. But his most familiar form is the
bearded and thick-set mountaineer, armed with a ponderous thunder
hammer, a flashing trident, and a long two-edged sword with a
hemispherical knob on the hilt, which dangles from his belt, while an
antelope or goat wearing a pointed tiara prances beside him. This
deity is identical with bluff, impetuous Thor of northern Europe,
Indra of the Himalayas, Tarku of Phrygia, and Teshup or Teshub of
Armenia and northern Mesopotamia, Sandan, the Hercules of Cilicia,
Adad or Hadad of Amurru and Assyria, and Ramman, who at an early
period penetrated Akkad and Sumer in various forms. His Hittite name
is uncertain, but in the time of Rameses II he was identified with
Sutekh (Set). He passed into southern Europe as Zeus, and became "the
lord" of the deities of the Aegean and Crete.

The Hittites who entered Babylon about 1800 B.C., and overthrew the
last king of the Hammurabi Dynasty, may have been plundering raiders,
like the European Gauls of a later age, or a well-organized force of a
strong, consolidated power, which endured for a period of uncertain
duration. They were probably the latter, for although they carried off
Merodach and Zerpanitu^m, these idols were not thrust into the melting
pot, but retained apparently for political reasons.

These early Hittites are "a people of the mist". More than once in
ancient history casual reference is made to them; but on most of these
occasions they soon vanish suddenly behind their northern mountains.
The explanation appears to be that at various periods great leaders
arose who were able to weld together the various tribes, and make
their presence felt in Western Asia. But when once the organization
broke down, either on account of internal rivalries or the influence
of an outside power, they lapsed back again into a state of political
insignificance in the affairs of the ancient world. It is possible
that about 1800 B.C. the Hittite confederacy was controlled by an
ambitious king who had dreams of a great empire, and was accordingly
pursuing a career of conquest.

Judging from what we know of the northern worshippers of the hammer
god in later times, it would appear that when they were referred to as
the Hatti or Khatti, the tribe of that name was the dominating power
in Asia Minor and north Syria. The Hatti are usually identified with
the broad-headed mountaineers of Alpine or Armenoid type--the
ancestors of the modern Armenians. Their ancient c