location (obviously an impossibility in a monotheistic belief
system). Sometimes the great Storm God himself is the offending
deity, but more commonly the culprit is the vegetation god
Telipinu, an old Hattian deity and son of the Storm God.^2
Of the several fragmentary versions we have of his story, the
common elements seem to be these: For some reason or other,
Telipinu hasflown into a rage, puts on his shoes and abandons his
lands. Crops wither and die, sheep and cattle reject their young,
humans and gods starve. The Storm God becomes very worried
and despatches an eagle tofind his son. But in vain. The Storm
God himself tries tofind him. But he too fails. Finally a bee is sent
to look for the absentee, and discovers him in a meadow,
apparently asleep. The bee stings his hands and feet, which wakes
him up and makes him even more angry. He vents his fury by
unleashing devastating thunder and lightning and greatfloods,
destroying houses, livestock, crops and wreaking havoc on
humankind. Finally, the goddessof magic Kamrusepa is sent to
make peace with him and bring him back. A ritual which she
conducts for this purpose dispels the god’s anger, and his way
back to his people is made smooth for him by spreading oil and
honey along his route.
This is no mere story, narrated by a story-teller for the
entertainment of a local audience. I believe that it was an important
ritual performed within a sacred complex–a temple courtyard or
an open-air sanctuary–each year at the beginning of spring, to
ensure that after the dead winter season, the crops andflocks and
herds wouldflourish in the season of growth. This is, in fact, the
Hittite way of accounting for the cycle of seasons. In Greek
mythological tradition, the cycle is explained by the grief of the
earth goddess Demeter when her daughter Persephone is abducted
to the Underworld and the earth becomes barren. But life returns
when Persephone is restored to her mother at the beginning of
spring. In Hittite tradition, it is the disappearance and return of the
vegetation god that explains the cycle of seasons. In his case at least,
the use of sympathetic or mimetic magic is used to ensure his
return, involving quite literally the spreading of oil and honey along
at least the last part of the god’s homeward route to make smooth
HATTI’S DIVINE OVERLORDS 251