Nergal and Ereshkigal

The Banquet of the Gods

The gods of heaven held a great feast, but Ereshkigal, queen of the underworld, could not ascend to join them. The laws of the dead are absolute: she who rules below may not leave her domain. In her stead, she sent her vizier Namtar to receive her portion of the banquet. When Namtar entered the hall, all the gods rose in respect, as is due to the representative of death. All rose except one. Nergal remained seated.

The Insult

Ereshkigal was enraged. To disrespect her envoy was to disrespect the underworld itself, to deny the authority of death. She sent word to the gods above: the one who did not rise must be sent to her. She would have satisfaction. The great gods Anu and Enlil conferred. There was no choice. Nergal must descend.

Preparations for Descent

Before his journey, Nergal was counseled by Enki, the god of wisdom. Some accounts say Enki advised him to resist the temptations of the underworld: accept no seat, no food, no drink. Other traditions tell that Nergal went armed, bringing fourteen demon warriors to station at each of the seven gates. He was not a penitent going to beg forgiveness. He was a war god descending into enemy territory.

The Confrontation

Nergal passed through the seven gates of the underworld. In the oldest version of the tale, he stormed Ereshkigal's throne room. He seized the queen by her hair and dragged her from the throne, raising his axe to strike the killing blow. Ereshkigal did not cower. She spoke: "Do not kill me. I will be your wife. I will place the tablet of wisdom in your hand. You shall be king, I shall be queen."

"Let me be your wife. I will give you sovereignty over the wide earth. I will place the tablet of wisdom in your hand. You shall be lord, I shall be lady."

A Union of Equals

In a later Amarna-period version of the myth, the story takes a different shape. Nergal descends and is overcome not by force but by desire. He and Ereshkigal share a bed for six days. On the seventh he flees back to heaven, and Ereshkigal is consumed with grief and longing. She threatens to raise the dead to devour the living unless Nergal is returned to her. He descends again, this time willingly, and they embrace as husband and wife. Whether by conquest or passion, the outcome is the same: Nergal becomes king of the underworld.

Lord of the Great City

From that time forward, Ereshkigal and Nergal ruled the underworld together. He who had been a god of plague and war became a sovereign of the dead. The marriage merged two kinds of power: Ereshkigal's ancient dominion over death and Nergal's fierce celestial might. The underworld, which had known only one throne, now held two. The Mesopotamians recognized both versions of the story, force and desire, as equally true. Power and love are not so different in the land from which no one returns.