"[2] 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").

[10] 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,"[9] equivalent of Sumerian gašan and Akkadian bēltu.

[20] 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.

[21] 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.

"[22] The association is also present in Mesopotamian texts: these from the Ur III period label her as ni-nu-a-kam, "of Nineveh,"[10] while an Old Babylonian god list from Uruk mentions her under the name dINANNA ni-nu-a.

[29] 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.

[32] An inscription placed above a gap between figures 55 and 56 in the procession of female deities indicates that originally feminine Šauška was depicted there as well, but this relief is presently missing.

[31] A further relief of Šauška 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.

[33] 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 Šauška, her hypostases or similar local deities, though this identification is uncertain due to lack of textual evidence.

[34] 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,[35] who he assumes to be Šauška.

[7] Šauška was the highest ranked goddess in the Hurrian pantheon, as evidenced for example by documents from the kingdom of Arrapha[37] and by the correspondence of the Mitanni king Tushratta.

[2] 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.

[21] According to Alfonso Archi, Shaushka was nonetheless one of the three most commonly worshiped unmarried Hurrian goddesses in the west, next to Allani and Išḫara,[38] while according to Gernot Wilhelm her position in Alalakh and Ugarit was the same as in the east.

[37] Šauška could be included in kaluti (offering lists) dedicated to the circle of Teshub, in which case she was placed between the god Ea and her servants Ninatta and Kulitta,[39] or to these dedicated Hebat, in which case she could be placed between Aya and Shuwala,[28] but she could also head a kaluti of her own,[21] which included deities such as Allani, Išḫara and Nikkal.

[1] However, the first myth in the so-called Kumarbi cycle, which deals with the birth of his children, does not mention her,[20] even though she is referred to as the sister of both Teshub and his brother (and sukkal) Tashmishu in other compositions.

[45] Ninatta and Kulitta, a dyad of Hurrian musician goddesses always listed together,[46] were her handmaidens,[47] though in the Bronze Age they are only attested in texts from Hattusa and Ugarit.

[62] Both Šauška 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.

[65] Šauška, directly identified as the goddess of Nineveh, was also worshiped in Nuzi,[2] where she appears in theophoric names, one example being Ar-Šauška.

[5] A genre of Hurrian songs whose name, zinzabuššiya, is derived from that of an unidentified bird, was associated with the worship of Šauška according to Hittite documents.

[70] 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.

[22] Šauška is mentioned in documents from the reign of king Hattusili III, who married Puduhepa, the daughter of this goddess' priest from Lawazantiya, Pentipsharri.

[1] 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 the "storm god of Assur" (Adad) .

[79] Due to the convention of logographic writing of theonyms in Hittite texts, it is difficult to tell what types of clergy belonged to the cult of Šauška and served as the staff of her temples.

[82] 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.

[82] 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,[49] though the ending is not preserved.

[90] 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.

[94] 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.

[95] Song of Hašarri, only known from fragments, seemingly recounts a story in which Šauška raises the eponymous entity,[96] whose name can be translated as "oil.

[99] In known fragments Šauška seeks the help of Ea, as suggested to her by Kumarbi,[100] assembles various gods for uncertain reasons,[101] protects Hašarri from a lion,[102] and eventually rejoices watching the olive tree's growth, possibly supplemented with the help of her magic.

[105] Šauška'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.