The Purity of Kingship An Edition of CTH 569 and Related Hittite Oracle Inquiries of Tutẖaliya IV.

The focus of this work is the importance of mental and physical purity in religious matters. For the Hittites, religious matters come close to daily life, and in this case the 'daily life' of the King of the Hittites is the subject of study. In the unique group of texts brought together here for the first time, the Great King himself (the person nearest to the gods) was felt contaminated. Professor Van Den Hout investigates the fascinating rituals and background connected with this situation.