The Illuyanka Myth
Also known as: Illuyanka, The Myth of Illuyanka, Tarhunna and Illuyanka, Storm God and Serpent
The Hittite Storm God overcomes the serpent Illuyanka in two variant tales: one through Inaras’s trap with the mortal Hupasiya, and another by recovering his stolen eyes and heart via a marriage ruse. The myth reaffirms cosmic order and royal cult in a festival setting.
Description
Two complementary Hittite versions narrate the Storm God’s struggle against the serpent Illuyanka. In Version I, after an initial defeat, the goddess Inaras prepares a feast, intoxicates Illuyanka and his brood, and enlists the mortal Hupasiya to bind them; the Storm God then kills the serpent, while Hupasiya later dies for breaking a taboo. In Version II, Illuyanka steals the Storm God’s eyes and heart. The god sires a son with a mortal woman; that son marries the serpent’s daughter and secures the stolen organs. Restored to full strength, the Storm God slays Illuyanka, killing his own son as the youth insists on sharing his in-laws’ fate. Often linked to the Purulli spring festival, the myth dramatizes the restoration of divine kingship and seasonal order through cunning, oath, and necessary sacrifice.
Historiography
The myth survives on cuneiform tablets from Hattusa and appears in two distinct narratives (commonly labeled Version I and Version II), copied in Empire-period script yet reflecting older traditions. Scholars connect its performance to the Purulli state festival and to broader Anatolian and Near Eastern chaoskampf motifs. Modern editions and translations are chiefly derived from fragmentary tablets collated and normalized in handbooks of Hittite myth.
Date Notes
Preserved in two Hittite versions; recited in connection with the Purulli spring festival
Major Characters
- Tarhun
- Illuyanka
- Inara
- Hupasiyas
Myths
- The Storm God’s First Battle with Illuyanka
- Inaras’s Feast and Hupasiyas’s Binding of the Serpent
- Recovering the Storm God’s Heart and Eyes
- The Final Slaying of Illuyanka
Facts
- Attested in two Hittite versions; both preserved on cuneiform tablets from Hattusa.
- Version I centers on Inaras’s feast, intoxication, and the mortal Hupasiya’s binding of Illuyanka.
- Version II features the theft and recovery of the Storm God’s eyes and heart via a marriage alliance.
- Often associated with the Purulli spring festival and royal cultic renewal.
- Exemplifies the Anatolian form of the Near Eastern storm-god vs. serpent chaoskampf.
- Hupasiya’s taboo breach and execution underscore oath and boundary themes in Hittite ritual ideology.
- The goddess Inaras functions as strategist and facilitator rather than front-line combatant.
- The myth reinforces restoration of divine power after temporary defeat, aligning with seasonal cycles.
- Comparanda include Ugaritic Baal vs. Yam and Mesopotamian Marduk vs. Tiamat narratives.
- Modern standard translations appear in Hittite myth anthologies and handbooks.