Iyarri

Character

Iyarri was associated with plague and war, believed to cause epidemics and invoked to halt their spread. His identification as a war god stems from his portrayal as an armed deity, a text from the reign of Muršili II invoking him as a helper of the king in battle, and his placement in lists of deities near gods designated by the Sumerogram ZABABA. In some cases, his own name may have been represented by that logogram, such as in a text from Katapa from the final years of Muršili II's reign, where the deity appears alongside Šanta and the Sun goddess of the Earth.

An anonymous war god worshiped in Ḫubešna has tentatively been identified as Iyarri. His attributes were a bow and arrows, and he could be called the "lord of the bow." A ritual against an illness that afflicted the Hittite army mentions his weapons in relation to his role as a plague god; his arrows were believed to bring plague, and he could be convinced to attack enemies instead of Hatti's inhabitants. Iyarri was also associated with dogs, and a single text mentions him riding on a lion.

Evidence for his gender is inconsistent: a male depiction is typical, but a single text, a dream omen, describes a female Iyarri as a woman in a head scarf. Some have questioned whether this text accurately reflects contemporary practice, though one scholar argues such an approach is not tenable.

Associations with other deities

Iyarri was sometimes paired with Šanta, a god of similar character, and both could be invoked alongside the Marwainzi, "dark ones," also known under the Hittite name Markuwaya or represented by the logogram dIMIN.IMIN.BI. In treaties from the reign of Šuppiluliuma I, Iyarri appears alongside Zappana, another plague god. No other deities are known to belong to his circle. The name and character of Iyarri resemble those of the Mesopotamian god Erra; some scholars identify them outright, while others consider it plausible that Iyarri developed under Erra's influence, with the Anatolian theonym possibly derived from the Mesopotamian one.

A connection between Iyarri and Greek Ares has been suggested but remains uncertain. Proponents argue both names go back to an Indo-European root meaning "uproar" or "violence," but this root is only attested in Balto-Slavic languages, and the proposal is not universally accepted. Moreover, if Iyarri developed from Erra, his name would originate in a Semitic language, from the root ḥrr, "to scorch." Another obstacle is that while both are described as war gods, Ares was understood as synonymous with war, not as a helper in battle, and he was not regarded as a plague god.

Worship

The worship of Iyarri is best attested from central Anatolian cities and Luwian-inhabited areas. He is considered a god of Luwian origin who was incorporated into many local Hittite pantheons. He is absent from sources showing Hurrian influence, so even if his origin was foreign, it did not reach Anatolia through Hurrian mediation. Iyarri is one of the best attested deities worshiped by Luwians, comparable in importance to Tarḫunz, Tiwad, Arma, Maliya, Šanta, and Kamrušepa, and appears in texts from the western city of Ištanuwa.

A temple of Iyarri existed in Ḫarrana or Ḫarranašši, where king Arnuwanda I deposited tablets inscribed with oaths from officials of Kinnara. Another temple was located in Guršamašša, where a festival involved a ritual reenactment of a battle between Hatti and the "men of Maša." Iyarri was commonly invoked in oaths, such as in Hittite treaties. In Ura, people drank from a rhyton dedicated to him when taking an oath.

An instructive text from the reign of Tudḫaliya IV mentions preparing three copies of a bronze oath tablet to be presented to Iyarri in Hattusa, Arinna, and Ḫartana. In a ritual from Ḫartana, he is one of three main deities alongside the deified mountain Ziwana and a local weather god. Theophoric names invoking Iyarri combine the theonym with Anatolian language elements, though this does not rule out a foreign origin.