Alalu

Alalu is god in Hurrian mythology. He is considered to have housed the divine family, because he was a progenitor of the gods, and possibly the father of Earth.[1][2][3]

Etymology

The name "Alalu" was borrowed from Semitic mythology and is a compound word made up of the Semitic definite article al and the Semitic deity Alû. The -u at the end of the word is an inflectional ending; thus, Alalu may also occur as Alali or Alala depending on the position of the word in the sentence. He was identified by the Greeks as Hypsistos. He was also called Alalus.

Myth

Alalu was a primeval deity of the Hurrian mythology. After nine years of reign, Alalu was defeated by Anu. Alaluʻs son Kumarbi also defeated Anu, biting and swallowing his genitals, hence becoming pregnant of three gods, among which Teshub who eventually defeated him.[4][5]

Scholars have pointed out the similarities between the Hurrian myth and the story from Greek mythology of Uranus, Cronus, and Zeus.[6]

Alalu fled to the underworld.

Family tree of Alalu
Family tree of Alalu
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See also

References
  1. Sabatino Moscati, Face of the Ancient Orient, 2001. Page 174. "The first, called 'Kingship in Heaven', tells how this kingship passes from Alalu to Anu... was king in heaven, Alalu was seated on the throne and the mighty Anu, first among the gods..."
  2. Sabatino Moscati, The World of the Phoenicians, 1968, (Phoenix Giant).
  3. Sergio Ribichini, Beliefs and Religious Life in Sabatino Moscati, The Phoenicians, (1997)
  4. Trevor Bryce, Life and Society in The Hittite World, Oxford University Press, 2002, pg 222ff.
  5. David Hopkins, ed. Across the Anatolian Plateau: Readings in the Archaeology of Ancient Turkey. American Schools of Oriental Research: 2001. pg. 112.
  6. M.L. West, Hesiod Theogony (1966:18-31; G.S. Kirk, Myth: Its Meaning and Function in Ancient and Other Cultures (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1970:214-20.
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