Kumarbi Cycle (Song of Kumarbi and Song of Ullikummi)

CTH 344-345

Anonymous / Hurrian-Hittite tradition · c. 14th-13th century BC (Hittite Empire-period tablets preserving an older Hurrian tradition) · Hattusa (Turkey) · epic

Kingship among the gods passes by violent succession from Alalu to Anu to Kumarbi, and when Kumarbi bites off and swallows his rival's genitals to seize the throne he only sets in motion the birth of the storm god Teshub and, in the cycle's sequel, a stone giant built to unseat him in turn.