The First Day of the AN.TAḪ.ŠUM-Festival

The study proposes a revaluation of the sources dealing with the first days of the great Hittite spring AN.TAḫ.ŠUM-festival. It offers a close comparison of the so-called outline-tablets, which present a brief but essential overview of the entire festival, with the tablets that provide detailed descriptions of individuals days. Through an in-depth analysis of all the key elements of the celebrations, it is argued that the texts previously thought to represent the second day of the AN.TAḫ.ŠUM are misattributed and in fact depict the initial day of the festival.