| NERGAL:
Nergal is an ancient Sumerian god whose lecherous appetites result in his
eternal damnation. Tricked into trusting the underworld goddess
ERESHKIGAL, Nergal reluctantly agrees to marry the fiend and take his place
as king of the dead.
According to the legend, the cunning
Ereshkigal becomes jealous when she discovers that the heavenly deities are
enjoying a lavish gala and she has not been invited. The gods reply
that it would be impossible for her to attend, since she cannot leave her
underworld kingdom of ARALU, the Lad of Darkness. Refusing to be
ignored, Ereshkigal sends an ambassador to represent her and bring back a
sampling of celestial delights. When Nergal, the god of hunting and
war, sees that Ereshkigal has never sent a lesser spirit on her behalf, he
mocks them both. The enraged Ereshkigal demands that he come in person
to the underworld to apologize for his rudeness. Nergal protests, but
the rest of the gods insist that he do so in order to avoid bringing her
wrath on all of them. They give him a stern warning: Do not
accept anything offered in Aralu, or else he will become a prisoner of the
land of the dead.
Nergal makes the journey and is steadfast
in resisting the treats Ereshkigal offers him. He refuses the food,
the wine, even the water. But when Ereshkigal offers her body to him,
he succumbs. Nergal enjoys a week-long sexual escapade with
Ereshkigal, then tells her he must return to the higher world. She
laughs at this, informing Nergal that his seduction has made him her
subject, and he must now remain in Aralu. His pleas for release are in
vain; Ereshkigal is determined to keep Nergal as her prisoner.
Miserable in Aralu, Nergal tries to trick
her into allowing him to return to the Great Above. He tells
Ereshkigal that he as fallen in love with her and wants to be wed, and he
begs her to let him share news of their engagement with the other gods.
Obviously skeptical of his sincerity and commitment, she lets him go but
warns that if he fails to return promptly she will seek vengeance.
Nergal hurries back to the palace of the
gods and tries to disguise himself so Ereshkigal cannot find him. But
when she threatens to "let loose the dead to devour the living," the gods
pressure him into surrender. Pouting and outwitted, Nergal returns to
the Land of Darkness to rule with Ereshkigal. His lordship is in title
only, as Ereshkigal refuses to share power over the dead with him.
Another ancient tale recounts a
nightmarish vision of Nergal in Aralu. According to the story, an
Assyrian prince has a dream in which he visits Nergal in the underworld.
Little is known of the details of his passage, but the prince's terrified
bride reported that he woke up screaming and shaking uncontrollably.
He refused to tell her what he had seen, but he spent the rest of his life
in terror of the horrors awaiting him after death.
(o)
Resource List - all entries are taken verbatim from the
original source:
(o) "The Encyclopedia of Hell."
Miriam Van Scott. St. Martin's Press. ©1998
|
