Customer Reviews

Hittite Myths, Second Edition

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This work is a short compilation of the various fragments of Hittite myths which are known. The work is useful in comparative studies regarding Middle-Eastern and Indo-European studies, though probably more on the former than the latter.

Hittite is often overlooked by students because we have been able to translate it only recently. Consequently it is a fairly new field for scholars. Strangely, there is no reason to think the corpus will remain forever closed as new tablets are frequently unearthed. Consequently this needs to be seen as representing our current state of knowledge on the subject, and it is extremely valuable in that it opens new avenues for exploration.

However, there are some difficulties too. The surviving works are fragmentary, and often parts are illegible. Hence the translations not these gaps. This makes for difficult reading, but the translator has handled this responsibly.

Highly recommended to all students of related fields.

I've studied myths from around the world for years and so I was excited to get this book. It does have some merits. It gives you an insight into the minds of the Hittite gods and if you thought the Greek gods were childish, wait until you meet the Hittite gods, who, without the support and care of humans, go hungry, cold, naked, homeless etc. (A Hittite god's favorite video game: Pikmin) But if they get mad they go away and the sun no longer shines. For gods... they really are a whine bunch of pains in the butt. And the pose they came up with... "She adored herself. And the qualities which arouse love followed after her like puppies." Now you can see why the Hittites were not remembered for their great contributions to literature. Plus, the stories are from fragments, so pieces of them are missing. If the story were, for example, Cinderella, it might look like this:

Once upon a time there lived a young girl named Cinderella. She lived with.....

there appeared a [fairy?] godmother who gave Cinderella a coach, dress and glass [shoes?] Cinderella was told to return by midnight or....

She lost one of her glass [shoes?] The [lovely?] prince picked it up and promised....

But her evil stepmother locked her in her room....

And they lived happily [forever?]

There are big chunks missing from most of the stories and although some stories have intros, the info is scanty. What information and ideas you gather must come from these fragments. What's more, few of the stories were written in a way that makes you think of old women telling tales to wide-eyed children around a fire. These myths read more like history reports written by surly teenagers who want to finish their homework so they can go over to KC's house and check out their new game on X-box. The translators do a good job, but the text themselves lack life... unlike say... the ancient Mayan writings which are so beautiful that when you read them, you hear music in your soul. If you know nothing about Hittites, this book is not going to be one you keep. In fact, my copy, purchased used, had used stickers from not one, but four different used bookstores and colleges. It was one of those books your prof makes you buy for his class and that you read twice and unload as soon as you can.

If, on the other hand, you adore ancient cultures. If you wear a t-shirt that says "I heart Hittites". If you take notes using cuniform just to show up your friend who is writing in Klingon. If you have posters of ancient Babylonians on your wall. If you named your pets after the guys for first translated Linear B. If you are petitioning for Minoan Bull leaping to be brought back as an Olympic sport... well then you are going to like this book for the glimpses it provides into a long-gone world.