Those activities performed regularly each day are only rarely described in the available texts, but we do know that the more important gods and goddesses of Hatti received daily bread and beverage offerings. Therefore temple employees were required to be at their posts ‘‘in the morning at the gods’ breakfast.’’ We are better informed about special ceremonies held for various deities, for unusual rites had to be prescribed carefully, lest they be performed incorrectly and thereby forfeit their effectiveness. Labeled with the Sumerian term meaning ‘‘festival, party,’’ these acts of worship were carried out according to a regular schedule particular to each god or goddess. Some festivals were held monthly or yearly, while others, such as The Festival of the Sickle or The Festival of Cutting Grapes, took place in connection with events of the agricultural year (Guterbock 1970). A characteristic feature of ceremonies performed in the autumn was the filling of storage vessels, while the opening of these same pots marked the spring rites.
Because he was the high priest of every deity, the periodic presence of the king or a high ranking substitute, the queen, a prince of the immediate royal family, or even just a symbolic leather object (Guterbock 1989) was necessary at the celebration of the most important festivals of the leading deities in cities throughout Hatti. To accommodate this requirement, the festivals were organized into two series, known collectively as The Festival of the Crocus, in the spring (Guterbock 1960), and The Festival of Haste, in the autumn (Nakamura 2002). During the spring tour the monarch was on the road for no fewer than thirty-eight days, and sometimes officiated in one location in the morning and another in the afternoon.
Hittite festival texts make for dull reading, since they often present repetitive ceremonies in excruciating, if necessary, detail. For example:
The king and queen, seated, toast the War-god. The halliyari-men [play] the large INANNA-instruments and sing. The crier cries out. The cup-bearer brings one snack-loaf from outside and gives [it] to the king. The king breaks [it] and takes a bite. The palace-functionaries take the napkins from the king and queen. The crouching (cupbearer) enters. The king and queen, standing, toast the (deified) Day. The jester speaks; the crier cries out; the kita-man cries, ‘‘aha!’’ (Gonnet 1976)
World History
