Before attempting to answer any of these questions, let us pause to remind ourselves of several fundamental considerations. Recent discoveries have made it clear that in the fourteenth century B.C. the organising centre of the Hatti power—the capital, in short, of the Hittite peoples—was at Boghaz-Keui. So far as we can see, this was the greatest period of the Hittite empire, when their arms were not only contesting the possession of Syria with the Pharaohs, on the one hand, but had penetrated through Lydia to the Ægean on the other. We are prepared to believe that the great sanctuary of Iasily Kaya was also the product of this age, if only from the fact that it is the most imposing monument which has survived. The intimate correspondence, moreover, in the nature and treatment of the chief male figures with those which from their position beyond the Halys must belong to the period of empire, like the sculptures of Kara-Bel and Giaour-Kalesi, points also to this period. We are indeed already prepared in our minds for this suggestion by the clear correspondence of the seal impressed upon the treaty between Hattusil and Rameses the Great with the design of the sculpture in the inner sanctuary described above. Now the constitution of the Hittite power at this period was clearly a confederacy, an alliance of petty states, the traces of which may be found on both sides of the Taurus. The ‘kings’ of those states were the ‘allies’ or vassals of the great king who directed their military operations, and whose seat at this time was at Boghaz-Keui. The archives of the site itself confirm the point, which was already suggested by the Egyptian monuments, and especially from the intrinsic evidence of the treaty (which has now, in view of recent discoveries, become authenticated material for our use).
We have made this digression to establish certain facts, the appreciation of which seems to us fundamental to a right consideration of the problem of the sculptures. Briefly put, these are: that Boghaz-Keui marks the site of the Hittite capital at the time of the greatest Hittite extension (in the xivth and xiiith centuries B.C.); that the constitution of the Hittite power at this time was a confederacy of states from both sides of the Taurus; and that the sanctuary of Iasily Kaya was contemporary with this period. We may expect then to find the national deities most prominent in the sculptures. Again, having due regard to the nature of the states, each ruled by its own king or priest-king, each separated from its neighbour by the broken nature of the country, developing its own customs, ritual, and religion, it is not to be supposed that any common national cult could supplant or greatly change the local worships. The definite history of later times leads us to infer the contrary; and we are again confirmed in this conclusion by the evidence of the treaty, to the sacredness of which the numerous gods of states were called as witness.[562] With some of the states the national deity, or the national word for a deity (Sutekh), is associated; others mention their separate deities by name.
Let us return now to the sculptures. The first two figures on the right hand, the female and the youth who ride the backs of lionesses, are recognised almost unanimously by scholars as prototypes of the great Mother-goddess (MA) of Asia Minor and her Lover-son, identified on the one hand with Cybele and Attis, as with Istar and Tammuz on the other. This identification, while it helps us to conjecture the local attributes of the deities, enables us also to recognise at once the national character of the leaders in the procession, for the cult of the Nature goddess was world-wide. Her association with the lioness is familiar in her many guises, as for instance in Phrygia, where she rides in a lion-drawn car. Doubtless in the Lion-goddess accompanied by the Lion-son there is a reminiscence of some primitive worship, the origins of which perhaps were already lost to view, and which we must seek somewhere in the hilly borders of the Euphrates valley. The Lion pair is followed by the twin deities of the Double Eagle, goddesses both.[563] The significance of the double-headed eagle is unknown. But that there was a local worship associated with the eagle is indicated alike by the discovery at Boghaz-Keui of a sculptured head of this bird, in black stone, larger than natural size,[564] and by a newly deciphered cuneiform fragment from the same site, on which mention is made in ideographic writing of the house or temple of the eagle.[565] That such a cult was general within the circuit of the Halys is suggested by the great monument which now lies prone in a wild spot overlooking the river near to Yamoola,[566] and by various smaller objects. At Eyuk also there is a conspicuous though partly defaced representation of a priest of the Double Eagle, on a sphinx-jamb of the palace gateway,[567] a symbolism which we read to imply that the occupant of the palace was chief priest of the cult. This palace, however, at so short a distance from the capital, probably marks the site of a royal estate rather than an independent kingdom. Now we have already come to the conclusion that the sculptures on the right-hand procession pertain particularly to the locality of Boghaz-Keui, inasmuch as the chief representation of the king-priest is associated with this group. Hence we conclude that, following the images of the national deities on this side (the Mother-goddess and her Son, the Lion deities), there come the images of the local cult of this part of Cappadocia, namely, the twin goddesses of the Double Eagle. The other female figures of this side distinguished by separate symbols represent probably the priestesses of the cults, which may have been to some extent allied; while the continued procession of nameless women recalls to mind the rite of self-dedication practised in the temples of Istar at Babylon.[568]
The left-hand series of sculptures is more complex, but open to explanation in general terms on the same line of argument. The leading figure clearly represents the Father-God (in contraposition to the Mother-Goddess), the Zeus of the Greeks, the Baal of Tarsus, the ‘Sutekh,’ or national deity of the Hittites. This is shown supported upon the shoulders of two priestly attendants, who, like the lions opposite, seem to stand upon the tops of mountains. There is in this detail a lurking reminiscence or absorption of a mountain-cult, which becomes clearer in the two figures which follow. These deities we take to be the local forms of ‘Sutekh’ pertaining to different Hittite states[569] other than Cappadocian; the first is distinguished by the unsheathed sword, the second by a detail of his dress, but both are almost identical with the leader, while both stand upon mountain-tops. It is significant that the peoples whom we suspect from their dress to have descended from the mountains should preserve also in this way the unconscious memory of their ancestral deity. Another figure of like kind follows, but it is the two winged figures that particularly attract our notice.[570] Here in Hittite art we have clearly deities from across the Taurus,[571] claiming place in the ceremony here depicted just as they claim separate mention in the list of Hittite deities in the Egyptian treaty.[572] There follows the image of a priest-king; but whether that of the great king seen on the opposite side, or of a vassal king from beyond the Taurus similarly accompanying his deities, is not determined. The star-like emblem and crescent which he bears must be a clue, if only it could be interpreted. At this point we suspect the list of divine beings gives way to the sacred; but it may be that the gods of minor states (in all cases identified with the great god) continue to occur, accompanied in several cases by their local retinue. Finally there comes the group of moving beings, which alone tells us that the scene which we are looking on is the picture of a rite, and not a mere commemoration of an alliance.
What then is this rite? There is little direct evidence to answer us. In the central group are the images of male and female deities, accompanied by a youth, Nature’s divine Triad. We cannot hope at this stage of our knowledge to penetrate the mystery of the symbolism seen in the mountains, the lions, and the goats. But from what is known of the cult of Cybele in her various forms, and of Attis, her lover-son, whose attributes are distinguished yet identified in the separate cults of Baal and Sandon of Tarsus, there can be little doubt as to the main object of the ceremony.[573] The rejuvenescence of Nature, symbolised by the divine nuptials of the Goddess of Earth with the God of Fertility, is the central motive; and the fruits of the earth are the issue. But though we recognise the nature of the cult, we do not feel justified in presupposing anything but a general resemblance between the local worship and the rites practised elsewhere in later times. That which we do see in this monument is a national religious ceremony of the Hittites, at which the local deities of the chief states, or the divine personages representing them, were present. In this ceremony the image of the national god was borne upon the shoulders of his priests[574] to the shrine of the Mother-Goddess, which was found in the local sanctuary of the capital. The objective was that the earth should be fertile and yield her produce, that the fruits should ripen and the ears of corn grow fat. As to the season when this ceremony took place, there is little suggestion. The spring-time is that which seems to us appropriate; but if the grotesque figures in the left-hand series[575] really stand upon a wine-press, and if the group of men[576] on the same side really hold sickles in their hands, then the harvest-time is indicated. On the other hand, the ceremony may have been seasonal or irregular, or adapted to some great date of the Hittite calendar. Speculation on the point is useless. As to the further nature of the rites we remain likewise in ignorance, realising only the dance or march of the men and the presence of the women, and having only the knowledge which has been handed to us of rites practised at the shrine of the goddess in other places.
If we pass to the inner sanctuary we only find ourselves face to face with new mysteries. The group of figures on the left is clearly a counterpart to those depicted in the outer chamber, suggesting the ceremonies in the act. But on the opposite side the two separate sculptures are of new and independent character. In the one is seen the dirk-deity enfolded in lion-skins; in the other the youthful god, now assuming a greater dignity, embraces the king. It has been suggested, with much apparent reason,[577] that the symbolism may be interpreted to mean that the priest-king or his representative is gently guided by the deity ‘through the valley of the shadow of death’ to sacrifice. But we know of no parallel for such symbolism in Oriental sculptures, and we prefer to see in this inner chamber merely a special sanctuary of the god, with images pertaining to his cult. In the one the king is received as high priest into the presence and embrace of the god. We have already seen that such an action in itself was deemed of so great moment that it formed the subject of the royal signet. Thereby, maybe, the king became invested with sanctity of person; in any case, his privilege of access to the god is recognised. In the other sculpture, in our opinion, we see the god once more, but in another guise, and identified with another cult, which from its widespread vogue and influence must have been almost national—namely, that of a sacred dirk.[578] A first attribute of the kingship, indicating, it would seem, his priestly office, was the guardianship of the sacred dirk, just as one might say ‘Defender of the Faith.’ That such a dirk has some original reference to sacrifice we cannot doubt. Here we find it forming the lower part of a composite divine figure. The face of the deity may be thought to suggest the Son-god: we are tempted to believe in this identification by a somewhat venturesome analogy. For this god is clearly to be identified with the Sandon of Tarsus, Hercules son of Zeus; and in his early character Hercules is represented clad in lion-skins, much as we see the deity before us. Hence it is possible that the sculpture which decorates the wall of the inner sanctuary commemorates some rite of investiture of the king with the insignia of his office as high priest of the god. We see, then, in the inner chamber a separate shrine of the Son-god, to which the king had access, by virtue of his office as high priest. The outer recess we regard as a shrine of the Mother-goddess, adorned on the one side with the symbolism of her cult, and on the other with the representation of the rite we have described. The further consideration of the historical aspect of these sculptures belongs to a later chapter.
V
WALLED TOWNS AND PALACES
Part I.—The Palace and Sculptures of Eyuk.
In the foregoing chapter it has incidentally become apparent that the northern capital arose to greatness as the centre of a military organisation rather than as the geographical or economic focus of a country. The alliance between the states, though seen to us mainly as a confederacy in arms, cannot have been without effect in tending to some extent to unify, if not to nationalise, the local customs and institutions. On the other hand, they were separated in many cases by physical boundaries that must otherwise have fostered and emphasised their natural differences. In passing then to examine such of these minor capitals as have been sufficiently disclosed to us by excavation, it will be a special and constant interest to note how far a common or mutual influence in art and architecture can be traced among their ruins. The result is, on the whole, surprising. We can only single out for comparison one site from Asia Minor and two neighbouring sites in the North of Syria; and though the inquiry is rendered difficult through insufficient chronological material, and the result complicated by the intrusion of other influences more potent on the one side than the other, nevertheless we shall find a correspondence in general features and in some detail which is sufficient at any rate to stamp them as products of the same civilisation, all dominated by a common motive, even though separated by some generations or maybe centuries in point of time.