Are there any surviving epics or sagas from the Hittites?

by Ennibrattr

I don't know a lot about them and was wondering if we had any surviving "major" stories or myth cycles from their culture. Is there anything along the lines of Homer, Volsunga Saga, the Heracles stories, Snorri, Ramayana, etc. surviving from their culture?

rosemary85

Yes, certainly, though the surviving remains aren't nearly as substantial as the other examples you mention, and they're much more fragmentary. Here's a good anthology.

The most substantial ones, and probably the most interesting, are the Hurro-Hittite "Kumarbi cycle" and "song of Ullikummi", both of which give Hittite renderings of Hurrian versions of the succession myth -- one primordial god is usurped by another, who in turn is usurped by the god who is now ruler of the universe -- which can be seen in some other mythologies in the Near East and Greece, especially the Babylonian Enuma elish. The other really important one -- though again, it doesn't survive intact enough to appreciate it fully -- is the "song of release", a Hittite epic based on a Hurrian story, where both mortals and gods play a role in a way comparable to the Iliad, and which revolves around the destruction of the city of Ebla in Syria.

All the relevant source materials are given in the book linked in my first paragraph. The interpretation of Hurrian is still a work in progress, so bear that in mind when trying to read these rather esoteric texts.