Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The idea of Nergal and Ereshkigal as a couple likely developed out of a need to reconcile the two traditions. [14] Ereshkigal's sukkal (vizier or messenger) was Namtar. [15] While obscure in cultic texts, Ereshkigal was prominent in mythical literature. Examples of myths where she plays an important role include:
During the Akkadian Period (c. 2334 – 2154 BC), Ereshkigal's role as the ruler of the underworld was assigned to Nergal, the god of death. [1] [17] The Akkadians attempted to harmonize this dual rulership of the underworld by making Nergal Ereshkigal's husband. [1] Nergal is the deity most often identified as Ereshkigal's husband. [25]
Nergal (Sumerian: ð’€ð’„Šð’€•ð’ƒ² [1] d KIŠ.UNU or d GÌR.UNU.GAL; [2] Hebrew: × Öµ×¨Ö°×’Ö·×œ, Modern: Nergal, Tiberian: NÄ“rgal; Aramaic: Ü¢Ü¸ÜªÜ“Ü²Ü ; [3] Latin: Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination.
The Akkadian myth of Nergal et Ereshkigal portrays Ereshkigal as the wife of the god Nergal. However, in Descent of Inanna into the Underworld , Gugalanna is attributed to her as a husband. His name likely signifies "Inspector of An's Canals" and may represent an alternative designation for Ennugi.
Nergal then proceeded to grab Kumma by his hair, causing Kumma to shiver in fear and kneel down. Nergal would have killed the crown prince if not for the timely intervention of Nergal's vizier, Ishum, who convinced Nergal to spare Kumma. Nergal then asked why he insulted Ereshkigal, although no response was given.
He may have also been the father of Inanna and Ereshkigal. Ningal was the wife of Nanna, [39] as well as the mother of Utu, Inanna, and Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal was the goddess of the Sumerian Underworld, which was known as Kur. [16]: 184 She was Inanna's older sister. [40] In later myth, her husband was the god Nergal.
Namtar served as the sukkal of Ereshkigal, [3] though less commonly he could also be referred to as the sukkal of Nergal. [7] Some texts simply refer to him as "sukkal of the underworld," sukkal ereseti ki. [13] According to the god list An = Anum, Namtar had a wife, Hušbišag, known also from various myths and incantations. [3]
Frans Wiggermann assumes that the genealogies where Ereshkigal is listed as his mother represent the original tradition, and making Ninazu a son of Enlil and Ninlil was the result of absorption of some features of Nergal. [10] In an Early Dynastic text from Shuruppak the god of Enegi, presumably Ninazu, is already referred to as "Nergal of ...