Kiaše (Kiashe, Kiaže or Kiyaši) is the Hurrian Sea God. The name of Kiaše means 'sea'. He controls floods, tides, currents and storms at sea. His daughter is a giantess who's often named as the mother of rock monster Ullikummi.
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In the ancient world the Hurrians, a warrior people, extend their empire over Mesopotamia (Iraq), Syria and Anatolia (Turkey). Sea God Kiashe is an ally of the notorious primal God Kumarbi. Affiliated with Kumarbi he's also an enemy of brother and sister weather god Teshub and Shaushka the Great Goddess.
The Hurrians first appear in northern Syria in the 4th millennium BCE, founding a kingdom at Urkesh, of which Kumarbi is patron deity. In Anatolia (Turkey) their kingdom is Mitanni, including parts of Syria. They're bordered by the growing Hittite Empire to the northwest.
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Of the Hurrian gods, many find their way into the pantheons of Anatolia and Syria, especially the rich trade city-kingdom Ugarit, formerly part of the Hurrian Empire.
The sea god Kiashe is one of them. In the 15th century BCE the Hurrian Empire borders on the Aegean Sea.
They're at the height of their power with the kingdom Mitanni (1500 - 1360 BCE). Even when the Hurrians no longer have the vast coast of the Mediterranean sea at their doorstep, worship of Kiashe continues. He becomes god of fresh waters as well as the sea.
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The Ugaritic equivalent of Kiashe is the sea god Yam, also an ally of the ancient Kumarbi. The name of his Hittite equivalent, Aruna, means 'sea'. Primordial Aruna is an elemental who embodies powers of a god. He has no specific temples or cults of worship.
Kiashe has one daughter, Šertapšuruḫi, who's suggested as the possible mother for the rock monster Ullikummi. Šertapšuruḫi is described as a giantess or woman of immense size, and 'sweet as cream'.
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She's known to be the mother of the destructive sea dragon Ḫedammu, with Kumarbi as father. The monster is later seduced and slain by Shaushka or Inanna. In Inanna's version she seduces him and gives birth to all snakes.
Sea worship is recorded in Hurrian texts from Hattusa (Hittite capital) and Ugarit. The deified sea is worshipped in Ugarit, and within the Hurrian empire. The exception is Mesopotamia, whose water God is Enki.
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Both Hurrian Sea God Kiaše and Ugaritic Yam appear in god lists. In ritual texts they're actively worshipped deities during the Bronze Age. They control the fates of sailors and all those who travel across the waters.
A Hurrian hymn to Teshub from Halab (modern Aleppo) includes Kiaše among deities regularly invoked. Another ritual text puts him alongside deified kings.
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He's associated with the mountain gods Ḫazzi and Namni, and involved in a myth relating to Mount Hazzi (Saphon). The mountain is also the legendary site of the battle between Canaanite Creator God Baal and the Sea God Yam.
Goddess Shaushka drives a wedge into the alliance of Kiashe and Kumarbi. Although Kiashe is sworn to silence about the monster Ullikummi, a sea wave brings the news to Shaushka. She tells Teshub, who calls up his battle powers.
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The Ullikummi incident weakens the alliance of Kiashe and Kumarbi, with Kumarbi blaming Kiashe for the outcome. Kiashe does not understand the anger of Kumarbi. The sukkals Impaluri and Mukišanu, sukkal of Kumarbi, act in diplomatic roles to keep the peace.
Another Hurrian myth of the sea, possibly with Egyptian influences, tells of a great flood caused by the Sea. The Sea reaches the heavens and demands tribute of gold, silver and lapis lazuli from the gods. The Goddess who brings the tribute to the sea is the "Queen of Nineveh," Shaushka.
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In the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, the eponymous hero bows down to the sea and is cursed in return. This tale survives through ages, translated into Akkadian and other languages.
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