9 World Chronicles

Ereshkigal (also known as Irkalla and Allatu) is the Mesopotamian Queen of the Dead who rules the underworld. Her name translates as 'Queen of the Great Below' or 'Lady of the Great Place.' She was responsible for both keeping the dead within her realm and preventing the living from entering and learning the truth of the afterlife.

 

Her palace in Ganzir located at the entrance of the underworld

 

Her Consort in the War God Nergal

But also the Bull of Heaven was her first husband before he was killed by the Demi God Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu

She is the sister of Inanna and is famously linked to her story of descent into the underworld

Ereshkigal is first mentioned in the Sumerian poem The Death of Ur-Nammu which dates to the reign of Shulgi of Ur (2029-1982 BCE). She was undoubtedly known earlier, however, and most likely during the Akkadian Period (2334-2218 BCE). Her Akkadian name, Allatu,

The ancient Mesopotamians believed in life after death and that the souls of the dead traveled to the Underworld. To the Sumerians, this place was known as Kur, whilst the Akkadians referred to it as Irkalla. This was a dark, gloomy place, where the dead were believed to drink from muddy puddles and eat dust.

 

In some myths,

Ereshkigal is said to have been the daughter of Anu, the supreme god of the Mesopotamian pantheon and the personification of the sky. According to one myth, when Anu’s tears, which were shed for his separated sister-lover Ki (the personification of the earth), mingled with the salty water of the primeval sea goddess Nammu, Ereshkigal was born.

 

This goddess became the Queen of the Underworld

after she was abducted by the dragon Kur, who was the half-brother of Ereshkigal. The dragon brought the goddess to the Underworld, and although the gods tried to rescue her, they were not able to do so, as no one, not even the gods, were able to return from the realm of the dead.