Šauška (Shaushka), also called Šauša or Šawuška is the Great Goddess of the Hurrian and Hittite pantheons. Her domains were those of love, sexuality, war and rage. Shaushka is also goddess of incantations, magic, medicine and healing.
Sister of the Storm God Teshub, she's born to creation gods Kumarbi (male/mother) and Anu (male/father). Shaushka is sometimes depicted as male.
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A Hurrian Mother Goddess, Shaushka is equated with Inanna/Ishtar of Mesopotamia and other major female deities. She's later adopted into the pantheon of the Hittites as the two groups mingle with the Hattians in Anatolia (present day Turkey) in the 2nd millennium BCE.
Shaushka has both male and female attributes, as found on her kaluti or offering lists. She's sometimes depicted as a male god in procession reliefs. Her overall sexuality is ambiguous though she usually takes a feminine role.
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Although her worship centers on the city of Nineveh in northern Anatolia, Shaushka is revered throughout the ancient near East. She's mentioned on god lists at Uruk and Babylon in Mesopotamia. The worship of gods and goddesses cross-culturally means a steady base and following, and also gives people from other cities something in common.
As a deity of love, Shaushka holds the power to guarantee conjugal love, return or deprive potency, and turn women into men and vice versa. Sex-changing aspects of divinity also appear in the history of Lelwani of the Underworld.
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In mythology, Šauška often appears as an ally of her brother Teshub, or a heroine in her own right. She uses any weapons at her disposal, including feminine wiles, to conquer heroes and monsters alike.
She does battle against the sea monster Ḫedammu, and seduces him as he's about to consume her. With Hedammu she gives birth to all the snakes of the world.
Sea god Kiaše is a son and ally of the god Kumarbi, who wants to kill his children Shaushka and Teshub, and she must go forth as a warrior. Shaushka is also linked to the diorite giant Ullikummi and mountain god Pišaišapḫi. She appears in folklore as a protector of olive trees.
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Šauška is accompanied by two handmaidens, Ninatta and Kulitta, a dyad of Hurrian goddesses. Dyads and twins or pairs were common deific manifestations, such as Šeri and Ḫurri, the twin Bulls who pull the chariot of Teshub.
Ninatta and Kulitta are considered divine musicians, though they also have warlike aspects, reflecting the nature of the Goddess. While Shauska may switch gender, the handmaidens are always shown as female.
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Other servant or attendant deities associated with Shaushka appear in offerings lists and descriptions of rituals. They include:
Šintal-wuri (Hurrian: "seven-eyed")
Šintal-irti ("seven-breasted")
Šinan-tatukarni ("twofold love")
Namrazunna ("shining")
Zunna, a Hurrianized spelling of Suen, Mesopotamian god of the moon
the sukkal Undurumma
A Hittite description of god statues mentions two depictions of Šauška. One is female, seated, winged and holding a cup. The other is masculine, also winged and armed with a golden ax. Both are attended by Ninatta and Kulitta and accompanied by an awiti, a mythical winged lion.
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Like many divinities Shaushka is a creature of contrasts. She's goddess of love but also war; female but also male; vibrant day and mystic night. She's much like life itself, for without the contrast of darkness, we would not know the light.
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