Ereshkigal

Ereshkigal summoned Nergal to the underworld after he insulted her envoy. No name was given for the envoy. No reason was given for the insult, and no words were given for the exchange. Ereshkigal’s offence was enough for her to call Nergal before her.

Nergal entered the underworld, the realm ruled by Ereshkigal. It was called Kur, a name that also meant mountain or foreign land. The realm lay beneath the earth’s surface and above the nether waters, the great abyss. It was also called the Land of No Return, since those who entered it were thought unable to return to the earth.

Ereshkigal took Nergal as her lover. No account was given of whether he resisted her summons, how he passed into the underworld, or how their relationship began. The telling moved from his arrival directly to their union. Ereshkigal then secured Nergal’s return as her husband and co-ruler. No explanation was given of where he returned from, how he shared power with her, or how the other gods responded. Nothing was given about their court, their laws, or the duties attached to Nergal’s new position.

Ereshkigal was also known as the queen of the underworld and, in some tellings, as the elder sister of Ishtar. In another story, Ishtar entered Ereshkigal’s realm and was forced to remove her clothes at its gates. Ereshkigal then ordered her sister to be killed. That episode did not explain Nergal’s summons. Nergal’s story ended with Ereshkigal’s summons, his arrival, their union, and his return as her husband and co-ruler.