ERESHKIGAL: ETYMOLOGY, ORIGIN, ATTRIBUTES, CIVILIZATIONS - HISTORY - 2025

Ereshkigal was the goddess of the Mesopotamian civilization in charge of ruling the underworld, whose cult spread to other regions such as Egypt and Asia Minor. As a deity, she was one of the most feared in view of the fact that she had in her hands the fate of men and women, as well as justice for those who harmed others.

In the pantheon of Mesopotamia he occupied one of the most respected places, but not many representations have been found in his honor, which may be related to the fear that the figure represented for mortals.

Source: wikimedia

Relieve Burney

In regards to Sumerian-Arcadian mythology, she was the daughter of the god of the heavens, known as Anu. It is also said that she came to the underworld after being kidnapped by Kur, a monstrous dragon.

Once Ereshkigal entered the land of the dead, none of the gods could rescue her since one of the laws that governed the underworld dictated that whoever entered could not leave the enclosure.

Consequently, the deity became the highest authority and was the one who had the power to design the laws and decide the fate of the men who entered the underworld.

According to legend, the dead who resided in the underworld fed on dust and mud, which described the suffering of the land of darkness, that world that no one wanted to enter and from which there was no return.

Etymology

In Mesopotamian mythology, the dreaded 'goddess of darkness and the underworld', who decided the fate of men who committed evil deeds or sins, was known by different names.

In Sumerian the meaning of the term Ereshkigal alluded to the 'lady of the great land', one of the most respected deities in the pantheon, however, she was not the most represented.

This resides in the belief of the Mesopotamians who held that to the extent that they personified a god, he resided in his statue or structure and they did not wish to attract the goddess due to her great power.

Ereshkigal was also known among the settlers as 'the lady of the great place' or 'the queen of the great below' to refer to the underworld, a place to which no one wanted to be sent after his death.

Origin of the goddess

On the origin of Ereshkigal it is known that his father was the god Anu, a deity of great relevance in the Mesopotamian pantheon, who represented the sky.

According to mythology, the stories affirm that before humans populated the earth the gods were born, being brought into the world by the mother goddess Nammu.

At the beginning of time, the brothers who represented heaven and earth were the god Anu and the goddess Ki respectively, who were united but when their son Enlil was born they were separated by him.

Due to the estrangement Anu was plunged into deep sadness and one day, while sobbing, his tears fell directly into the sea, ruled by the goddess Nammu.

As soon as the tears that flowed from the god mixed with the salty water, the well-known 'queen of the great below' or Ereshkigal was born.

She was originally a celestial goddess until she was abducted by the fierce dragon Kur, who took her to the underworld, from which she could not leave and went on to become the supreme queen.

Attributes

Ereshkigal was one of the most respected and feared deities in Mesopotamia, whose main temple was located in the city of Kutha.

Little is known about the attributes of the goddess, since there is only the so-called Burney relief, whose elaboration dates from the times when Hammurabi reigned (1800 to 1750 BC).

The plaque, which is also called the Queen of the Night, represents a naked woman with horns on her head, which obeyed a typical sign of the gods of Mesopotamia.

It has wings and its feet resemble the claws of the owls on either side; This detail suggests that it is a deity of darkness, since it refers to infernal images.

In his hands he holds a circle and a rope, which were used in Mesopotamia to refer to the justice used by the deity that was being represented.

It should be noted that there is no consensus regarding the goddess that is depicted in the Burney relief as some claim that it is Inanna, his sister.

Other experts affirm that the deity represented in the work may be Lilith, a demonic figure from the Bible. The truth is that according to the black color that the plate wore on the back, it is a personality associated with darkness.

Ereshkigal in different civilizations

This ectonic goddess was one of the main figures in the Mesopotamian pantheon and the only one with the powers required to rule in the underworld.

In the times of Mesopotamian civilizations there was a marked belief in life after death and the so-called queen of the great below was in charge of drafting the laws under which the underworld functioned.

The cult of Ereshkigal spread throughout Mesopotamia, where he was one of the most feared deities, and spread to Egypt and Asia Minor.

For the Sumerians, the great lady of the underworld was known as Ereshkigal while in Acadia and Babylon she used to take the name Irkalla.

This was the noun that was used to refer to the land of the dead, the one that the goddess ruled and to which people went once they died and from which they could not leave unless the deity allowed it.

In Greek mythology he was also worshiped but under the name of Hecate or Hecate Ereshkigal. It should be noted that in these lands it was associated with witchcraft, so wizards and witches came to it.

Hecate. Source: wikimedia

Inanna's descent into the underworld

Within the Sumerian mythology, this is one of the main myths that was written using about Innana, which the verses tell about visited the underworld.

This story tells how the goddess Inanna, heir to the heavens and of great goodness, upon learning of the great sadness that invaded her sister after being widowed, decided to visit her to offer her support in such difficult moments.

However, the deity of love and war made provisions and alerted her servants that, if she did not return in three days, they would send someone to rescue her.

As soon as the supreme authority in the land of the dead learned of Inanna's presence, they ordered her to leave her garments as she passed through each of the gates of the kingdom.

In the process of entering the underworld, it was a custom for the dead to gradually leave their clothes and belongings, and the goddess was treated in the same way.

Consequently, upon entering the underworld, she was completely stripped of any clothing, which had the effect of diminishing her power.

Ereshkigal took advantage of the situation and immediately took her life and ordered her to be hung on a hook but, as the days passed, Inanna's assistant asked the god Enki to bring her back.

The envoys of Inanna's father managed to revive her but before leaving the underworld they had to make sure that someone impersonated him. After pondering it for a while, the goddess chose to choose her husband, Dumuzi, whom she found celebrating.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape and, faced with her fatal fate, her sister offered to take her place in the underworld. They came to an agreement that each of them would stay six months in the Land of the Dead.

Ereshkigal's marriage to Nergal

According to mythology, Nergal, who was the deity of war, in the midst of a banquet offered by the gods managed to offend the queen of the great below because when her son Namtar arrived, whom she sent on her behalf, he did not stood up.

In response to this affront, Ereshkigal asked the gods to send Nergal to the underworld, but the god did not trust himself and was prepared to defend his life with fourteen demons.

The deity had ordered that each door through which he entered be closed, which was not carried out by Nergal's assistants, and upon reaching the land of the dead he defeated Ereshkigal in heavy combat.

Just when he was about to take the goddess's life, she implored him not to murder her and offered him to stay with her as her husband and help him rule the underworld.

The 'god of war' agreed and regretted his actions, but due to his duties in the land of men, he would remain only 6 months out of the year by the deity's side.

References

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2. Ancient civilizations. Top 10 Ancient Mesopotamian Goddesses. Taken from antiguacivilizaciones.com
3. Goddess Hecate. (2015). Hecate, history and attributes of the goddess. Taken from goddesshecate.wordpress.com
4. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2,019). Ereshkigal. Mesopotamian Goddess. Taken from britannica.com
5. Ereshkigal. Taken from fandom.com
6. Mark, J, J, (2.017). Ereshkigal. Taken from ancient.eu
7. Sumerian Mythology: The Goddess Ereshkigal. Taken from pandemonium.com