An Essay on Hittite Cultic Calendar Based Upon the Festivals

• Main Author: Serkan Demirel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Athens Institute for Education and Research 2017-01-01
• Series: Athens Journal of History
• Online Access: https://www.athensjournals.gr/history/2017-3-1-2-Demirel.pdf

Due to the lack of adequate information, there is no an attempt to make a Hittite cultic calendar. But, festivals associated with the agricultural cycle for the Hittite cultic calendar can be taken into account. There were numerous festivals in Hittite Anatolia during the second millennium BC. While some of these festivals took more than one month, some were taking in a few hours. Typically, Hittite festivals have spiritual characteristics and consist of libations for different types of gods. It is possible to make a cultic calendar considering the distribution of festivals during the year. Most of the festivals are taking place in autumn and spring. Therefore, it may be said that Hittite festivals are connected with the agricultural cycle. The spring feats in the beginning of agricultural activities celebrated for the gods related to "seed" and the autumn feats in the end of the agricultural activities celebrated for the gods related to "harvest". This situation indicates that the Hittite cultic calendar has an economic aspect. The gods in the Hittite pantheon represent natural events that determine agricultural activities. For this reason it can be said that the agricultural cycle formed the Hittite cultic calendar.