In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( [], ) was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husband Nergal. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler, and sometimes it is given as Ninkigal, lit. "Lady of the Great Earth”.

Ereshkigal was only one of multiple deities regarded as rulers of the underworld in Mesopotamia. The main temple dedicated to her was located in Kutha, a city originally associated with Nergal, and her cult had a very limited scope. No personal names with "Ereshkigal" as a theophoric element are known.

In the ancient Sumerian poem Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, Ereshkigal is described as Inanna's older sister. However, this is a cultural artifact since the Sumerians used terms such as sister as a way to place each other on the same level in hierarchy.

The underworld vision of an Assyrian prince

Ereshkigal is listed alongside other underworld deities. Nergal is described as her husband in this text.

Family

In some versions of the myths, Ereshkigal rules the Underworld by herself, but in other versions of the myths, she rules alongside a husband subordinate to her named Gugalana. Gugalana had no fixed identity. In Inanna's descent he dies before the events of the myth; in some inscriptions he is the father of Ninazu; eventually this name became a title of Nergal as well.

In Sumerian mythology, Ereshkigal is the mother of the goddess Nungal. In a fragmentary text translated by Jeremiah Peterson, Nungal appears alongside Ereshkigal and the healing goddess Nintinugga.

In one late magical text her son with Enlil was her vizier Namtar.

Syncretism

The Hurrian underworld goddess Allani was conflated with Ereshkigal in Mesopotamia, and with the Sun goddess of the Earth among the Hittites and Luwians. While Allani was originally introduced in Mesopotamia as an independent figure, receiving offerings in Ur during Shulgi's reign under the name Allatum (alongside other foreign deities such as Ishara and Belet Nagar), she gradually became little more than a title of Ereshkigal.

The Hattian death god Lelwani, originally described as a male deity with the masculine title of katte (king), started to be viewed as a goddess instead due to conflation with Allani and Ereshkigal.

Ereshkigal's name in Greek magical texts

In later times, the Greeks appear to have applied the name Ereshkigal (Ερεσχιγαλ) to their own goddess Hecate. In the heading of a spell in the Michigan Magical Papyrus, which has been dated to the late third or early fourth century A.D. (and as such was written after the art of reading cuneiform texts was lost), Hecate is referred to as "Hecate Ereschkigal" and is invoked using magical words and gestures to alleviate the caster's fear of punishment in the afterlife. Hecate's worship was not directly borrowed from Mesopotamia but shows parallels in rites and wording of chants, indicating influence and syncretism.

Obsolete theories

In his 1944 book, Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C. Samuel Noah Kramer proposed that, according to the introductory passage of the ancient Sumerian epic poem, "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld," Ereshkigal was forcibly abducted, taken down to the Underworld by the Kur, and was forced to become queen of the Underworld against her will. In order to avenge the abduction of Ereshkigal, Enki, the god of water, set out in a boat to slay the Kur. The Kur defends itself by pelting Enki with rocks of many sizes and by sending the waves beneath Enki's boat to attack Enki. The poem never actually explains who the ultimate victor of the battle is, but it is implied that Enki wins. Samuel Noah Kramer relates this myth to the ancient Greek myth of the abduction of Persephone, asserting that the Greek story is probably derived from the ancient Sumerian story.

This view, and even the idea of Kur being a single well-defined monster rather than a vague term referring to mountains, foreign lands or the underworld, are not supported by modern scholars. The passage mentioned is interpreted as Enlil and Anu assigning a dowry to Ereshkigal.

See also

  • Allani
  • Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions
  • Lelwani
  • Sun goddess of the Earth
  • Descent of Inanna into the Underworld

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading

  • Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Ereškigal (goddess)
  • "Inana's descent to the nether world" - from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature by the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford