Rituals for the Purification of Places

A recent publication concerning The Ritual for the purification of a House, CTH 446, in its new edition offers the clue for numerous considerations on the composite tradition of the Hittite magic texts dedicated to the purification of places. This short article focuses on certain aspects such as the role of the performers of those practices and their relationship with the deities involved in the removal of impurity. Finally, it takes into consideration the term ešḫar, “blood” and “bloodshed”, inserted in lists of calamities mentioned in several purification rituals as a way to embed all the possible reasons of pollution that may affect the patient, whether a human being, a deity, or a place.