The imposition of the death penalty (otherwise extremely rare in The Laws) for intercourse with pigs, dogs, and sheep might reflect Hittite society’s repugnance at bestiality. But that seems to be negated by a clause (200-a) which explicitly exempts from punishment those who indulge in sexual relations with a horse or a mule. Speculation on why one may have sex with such animals but none others has led to a number of explanations in the scholarly literature which are ultimately inconclusive, even if they have the merit of being ingenious and entertaining.
(Trevor Bryce: Life and Society in the Hittite World)
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