Ancient Mesopotamian underworld facts for kids
The ancient Mesopotamian underworld was known by many names, like Kur, Irkalla, and Erṣetu. It was seen as a dark, gloomy cave deep underground. People believed it was a place where life continued in a way, but it was very different from life on Earth. The only food or drink there was dry dust. However, family members on Earth would pour special liquids into the ground for the dead to drink. In early Sumerian beliefs, there was no final judgment in the underworld. People were not rewarded or punished for what they did in life.
The ruler of this underworld was the goddess Ereshkigal. She lived in a palace called Ganzir. Her husband was either Gugalanna or, in later stories, Nergal, the god of war. After the Akkadian Empire, Nergal sometimes became the main ruler of the underworld. The underworld had seven gates, guarded by a gatekeeper named Neti. The god Namtar was Ereshkigal's special helper. The god Dumuzid spent half the year in the underworld. His sister, Geshtinanna, a goddess who wrote things down, took his place for the other half. The underworld was also home to many demons, like the child-eating Lamashtu and the wind demon Pazuzu. There were also galla demons, who dragged people to the underworld.
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Names for the Underworld
The ancient Sumerians had many names for the underworld. Some of these included Arali, Irkalla, Kukku, Kur, Kigal, and Ganzir. These names were later used by the Akkadians too. Sometimes, the underworld was simply called "earth" or "sand." The word Kur could mean "ground" or "mountain." The symbol for Kur looked like a mountain. The underworld was also called the "land of no return," the "desert," or the "lower world." The most common Akkadian name was erṣetu. Other names included "House of Dumuzi" and "Earth of No Return." In the myth "Nergal and Ereshkigal," it is called Kurnugi.
Life in the Underworld
People believed that all souls went to the same afterlife. What a person did during their life did not change how they would be treated there. Unlike in ancient Egypt, there was no judgment process. Souls simply appeared before Ereshkigal, who would declare them dead. Their names would be written down by the goddess Geshtinanna.
Souls in the underworld were thought to eat only dry dust. To help them, family members on Earth would pour special liquids into the dead person's grave through a clay pipe. This allowed the dead to drink. Because of this, it was very important to have many children. This way, your descendants could continue to provide drinks for you in the afterlife. Those who died without children were believed to suffer the most. They would have nothing to drink and might even haunt the living. Sometimes, the dead were described as being naked or covered in feathers, like birds.
Later, during the Third Dynasty of Ur, people believed that how a person was buried affected their afterlife. Those with fancy burials would be treated well. But those with poor burials would not fare well. People who did not get a proper burial, like those who died in fires or alone in the desert, were thought to simply stop existing. They would not even go to the underworld. The Sumerians also believed that for very special people, music could make the sad conditions of the underworld a little better.
Geography of the Underworld
A staircase was believed to lead down to the gates of the underworld. The underworld itself was usually thought to be even deeper than the Abzu. The Abzu was a body of fresh water believed to be deep beneath the Earth. However, some stories said the underworld was in a far-off, hard-to-reach place on Earth, possibly in the west. This idea came from the underworld sometimes being called "desert." Also, real rivers far from Sumer were sometimes called the "river of the underworld."
The underworld was believed to have seven gates. A soul had to pass through all of them. All seven gates had strong bolts. The god Neti was the gatekeeper. Ereshkigal's messenger was the god Namtar. Ereshkigal's palace was known as Ganzir.
At night, the sun-god Utu was believed to travel through the underworld. He journeyed to the east to get ready for sunrise. One Sumerian story says Utu lit up the underworld and judged the dead there. He judged them alongside other gods. On his way, Utu was thought to pass through the sun-god's garden. This garden had trees that grew precious gems as fruit.
Who Lived in the Underworld?
Ereshkigal and Her Family
Many gods and goddesses were believed to live in the ancient Mesopotamian underworld. The queen of the underworld was the goddess Ereshkigal. She lived in a palace called Ganzir. In older stories, her husband was Gugalanna. But in later myths, her husband was the god Nergal. Her gatekeeper was Neti, and her helper was Namtar. In the poem Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, Ereshkigal is called Inanna's "older sister."
Gugalanna was Ereshkigal's first husband. His name likely meant "canal inspector of An." He might have been another name for the god Ennugi. The son of Ereshkigal and Gugalanna was Ninazu. In the story of Inanna's journey, Inanna tells Neti she is going to Gugalanna's funeral.
During the Akkadian Empire, Nergal, the god of death, took over Ereshkigal's role as underworld ruler. To make sense of this, the Akkadians made Nergal Ereshkigal's husband. Nergal was also linked to forest fires, fevers, sickness, and war. In myths, he caused destruction.
Ninazu was the son of Ereshkigal and the father of Ningishzida. He was strongly connected to the underworld. He was mostly worshipped in Eshnunna. His special animal was the mušḫuššu, a type of dragon.
Ningishzida was a god who usually lived in the underworld. He was the son of Ninazu. His name might mean "Lord of the Good Tree." In a Sumerian poem, the hero Gilgamesh dies and meets Ningishzida and Dumuzid in the underworld. Ningishzida was linked to the constellation Hydra.
Other Underworld Deities
Dumuzid, also known as Tammuz, was the ancient Mesopotamian god of shepherds. He was the main partner of the goddess Inanna. His sister was the goddess Geshtinanna. Dumuzid was also a god of plants growing. People linked him to springtime, when the land was green. But in summer, when the land was dry, they thought Dumuzid had "died." During the summer month of Dumuzid, people across Sumer mourned his death. Many stories were told about his death.
Geshtinanna was a goddess of farming and sometimes dreams. She was Dumuzid's sister. In one story, she hid her brother from the galla demons who came to take him to the underworld. In another version, she refused to tell the galla where he was. The galla eventually took Dumuzid after a "friend" betrayed him. But Inanna decided that Dumuzid and Geshtinanna would take turns. Each would spend half the year in the underworld while the other stayed on Earth. When Geshtinanna was in the underworld, she worked as Ereshkigal's scribe, writing things down.
Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea were twin gods. They were worshipped in a village called Kisiga. They were seen as guardians of doorways. They might have been twins guarding the underworld gates, cutting the dead into pieces as they passed. Later, small pictures of them were buried at entrances to homes. They looked identical, wearing horned caps and holding an axe and a mace. They are linked to the constellation Gemini.
Neti was the gatekeeper of the underworld. Belet-Seri was an underworld goddess who wrote down the names of the dead as they entered.
Demons of the Underworld
The ancient Mesopotamians also believed that many demons lived in the underworld. These demons were sometimes called "children of arali." They could sometimes leave the underworld and scare people on Earth. One group of demons was called galla. Their main job seemed to be dragging unlucky people back to the underworld. They are often mentioned in magic texts. Some texts say there were seven of them. Several old poems describe the galla dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld.
Lamashtu was a demonic goddess. She had "the head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey, a hairy body, long fingers and nails, and the feet of Anzû." People believed she caused miscarriages and sudden infant deaths. Even though she was called a demon, she was powerful enough to cause evil on her own. This suggests she was seen as a goddess. Mesopotamian people used amulets and talismans to protect themselves from her. She was believed to ride in her boat on the river of the underworld. She was linked to donkeys and was thought to be the daughter of An.
Pazuzu was a demonic god known to the Babylonians and Assyrians. He was shown with "a dog-like face, bulging eyes, a scaly body, bird talons, and usually wings." He was believed to be the son of the god Hanbi. Pazuzu was usually seen as evil. However, he could also be helpful. He was thought to protect against winds that brought sickness. He could also force Lamashtu back to the underworld. Amulets with his image were placed in homes to protect babies from Lamashtu. Pregnant women often wore amulets with his head for protection.
Šul-pa-e's name means "youthful brilliance," but he was not seen as a young god. In one story, he was the partner of Ninhursag. In a Sumerian poem, offerings were made to Šhul-pa-e in the underworld. Later, he became one of the underworld's demons.
See also
- Ancient Mesopotamian religion
- Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions
- Land of Darkness
- Sumerian religion
- World of Darkness
- Descent of Inanna into the Underworld
