This peninsula has a great historical cultural diversity that influences the wide variety of stories in Anatolian mythology, as it is located in an area with multiple access points, bordering the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, part of the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Asian continent to the east. As a result, it is currently occupied by the Asian part of Turkey.
Culture that gave rise to Anatolian mythology
This area has witnessed many cultural traditions since prehistoric times, which over time have become the ancient monumental structures recognized throughout the world.
Some of the civilizations known to have been located in this area of Anatolia are:
- Arabs.
- Armenians.
- Assyrians.
- Celts.
- Cimmerians.
- The Byzantine Empire.
- The Ottoman Empire.
- Galatians.
- Galatians.
- Goths.
- Greeks.
- Hittites.
- Jews.
- Lydians.
- Persians.
- Romans.
As a result, Anatolia was a historical and cultural center because it was a location that welcomed a large number of people, and its government consisted of a priest-king who was the representative of the local deity, who was almost always a woman, known for being the owner of all the land.
Deities of Anatolian mythology
A mix of traditions gives rise to the mythical tales of this culture, in which most of the beings with great powers were women. Therefore, some of the goddesses of Anatolia are:
1) Divinity Ana
This is the original name given to the firstborn mother who created humanity with her breath. This deity is represented under a wide variety of names.
Her name means both grandmother and mother, and she is recognized as the Great Goddess of Anatolia. She also represents the link between all the cults of the earth, which is why she is thought to be the connection between Europe and Asia, with the Anatolian Peninsula being the point of conversion between all of them, but where the Primordial Mother is first mentioned.
2) Namma or Namm
This deity is known as “the abyss of the waters.”
There is some confusion as to her power in comparison to Ana, as she is considered the origin of everything because she is the Goddess of Birth.
She was also the wife of An and mother of Enki, and her power was to reproduce water wherever she wanted.
However, it was believed that she had more children, the Anunnaki gods, who, together with Ninmah and Enki, participated in the creation of humans, as their job was to mold the figure out of clay and then mix it with the blood of one of the gods.
3) Inanna.
She is declared the daughter of Anu and Nammu in various cultures, and her name means “Lady of the Heavens.” She was always depicted accompanied by two lionesses. There are many shrines created in her honor, the best known being Uruk.
On the other hand, stories indicate that this deity had three faces:
I. The face responsible for love, represented as a beautiful and erotic woman.
II. A warrior goddess who is bloodthirsty and ruthless.
III. The astral face related to the planet Venus, which is recognized by the symbol of an eight-pointed star.
URUK, known as the city of origin
The Ziz was also a metaphor for air and space, as Behemoth was for the earth and Leviathan for water.
Recent interpretations of Ziz include Rayquaza, the Pokémon. In this view, he is considered a guardian of all life and serves as an intermediary between Behemoth and Leviathan to stop their fight.
1. In the Bible Ziz (Ps. 50:11; 80:14)
Anzu is hinted at in the double mention of Ziz in the Psalms. In Psalm 50, God refutes the anthropomorphic notion that he relies on sacrifices to sustain him, in language reminiscent of prophetic reproach. 26 His pronouncement is couched in the first person by a double chistic parallel (vv. 10-11), followed by a declarative sentence and a rhetorical question.
The construction expression Ziz appears only in these two passages. The nomen regens aday is a poetic form of the word that generally means “open country, field” here, probably to be translated “mountain, hill.” However, the meaning of the nomen rectum, ziz, and consequently the unique construction, requires consideration.
Ziz is explained in both cases by most modern commentators as “everything that moves in the field.” This translation follows an etymological interpretation. From the noun ziz based on the verb zwz “to move,” first attested in the words of the medieval commentator Rashi: “and Ziz is mine: the creeping insects of the field; ziz, because they move from one place to another.”
Although Rashi does not reveal his sources, he was most likely familiar with the rabbinic Hebrew word zwz: grouped with other words meaning “flies.” Originally, ziz seems to be an onomatopoeic word like bwbz “to fly,” alluding to the buzzing sound made by flying insects, referring by semantic extension to other non-buzzing traces.
Insects in Rabbinic Hebrew. This ziz is perhaps related to the Akkadian zizanu / sisanu, meaning “locust.” Consequently, the biblical ziz and ay were explained as a general name for field insects.
This explanation may fit the context, but it does not reflect the full scope of the original meaning of the verses. In accordance with the development of the character of ziz in rabbinic sources, and in light of analogous mythical traditions such as Leviathan and Behemoth, it is preferable to understand ziz as alluding to a sinister, Anzu-like mythological bird.
2. Ziz in classical rabbinic literature.
Although they must have been aware of the meaning of “worm,” “insect,” rabbinic sources offer a very different context for the biblical ziz.
It represents a mythological creature
Rabbi Johanan in the name of Rabbi Jonathan said: “Instead of what I have forbidden you, I have permitted you. Instead of certain fish, Leviathan. Instead of certain birds, Ziz.
This is one of those about which it is written: ‘I know every bird in the mountains, and Ziz belongs to them. According to this aggressive tradition, Ziz is a proper name, denoting a specific legendary creature, a giant bird that plays a role parallel to that of Leviathan and Behemoth.
The name is explained as derived from the variety of its tastes. The same tradition is also reflected in another aggressive source, an episode from a series of fantastic fish tales.
Tales from the Talmud, which emphasizes its cosmic dimensions
Rabbah b. Bar Hanna later recounted: Once we were traveling aboard a ship and saw a bird
Standing ankle-deep in the water while its head reached the sky. We thought the water was not deep and wanted to go down and refresh ourselves, but a Bath Kol (divine voice, lower degree of prophecy) cried out: “Do not go there, for a carpenter’s axe was dropped into this water seven years ago and has not yet reached the bottom.” Ashi said:
That bird was Ziz the day is written: And Ziz the day is with me. Here Ziz appears as a cosmic bird; its feet embedded in the foundations of the earth, its head reaching the sky.
In various rabbinical sources, the giant bird Ziz is grouped together with two other famous legendary giant creatures: Leviathan, the water monster, and Behemoth, the land beast. Ziz personifies the third kingdom: the sky, and together the three represent the complete living environment: water, earth, and air.
The affinity is not only in their gigantic size but also in their shared destiny. The three creatures will serve as the main course at the messianic banquet for the righteous in the world to come.
This motif is taken up by the ancient text written in Israel in the fifth century BC: Then he will show you three consolations. Ziz and Leviathan and Behemoth. Ziz feeds them with all kinds of delicacies. He spreads his wings powerfully and dims the lights to the depths.
