Tašmišu
Attendant of Teshub
Personal information
SiblingsTeshub, Šauška
SpouseNabarbi
Equivalents
Hittite equivalentŠuwaliyat

Tašmišu (Tashmishu) was a Hurrian god. He was regarded as a brother of Teshub, and it is assumed he had a warlike character.

Character

Volkert Haas proposed that Tašmišu's name was derived from the Hurrian word tašmi, which he translates as strong.[1] The suffix -šu is also known from the name of one Teshub's bulls, Šerišu, and various Hurrian personal names, such as Anniwašu or Ekammešu.[1]

Tašmišu was one of the multiple warrior gods in the Hurrian pantheon.[2] Other such deities were Ugur, Aštabi, Nergal and Ḫešui.[2]

In myths, his position appears to be that of a subordinate of his brother Teshub, and in one passage from the Song of Ullikummi he outright addresses him as "my lord."[3] He served as his sukkal (attendant deity), though as noted by Daniel Schwemer this role in ritual texts could also be attributed to the god Tenu.[4] He proposed that the latter was adopted from the religious tradition of ancient Aleppo,[4] where a month was named after him.[5] However, Alfonso Archi ascribes Hurrian origin to Tenu.[6]

Associations with other deities

Tašmišu was regarded as the "pure brother" of Teshub.[7] Their sister was the goddess Šauška.[8] Their parents were Anu and Kumarbi.[9] Tašmišu's wife was the goddess Nabarbi.[10]

Hittites identified Tašmišu with their god Šuwaliyat,[7] who had old Anatolian (Hattian) origin.[5] However, Tašmišu never acquired the latter's association with vegetation.[11] Both of them could be associated with Mesopotamian Ninurta.[5] As a result, instances where Tašmišu's name is written logographically as dNIN.URTA are known.[12] Another attested logographic writing is dURAŠ.[13] Furthermore, a god list from Emar identifies him with Papsukkal.[14]

Worship

In Hurrian offering lists, Tašmišu usually follows Teshub.[15] Worship of him is best attested from the Hurrian kingdom of Kizzuwatna, where he appears in various festivals related to Teshub of Šapinuwa.[11] He is also attested among the gods worshiped in Lawazantiya.[16]

In Emar, both Tašmišu and Tenu were worshiped as members of the entourage of Teshub.[17]

Mythology

The first myth of the so-called "Kumarbi cycle" describes the birth of Tašmišu. Like his brother, he was born after Kumarbi bit off the genitals of Anu.[18]

In the Song of Ullikummi, Tašmišu joins his siblings Teshub and Šauška when they go to see eponymous stone giant after being warned by the sun god Šimige.[19] Later he reveals Teshub's fate after the initial confrontation with the monster to his wife Hebat.[20] He also suggests to his brother that to find a way to defeat the new adversary they need to meet with the god Ea in his dwelling, Abzu, in the Hurrian myth assumed to be a city rather than a body of water.[21] After Ea agrees to listen to them, Tašmišu shows his gratitude.[21]

References

Bibliography

  • Archi, Alfonso (2013). "The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background". In Collins, B. J.; Michalowski, P. (eds.). Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman. Atlanta: Lockwood Press. ISBN 978-1-937040-11-6. OCLC 882106763.
  • Bachvarova, Mary R. (2013). "The Hurro-Hittite Kumarbi Cycle". Gods, heroes, and monsters: a sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern myths. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-064481-9. OCLC 967417697.
  • Haas, Volkert (2015) [1994]. Geschichte der hethitischen Religion. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East (in German). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-29394-6. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  • Schwemer, Daniel (2001). Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen: Materialien und Studien nach den schriftlichen Quellen (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-04456-1. OCLC 48145544.
  • Schwemer, Daniel (2008). "The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies: Part II" (PDF). Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. Brill. 8 (1): 1–44. doi:10.1163/156921208786182428. ISSN 1569-2116.
  • Taracha, Piotr (2009). Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3447058858.
  • Trémouille, Marie-Claude (2011), "Šauška, Šawuška A. Philologisch", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in French), retrieved 2022-04-10
  • Trémouille, Marie-Claude (2013), "Tašmišu", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in French), retrieved 2022-04-10
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