Iyarri

Iyarri, also known as Yarri, was a god worshiped by Hittites and Luwians in Anatolia in the Bronze Age. He was associated with plague and war, and was portrayed as an archer whose arrows inflicted people with illnesses. While it is generally assumed that Iyarri was male, a female form of this deity is mentioned in a single text. It has been proposed that Iyarri might have developed from the Mesopotamian god Erra, or that he was influenced by him. A different proposal considers his name a cognate of that of Greek Ares, though the evidence in favor of this view is not conclusive.

Evidence of the worship of Iyarri in Hittite religion and Luwian religion comes mostly from central Anatolia, and includes documents such as oath formulas, treaties and descriptions of rituals. Temples dedicated to him existed in Ḫarranašši and Guršamašša. He is also attested in a number of theophoric names. References to him postdating the fall of the Hittite Empire are infrequent, and it has been proposed he was eventually replaced by a similar god, Šanta.