16 What about the Underworld? (Sumerian Mythology)
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This article is from the Sumerian Mythology FAQ, by Christopher Siren cbsiren@cisunix.unh.edu with numerous contributions by others.
16 What about the Underworld? (Sumerian Mythology)
The underworld of the Sumerians is revealed, to some extent,
by a composition about the death and afterlife of the king and
warlord Ur-Nammu. After having died on the battlefield, Ur-
Nammu arrives below, where he offers sundry gifts and sacrifices
to the "seven gods" of the nether world:
...Nergal, [the deified] Gilgamesh, Ereshkigal [the queen of
the underworld, who is either given to Kur in the underworld
or given dominion over the underworld in the prelude to
Gilgamesh (Kramer & Maier 1989: p. 83) (Wolkstein & Kramer
1983: p. 4)] , Dumuzi [the shepherd, Inanna's husband], Namtar,
Hubishag, and Ningishzida - each in his own palace; he also
presented gifts to Dimpimekug and to the "scribe of the nether-
world."... [After arriving at his assigned spot] ...certain of
the dead were turned over to him, perhaps to be his attendants,
and Gilgamesh, his beloved brother, explained to him the rules
and regulations of the nether world. (Kramer 1963: p. 131)
Another tablet indicates that the sun, moon, and their respective gods,
spent time in the underworld as well. The sun journeyed there after
setting, and the moon rested there at the end of the month. Both Utu
and Nanna '''decreed the fate' of the dead" while there. (Kramer 1963:
p. 132) Dead heroes ate bread, drank, and quenched the dead's thirst
with water. The gods of the nether world, the deceased, and his city,
were prayed to for the benefit of the dead and his family.
The Sumerian version of Gilgamesh includes a trip to the nether
world as well. In the prologue, Enki sails for the Kur, presumably to
rescue Ereshkigal after she was given over to Kur. He is assailed by
creatures with stones. The main body of the tale includes a trip to the
nether world as well. Enkidu enters the "Great Dwelling" through a gate,
in order to recover Gilgamesh's pukku and mikku, objects of an uncertain
nature. He broke several taboos of the underworld, including the wearing
of clean clothes and sandals, 'good' oil, carrying a weapon or staff,
making a noise, or behaving normally towards ones family (Kramer
1963: pp. 132-133). For these violations he was "held fast by 'the
outcry of the nether world'". Intervention by Enki, rescued the hero.
When Enlil visits the nether world, he must pass by a gatekeeper,
followed by a "man of the river" and a "man of the boat" - all of whom
act as guardians. (Kramer 1961 pp. 45-47)
Inanna also visits Kur, which results in a myth reminiscent of the
Greek seasonal story of Persephone. She sets out to witness the funeral
rites of her sister-in-law Ereshkigal's husband Gugalanna, the Bull of
Heaven. She takes precaution before setting out, by telling her servant
Ninshubur to seek assistance from Enlil, Nanna, or Enki at their shrines,
should she not return. Inanna knocks on the outer gates of Kur and the
gatekeeper, Neti, questions her. He consults with queen Ereshkigal and
then allows Inanna to pass through the seven gates of the underworld.
After each gate, she is required to remove adornments and articles of
clothing, until after the seventh gate, she is naked. The Annuna pass
judgment against her and Ereshkigal slays her and hangs her on the wall
(Wolkstein & Kramer 1983 p. 60)
Inanna is rescued by the intervention of Enki. He creates two sexless
creatures that empathize with Ereshkigal's suffering, and thereby gain a
gift - Inanna's corpse. They restore her to life with the Bread of Life
and the Water of Life, but the Sumerian underworld has a conservation of
death law. No one can leave without providing someone to stay in their
stead. Inanna is escorted by galla/demons past Ninshubur and members of
her family. She doesn't allow them to claim anyone until she sees Dumuzi
on his throne in Uruk. They then seize Dumuzi, but he escapes them twice
by transforming himself, with the aid of Utu. Eventually he is caught
and slain. Inanna spies his sister, Geshtinanna, in mourning and they go
to Dumuzi. She allows Dumuzi, the shepherd, to stay in the underworld
only six months of the year, while Geshtinanna will stay the other six.
(Wolkstein & Kramer pp. 60-89) As with the Greek story of the kidnapping
of Persephone, this linked the changing seasons, the emergence of the
plants from the ground, with the return of a harvest deity from the
nether world. Although he had always been a shepherd (and possibly a
mortal king) he was blessed with the powers of fertility following the
consummation of his marriage to Inanna in "The Courtship of Inanna and
Dumuzi".
As the farmer, let him make the fields fertile,
As the shepherd, let him make the sheepfolds multiply,
Under his reign let there be vegetation,
Under his reign let there be rich grain (Wolkstein & Kramer p. 45)
Geshtinanna is also associated with growth, but where her brother rules
over the spring harvested grain, she rules over the autumn harvested
vines (Wolkstein & Kramer p. 168)
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