Gulyás Katalin et al. (szerk.): Tisicum. A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok megyei Múzeumok évkönyve 27. (Szolnok, 2019)
A Közel-Kelet régészete - Ftaimi Tiffany: Tho unitod Storm God posturo on tho Noo Hitito artworks
TISICUM XXVII. In comparison with the Storm God stela C, the bull and guilloche are both absent. However, the winged disc appears above the deity's head. The main component of the scene is similarly depicted on other smiting Storm God stelae in Til Barsib, although in a coarser style.27 To the north-west of Tell Ahmar, a similar stela has been found in Karaçay Köy. In this stela the smiting Storm God scene is repeated, though it is dated to the late 8th century BC.28 The smiting Storm God figure occurs frequently on other stelae, which were found in different sites in Anatolia. On these stelae, the bull and the guilloche motif are certainly absent. On several stelae and orthostats, the deity wears a shirt, short skirt and a horned helmet. His weapons are a sword and axe, and he holds a lightning fork in his left hand. As on the stela (fig. 3-4), which shows a standing Storm God. The deity wears a short shirt with a belt. He holds a triple lightning fork in his left hand and an axe in his right hand. He wears the typical Neo-Hittite horned helmet, and there is a sword on his left side. This stela was found in Babylon. This is interesting, as it demonstrates the Neo-Hittite artform because of the beard and the long pigtail that has curly endings. It is dated to late 10th-early 9th century BC.29 Fig. 3. The front side of the stela from Babylon (Istanbul Archaeology Museums 2015) Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi. 27 ORTHMANN, Winfried 1971.46. 28 BUNNENS, Guy 2006.35-36. 29 Ibid. 113. Fig. 4. The back side of the stela from Babylon. (Istanbul Archaeology Museums 2015) Photo: Tiffany Ftaimi. In comparison with the Storm Gods representations in Zincirli, Til Barsip and Carchemish, there were some differences in the deity's figure.30 Thureau-Dangin emphasizes that the stela is originally from Syria.31 The inscription mentions the Storm God of Aleppo. In addition to other votive offerings, this attests that it was displaced from Aleppo.32 Bunnens observes that it is closer in style to the reliefs of Carchemish more than the orthostats discovered in the Citadel of Aleppo.33 It could stem from a nearby site of Aleppo. As it has been mentioned above, that the Storm God obviously appeared in one posture on the Neo-Hittite sculptures. His importance in the deities' pantheon played a big role in this unity. During this period, the deity was represented mostly anthropomorphic with an ax and the lightning fork as his objects and with a bull as his anttribute animal. On the other hand, there is no evidence for his symbolic representation on the Neo-Hittite sculptures. Taking this absence into consideration, the Neo-Hittites might focused only on the anthropomorphic depection of the Storm God and tried to depict their main deity in one and same posture in all artworks. 30 ORTHMANN, Winfried 1971.131. 31 THUREAU-DANGIN, François 1936.134. 32 ORTHMANN, Winfried 1971.131. 33 BUNNENS, Guy 2006.113. 124
