ORIGIN: Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Babylonian-Akkadian)
TYPE: Chthonic underworld goddess.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: circa 3500 BCE or earlier to 200 BCE or later.
SYNONYMS: Allatu(m)
ART REFERENCES: Plaques, votive stelae, glyptics, etc.
LITERARY SOURCES: Creation epics and other texts including "Inana's Descent and the Death of Dumuzi"
INFORMATION: Ereskigal is the consort of Nergal and queen of the underworld. She is also the mother of Ninazu. According to some texts she was once a sky goddess who was abducted by the monstrous deity Kur. She lives in the palace of Ganzir and equates with the Greek Persephone. Arguably, Ereskigal may be seen as a dark alter ego of the goddess Inana and is identified in some texts as her elder sibling. Her consort is also identified as Gugulana. In legend Ereskigal is challenged by Inana but after judgement by the seven Annunaki, the underworld goddess renders her a corpse for three days until she is revived through the intervention of Enki, the god of wisdom. In Western Semitic pantheons Ereskigal becomes Allatu.