Source recordAncient text
The Kumarbi Cycle (Song of Kumarbi, Song of Hedammu, Song of Ullikummi)
Anonymous Hurrian poets; Hittite translations from the Hattusa archives · Hurrian originals probably before the 14th c. BCE; surviving Hittite copies 14th-13th c. BCE · Hittite (translated from Hurrian), with Hurrian-language fragments
Ancient text
The Kumarbi Cycle (Song of Kumarbi, Song of Hedammu, Song of Ullikummi)
Anonymous Hurrian poets; Hittite translations from the Hattusa archives
A cycle of Hurrian songs about the struggle for kingship in heaven between Kumarbi, father of the gods, and the storm-god Teššub. Known mainly from Hittite translations found at Hattusa (CTH 344-348), it is the closest Near Eastern parallel to the succession myth of Hesiod's Theogony. Every song in the cycle is fragmentary.
About this work
A cycle of Hurrian songs about the struggle for kingship in heaven between Kumarbi, father of the gods, and the storm-god Teššub. Known mainly from Hittite translations found at Hattusa (CTH 344-348), it is the closest Near Eastern parallel to the succession myth of Hesiod's Theogony. Every song in the cycle is fragmentary.
Where to start
Read the Song of Kumarbi first, then the Song of Ullikummi; the Song of Hedammu is more fragmentary and best read after both.
Figures in the text
Heroes and divinities who feature prominently, with where they appear.
Deities and immortals
KumarbiSong of Kumarbi (CTH 344); Song of Ullikummi (CTH 345)father of the gods, who seizes kingship from Anu and plots against Teššub
AlaluSong of Kumarbi (CTH 344), openingthe first king in heaven, overthrown by Anu
Tarhunna (the Storm-god of Hatti)throughout the cycleTeššub, the storm-god born from Kumarbi, who wins kingship
ŠauškaSong of Hedammu (CTH 348); Song of Ullikummi (CTH 345)Teššub's sister, who tries to seduce Hedammu and Ullikummi
Key scenes
Turning points of the work, in reading order.
The Succession in Heaven
Alalu reigns nine years before Anu overthrows him; Anu reigns nine years before Kumarbi bites off his loins and swallows the seed of the storm-god.
The Stone Monster on Upelluri's Shoulder
Kumarbi fathers a basalt giant on a great rock and hides it on the shoulder of the world-bearing giant Upelluri, where it grows until it reaches the sky.
The Ancient Copper Cutter
Ea brings out the tool that once separated heaven from earth and cuts Ullikummi's feet from Upelluri's shoulder.
Stories drawn from it
Retellings in the atlas that quote or cite this work.
The Song of Kumarbi: Kingship in HeavencosmologyA Hurrian song, preserved in Hittite translation, in which kingship in heaven passes from Alalu to Anu to Kumarbi, who bites off Anu's loins and finds himself pregnant with the storm-god who will overthrow him.
The Song of UllikummiwarKumarbi fathers a giant of basalt on a great rock and hides it on the shoulder of Upelluri in the sea, where it grows until it reaches heaven; Teššub is defeated until Ea cuts the monster from its base with the ancient copper tool that once separated heaven and earth.
About this record
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.