シャウシュカ

Šauška (Shaushka), also called Šauša or Šawuška, was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon, associated with love and war, as well as with incantations and by extension with healing. While she was usually referred to as a goddess and with feminine titles, such as allai (Hurrian: "lady"), references to masculine Shaushka are also known. The Hurrians associated her with Nineveh, but she was also worshiped in many other centers associated with this culture, from Anatolian cities in Kizzuwatna, through Alalakh and Ugarit in Syria, to Nuzi and Ulamme in northeastern Mesopotamia. She was also worshiped in southern Mesopotamia, where she was introduced alongside a number of other foreign deities in the Ur III period. In this area, she came to be associated with Ishtar. At a later point in time, growing Hurrian influence on Hittite culture resulted in the adoption of Shaushka into the Hittite state pantheon.

In Hurrian myths, many of which are only known from their Hittite translations, Shaushka commonly appears either as an ally of her brother Teshub, or as a heroine in her own right. Specific narratives describe her battles against the sea monster Ḫedammu, the diorite giant Ullikummi, the sea god Kiaše and the mountain god Pišaišapḫi. She also appears in a myth about Hašarri, a personified olive tree, who needs to be protected by her from various threats.

Both in the sphere of cult and in myths, Shaushka was usually accompanied by her two handmaidens, Ninatta and Kulitta. Other servant deities associated with her appear only in lists of offerings and descriptions of rituals.

Name

The name Šauška has a Hurrian origin and can be translated as "The Great One" or "The Magnificent One."テンプレート:Sfn Many Hurrian deities had similarly simple, epithet-like names, for example Allani ("the lady"), Mušuni ("she of justice"), Kumarbi ("he of Kumar") or Nabarbi ("she of Nawar").テンプレート:Sfn

The spellings vary between sources. The Bogazköy Archive archive attests multiple, both logographic (^dIŠ₈-TÁR, ^dLIŠ and ^dGAŠAN)テンプレート:Sfn and syllabic (no less than eleven variants),テンプレート:Sfn the latter present in exclusively Hurrian contexts.テンプレート:Sfn Logographic spellings also predominate in literary texts, but Song of Hašarri is an exception and seemingly consistently employs the syllabic spelling ^dŠa-wu_u-us-ga.テンプレート:Sfn Early Hurrian king of Urkesh and Nawar, Atal-shen, used the logogram ^dINANNA to write Shaushka's name,テンプレート:Sfn while later on in Nuzi one logographic spelling was ^dU.テンプレート:Sfn In Mitanni documents, the usual spelling is syllabic, ^dŠa-uš-ka-a.テンプレート:Sfn

Based on administrative texts of the archives of the Third Dynasty of Ur, the early spelling was ^dŠa-u₁₈-ša.テンプレート:Sfn In Mari in the Old Babylonian period the name was spelled as ^dŠa-ú-úš–an, and was often preceded by the epithet al-la-e-en, understood as allai, "lady,"テンプレート:Sfn equivalent of Sumerian gašan and Akkadian bēltu.テンプレート:Sfn The same epithet is attested from other Hurrian texts, sometimes in the variant allai Ninuwa, "lady of Nineveh."テンプレート:Sfn Other Hurrian goddesses, for example Hebatテンプレート:Sfn or Pinikir, could be referred to as allai too.テンプレート:Sfn Additionally, it was the origin of the name of the goddess of the underworld, Allani.テンプレート:Sfn

Two alphabetic spellings are attested in Ugaritic texts, šwšk and šušk.テンプレート:Sfn

Uncertain attestations

According to Joan Goodnick Westenholz, it is difficult to tell if full correspondence can be assumed to exist between Hurrian Shaushka and Assyrian Ishtar of Nineveh,テンプレート:Sfn especially in inscriptions of Shamshi-Adad I,テンプレート:Sfn who might have introduced religious innovations in Nineveh to compete with the religious importance of the city of Assur and its manifestation of Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfn A different view is presented by Beate Pongratz-Leisten, who understands Shaushka and Ishtar of Nineveh to be fully analogous, and as a result, refers to the goddess whose temple existed in Babylon at the end of the second millennium BCE and to Shaushka as known from sources from the Hurrian kingdom of Arrapha as one and the same.テンプレート:Sfn

It is assumed that Ishtar references in documents from the Old Assyrian trading colony Kanesh are Ishtar of Assur rather than Shaushka, but she might nonetheless appear in Assyrian theophoric names attested on tablets from that site.テンプレート:Sfn

Daniel Schwemer argues that NIN-na-gar^ki (Belet Nagar) from the inscription of Tish-atal was a local form of Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn This view has been evaluated critically by Joan Goodnick Westenholz, who remarks that with the exception of their gender these deities do not appear to be similar to each other.テンプレート:Sfn

Character

Shaushka was a goddess of love (including sexual love), as well as war.テンプレート:Sfn In the former of these two roles, she was believed to be able to guarantee conjugal love, return or deprive of potency, but also turn women into men and vice versa.テンプレート:Sfn Especially in Anatolia, she was also closely associated with magic and incantations, and as a result could be invoked as a healing deity.テンプレート:Sfn Hittite texts describe her as taršikantaš MUNUS-aš, which can be translated as "the woman of that which is repeatedly spoken," most likely a reference to her role in incantations.テンプレート:Sfn

Shaushka was also the tutelary goddess of Nineveh, and in Hurrian myths she is often called the "queen" of that city.テンプレート:Sfn Other Hurrian texts refer to her as Ninuwawi, "she of Nineveh," or Ninuvaḫi, "the Ninevite."テンプレート:Sfn The association is also present in Mesopotamian texts: these from the Ur III period label her as ni-nu-a-kam, "of Nineveh,"テンプレート:Sfn while an Old Babylonian god list from Uruk mentions her under the name ^dINANNA ni-nu-a.テンプレート:Sfn

Unlike the Mesopotamian Ishtar, as well as the other "Ishtars" known to Hurrians and Hittites (such as Ishtar of Samuha, possibly the same deity as the enigmatic "Goddess of the Night," DINGIR.GE₆), Shaushka did not have a pronounced astral character.テンプレート:Sfn The role of a divine representation of Venus was instead played by Pinikir in the Hurrian pantheon.テンプレート:Sfn Like Shaushka, she was associated with Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfn A single ritual text pairs her with Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn

Androgynous or genderfluid characteristics

While primarily referred to as a goddess,テンプレート:Sfn Shaushka had both a feminine and masculine aspect and in reliefs from the Yazılıkaya sanctuary appears twice, once among the gods, accompanied also by her handmaidens Ninatta and Kulitta, and once among goddesses.テンプレート:Sfn A Hurrian ritual text separately mentions offerings to "male attributes" and "female attributes" of Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn

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 Pinikir.テンプレート:Sfn

In visual arts

ファイル:Yazılıkaya room A Ninatta, Kulitta, Šawuška, Ea 3442.jpg

Shaushka accompanied by Ninatta and Kulitta in the procession of deities in Yazılıkaya

Shaushka was commonly depicted in the company of and her two attendants, Ninatta and Kulitta,テンプレート:Sfn both on reliefs and on cylinder seals.テンプレート:Sfn

A Hittite text describing the appearance of statues of various deities mentions two depictions of Shaushka, one seated, winged and holding a cup, and another, masculine, also winged and armed with a golden ax.テンプレート:Sfn Both were said to be flanked by Ninatta and Kulitta and accompanied by an awiti,テンプレート:Sfn a mythical winged lion.テンプレート:Sfn

On the Yazılıkaya reliefs, masculine Shaushka appears in the procession of male deities (figure designated as 38 in modern reference works), accompanied by Ninatta and Kulitta (figures 36 and 37).テンプレート:Sfn While beardless, he wears the same pointed headwear as the other male deities, as well as a robe exposing one leg and pointed shoes.テンプレート:Sfn An inscription placed above a gap between figures 55 and 56 in the procession of female deities indicates that originally feminine Shaushka was depicted there as well, but this relief remains missing.テンプレート:Sfn A single relief similar to these from Yazılıkaya has however been found in nearby Yekbas.テンプレート:Sfn

A further relief of Shaushka is known from Malatya, where she is depicted holding an ax and a hammer, and wearing the same type of horned headwear as the male deities.テンプレート:Sfn Similar reliefs are also known from other locations, including Ain Dara and Aleppo, though the weapons are not always the same, with clubs and spears also attested.テンプレート:Sfn Like the Yazılıkaya reliefs, they tend to show Shaushka with one leg exposed.テンプレート:Sfn Some of them are winged.テンプレート:Sfn

Lapis lazuli figurines of Shaushka are known from Carchemishテンプレート:Sfn and possibly Alalakh.テンプレート:Sfn

Uncertain examples

ファイル:BowlfromHasanlu.png

A drawing of the figures depicted on the bowl of Hasanlu. A naked goddess, who might be Shaushka, is visible in the bottom right corner.

Some possible depictions of Shaushka are also known from Nuzi, though they are not directly labeled as such in inscriptions from the site or other textual sources.テンプレート:Sfn One is a figure of a deity holding an axe and a geometric emblem, dressed in shoes with pointy ends and a robe exposing the abdomen and legs, but lacking any identifiable sex characteristics, which is assumed to fit Shaushka's dual nature as both masculine and feminine deity.テンプレート:Sfn Additionally, goddesses depicted on eastern Hurrian cylinder seals in company of various animals (lions, goats, bulls, snakes, scorpions) and mythical beasts (lion-dragons, bullmen, sphinx-like and snake-like creates, two-headed griffin demons) are often assumed to be Shaushka, her hypostases or similar local deities, though this identification is uncertain due to lack of textual evidence.テンプレート:Sfn

Frans Wiggermann additionally considers it possible that some depictions of the weather god accompanied by a naked goddess, usually interpreted as Adad and Shala, instead represent Teshub and his companion,テンプレート:Sfn who he assumes to be Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn

The naked goddess depicted on the bowl of Hasanlu might be Shaushka, as the scenes depicted on it are sometimes interpreted as a representation of myths from the Kumarbi cycle.テンプレート:Sfn

Position in the pantheon

ファイル:Yazilikaya reliefs 42 43.JPG

Teshub and Hebat on the Yazılıkaya reliefs

Shaushka was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon, as evidenced for example by documents from the kingdom of Arraphaテンプレート:Sfn and by the correspondence of the Mitanni king Tushratta.テンプレート:Sfn Her status was lower only in Kizzuwatna, where the main Hurrian goddess was instead Hebat, absorbed from the pantheon of Halab (Aleppo) and regarded as the wife of Teshub.テンプレート:Sfn Shaushka's secondary position compared to Hebat is particularly visible in Hittite lists of divine witnesses of treaties.テンプレート:Sfn According to Alfonso Archi, Shaushka was nonetheless one of the three most commonly worshiped unmarried Hurrian goddesses in the west, next to Allani and Ishara,テンプレート:Sfn while according to Gernot Wilhelm her position in Alalakh and Ugarit was the same as in the east.テンプレート:Sfn Shaushka could be included in テンプレート:Transl (offering lists) dedicated to the circle of Teshub, in which case she was placed between the god Ea and her servants Ninatta and Kulitta,テンプレート:Sfn or to these dedicated Hebat, in which case she could be placed between Aya and Shuwala,テンプレート:Sfn but she could also head a テンプレート:Transl of her own,テンプレート:Sfn which included deities such as Allani, Ishara and Nikkal.テンプレート:Sfn

Family

Western Hurrians regarded her as Teshub's sister,テンプレート:Sfn but their relation in eastern Hurrian pantheons from the Mittani Empire or various kingdoms east of the Tigris is uncertain.テンプレート:Sfn They could be worshiped side by side, but Shaushka was never explicitly identified as Teshub's spouse.テンプレート:Sfn

Marie-Claude Trémouille notes that as the sister of Teshub, she was presumably the daughter of Anu and Kumarbi.テンプレート:Sfn However, the first myth in the so-called Kumarbi cycle, which deals with the birth of his children, does not mention her,テンプレート:Sfn even though she is referred to as the sister of both Teshub and his brother (and sukkal) Tashmishu in other compositions.テンプレート:Sfn It is possible more evidence was present in sections which are not preserved.テンプレート:Sfn Mary R. Bachvarova proposes that Shaushka might have been born before the storm god.テンプレート:Sfn In an alternate tradition, she was the daughter of the moon god, Kušuḫ, likely due to influence of Mesopotamian religion,テンプレート:Sfn in which her counterpart Inanna was most commonly viewed as a daughter of the moon god Nanna and his wife Ningal.テンプレート:Sfn While Kušuḫ is also attested as the father of Teshub,テンプレート:Sfn according to Daniel Schwemer the reference is isolated and it is presently not possible to evaluate its implications.テンプレート:Sfn

Shaushka was typically regarded as unmarriedテンプレート:Sfn and childless.テンプレート:Sfn

Court

Ninatta and Kulitta, a dyad of Hurrian musician goddesses always listed together,テンプレート:Sfn were her handmaidens,テンプレート:Sfn though in the Bronze Age they are only attested in texts from Hattusa and Ugarit.テンプレート:Sfn In ritual texts other deities were grouped with Ninatta and Kulitta as members of Shaushka's entourage.テンプレート:Sfn Examples include Šintal-wuri (Hurrian: "seven-eyed"), Šintal-irti ("seven-breasted"), Šinan-tatukarni ("twofold at [?] love")テンプレート:Sfn and Namrazunna (from Akkadian namru, shining, and Zunna, a Hurrianized spelling of Suen, name of the moon god; unlike him Namrazunna was female).テンプレート:Sfn In one text, Ninatta, Kulitta, Šintal-irti and Namrazunna are grouped together as "first servants," while Šinan-tatukarni, Ali, Halzari and Taruwi are labeled as "last servants."テンプレート:Sfn It is assumed that the former group should be understood as bringers of luck, and the latter as having the opposite impact.テンプレート:Sfn

Another minor deity, Undurumma, attested with certainty in only one document, was identified as Shaushka's sukkal (attendant deity).テンプレート:Sfn The same ritual text also mentions other Hurrian sukkals: Immanzizi, Ḫupuštukar, Tenu, Lipparuma and Mukišanu.テンプレート:Sfn It is uncertain if Unudurupa (also spelled Unduruwa), associated with Allani in another document, was the same deity as Undurumma.テンプレート:Sfn

An association between Shaushka and Nabarbi is also attested.テンプレート:Sfn In some itkalzi ("purification") rituals they appear alongside the pairs Hutena and Hutellura, Ea and Damkina, and Hebat and Mušuni.テンプレート:Sfn One of such texts refers to "water of Shaushka and Nabarbi," believed to have purifying qualities.テンプレート:Sfn

Attested equivalences

Shaushka was regarded as the Hurrian equivalent of Ishtar, and Mesopotamian lexical lists could refer to her as "Ishtar of Subartu."テンプレート:Sfn The term "Subartu" designated areas north of Mesopotamia.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Both in ancient documents and in past scholarship the terms "Subartu" and "Subarians" usually refer to Hurrians.テンプレート:Sfn In Ugarit Shaushka could be associated with Ashtart.テンプレート:Sfn However, in four Ugaritic texts Ashtart instead corresponds to Ishara.テンプレート:Sfn Mary R. Bachvarova and Gernot Wilhelm consider it possible that Anzili was regarded as her Hittite counterpart, though this view is not accepted by Volkert Haas, who points out that Anzili was paired with the goddess Zukki, while Shaushka was not.テンプレート:Sfn

Worship

Both Shaushka and her primary cult center, Nineveh, are mentioned for the first time in a text from Puzrish-Dagan dated to the 46th year of Shulgi's reign.テンプレート:Sfn The city already existed in the Sargonic period, but according to Gary Beckman it is unknown if it was inhabited by Hurrians and if Shaushka was worshiped in it at the time.テンプレート:Sfn Joan Goodnick Westenholz argues that in the light of later evidence and well attested Hurrian names of various locations in northern Mesopotamia, it is plausible that Nineveh was already Hurrian during the reign of kings of Akkad.テンプレート:Sfn

Shaushka, directly identified as the goddess of Nineveh, was also worshiped in Nuzi,テンプレート:Sfn where she appears in theophoric names, one example being Ar-Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn She was most likely worshiped in a double temple dedicated jointly to her and Teshub.テンプレート:Sfn Documents from Nuzi listing oil offerings to various deities additionally attest the worship of other goddesses referred to as "Ishtars": IŠTAR Ḫumella, IŠTAR Akkupaweniwe, IŠTAR Tupukilḫe, IŠTAR Putaḫḫe, IŠTAR Allaiwašwe (first half of the name might be identical with the word allai, "lady"テンプレート:Sfn), and IŠTAR bēlat dūri.テンプレート:Sfn Most of these epithets are either Hurrian or Hurrianised, and their meaning is unknown.テンプレート:Sfn An exception is bēlat dūri, which means "lady of the city walls" in Akkadian.テンプレート:Sfn It is also known that in Ulamme, a Hurrian city like Nuzi located in the kingdom of Arrapha, IŠTAR Ḫumella was associated with Nergal.テンプレート:Sfn A further cult center of Shaushka known from the Nuzi texts is Lupti, identified with modern Taza Khurmatu.テンプレート:Sfn

ファイル:EA 23 - Tushratta to Amenhotep III.jpg

Amarna letter EA 23, which mentions a statue of Shaushka

An important document pertaining to worship of Shaushka in the Mittani empire is the Amarna letter EA 19, written by Tushratta, king of Mitanni to his father-in-law, pharaoh Amenophis III, and mentioning a statue of Shaushka meant to help with the recovery of the ailing pharaoh:テンプレート:Sfn テンプレート:Blockquote

Shaushka was also worshiped in various cities in Syria. In Ugarit she appears in a ritual dedicated to the local goddess Ashtart.テンプレート:Sfn One section of the text pertaining directly to the Hurrian goddess is written in Ugaritic.テンプレート:Sfn She was also venerated in Alalakh, though Marie-Claude Trémouille notes that the logogram IŠTAR might instead denote Ishara in sources from that city.テンプレート:Sfn Shaushka is however unambiguously attested in personal names, such as Arib-Shaushka and Wandi-Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn In Emar she appears exclusively in Hurro-Hittite documents, and bears the Hurrian epithet awar(r)iwe, of the steppe.テンプレート:Sfn

A genre of Hurrian songs whose name, zinzabuššiya, is derived from that of an unidentified bird, was associated with the worship of Shaushka according to Hittite documents.テンプレート:Sfn The bird in mention, zinzabu, was also associated with her.テンプレート:Sfn

Mesopotamian reception

It is presently uncertain under what circumstances Shaushka and other foreign deities were introduced to the pantheon of Mesopotamia during the Ur III period.テンプレート:Sfn Tonia Sharlach notes the areas in which they were originally worshiped form a horseshoe around territories the Ur state controlled, from Upper Euphrates and Khabur triangle to Kirkuk and Diyala.テンプレート:SfnIn addition to Shaushka, the Hurrian examples include Allatum (Allani) from Zimudarテンプレート:Sfn and Shuwala from Mardaman.テンプレート:Sfn

While foreign deities were generally not worshiped in the official provincial shrines of the Ur III state, Shaushka appears to be an exception, as offerings to her took place in the provincial shrine in Umma,テンプレート:Sfn where she received linen textiles, possibly clothing meant for a cult state.テンプレート:Sfn However, she only rarely received offerings at the royal court.テンプレート:Sfn

In the Old Babylonian period the worship of Shaushka persisted in Isin, where she appears in offering lists and in a local god list, in a section dedicated to manifestations of Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfn A forerunner to the later god list An = Anum known from Uruk from the same period also mentions her.テンプレート:Sfn She is also present in texts from Mari from the period of Zimri-Lim's reign.テンプレート:Sfn

Theophoric names invoking Shaushka are also known from Mesopotamian sources from Puzrish-Dagan, Ur, and Lagash,テンプレート:Sfn for example Ur-Shausha and Geme-Shausha, both using the standard Ur III spelling of the name.テンプレート:Sfn

Hittite reception

Shaushka was also worshiped by the Hittites, who received her from the Hurrians.テンプレート:Sfn The Bogazköy Archive contains many references to Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn There are few, if any, references to any "Ishtar-type" goddesses in texts from the Old Hittite period, indicating that Shaushka only gained her importance in Anatolia, attested from the Middle Hittite period onward, under Hurrian influence.テンプレート:Sfn The annexation of Kizzuwatna in particular is assumed to be a contributing factor.テンプレート:Sfn 25 local hypostases of Shaushka or other goddesses represented by the logogram ^dIŠTAR are known from Hittite sources.テンプレート:Sfn In addition to Shaushka of Nineveh, these from the cities of Lawazantiya, Hattarina and Tameninga occur particularly commonly.テンプレート:Sfn Also common are references to Ishtar of Samuha,テンプレート:Sfn usually identified by researchers as the so-called Goddess of the Night.テンプレート:Sfn

Many of the locations associated with Shuahshka in Hittite documents were located in northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia, and both she and any other goddesses referred to as "Ishtars" were apparently not associated with any of the oldest Hittite religious centers ike Nerik and Zippalanda.テンプレート:Sfn There is nonetheless evidence for worship of her in cities like Katapa and Lanta, according to Gary Beckman belonging to the central Hittite area,テンプレート:Sfn and she likely had a temple in Hattusa as well.テンプレート:Sfn

Shaushka is mentioned in documents from the reign of king Hattusili III, who married Puduhepa, the daughter of this goddess' priest from Lawazantiya, Pentipsharri.テンプレート:Sfn Some members of the royal court during his reign had theophoric names invoking Shaushka, some of them combining Hittite and Hurrian name elements.テンプレート:Sfn She was also introduced to many northern Hittite towns during the reign of Puduhepa's son Tudḫaliya IV, alongside other foreign deities such as Ishtar of Babylon, Syrian Milku or storm god (Adad) of Assur.テンプレート:Sfn

Due to logographic writing of divine names in Hittite texts, it is difficult to tell what types of clergy belonged to the cult of Shaushka and served as the staff of her temples.テンプレート:Sfn An exception is the case of ^lúkirištenna, who were directly associated with festivals of Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn

Myths

Cycle of Kumarbi

Shaushka plays a major role in myths forming the Kumarbi cycle,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn known largely from their Hittite translations.テンプレート:Sfn

In the Song of Ḫedammu, she is the central protagonist.テンプレート:Sfn She discovers the existence of the eponymous antagonist, a voracious sea monster who was the son of Kumarbi and Šertapšuruḫi, a daughter of his ally, the sea god Kiaše, and informs Teshub about it.テンプレート:Sfn After hearing the news, Teshub starts crying.テンプレート:Sfn The following scene is poorly preserved, but it is possible that a violent struggle occurs between Teshub and his allies and Kumarbi.テンプレート:Sfn When the text resumes, both sides are being admonished by the god Ea, who warns them about the potential dire consequences of their lack of concern of welfare of their human followers.テンプレート:Sfn Shaushka therefore devises a non-violent solution to the threat of Ḫedammu.テンプレート:Sfn 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,テンプレート:Sfn though the ending is not preserved.テンプレート:Sfn It is possible that like some of the other antagonists, he was not killed, but merely had to abstain from trying to overthrow Teshub.テンプレート:Sfn

In the Song of Ullikummi, after the sun god Šimige informs Teshub about the birth of a new threat, the diorite giant Ullikummi, Shaushka joins her brother in a journey to mount Hazzi, from which they can see the new foe.テンプレート:Sfn She unsuccessfully attempts to seduce the monster by adorning herself with sea shells and singing a song which reaches both earth and heaven,テンプレート:Sfn but a sea wave informs her her efforts are in vain as the monster is incapable of feeling anything.テンプレート:Sfn

She also appears in the テンプレート:Transl, in which she is attacked by the eponymous deity while traveling with Teshub in his chariot.テンプレート:Sfn According to Marie-Claude Trémouille this myth emphasizes her role as a war deity.テンプレート:Sfn While she does not play an active role in the Song of Silver,テンプレート:Sfn she is mentioned in passing as a (half-)sister of Kumarbi's half human son, Silver.テンプレート:Sfn

Other myths

Shaushka is referenced in a fragmentary myth dealing with the sea.テンプレート:Sfn It relays that at one point the sea caused a flood which reached the heavens, and demanded tribute of gold, silver and lapis lazuli from the gods, with Kumarbi possibly urging the other deities to pay.テンプレート:Sfn The deity who brings the tribute to the sea is Shaushka (^dIŠTAR).テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn It has been pointed out that this text resembles an Egyptian composition about the goddess Astarte and the sea, known from the so-called "Astarte papyrus," though the latter bears similarities to the Baal Cycle as well.テンプレート:Sfn

Another myth (KUB 33.108) deals with the conflict between Shaushka and the mountain god Pišaišapḫi, described in it as a rapist.テンプレート:Sfn In return for sparing him in spite of his crime he promises to tell her the story of Teshub's victory over the sea and the subsequent rebellion of the mountain gods against him.テンプレート:Sfn

Song of Hašarri, only known from fragments, seemingly recounts a story in which Shaushka raises the eponymous entity,テンプレート:Sfn whose name can be translated as "oil."テンプレート:Sfn It has been proposed that in the context of this myth Hašarri should be understood as a personifiedテンプレート:Sfn olive tree.テンプレート:Sfn Volkert Haas proposed that this myth might have belonged to the cycle of Kumarbi, but this proposal is not universally accepted.テンプレート:Sfn The restoration of the plot is uncertain, both due to state of preservation and the still imperfect understanding of Hurrian language.テンプレート:Sfn In known fragments Shaushka seeks the help of Ea, as suggested to her by Kumarbi,テンプレート:Sfn assembles various gods for uncertain reasons,テンプレート:Sfn protects Hašarri from a lion,テンプレート:Sfn and eventually rejoices watching the olive tree's growth, possibly supplemented with the help of her magic.テンプレート:Sfn Ninatta and Kulitta also make a brief appearance in an unknown role.テンプレート:Sfn

Shaushka also replaces Ishtar in the Hurrian translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh.テンプレート:Sfn However, in the Hittite version Ishtar's replacement is instead a goddess whose name is written as ^dIŠ₈-TÁR-iš, whose identity cannot be determined with certainty.テンプレート:Sfn

Later relevance

Assyrian Ishtar of Nineveh

Iron Age attestations of the goddess of Niniveh come exclusively from Assyria.テンプレート:Sfn Her character in this period was shaped by associations with Ishtar of Assur and Ishtar of Arbela, and especially under the rule of the Assyrian Sargonids, all three of them were in turn influenced by Ninlil, as a result of the Assyrian rulers pairing all of these goddesses with the head of the imperial pantheon, Ashur.テンプレート:Sfn

Some Hurrian elements nonetheless survived in Nineveh.テンプレート:Sfn Shaushka's role as a healing deity seemingly resurfaces in the documents from the reign Ashurnasirpal I, who prayed to the Ishtar of Nineveh to be relieved from physical and mental pains.テンプレート:Sfn Additionally, Frans Wiggermann considers a text describing Ishtar of Nineveh whose "upper parts are Bel, and (...) lower parts are Ninlil" to be evidence of the deity's androgynous character.テンプレート:Sfn A further example of Hurrian influence is the fact that in the first millennium BCE Ninatta and Kulitta are attested in the entourages of Ishtar of Arbela,テンプレート:Sfn Ishtar of Assur,テンプレート:Sfn and Ishtar of Nineveh.テンプレート:Sfn The Akkadian spellings of their names known from neo-Assyrian sources are ^dNi-ni-tum and ^dKu-li-it-tum.テンプレート:Sfn It is also possible that the frequent appearances of Adad side by side with Ishtar in neo-Assyrian treaties were the influence of Hurrian beliefs regarding the close connection between Teshub and Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfn

Sargon II in a single document used the name "Šawuška" to refer to a goddess he called the "dweller in Nineveh."テンプレート:Sfn This is assumed to be the last pre-modern mention of her as a distinct figure.テンプレート:Sfn

Ugaritic Ishtar Hurri and Phoenician Astarte Hurri

It has been proposed that a figure known as Ishtar Hurri (the Hurrian Ishtarテンプレート:Sfn first attested in texts from Ugarit written in Akkadian, was analogous to Shaushka.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn While other explanations of the epithet Hurri have also been proposed, according to Mark Smith they are not plausible.テンプレート:Sfn The "Hurrian Astarte" is known from 8th century BCE Sidon.テンプレート:Sfn

References

Bibliography

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