The Sun Goddess of the Earth is a chthonic aspect or variation of the Sun Goddess of Arinna. The Sun Goddess of the Earth equates with Hittite Lelwani, who rules the Old Gods in the Underworld; Babylonian & Mesopotamian Goddess Ereshkigal; and Hurrian Underworld Goddess Allani.
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Belief the sun goes into the Earth at sundown gives her the name Sun Goddess of the Earth. She travels through the Earth, synonymous for Underworld, to appear in the east, the new day.
She may have heralds, such as the Goddess of Dawn, a powerful entity in her own right. The morning star & evening star, celestial representations of planet Venus, mark the coming of dawn and the end of the day.
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In her Underword aspect she lives in a luxurious palace attended by servants and viziers. Her sons are the Weather God of Nerik (by the Hittite God of War) and the Weather God of Zippalanda (by the Weather God of the Heavens) named after their tutelary towns.
The Sun Goddess of the Earth opens doors to the Underworld. Her connection is one of healing and harmony. The Hittites don't specifically see the Underworld as a bad place. It's just where the soul or spirit goes after death.
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However in some regions, such as the Babylonian Mesopotamian, the spirits have nothing to eat but dry dust. Their descendents must pour libations into the ancestor's grave so the person can drink. This eventually gives rise to grave goods, ornate tombs, ziggurats, pyramids and cities of the Dead or necropoli.
In Anatolia the Sun Goddess of the Earth is primarily worshipped in Ankuwa, Nerik, and Zippalanda. People of Kizzuwatna also pay her homage. She has the power to cleanse all evil, impurity and sickness from the Earth.
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Her male equivalent is the Luwian Sun God of the Earth, the chthonic form of the Hittite Sun God of Heaven. His influence is limited. Meanwhile, the Sun God of Heaven is the second most worshipped deity of the Hittite Empire, after the Sun Goddess of Arinna.
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