which wipes the humans out. This disaster is the ants which cannot be traced in any other texts and which consume all the grain. As it is seen in the broken parts, the precautions to be taken by Atra-hasis are also told. The tablet, on which the Hittite version of epic lies, are broken in pieces. Thus, it cannot be understood clearly whether it has a story related to the flood or not. |
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