Maliya is the Hittite goddess of gardens, often associated with the horse-god Pirwa and the goddessKamrušepa. All three gods are connected to horses. She was originally worshipped in southeastern Anatolia at Kaniš and Kizzuwatna. She may originally be a Luwian goddess.
Role
Maliya is often attested with rivers and mountains as a recipient of offerings and was probably identical with the goddess of the Maliya river, whose cult statue was made of iron. In a vineyard ritual, the weathergodTarḫunna is invoked for the sake of the king's vineyard. Various pairs of gods are offered bread and animal sacrifices, including Tilipinu, who is paired with "Maliya of the Garden, mother of wine and corn." In the city of, offerings were made to "Maliya of the Horn." In healing rituals, Maliya is named along with the divine sorceress, Kamrušepa. In one such ritual, she learns from Ishtar of a plague and reports it to Pirwa, who passes it on in turn to Kamrušepa, who yokes her horses to her chariot and rides to the "great river." Maliya was among the main deities of the nine-day, which was originally celebrated in Kizzuwatna to safeguard the royal family. Most of the gods involved in this festival belonged to the Hurrian pantheon. In the court of the temple of Maliya, the Hittite king bowed down before the divine horse Erama and offered it barley from an offering vessel. Together with Pirwa and other deities, Maliya appears in the circle of the 'singer of Kaniš'.
Maliyanni
The Maliyanni are a pair of gods which were worshipped in vineyards. According to the ritual of the sorceress Anna of Kaplawiya for remedying infertile vineyards, a pit should be dug in front of the Maliyanni and cakes thrown into it as offering. Significantly, this ritual includes a speech in an unknown language.
Onomastics
Maliya appears as a component in Hittite place names and personal names. The oldest example comes from 18th century BC Assyrian documents from Kültepe, in which the female name Maliawašḫi appears frequently. With respect to place names, the city of Malliyašši is significant, since it is formed in the same way as the cities of Tarḫuntašša and Tiwatašša.
Later history
Maliya probably continued to be worshipped under various names during Classical Antiquity. In Lycia the goddess Malija was worshipped; she was identified with the Greek goddessAthena. Her epithet hriuwama, meaning "the Empowerer" suggests that she was a goddess of vegetation. The lexicographer Hesychius also equates Malis with Athena, Theocritus mentions a nymph of the same name, and on the island of Lesbos, Malis was a spinning goddess like Athena. According to Hellanicus, Malis was a slave of the Lydian queen Omphale who had a child, Akeles, with Heracles. Finally, Sophocles refers to the Maliadian nymphes.
