A thousand years before the common era, in the scribal halls of the Hittite capital Hattusa, a poet set down a startling story: the heavens had kings before the gods we know, and one god rose by an act of terrible violence. The Song of Kumarbi — sometimes called Kingship in Heaven — is one of the world's oldest surviving myths of divine succession. In this faithful modern-English edition, an anonymous ancient masterpiece speaks again in clear, present-day language: the reign of Alalu, the flight of Anu, the bite of Kumarbi, and the birth of the storm god Teshub, who will claim the highest throne. This edition includes a contextual introduction, a glossary of names, and guidance for reading a fragmentary ancient text. Whether you come as a lover of mythology, scripture, or ancient story, you will find here a strange and moving vision of power, seed, and renewal. Part of The World Scriptures Library.