Recherches sur les Noms des Dieux Hittites
Paris: Librairie Orientale et Américaine G.-P. Maisonneuve, 1947. First edition. Paperback. Quarto. 139, [3]pp. Uncut. Original printed wrappers. Previous owner's name (Herbert H. Paper*) on half-title. This outstanding university theses sheds a new light on Hittite gods, a subject still largely ignored by the public. The understanding of Hittite mythology depends on readings of surviving stone carvings, deciphering of the iconology represented in seal stones, interpreting ground plans of temples: additionally, there are a few images of deities, for the Hittites often worshipped their gods through Huwasi stones, which represented deities and were treated as sacred objects. Gods were often depicted standing on the backs of their respective beasts, or may have been identifiable in their animal form.The Hittites referred to their own "thousand gods", of whom a staggering number appear in inscriptions but remain nothing more than names today. This multiplicity has been ascribed to a Hittite resistance to syncretization. Spine and edges of wrappers sunned. Text in French. Wrappers in overall good- to good, interior in good+ to very good condition. g. Item #35257
*Dr. Herbert Harry Paper (1925-2012) was Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and near Eastern Languages, and the Editor of the Hebrew Union College Annual, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati. He received a doctorate from the University of Chicago. Dr. Paper taught at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and joined HUC-JIR as the Dean of Graduate Studies. His specialties were Persian studies, concentrating on the history of the Persian language and on the ancient languages of Iran, and Yiddish literature.
Price: $95.00