Kurunta (god)

[2][3] Kurunta was attested as Runti(ya) in the first millennium BC, although there is a possibility that the loss of the initial syllable may have occurred during the time of the Hittite New Kingdom/Empire period.

[12] Archi proposes that the female deity behind the one standing on the stag represents not the wife of Innara/Kurunta as commonly suggested, but his daughter instead.

[4] dKAL in Hittite contexts is usually read as Innara, which could signify any of the tutelary deities, including Kurunta and Inara.

[1] CERVUS was also used to denote gods of similar character to Kurunta, such as Karhuha,[4] the main male deity of Carchemish.

The section concerning the ritual action describes how the tutelary god had to be pleased for the reintegration of hunted wild animals.

Collins believes that the interest Tudhaliya displays for the stag god is due to his vulnerable royal position (his father, Hattusili III, usurped the crown from Urhi-Teshub) and as such, sought to secure as much divine support as possible.

[4] Haas seems to believe that the dLAMMA deity mentioned in the Song of LAMMA (from the Kumarbi Cycle) is Kurunta, or at least a variation of the god.

Rhyton (drinking vessel) in the shape of a deer with an engraving of god Kurunta. Silver with gold inlays. Hittite kingdom, Imperial era. Central Anatolia (now Turkey). 1400-1200 BC. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.