Lighting Up the Deity

Abstract

This essay examines the use of red wool combined with scented oil in Hittite evocation rituals. Building on Haas’s earlier work, it proposes that the wool was soaked in oil to enhance its sheen, a process that, within the framework of analogical magic, served to intensify the gods’ radiance and thereby revitalize them. It further argues that this rutilant piece of wool should be identified with another key device used in evocation rituals, the uliḫi- , which would have been attached to the head of the divine image, manifesting the radiant aura of the newly “activated” deity. Finally, the essay considers the broader role of radiance in Hittite religion, offering a new perspective on the use of red wool and scented oil in Hittite rituals.