Sun-goddess of Arinna
Also known as: Wurunšemu (Hattian), Arinnitti, Hebat (by royal equation)
Mythological Narrative
The Hattian sun-goddess of the holy city of Arinna, queen of the land of Hatti and, with the Storm-god, the highest deity of the Hittite state cult; Queen Puduhepa's prayer equates her with the Hurrian goddess Hebat.
Scholarly Commentary & Evolution
## Queen of the land of Hatti
The Sun-goddess of Arinna was a Hattian deity (her Hattian name was Wurunšemu) whom the Hittite kings made one of the two heads of their state religion. Royal prayers address her as the queen of the land of Hatti, and kings described the land and kingship as belonging to her and the Storm-god, who was regarded as her husband. Her holy city, Arinna, lay within a day's journey of Hattusa, but its site has never been securely identified; this site therefore does not give it a map location.
## Hebat of the cedar land
In a well-known prayer (CTH 384), Queen Puduhepa, the Hurrian-born wife of King Hattusili III in the thirteenth century BCE, tells the goddess that in the land of Hatti she took the name Sun-goddess of Arinna, while in the land of cedars she took the name Hebat (paraphrase). The prayer is a deliberate theological equation by a Hurrian queen, bringing her native goddess, Teššub's consort, into line with the goddess of the Hittite state cult; it is evidence of how the pantheon was merged, not proof that the two goddesses were originally one.
## Not the only sun deity
Hittite religion distinguished several solar deities: the Sun-goddess of Arinna; the male Sun-god of Heaven (Ištanu, Hurrian Šimige), who plays a role in myths such as the Disappearance of Telipinu; and the Sun-goddess of the Earth, an underworld goddess. This site keeps them apart, following the texts.
Cross-Pantheon Parallels & Archetypes
Academic Discussion & Critique
Exchange peer-reviewed hypotheses, comparative Indo-European etymologies, and archaeological field interpretations regarding Sun-goddess of Arinna.
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