Shaushka
Encyclopedia
Šauška or Shaushka was a Hurrian goddess who was also adopted into the Hittite
pantheon. She is known in detail because she became the patron goddess of the Hittite king Hattusili III
(1420–1400 BC) following his marriage to Puduhepa
, the daughter of the goddess's high priest. Her cultic center was Lawazantiya in Kizzuwatna
.
Shaushka is a goddess of fertility, war and healing. She is depicted in human form with wings, standing with a lion and accompanied by two attendants. She was considered equivalent to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar
and is sometimes identified using Ishtar's name in Hittite cuneiform.
correspondence
, (written mostly to the Ancient Egypt
ian pharaoh
), one letter EA 23, (EA for 'el Amarna
'), written to the pharaoh, has as its topic, the Loaning of a Statue to Egypt. It is presumed that it's due to the health of the Egyptian king, but there are other theories or explanations.
The title of the letter is: "A goddess
travels to Egypt
".
It is a short, 32-line letter, from Tushratta
, (letter no. 7 of 13), and the 2nd half of the letter states:
Black Egyptian script is also written on the reverse side of this letter, (in the open space remaining).
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
pantheon. She is known in detail because she became the patron goddess of the Hittite king Hattusili III
Hattusili III
Hattusili III was a king of the Hittite empire ca. 1267–1237 BC . He was the fourth and last son of Mursili II...
(1420–1400 BC) following his marriage to Puduhepa
Puduhepa
Puduhepa was a Hittite tawanannas was married to King Hattusili III. She has been referred to as "one of the most influential women known from the Ancient Near East."...
, the daughter of the goddess's high priest. Her cultic center was Lawazantiya in Kizzuwatna
Kizzuwatna
Kizzuwatna , is the name of an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the second millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun in modern-day Turkey. It encircled the Taurus Mountains and the Ceyhan river. The center of the kingdom was the city of...
.
Shaushka is a goddess of fertility, war and healing. She is depicted in human form with wings, standing with a lion and accompanied by two attendants. She was considered equivalent to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar
Ishtar
Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
and is sometimes identified using Ishtar's name in Hittite cuneiform.
1350 BC, Amarna letters "Šauška"
In the 1350-1335 BC Amarna lettersAmarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
correspondence
Text corpus
In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
, (written mostly to the Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
), one letter EA 23, (EA for 'el Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
'), written to the pharaoh, has as its topic, the Loaning of a Statue to Egypt. It is presumed that it's due to the health of the Egyptian king, but there are other theories or explanations.
The title of the letter is: "A goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
travels to Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
".
It is a short, 32-line letter, from Tushratta
Tushratta
Tushratta was a king of Mitanni at the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and throughout the reign of Akhenaten -- approximately the late 14th century BC. He was the son of Shuttarna II...
, (letter no. 7 of 13), and the 2nd half of the letter states:
- "Now, in the time, too, of my father ... ..went to this country, and just as earlier she dwelt there and they honored her, may my brother now honor her 10 times more than before. May my brother honor her, –(then) at (his) pleasure let her go so that she may come back.
- May Šauška, the mistress of heaven, protect us, my brother and me, 100,000 years, and may our mistress grant both of us great joy. And let us act as friends.
- Is Šauška for me alone my god(dess), and for my brother not his god(dess)?"
Black Egyptian script is also written on the reverse side of this letter, (in the open space remaining).
See also
- Hittite mythologyHittite mythologyMost of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of Hittite religion are lacking among the tablets recovered at the Hittite capital Hattusa and other Hittite sites: "there are no canonical scriptures, no theological disquisitions or...
- Hurrian mythology
External links
- EA 23-(Reverse), with Black HieraticHieraticHieratic refers to a cursive writing system that was used in the provenance of the pharaohs in Egypt and Nubia that developed alongside the hieroglyphic system, to which it is intimately related...
; Article-(British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
) - For a collection of Amarna letters photographs, see: Pirissi and TulubriPirissi and TulubriPirissi and Tulubri are a pair of messengers of the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. Pirissi and Tulubri are the messengers of King Tushratta of Mitanni, and are referenced in Amarna letters EA 27, 28, and EA 29, ....
links, (Tushratta letters, and others).