Ḫepat (Hurrian: 𒀭𒄭𒁁, dḫe-pát; also romanized as Ḫebat;[2] Ugaritic 𐎃𐎁𐎚, ḫbt[3]) was a goddess associated with Aleppo, originally worshiped in the north of modern Syria in the third millennium BCE.

In Hittite sources, she could sometimes be recognized as the counterpart of the Sun goddess of Arinna, though their respective roles were distinct and most likely this theological conception only had limited recognition.

She was also incorporated into Hittite and Luwian religion through Hurrian mediation, and as a result continued to be worshiped in the first millennium BCE in states such as Tabal and Samʾal.

[8] Examples include the names of Mittani princesses Kelu-Ḫepa and Tadu-Ḫepa,[9] Hittite queen Puduḫepa[10] and Abdi-Heba ("servant of Ḫepat"), a ruler of Jerusalem known from the Amarna correspondence.

[12] According to Alfonso Archi, the theonym dḫa-a-ba-du (/ḫalabāytu/) known from Eblaite texts can be considered an early form of Ḫepat's name and indicates it should be interpreted as a nisba, "she of Ḫalab (Aleppo)".

[17] Doubts about the validity of both etymological proposals have been expressed by Daniel Schwemer [de], though he also supports interpreting the Eblaite goddess as an early form of Ḫepat.

[19] In early scholarship attempts have been made to show a linguistic connection between the theonym Ḫepat and the biblical given name Ḥawwat (Eve),[8] but as stressed by Daniel E. Fleming they are phonologically dissimilar.

[26] While this aspect of her character is only directly documented in texts from Hattusa, Thomas Richter argues that it might have already been known in Syria in the Old Babylonian period, as she was invoked particularly commonly in Hurrian theophoric names attributing the birth of a child to the help of a specific deity, one example being Uru-Ḫepa, "Ḫepat let the girl exist".

[37] Schwemer suggests that Ḫepat might have nonetheless been recognized as his spouse in the Mesopotamian kingdom of Mari, though he admits there is no evidence that she was worshiped in the local temple dedicated to him.

[43] In Tabal in the eighth century BCE Ḫepat was paired with the Luwian weather god Tarḫunz,[44] which reflected the development of a new tradition presumably dependent on considering him analogous to Teshub.

[46] In Hurrian sources various deities were included in the kaluti, or offering lists, dedicated to Ḫepat, and as such formed a part of her circle: her son Šarruma, her two daughters Allanzu and Kunzišalli, Takitu, Hutena and Hutellura, Allani, Ishara, Shalash, Damkina, (Umbu-)Nikkal, Ayu-Ikalti, Šauška (alongside her servants Ninatta and Kulitta), Nabarbi, Shuwala, Adamma, Kubaba, Hašuntarḫi, Uršui-Iškalli, Tiyabenti, as well as "ancestors of Ḫepat"[b] and various cultic paraphernalia connected with her.

[48] A similar group of deities follows Ḫepat and her family on the reliefs from the Yazılıkaya sanctuary: Takitu, Hutena and Hutellura, Allani, Ishara, Nabarbi, Shalash, Damkina, Nikkal, Aya, Šauška and Shuwala are identified by name in accompanying inscriptions, while six other goddesses are left unnamed.

[60] In Aleppo during the existence of the kingdom of Yamhad Ḫepat seemingly belonged to the circle of deities associated with Dagan, presumably due to her connection to his son, Adad.

[69] A local ruler, one of the possible members of a dynasty which ruled in the city in the twentieth century BCE, was named Igriš-Ḫeba (ig-ri-iš-ḪI-IB, with the last two signs read as ḫe-ebax).

[72] In one of the texts from Mari from the same period, a letter to Zimri-Lim, she is mentioned alongside Dagan and Shalash in an account of the pagrā’um, a mourning ceremony combined with the offering of sacrificial animals to deities, which in this case was held in honor of king Sumu-Epuh of Yamhad by his successor Hammurapi in the royal palace in Aleppo.

[72] Five examples are however attested in texts from Alalakh documenting the period when the city was under the control of the kingdom of Yamhad: Ḫebat-allani, Ḫebat-DINGIR (reading of the second element is uncertain), Ḫebat-muhirni, Ḫebat-ubarra and Ummu-Ḫebat.

[81] The use of such objects is documented in texts from Ugarit, Mari and Ebla as well, and it is presumed it was a distinct feature of religious practice in ancient Syria from the third millennium BCE to the end of the Bronze Age.

[91] RS 24.291, a bilingual text dealing with another ritual, which was focused on the bed of Pidray,[92] prescribes offering a single ram to Ḫepat during the first day of the celebrations, and two of the same animal and then separately a cow on the second.

[100] She is mentioned for the first time in Hittite sources in an account of Ḫattušili I's expedition against Ḫaššum, during which he seized the statues of deities worshiped in this Hurrian polity, among them this goddess, as well as Lelluri, Allatum, Adalur and the god of Aleppo [de].

[8] In later times she and Teshub were the two main deities in the dynastic pantheon which according to Piotr Taracha [de] first developed when a new dynasty originating in Kizzuwatna came to reign over the Hittite Empire.

[105] She is also attested in the Egyptian version of the treaty between the Hittite Empire and Egypt,[106] presumably originally compiled when peace was established in 1259 BCE (twenty first year of Ramesses II's reign), following earlier hostilities which led to the battle of Kadesh.

[100] She is depicted standing on the back of a leopard and accompanied by her children (Šarruma, Allanzu and Kunzišalli) on the central relief of the nearby Yazılıkaya sanctuary, which was dedicated to the worship of deities of Hurrian origin.

[49] Alongside Teshub Ḫepat formed the main pair in the local pantheon of Šapinuwa, where Hurrian deities were introduced in the beginning of the reign of Tudhaliya III, when the king temporarily resided there during a period of political turmoil.

[111] During the reign of Tudḫaliya IV, she was worshiped alongside other deities associated with Teshub during a section of the AN.TAḪ.ŠUM [de] taking place in the local temple of Kataḫḫa.

[113] Ḫepat was also worshiped by the Luwians, initially as a result of Teshub displacing the native storm god Tarḫunz in the pantheons of their easternmost communities.

[118] It is possible that Hipta (Ἵπτα[119]), a goddess regarded as the consort of Sabazios and attested in four Greek inscriptions from Katakekaumene, a region located in historical Lydia, was a late form of Ḫepat.

[123] Rosa García-Gasco additionally argues that Mystis from Nonnus' Dionysiaca can be considered analogous to Hipta, and that while he did not invent this name, he was the first to apply it to a preexisting Orphic figure.

[125] René Lebrun has proposed that an indirect connection might have existed between Ḫepat and Ma,[126] a deity worshiped in classical Comana, commonly assumed to correspond to Bronze Age Kummanni.

[130] In Hurrian myths belonging to the so-called Kumarbi Cycle, which deal with the struggle over kingship among the gods between the eponymous figure and his son Teshub, Ḫepat appears as one of the allies of the latter.

[131] She is mentioned in passing in the Song of Ḫedammu when Ea warns Teshub that if the conflict between him and Kumarbi continues, the gods' human followers might be harmed, which would lead to him, Ḫepat and Šauška having to work to provide themselves with food.