Английская Википедия:Aškašepa
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox deity Aškašepa was a Hittite deity presumed to be a deified mountain, possibly Mount Erciyes. He is first attested in a treaty from Kanesh, and continued to be regarded as one of the deities associated with this city in later sources. He was worshiped in cities such as Hattusa, Шаблон:Ill and Шаблон:Ill. He also appears in a number of international treaties between the rulers of the Hittite Empire and other contemporary monarchs as one of the invoked divine witnesses.
Name and character
Aškašepa's name can be translated as "genius of the gate".Шаблон:Sfn The word aška- means "door" in Hittite.Шаблон:Sfn It could be represented in cuneiform by the Sumerogram KÁ, similarly meaning gate.Шаблон:Sfn The suffix -šepa and its variants, -šipa, -zipa and -zepa according to Gojko Barjamovic was used to form theonyms which all can be interpreted as the "female deifications of the basic word".Шаблон:Sfn However, according to Alice Mouton, Aškašepa was male, and the assumption on the contrary relied on incorrect reading of the phrase MUNUS.LUGAL as a title of this deity, rather than a separate theonym.Шаблон:Sfn In contrast with most of the other deities with similarly constructed names such as Daganzipa, Шаблон:Ill or Шаблон:Ill, Aškašepa can be considered a major member of the Hittite pantheon.Шаблон:Sfn
The name Aškašepa also referred to a mountain, according to Volkert Haas most likely Mount Erciyes.Шаблон:Sfn Barjamovic accepts this as a possibility, but additionally suggests identification with an unspecified high point of the Taurus range located close to the route of Assyrian trade caravans as another option.Шаблон:Sfn Aškašepa's presumed character as a mountain deity in the light of Hittite views on the nature of divine representations of such landmarks would make it plausible that the name referred to a male figure.Шаблон:Sfn
Worship
Hittites celebrated Aškašepa with the songs of the so-called "singer of Kanesh".Шаблон:Sfn However, according to Oguz Soysal none of the attestations of this deity come from texts from the period of Old Assyrian trading colony's existence at the site or from the subsequent era of the so-called "Hittite Old Kingdom".Шаблон:Sfn Gojko Barjamovic in a more recent publications states the name occurs in a list of divine witnesses in a treaty between Kanesh and Assur.Шаблон:Sfn Alfonso Archi, following earlier studies, notes that regardless of the origin of its individual members, the group of "gods of Kanesh" in Hittite sources was seemingly a conglomerate only formed in the thirteenth century BCE.Шаблон:Sfn In Hittite ritual texts, Aškašepa appears alongside its other members, such as Maliya and Pirwa.Шаблон:Sfn In a ritual meant to guarantee the prosperity of a vineyard, KUB 35.2, Aškašepa and Pirwa were honored with a song in Luwian.Шаблон:Sfn
Aškašepa was worshiped as one of the deities belonging to the circle associated with Kanesh in Hattusa in the so-called "Great Temple".Шаблон:Sfn He apparently also had a temple of his own, as indicated by texts pertaining to the Шаблон:Ill spring festival.Шаблон:Sfn As a member of the same group, he was venerated in Шаблон:Ill as well.Шаблон:Sfn Additionally, he is attested among deities worshiped during local festivals in Шаблон:Ill, a city located on the middle run of the river Zuliya (Çekerek River).Шаблон:Sfn
In treaties between Šuppiluliuma I and Šattiwaza, Muršili II and Шаблон:Ill and Tudḫaliya IV and Шаблон:Ill, Aškašepa appears as one of the divine witnesses.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Bibliography
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