#illuyanka

Race: Dragon

Arcana: World

Alignment: Light-Chaos

August 12th, 2024

This one is for me, dammit. Illuyanka carried me through SMT IV.

Dragons and mythology go hand-in-hand (or maybe hand-in-wing) in many different cultures. I'm not sure what made the idea of a giant serpent so common across so many cultures throughout the world, but they were everywhere, once upon a time, in many different shapes and forms. Unfortunately, much like in Dark Souls, this phenomenon ended up dying out, but we have some fascinating stories connected to it throughout history due to this odd fascination ancient humans had with snakes. Of course, there are many examples of this throughout the world, but for today's Demon Spotlight, I want to focus on Hittite mythology's odd, half-alive dragon, Illuyanka. Trust me, it'll make sense when we get to it.

I am, admittedly, not very knowledgeable on this subject, but Hittite mythology is mostly adapted from a group they conquered, the Hurrians, with several deities throughout being separate incarnations of said Hurrian gods. Due to this, some of the cuneiform tablets referenced in the ultimate collection of said tablets, Catalogue des textes hittites, have different incarnations and stories to tell despite having similar figures in said stories. This leads to an odd branching timeline effect, sort of like different canons, where stories may have separate outcomes depending on the tablet selected. I'm not sure if this was as a result of the adaptation of the Hurrian stories not translating well to the Hittite's pre-established mythos or if they basically went "Nah, I'd win" with their own characters, but it makes for a very strange read with Illuyanka in specific.

This snake experiences a severe case of this in the fable of its battle with the Hittite god of storms, Tarḫunna, (Though it might've also been Tarḫunz? I'm genuinely not sure, as the Wikipedia article refers to Tarḫunz, who appears to have been a god of the Luwians. Another case of Wikipedia being unreliable, I guess) in which, depending on the tablet, it faces two punishments. Each one describes differing variations of the same general tale, though, that of the storm god and Illuyanka, an immensely powerful monster that matched with the god in strength. At least from what I can tell, the battle's beginning has not been given any explanation- they just began duking it out, I guess. Their first duel ended when, in the first tablet, the dragon simply defeats him. To quote,

When the Stonn-god and the serpent came to grips in (the town of) KiskiluMa, the serpent smote the Stonn-god.

In the second tablet, though, it's said that the Storm God was beaten so badly he had an eye torn out, as well as his heart, and both were taken as trophies by Illuyanka. In both tales, though, they end up consorting with other gods for assistance. In the first, he ends up striking a deal with the goddess Inaras, who ends up getting the dragon extremely drunk and filled with food before summoning the rest of the gods to kill him. In the second, the now-dead god ends up possessing a mortal and marrying the daughter of a poor man. After the two got married and had children, he ensured a gift of prophecy on his son to go retrieve his eye and heart from Illuyanka, to which the kid did it without much fuss.

Now back at his full power, the Storm God has a long-awaited rematch with the big ole' snake, and ends up defeating it. However, just as he was to land the killing blow, his son appeared, upset about being used by his father, and the kid demanded that the god take his own life. Teshub, the Hurrian storm god who is the one described in this tale, (likely insinuating that this was the older version of said tale,) didn't really care, and ended up killing both the dragon and his son. All in a day's work, I guess. Teshub was a prick, who knew? Either way, though, the fearsome power of the dragon in both of these stories cannot go understated- Illuyanka was a powerful enough serpent to match up with, and even kill, a deity!

This myth also plays into an odd theme that I've noticed throughout a lot of mythology- what is it with storm gods fighting dragons? Thor vs Jormungandr, Zeus vs Typhon, Susanoo vs Orochi, and now this. It's an oddly recurring theme, and I don't really have much of an answer past 'I'unno.' Still, this is one of the oldest versions of said story we have on hand at this point, and a rather interesting and unique one at that. It may have been the metaphorical progenitor of all of those other stories of storm gods killing giant snakes.

Smaugust Batch 2! Featuring more “traditional” dragons with a variety of different personalities and “jobs” within my setting of Pantheons

The Red Dragon of Wales: A Heroic defender of the kingdom of Avalon (which, in this setting, is a representing the Arthurian Legends from The British Isles, France and Iberia).

The Cuelebre: A former raiding and treasure hoarding dragon, who figured out you can get more money if you give mortals something they want and provide good service. How? Turn your dragon lair into a pub. Quite the shrewd greedy dragon.

Illuyanka: Hittite Mythology’s great serpent. He talks a big game, but after getting beaten by Tarhunz, the sky god. Beaten essentially at his own game, his self confidence has essentially been shot and has essentially become a coward, high-tailing any fight where things go south.

Name: Illuyaka

Type: Mythical

Culture of Origin: Hittite

Description: A massive serpent

Myth: There are two versions of the fight between Illuyanka and the Storm god.

In the first version, the dragon wins the initial fight, and the Storm God is forced to go to his daughter for help. She gains the help of a mortal hero by promising to sleep with him, and the hero helps the gods drug and bind the dragon, at which point the Storm God slays Illuyanka.

In the second version, Illuyanka takes the heart and eyes of the Storm God, robbing him of his power. Here the Storm God’s son marries Illuyanka’s daughter and retrieves the parts for his father, who then slays the dragon and his household, including his son (who felt guilty for betraying his Father-In-Law.)

Facts:

Illuyanka is a clear example of the Chaoskampf motif, where a Storm God kills a serpent or dragon representative of the sea, chaos, or both.

Illuyanka’s story shares many similarities with the myths about Zeus’ battle with Typhon (another Chaoskampf example). The former has the god receiving help from mortals, just as some of the Greek narratives have Cadmus or Heracles helping the gods, while the latter has the god being robbed of essential body parts, and his power along with them, just as Typhon had stolen Zeus’ sinews.