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Šauška (also Shaushka, Šauša, Šawuška) was a
Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
goddess who was also adopted into the Hittite pantheon. Her name has a
Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
origin and means the great or magnificent one.


Character and iconography

Shaushka was a goddess of war and love, including sexual love. She was closely associated with incantations in Hittite documents. As such she was also associated with healing. As a goddess of love and sexuality, she was believed to be able to guarantee conjugal love, deal with matters pertaining to impotence, but also turn women into men and vice versa. Shaushka was also the goddess of Nineveh, and in Hurrian myths she's often called the "queen" of that city. Unlike the Mesopotamian Ishtar, as well as the other "Ishtars" known to Hurrians and Hittites (ex. Ishtar of Samuha, possibly the same deity as the enigmatic " Goddess of the Night," DINGIR.GE6), she didn't have a pronounced astral character.


Androgynous or genderfluid characteristics

Shaushka had both a feminine and masculine aspect and in reliefs from the Yazilikaya sanctuary appears twice, both among gods and goddesses. A Hurrian ritual text separately mentions offerings to "male attributes" and "female attributes" of Shaushka. Hittitologist Gary Beckman states that "ambiguous gender identification" was a characteristic of a category he refers to as "Ishtar type" goddesses, encompassing also the likes of Ninsianna and the Hurrian version of
Pinikir Pinikir, also known as Pinigir, Pirengir and Parakaras, was an Ancient Near Eastern astral goddess who originates in Elamite religious beliefs. While she is only infrequently attested in Elamite documents, she achieved a degree of prominence in H ...
. Assyriologist Frans Wiggermann considers a text describing Ishtar of Nineveh whose "upper parts are Bel, and (...) lower parts are
Ninlil Ninlil ( DINGIR, DNIN (cuneiform), NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senio ...
" evidence of the deity's androgynous character.


In art

Shaushka was commonly depicted in the company of ''awiti'', a mythical winged lion, and her two attendants
Ninatta and Kulitta Ninatta and Kulitta were two goddesses always invoked together who were the handmaidens of the Hurrian goddess Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart of Mesopotamian Ishtar. Functions Ninatta and Kulitta were regarded as divine musicians. In a myth k ...
. Various statues of Shaushka are known from excavations and descriptions in Hittite texts, depicting her as: a winged goddess holding a golden cup; as a masculine deity, also winged, holding an axe; wearing an apron ("Schutzrock" in German), robe leaving one of her legs uncovered, pointed shoes and horned tiara of divinity ( Yazilikaya); holding an axe and a hammer; warrior holding a club; partially naked goddess (
Nuzi Nuzi (or Nuzu; Akkadian Gasur; modern Yorghan Tepe, Iraq) was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of the city of Arrapha (modern Kirkuk), located near the Tigris river. The site consists of one medium-sized multiperiod tell and two small s ...
); goddess accompanied by various animals and mythical beasts (Nuzi); winged naked goddess; Frans Wiggermann additionally considers it possible that some depictions of the weather god accompanied by a naked goddess represent Teshub and his companion (eg. Shaushka), rather than
Adad Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...
and
Shala Shala (Šala) was a Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain and the wife of the weather god Adad. It is assumed that she originated in northern Mesopotamia and that her name might have Hurrian origin. She was worshiped especially in Karkar a ...
. The naked goddess depicted on the bowl of Hasanlu might be Shaushka; the scenes depicted on it are sometimes interpreted as a representation of myths from the Kumarbi cycle, which would indicate survival of Hurrian beliefs in the east until the early 1st millennium BCE.


Relation to other deities

Shaushka was regarded as the Hurrian equivalent of
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...
, and Mesopotamian lexical lists referred to her as "Ishtar of
Subartu The land of Subartu (Akkadian ''Šubartum/Subartum/ina Šú-ba-ri'', Assyrian '' mât Šubarri'') or Subar (Sumerian Su-bir4/Subar/Šubur, Ugaritic 𐎘𐎁𐎗 ṯbr) is mentioned in Bronze Age literature. The name also appears as ''Subari'' in ...
. In Ugarit she was equated with the local goddess Ashtart. Shaushka's exact position in the pantheon varied to a degree between various Hurrian centers. In the official
Mitanni Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...
pantheon known from the correspondence of king Tushratta she appears to be the most important goddess. However, in the Hurrian religion of
Kizzuwatna Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode''), was an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the 2nd millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun, in modern-day Turkey. It enc ...
, and as a result in the Hittite pantheon, her standing wasn't equally high, and the Syrian goddess Hebat was the most prominent female deity of the western Hurrians. Western Hurrians regarded her as
Teshub Teshub (also written Teshup, Teššup, or Tešup; cuneiform ; hieroglyphic Luwian , read as ''Tarhunzas'';Annick Payne (2014), ''Hieroglyphic Luwian: An Introduction with Original Texts'', 3rd revised edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. ...
's sister, but their relation in the eastern Hurrian pantheon is uncertain. As the sister of Teshub, she was presumably the daughter of Anu and Kumarbi; however, a tradition in which her father was the moon god
Kušuḫ Kušuḫ, also known under the name Umbu, was the List of Hurrian deities, Hurrian god of the moon. He is attested in cuneiform texts from many sites, from Hattusa in modern Turkey, through Ugarit, Alalakh, Mari, Syria, Mari and other locations in ...
is also known; Teshub was sporadically regarded as his son too. In addition to Teshub, his vizier ('' sukkal'') Tašmišu was her brother too. The Hittite text CTH 716 mentions her in a cthtonic context, alongside Sun goddess of the Earth.
Ninatta and Kulitta Ninatta and Kulitta were two goddesses always invoked together who were the handmaidens of the Hurrian goddess Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart of Mesopotamian Ishtar. Functions Ninatta and Kulitta were regarded as divine musicians. In a myth k ...
, a duo of musician goddesses always listed together, were her handmaidens, though in the Bronze Age they are only attested in texts from
Hattusa Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'', Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of ...
and
Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...
. Her other servants known from Hattusa were minor deities such as Šintal-wuri ("seven-eyed"), Šintal-irti ("seven-breasted"), and Šinan-tatukarni ("twofold at Iove"). In one text a little known deity, Undurumma, is explicitly referred to as her '' sukkal''. Mary R. Bachvarova and Gernot Wilhelm consider it possible that
Anzili Anzili or EnziliPiotr Taracha: ''Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia''. Wiesbaden 2009, p. 56. was a Hittite goddess who was worshiped in Tamita and Zapišḫuna. Her name is sometimes written with the Sumerogram IŠTAR or the compound IŠTAR ...
was regarded as her Hittite counterpart, though this view isn't accepted by Volkert Haas, who points out that Anzili was paired with Zukki, but Ishtar/Shaushka was not.


Attestations

The city of Nineveh and its goddess Shaushka appear for the first time in a text from
Drehem Puzrish-Dagan (modern Drehem) is an important archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate (Iraq). It is best-known for the thousands of clay tablets that are known to have come from the site through looting during the early twentieth century ...
dated to the 46th year of
Shulgi Shulgi ( dŠulgi, formerly read as Dungi) of Ur was the second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He reigned for 48 years, from c. 2094 – c. 2046 BC (Middle Chronology) or possibly c. 2030 – 1982 BC (Short Chronology). His accomplishme ...
's reign. However, references to her cult in Nineveh are scarcer in the south, with the exception of a possible vague reference in
Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian: ; ) was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and the city-states ...
's inscriptions, an offering list from Isin, and in a forerunner to the god list An-Anum from
Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
. She's also present in texts from Mari from the period of
Zimri-Lim __NOTOC__ Zimri-Lim (Akkadian: ''Zi-im-ri Li-im'') was king of Mari c. 1775–1761 BCE. Zimri-Lim was the son or grandson of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamhad when his father was assassinated by his own servants during a coup. He ha ...
's reign. A temple of Shaushka also existed in Babylon in the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. Early Hurrian king of
Urkesh Urkesh or Urkish ( Akkadian: 𒌨𒆧𒆠 UR.KIŠKI, 𒌨𒋙𒀭𒄲𒆠 UR.KEŠ3KI; modern Tell Mozan; ar, تل موزان) is a tell, or settlement mound, located in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeaster ...
and Nawar, Atal-Shen, used the sumerogram INANNA to write Shaushka's name.
Bogazköy Archive The Bogazkoy archives are a collection of texts found on the site of the capital of the Hittite state, the city of Hattusas (now Bogazkoy in Turkey). They are the oldest extant documents of the state, and they are believed to have been created i ...
contains many references to Shaushka in Hittite contexts; it should however be noted that there are no notable references to any "Ishtar-type" goddesses in texts from the Old Hittite period, and she only starts to gain importance in the Middle Hittite period under Hurrian influence. The logographic spelling dISHTAR is used to write her name there. She became the patron goddess of the Hittite king Hattusili III (1420–1400 BC) following his marriage to Puduhepa, the daughter of the goddess' high priest. An important city in Hittite territory where she was worshiped was
Lawazantiya Lawazantiya was the cultic city of the goddess Šauška. It is mentioned in Old-Assyrian documents as Luhuzantiya. In Hittite texts the city is known as Lawazantiya (also: Lahuwazantiya, Lauwanzantiya or Lahuzzandiya), in Ugarit as Lwsnd and in A ...
in
Kizzuwatna Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode''), was an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the 2nd millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun, in modern-day Turkey. It enc ...
, as well as Hattarina. She was also introduced to many northern Hittite towns during the reign of Puduhepa's son
Tudḫaliya IV Tudhaliya IV was a king of the Hittite Empire (New kingdom), and the younger son of Hattusili III. He reigned c. 1245–1215 BC (middle chronology) or c. 1237–1209 BC (short chronology). His mother was the great queen, Puduhepa. Biograph ...
, alongside other foreign deities such as
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...
of Babylon, Syrian Milku or storm god (
Adad Hadad ( uga, ), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm and rain god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. ...
) of Ashur. In Syria she was present in
Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...
(attestation in a list of offerings to
Ashtart Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart (Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...
),
Emar ) , image = View_from_the_Byzantine_Tower_at_Meskene,_ancient_Barbalissos.jpg , alt = , caption = View from the Byzantine Tower at Meskene, ancient Barbalissos , map_type = Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 200 ...
and possibly Alalakh, though the ISHTAR logogram might also denote another goddess in that city, for example
Ishara Ishara (Išḫara) was the tutelary goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Ebla. The origin of her name is unknown. Both Hurrian and West Semitic etymologies have been proposed, but they found no broad support and today it is often assumed that ...
. A figure known as "Ishtar Hurri" - "the Hurrian Ishtar" - was also present in the pantheon of Ugarit. It's possible, though uncertain, that Phoenician references to "
Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...
Hurri" constitute a relic of Shaushka's cult. The "Hurrian Astarte" is known from 8th century BCE
Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
. In personal names she appears in Ur III period Ur,
Lagash Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...
and
Drehem Puzrish-Dagan (modern Drehem) is an important archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate (Iraq). It is best-known for the thousands of clay tablets that are known to have come from the site through looting during the early twentieth century ...
; in
Nuzi Nuzi (or Nuzu; Akkadian Gasur; modern Yorghan Tepe, Iraq) was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of the city of Arrapha (modern Kirkuk), located near the Tigris river. The site consists of one medium-sized multiperiod tell and two small s ...
; Alalakh; Kanesh; and in the texts from Bogazköy.


Amarna letters

In the
1350 Year 1350 ( MCCCL) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 9 – Giovanni II Valente becomes Doge of Genoa. * May 23 (possible date) ...
- 1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence (written mostly to the Ancient Egyptian
pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...
), one letter, EA 23 ( EA for 'el Amarna'), focuses on the loan of a Shaushka statue. Tushratta, king of
Mitanni Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...
and father-in-law of
Amenophis III Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...
wrote: The statue's journey was presumably meant to help with the recovery of the ailing pharaoh.


Ishtar of Nineveh in later Assyrian sources

Iron Age attestations of the goddess of Niniveh come exclusively from Assyria. She remained the main goddess of the city under Assyrian domination, and was referred to as "Ishtar of Nineveh," though there is also some evidence of conflation with
Ninlil Ninlil ( DINGIR, DNIN (cuneiform), NIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senio ...
. Her role as a healing goddess remained prominent, and references to it were made by
Ashurnasirpal I Aššur-nāṣir-apli I, inscribed m''aš-šur-''PAB-A, “the god Aššur is the protector of the heir,” was the king of Assyria, 1049–1031 BC, and the 92nd to appear on the ''Assyrian Kinglist''. He was the son and successor of Šamši-Adad ...
, who prayed to her to be relieved from physical and mental pains. Sargon II used the name "Shawuska" to refer to her in at least one text. Outside Nineveh,
Ninatta and Kulitta Ninatta and Kulitta were two goddesses always invoked together who were the handmaidens of the Hurrian goddess Shaushka, the Hurrian counterpart of Mesopotamian Ishtar. Functions Ninatta and Kulitta were regarded as divine musicians. In a myth k ...
were incorporated into the circle of deities present in Ishtar's temple in Ashur.


Myths

Shaushka plays a major role in the Kumarbi cycle. * In the song of LAMMA, she is attacked by the eponymous deity while traveling with Teshub in his chariot. * In the Song of Silver, she is referred to as (half-)sister of Kumarbi's half human son, Silver. * In the Song of Ḫedammu, she seduces the eponymous antagonist, and with the help of her servants Ninatta and Kulitta tricks him into drinking a sedating potion, which seemingly leads to his defeat. Researchers note there's a number of similarities between this myth and other Hurrian compositions dealing with combat with the sea or sea monsters, the Ugaritic
Baal cycle The Baal Cycle is an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baʿal ( "Owner", "Lord"), a storm god associated with fertility. It is one of the Ugarit texts, dated to c. 1500-1300 BCE. The text identifies Baal as the god Hadad, t ...
, and the Egyptian Astarte papyrus, and between the role played by Shaushka, Ashtart and Astarte in them. * In the Song of Ullikummi, she unsuccessfully attempts to seduce the "diorite man"
Ullikummi __NOTOC__ In Hurrian mythology, Ullikummi is a giant stone monster, son of Kumarbi and the sea god's daughter, Sertapsuruhi, or a female cliff. The language of the literary myth in its existing redaction is Hittite, in cuneiform texts recovered at ...
, until a sea wave informs her her efforts are in vain as the monster is incapable of feeling anything. Another myth (KUB 33.108) deals with the conflict between Shaushka and the mountain god Pišašaphi, described in it as a rapist. ''Song of Hašarri'', a poorly preserved text, seemingly recounts a story in which Shaushka raises the eponymous entity, a sentient olive tree. In known fragments she seeks the help of Ea, as suggested to her by Kumarbi, assembles various gods for uncertain reasons, protects Hašarri from a lion, and eventually rejoices watching the olive tree's growth. Saushka appears to play Ishtar's role in the Hurrian translation of
Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with ...
, but not in the Hittite version, where the name of the goddess (written as d8-TÁR-iš) cannot be determined with certainty.G. Beckman,
Gilgamesh in Hatti
' n:G. Beckman, R. Beal, G. McMahon (eds.), ''Hittite Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday'', 2003, p. 52


See also

*
Hittite mythology Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in what is now Turkey from . Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that wo ...
*
Hurrian mythology The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Me ...
* Amarna letter EA 19


References

* Moran, William L. ''The Amarna Letters.'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, )


External links


EA 23-(Reverse)
with '' ''Black'' Hieratic''
Article
(
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
) *For a collection of Amarna letters photographs, see: Pirissi and Tulubri links, (Tushratta letters, and others). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauska Hurrian deities Hittite deities War goddesses Love and lust goddesses Health goddesses Androgyny LGBT themes in mythology Androgynous and hermaphroditic deities Intersex in religion and mythology