Nergal and Ereshkigal
Also known as: Nergal and Ereškigal, Nergal and Allatu, The Descent of Nergal, Nergal and Ereshkigal (Amarna Version), Nergal and Ereshkigal (Standard Babylonian)
Akkadian myth in which the war-plague god Nergal descends to the underworld, meets its queen Ereshkigal, and becomes her consort. Versions differ: in one he flees then returns in force; in another he stays willingly, establishing divine sovereignty below.
Description
The narrative opens with a divine assembly slighting Ereshkigal’s messenger, provoking the underworld’s claim to honor. Nergal is dispatched below with instructions from Ea—ritual safeguards meant to prevent entanglement. Passing the gates, he meets Ereshkigal and for six days shares her bed, then in one recension panics and escapes to the upper world. Summoned back under decree, he returns—either storming the gates and seizing the queen by the hair before relenting, or choosing to remain as her spouse. The tale explains Nergal’s status as king-consort of the dead, integrates underworld jurisprudence with the celestial pantheon, and dramatizes the transfer and balance of power between realms. Its two principal recensions reveal evolving theological emphases within Babylonian scribal traditions.
Historiography
Known from Middle Babylonian tablets found at Amarna and a later Standard Babylonian recension from first-millennium archives. The two versions vary in tone and plot details, especially Nergal’s flight and forceful return versus a more immediate union. The myth circulated in scribal schools, reflecting ritual, diplomatic, and theological concerns about honoring Ereshkigal. Later traditions identify Ereshkigal with Allatu and associate Nergal with Erra, signaling syncretism in first-millennium theology.
Date Notes
Earliest substantial tablets from Amarna (14th c. BCE); later Standard Babylonian recension (1st millennium BCE) with variant episodes and ending.
Major Characters
- Nergal
- Ereshkigal
- Namtar
- Ea
- Anu
Myths
- Nergal’s Descent to the Underworld
- Seduction and Marriage to Ereshkigal
Facts
- Two principal recensions survive: an Amarna-era Middle Babylonian version and a later Standard Babylonian version.
- Nergal’s role as war and plague god is integrated with his kingship as Ereshkigal’s consort.
- Ea (Enki) provides apotropaic instructions for descent that Nergal partially violates.
- Gatekeeping and ritual protocol structure the passage through the seven gates.
- In one version Nergal flees after six days; in another strand he remains without flight.
- The forceful return episode dramatizes contested sovereignty in the underworld.
- Namtar functions as Ereshkigal’s vizier and prosecutor in the divine assembly.
- The myth explains cult-theological ties to Kutha, a center of Nergal’s worship.
- Later syncretism aligns Ereshkigal with Allatu and Nergal with Erra.
- The narrative was copied in scribal milieus concerned with diplomacy and ritual decorum.