Readıng the Wıll of the Gods ın a Lıver: The Ancıent Hıttıte Art of Dıvınatıon
- Murat Yavuz
- Jun 6
- 4 min read
The renowned Roman statesman, philosopher, and writer Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE) once remarked:
“There is neither a nation nor a king that does not make use of divination.”
What would a Hittite king do before embarking on a major military campaign? And how did ordinary people outside the palace satisfy their irresistible curiosity about the future and what fate had in store for them?
Kings gathered their armies, prepared their chariots, and consulted with their commanders. Yet before any of these preparations, there was a far more important task to fulfill: discovering whether the gods approved of the undertaking.
Likewise, when people wanted guidance, they did not consult experts, conduct research, or analyze data as we do today. Instead, they turned to the mysterious world of seers, diviners, priests, and wise women believed to possess the ability to interpret the will of the gods.
For the Hittites, who ruled much of Anatolia some 3,500 years ago, divine approval was an essential part of both state administration and daily life. The decision to wage war, establish a new settlement, investigate the cause of an epidemic, or resolve political turmoil within the royal court often required consultation with the gods.
One of the most important methods of obtaining these answers was liver divination. Nor was this practice limited to kings and nobles. Merchants concerned about profit or loss, families seeking guidance, and ordinary citizens curious about their future frequently sought divinatory advice. Fortune-telling was a widely accepted and respected tradition throughout Hittite society.
Why Was the Liver So Important?
Among the civilizations of ancient Anatolia and the broader Near East, the liver was regarded as the center of life itself. As the largest internal organ in the human body, it was believed to carry messages from the divine realm.
The Hittites inherited much of this tradition from the civilizations of Mesopotamia, particularly the Babylonians and Assyrians, adapting it to their own religious system. According to their beliefs, the gods communicated with humans by leaving signs on the liver of a sacrificial animal.
To the Hittites, no disaster occurred without a divine reason. Epidemics, droughts, military defeats, and personal misfortunes were often seen as signs that a god had become displeased. Yet they also believed that divine anger could be calmed once its cause was understood.
This belief led them to seek answers through divination. Whenever kings, officials, merchants, or ordinary citizens wished to learn why a god was angry—or what the future might hold—they consulted teams of trained divination priests and ritual specialists. These experts acted as intermediaries between the human and divine worlds, interpreting signs believed to reveal the will of the gods.
For this reason, the liver of a sheep was viewed as a sacred medium through which communication between gods and mortals became possible.
Who Were the Divination Experts?
Liver divination was not a practice that could be performed by ordinary individuals.
The rituals were conducted by highly trained specialists known in Hittite texts as sacrificial diviners. Priests responsible for ritual procedures also played a central role, as did experienced female practitioners referred to in the texts as hašawa.
These experts possessed not only religious knowledge but also years of specialized training. They memorized hundreds of possible signs and interpretations associated with different parts of the liver and other internal organs.
How Was the Ritual Performed?
The divination process followed a carefully prescribed ritual.
Offerings were first presented to the relevant deity, and ceremonial preparations were made. A sheep was then sacrificed specifically for the purpose of divination. The animal was believed to represent either the person seeking guidance or the deity being consulted.
The examination actually began before the organs were removed from the body. Their position and appearance inside the abdominal cavity were carefully observed.
The liver was then extracted and subjected to a detailed inspection. Diviners paid particular attention to:
The overall shape of the liver
Protrusions in specific anatomical regions
Depressions and folds
Variations in color
The appearance of the gallbladder
Unusual features in the heart and intestines
Each observation was carefully evaluated.
To interpret these signs, diviners relied on a vast body of accumulated knowledge. Every mark, irregularity, or anatomical feature was associated with a particular outcome or divine message.
Clay Liver Models Discovered at Hattusa
One of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries related to liver divination is a series of clay liver models unearthed at Hattusa, the Hittite capital.
These models are marked with anatomical divisions and inscribed with explanatory notes relating to divination practices. Scholars believe they served as educational tools for training future diviners.
Today, these artifacts provide valuable insight into the highly organized and institutionalized nature of Hittite divination.
In many respects, they may be considered among the world's earliest known instructional manuals for the interpretation of omens.
How Were the Results Recorded?
Once the examination was complete, the results were formally recorded.
In Hittite cuneiform texts, outcomes were often summarized using the terms:
SIG5 = favorable, suitable, yes
NU.SIG5 = unfavorable, unsuitable, no
The Hittites rarely relied on a single divinatory result. If an omen was unclear or unfavorable, additional methods—such as bird-flight divination, lot divination, or other forms of prophecy—could be employed to verify the gods' intentions.
Divination as a Tool of Government
From a modern perspective, liver divination may seem little more than a mystical practice. For the Hittites, however, it was an integral component of governance.
Kings consulted the gods before launching military campaigns, sought divine explanations for epidemics, and relied on supernatural guidance during times of political uncertainty. Liver divination therefore functioned not merely as a religious ritual but also as a form of decision-making support within the Hittite state.
Today, thanks to the clay liver models and cuneiform tablets discovered at Hattusa, we are able to glimpse the remarkable efforts of this great Anatolian civilization to communicate with the divine.
Perhaps the answers to a Hittite king's most pressing questions about the future were sought not in strategy chambers or royal councils, but in the liver of a sacrificial sheep some three and a half millennia ago.
And so, we wish you plenty of SIG5s throughout your life…
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