Ereshkigal - Wikipedia

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DERE.KI.GAL, lit. "Queen of the Great
In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (
Earth") was the goddess of Irkalla, the land of the dead or underworld. 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. "Great
Lady of the Earth" or "Lady of the Great Earth".

Ereshkigal was the only one who could pass judgment and give laws in her kingdom. The
main temple dedicated to her was located in Kutha.[1]
In the ancient Sumerian poem, "Inanna's Descent to the Underworld," Ereshkigal is
described as Inanna's older sister.[2][3] The story of Inanna's descent into the Underworld is
by far the most well-known myth involving Ereshkigal. In later Babylonian mythology,
Inanna was known as "Ishtar."

In ancient Sumerian mythology, Ereshkigal is the queen of the Underworld. She is the
older sister of the goddess, Inanna.[4] Inanna and Ereshkigal represent polar opposites.
Inanna is the Queen of Heaven, but Ereshkigal is the queen of Irkalla.[5] Ereshkigal plays a
very prominent and important role in two particular myths.
The first myth featuring Ereshkigal is described in the ancient Sumerian epic poem of
"Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld." In the poem, the goddess, Inanna descends into
the Underworld, apparently seeking to extend her powers there. Ereshkigal is described as
being Inanna's older sister. When Neti, the gatekeeper of the Underworld, informs
Ereshkigal that Inanna is at the gates of the Underworld, demanding to be let in,
Ereshkigal responds by ordering Neti to bolt the seven gates of the Underworld and to open
each gate separately, but only after Inanna has removed one article of clothing. Inanna
proceeds through each gate, removing one article of clothing at each gate. Finally, once she
has gone through all seven gates she finds herself naked and powerless, standing before
the throne of Ereshkigal. The seven judges of the Netherworld judge Inanna and declare
her to be guilty. Inanna is struck dead and her dead corpse is hung on a hook in the
Underworld for everyone to see. Inanna's minister, Ninshubur, however, pleads with Enki
and Enki agrees to rescue Inanna from the Underworld. Enki sends two sexless beings
down to the Underworld to revive Inanna with the food and water of life. The sexless beings
escort Inanna up from the Underworld, but a hoard of angry demons follow Inanna back
up from the Underworld, demanding to take someone else down to the Underworld as
Inanna's replacement. When Inanna discovers that her husband, Dumuzid, has not
mourned her death, she becomes ireful towards him and orders the demons to take
Dumuzid as her replacement.[6]
The other myth is the story of Nergal, the plague god. Once, the gods held a banquet that
Ereshkigal, as queen of the Netherworld, could not come up to attend. They invited her to
send a messenger, and she sent her vizier Namtar in her place. He was treated well by all,
but for the exception of being disrespected by Nergal. As a result of this, Nergal was

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banished to the kingdom controlled by the goddess. Versions vary at this point, but all of
them result in him becoming her husband.[7] In later tradition, Nergal is said to have been
the victor, taking her as wife and ruling the land himself.
It is theorized that the story of Inanna's descent is told to illustrate the possibility of an
escape from the netherworld, while the Nergal myth is intended to reconcile the existence
of two rulers of the Netherworld: a goddess and a god. The addition of Nergal represents
the harmonizing tendency to unite Ereshkigal as the queen of the netherworld with the god
who, as god of war and of pestilence, brings death to the living and thus becomes the one
who presides over the dead.

In some versions of the myths, Ereshkigal rules the Underworld by herself, but in other
versions of the myths, Ereshkigal rules alongside a husband subordinate to her named
Gugalana.
In his book, Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third
Millennium B.C., the renowned scholar of ancient Sumer, Samuel Noah Kramer writes 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 rape of Persephone, asserting
that the Greek story is probably derived from the ancient Sumerian story.[8]
In Sumerian mythology, Ereshkigal is the mother of the goddess, Nungal. Her son with
Enlil is the god, Namtar. With Gugalana her son is Ninazu.

Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions

Hel
Isis

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4.
5.

"Ereshkigal", Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2003.

http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm
http://www.ancient.eu/article/215/
http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm
Wolkstein, Diane, and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her
Stories and Hymns from Sumer. Harper & Row, Publishers, 1983, New York.
6. http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm
7. "Nergal and Ereshkigal" in Myths from Mesopotamia, trans. S. Dalley (ISBN 0-199-53836-0)
8. Kramer, Samuel Noah. Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in

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the Third Millennium B.C.: Revised Edition. University of Pennsylvania, 1944, Philadelphia.
(Pages 76-79) http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/sum/sum08.htm

Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia by Jeremy Black and Anthony
Green (ISBN 0-292-70794-0)
The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels by Alexander Heidel (ISBN
0-226-32398-6)
Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth" by Diane Wolkenstein and Samuel Noah Kramer
(ISBN 0-06-090854-8)
This articleincorporates text from a publication now in the public
domain:Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopdia Britannica
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Erekigal (goddess)

(http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/erekigal/)
"Inana's descent to the nether world" (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin
/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.4.1&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc#) - from The Electronic Text Corpus
of Sumerian Literature by the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ereshkigal&oldid=753079521"
Categories: Mesopotamian goddesses Death goddesses Underworld goddesses
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