Other names Khepat Children Sarruma
Alanzu | Spouse(s) Teshub | |
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Ḫepat, also transcribed, Khepat, was the mother goddess of the Hurrians, known as "the mother of all living". She is also a Queen of the deities.
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Mythical family
Hebat is married to Teshub and is the mother of Sarruma and Alanzu, as well mother-in-law of the daughter of the dragon Illuyanka.
Name derivation
It is thought that Hebat may have had a Southern Mesopotamian origin, being the deification of Kubaba, the founder and first ruler of the Third Dynasty of Kish. The name may be transliterated in different versions - Khepat with the feminine ending -t is primarily the Syrian and Ugaritic version.
In the Hurrian language Ḫepa is the most likely pronunciation of the name of the goddess. In modern literature the sound /h/ in cuneiform sometimes is transliterated as kh.
During Aramaean times Ḫepat also appears to have become identified with the goddess Hawwah, or Eve.
Arinniti
The Hittite sun goddess Arinniti was later assimilated with Hebat. A prayer of Queen Puduhepa makes this explicit: "To the Sun-goddess of Arinna, my lady, the mistress of the Hatti lands, the queen of Heaven and Earth. Sun-goddess of Arinna, thou art Queen of all countries! In the Hatti country thou bearest the name of the Sun-goddess of Arinna; but in the land which thou madest the cedar land thou bearest the name Hebat."
Widespread veneration
Ḫepat was venerated all over the ancient Near East. Her name appears in many theophoric personal names. A king of Jerusalem mentioned in the Amarna letters was named Abdi-Heba, possibly meaning "Servant of Ḫepat".
The mother goddess is likely to have had a later counterpart in the Phrygian goddess Cybele.