Dancing Deity

This carved ivory from Temple VII at Boğazköy presents an unusual image of a warlike divinity. The figure wears the horned crown, a characteristic attribute of Mesopotamian deities, above an elaborate hairstyle that frames his face with two long curls ending in spiral locks that rest on the chest. A triple-strand necklace is visible between curls. A kilt is wrapped tightly about the body, and a dagger is tucked sideways in an elaborate belt. Although the limbs are damaged, enough of the vigorously twisting legs remains to suggest the figure is dancing. The left elbow is bent, either as part of the dance or perhaps in the act of raising a weapon. Holes in the irises suggest that the eyes were originally inlaid, giving a more power to the stern expression. The short kilt indicates an Anatolian milieu, but the horned crown differs from the headgears generally worn by Hittite gods and points instead to this deity’s origin in Mesopotamia.