Aruna (Hittite mythology)

Aruna was the god of the sea in Hittite religion. His name is identical with the Hittite word for the sea, which could also refer to bodies of water, treated as numina rather than personified deities. His worship was not widespread, and most of the known attestations of it come exclusively from the southeast of Anatolia. He was celebrated in cities such as Ḫubešna and Tuwanuwa.

While most myths about the sea found in Hititte archives have Hurrian background, compositions involving Aruna are nonetheless known. The best known example is Telipinu and the Daughter of the Sea God, where he kidnaps the Sun god of Heaven, prompting Tarḫunna to send his son Telipinu to his abode. Out of fear Aruna offers him his daughter, possibly to be identified as the goddess Ḫatepuna, as a bride. Later he demands a bride price, which Telepinu's father agrees to pay. The composition of the myth is not preserved. Aruna and the sun god also appear together in the myth of Ḫaḫḫima, though here he tries to save the latter, rather than kidnap him.