Alalu is a primordial Hurrian deity who reigned as the first 'King in Heaven' at the very beginning of divine history, according to the succession myth known as the Kumarbi cycle. After a reign traditionally given as nine years, he was overthrown by the sky god Anu, who was in turn later overthrown by Alalu's own son Kumarbi, continuing the myth's pattern of successive divine kingships. Alalu's brief and defeated reign establishes him as the oldest generation of gods in Hurrian cosmology, a figure of origins rather than an active object of cult.
Facts
Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayHistorically attested; no continuous cult 3 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Function
Domain / Function Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Alalu, Structured Record (Wikidata Q)
3. Hittite Myths, 2nd edition
Harry A. Hoffner Jr. (Gary M. Beckman, ed.), Society of Biblical Literature (Writings from the Ancient World), 1998Alalu, Hurrian Kingship in Heaven mythView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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