The Wolf and The Wolf-Men in Hittite Culture

Animals use a nonverbal communication, and they are assigned many various features in the semantic world of humans. Hittite texts often mention animals as well as their characteristics and use various expressions or similes that allow them to convey the emotions or describe particular situations. For the Hittites, husbandry was not just an economic activity. The meanings ascribed to both domesticated and wild animals have also been effective in shaping their culture. Animals were not only a source of food but also many gods were conceived in form of specific animals. Therefore, it is possible to single out some inferences about the Hittite culture by examining the texts in terms of animal symbolism. This study aims to investigate the symbolic and non-symbolic expressions of the wolf (UR.BAR.RA) in the texts and the place of the Wolf-men ((UR)-U-LU.MES.BAR.RA) in Hittite cult.