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Nergal and Ereshkigal
(Uruk, 7th century BC; Amarna, 15th century BC)
Notes
- Nergal may be etymologically related to Heracles, since his name is also pronounced Erakal.
- The Underworld goes by several different names: Erkalla (Great City), Kurnugi (Land of No Return), and most interestingly, Ersetum (Earth).
- The throne that Nergal takes down to the Underworld may be connected with the "ghost chair" of Mesopotamian death ritual.
Synopsis
The gods have a great banquet in heaven, to which Erershkigal, queen of the underworld, cannot come. She sends her vizier, Namtar, to bring her down her portion from the feast. While fetching the meal, Namtar is not treated with respect by Nergal. Nergal then plans to visit the underworld, bringing a throne down with him. He is warned by Ea, his father, not to participate in the underworld, i.e. he is not to eat or drink, bathe or engage in sexual activity. Namtar tries to keep Nergal out, but Ereshkigal reminds him that each god has his own domain, and one should not try to usurp the role of another. With this rebuke, she allows Nergal to enter. He withstands all the invitations to eat, drink and bathe, but he ultimately gives in to his lust and lies with Ereshkigal for a week. On the seventh day, Nergal extrictaes himself from Ereshkigal and returns to heaven. He then disguises himself so that when Namtar returns, seeking to bring him back to the underworld, he cannot at first find him. Ereshkigal appeals to her father, Anu, the king of the gods, to send Nergal back to her, threatening to unleash the more populous dead upon the living. Nergal returns on his own terms, defeating the guardians of the seven gates into the underworld, seizing Ereshkigal, taking her to bed for another week, and then ruling the underworld as her husband.
Commentary
Reflection
Even though, as is typical with Mesopotamian literature, the actors are all gods, they are portrayed essentially as human, or at least human-like in their daily life and interests. Nergal is to be a judge in the underworld, not of men but of gods, for example. Thus, there is something of value here in seeking to understand human nature. The text may serve some mythopoeic function (the translator suggests that it either explains the replacement of a queen with a king of the underworld, or it may serve to reconcile two separate mythical traditions that had come down), but it also explores human weakness.
Nergal is undone by his lust for a woman. He can withstand the temptations of food, drink, and comfort, but ultimately, not of sex. After his "sin", he is forced to sneak away and to try to disguise himself from her vizier. This is all a very human-like reaction to such a situation - perhaps even to the extreme of seeing the man trying to escape unwanted commitment (Ereshkigal claims to be pregnant by him later in the story).
Another typical human weakness is the desire for power. Namtar, the vizier, tries to overstep his bounds of authority to punish Nergal, while Nergal wants to get away with an improper deed - visiting the underworld and then leaving again. Both are eventually put in their place - they are to have power or authority, but only within a specific domain.
The gods have a great banquet in heaven, to which Erershkigal, queen of the underworld, cannot come. She sends her vizier, Namtar, to bring her down her portion from the feast. While fetching the meal, Namtar is not treated with respect by Nergal. Nergal then plans to visit the underworld, bringing a throne down with him. He is warned by Ea, his father, not to participate in the underworld, i.e. he is not to eat or drink, bathe or engage in sexual activity. Namtar tries to keep Nergal out, but Ereshkigal reminds him that each god has his own domain, and one should not try to usurp the role of another. With this rebuke, she allows Nergal to enter. He withstands all the invitations to eat, drink and bathe, but he ultimately gives in to his lust and lies with Ereshkigal for a week. On the seventh day, Nergal extrictaes himself from Ereshkigal and returns to heaven. He then disguises himself so that when Namtar returns, seeking to bring him back to the underworld, he cannot at first find him. Ereshkigal appeals to her father, Anu, the king of the gods, to send Nergal back to her, threatening to unleash the more populous dead upon the living. Nergal returns on his own terms, defeating the guardians of the seven gates into the underworld, seizing Ereshkigal, taking her to bed for another week, and then ruling the underworld as her husband.
Commentary
Perhaps the most challenging aspect to this text are the constant gaps in the text. It seems to blank out right at crucial moments, making it difficult to always know what is actually happening. The regular repetition in the text does help the reconstruction, though.
The obvious parallel here is the Greek myth of Persephone who must stay, at least part time, in the underworld because she ate the pomegranate seed. There are also some connections with the Descent of Ishtar: the passing of 7 gates, although this time without the symbolic stripping of the world but with a conquest of the guardians of the gates on Nergal's second descent.
Again, I enjoyed the poetic characterization of death as "the house which those who enter cannot leave, On the road where traveling is one way only." In fact, the lines that follow seem to suggest, in keeping with one name for the Underworld, that death is close to the earthly experience: "Where dust is their food, clay their bread. They are clothed, like birds, with feathers."
Interestingly, at one point in the text, Nergal is referred to by a plural noun -- "gods" instead of "god", which the translator connects with a possible Phoenician (i.e. western Semitic) influence. She compares this with the use of Elohim in the Old Testament.
The Amarna version contains an interesting play on words, since the words for 'death' and 'husband' look quite similar. Thus, instead of bringing Nergal to Ereshkigal for death because of his insult, he will end up coming to be her husband.
The obvious parallel here is the Greek myth of Persephone who must stay, at least part time, in the underworld because she ate the pomegranate seed. There are also some connections with the Descent of Ishtar: the passing of 7 gates, although this time without the symbolic stripping of the world but with a conquest of the guardians of the gates on Nergal's second descent.
Again, I enjoyed the poetic characterization of death as "the house which those who enter cannot leave, On the road where traveling is one way only." In fact, the lines that follow seem to suggest, in keeping with one name for the Underworld, that death is close to the earthly experience: "Where dust is their food, clay their bread. They are clothed, like birds, with feathers."
Interestingly, at one point in the text, Nergal is referred to by a plural noun -- "gods" instead of "god", which the translator connects with a possible Phoenician (i.e. western Semitic) influence. She compares this with the use of Elohim in the Old Testament.
The Amarna version contains an interesting play on words, since the words for 'death' and 'husband' look quite similar. Thus, instead of bringing Nergal to Ereshkigal for death because of his insult, he will end up coming to be her husband.
Reflection
Even though, as is typical with Mesopotamian literature, the actors are all gods, they are portrayed essentially as human, or at least human-like in their daily life and interests. Nergal is to be a judge in the underworld, not of men but of gods, for example. Thus, there is something of value here in seeking to understand human nature. The text may serve some mythopoeic function (the translator suggests that it either explains the replacement of a queen with a king of the underworld, or it may serve to reconcile two separate mythical traditions that had come down), but it also explores human weakness.
Nergal is undone by his lust for a woman. He can withstand the temptations of food, drink, and comfort, but ultimately, not of sex. After his "sin", he is forced to sneak away and to try to disguise himself from her vizier. This is all a very human-like reaction to such a situation - perhaps even to the extreme of seeing the man trying to escape unwanted commitment (Ereshkigal claims to be pregnant by him later in the story).
Another typical human weakness is the desire for power. Namtar, the vizier, tries to overstep his bounds of authority to punish Nergal, while Nergal wants to get away with an improper deed - visiting the underworld and then leaving again. Both are eventually put in their place - they are to have power or authority, but only within a specific domain.
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