Studies on the local cult practices and panthea of the Hittites

• Applicant: Dr. Michele Cammarosano
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 298302760

The project aims to conduct two studies on the local cult practices and panthea of the Hittites. The studies expand on the digital publication of the Hittite cult inventories and the corresponding database "Hittite Local Cults" originating from the project "Critical edition, digital publication, and systematic analysis of the Hittite cult-inventories (CTH 501-530)".The so-called cult-inventories constitute one of the most interesting and, at the same time, one of the least investigated corpora within the Hittite written records. These texts report on the state of religious festivals, rites, cult objects, and cult supplies in a great number of provincial towns and villages under Hittite control. Because of its nature and amplitude, this corpus represents an unicum within the ancient Near East, which is also of utmost relevance for the comparative history of religions as well as for centre-periphery studies.The first study ("Local Festivals and Cult Calendar, Offerings and Cult Practice") aims to explore key aspects of local cult practices, as well as of the Hittite economy and cult administration, through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary study. Analysis will focus on the nature of the religious rites, their geographic context, their structure and management, the quality and quantity of the offerings and the associated suppliers as well as their role.The second study ("Local Panthea of the Hittites") aims to investigate the geographical context of the texts and the structure of the local panthea by means of a systematic analysis of the place names and theonyms contained in the texts. Multivariate analysis, and especially cluster analysis, will be used in complement to traditional philological methods to uncover groups and relationships of elements within the textual material. Relevant material from other text genres as well as archaeological finds are also taken into consideration. https://osf.io/tfzke/wiki/home/

• DFG Programme: Research Grants