Description

In most parts of the ancient world, priests were involved in similar activities of officiating to the gods. Sharing what seems to be mutual human tendencies to express devotion to the gods through similar types of activity, each culture also had its unique material, spiritual and social traditions, expressed, among other ways, also in the life and work of its priests. The division of the priests into different groups, the specific tasks of each group, the social position of the priests and their interaction with the rulers and the society - in these and many other aspects - signs of diversity and uniqueness can be found side by side with mutual affinities. This book focuses on the Hittite priesthood of the second millennium BCE, and, through the study of Hittite texts, offers a view of the major cult functionaries, whom those texts identify as priests, as well as of the priestly role of the royal family.