Mesopotamian underworld

Nergal (Sumerian: dKIŠ.UNU or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; ) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of Achaemenid domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease, and has been described as the "god of inflicted death". He reigned over Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld, depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents Enlil and Ninlil, or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess Ereshkigal. Originally

In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆠𒃲 [EREŠ.KI.GAL]), lit. "Queen of the Great Earth") was the goddess of Kur, the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology. In later myths, she was said to rule Irkalla alongside her husband Nergal. Sometimes her name is given as Irkalla, similar to the way the name Hades was used in Greek mythology for both the underworld and its ruler, and sometimes it is given as Ninkigal, lit. "Lady of the Great Earth”.

thumb|This Assyrian bronze statuette of Pazuzu is in height, from the early 1st millennium BC, held at the Louvre Museum.

Ninazu (; [DNIN.A.SU] "lord healer") was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld. He was also associated with snakes and vegetation, and with time acquired the character of a warrior god. He was frequently associated with Ereshkigal, either as a son, husband, or simply a member of the same category of underworld deities.

thumb|Sumerian name in Akkadian language|Old Babylonian cuneiform, dDim3-me

Namtar () was a figure in ancient Mesopotamian religion who, depending on the context, could be regarded both as a minor god and as a demon of disease. He is best attested as the sukkal (attendant deity) of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Like her, he was not the object of active worship, though references to it are made in literary texts, and additionally some incantations entrust him with keeping various other malevolent forces in the underworld.

Geshtinanna was a Mesopotamian goddess best known due to her role in myths about the death of Dumuzi, her brother. It is not certain what functions she fulfilled in the Mesopotamian pantheon, though her association with the scribal arts and dream interpretation is well attested. She could serve as a scribe in the underworld, where according to the myth ''Inanna's Descent'' she had to reside for a half of each year in place of her brother.

underworld in Sumerian culture

thumb|upright=1.3|A cylinder seal of the god [[Dumuzid being tortured in the ancient Mesopotamian underworld by gallas]]

Belet-Seri was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as a scribe in the court of the underworld goddess Ereshkigal. She could be regarded as the Akkadian counterpart of Sumerian Geshtinanna, but the name could also function as a title of Ašratum, the wife of Amurru, or as a fully independent deity.

minor god in mythology

Enmesharra ( , "Lord of all mes") was a Mesopotamian god associated with the underworld. He was regarded as a member of an old generation of deities, and as such was commonly described as a ghost or resident of the underworld. He is best known from various lists of primordial deities, such as the "theogony of Enlil," which lists many generations of ancestral deities.

set of twin gods worshipped in the village of Kisiga in northern Babylonia; guardians of doorways

Lagamal or Lagamar (Akkadian: "no mercy") was a Mesopotamian deity associated chiefly with Dilbat (modern Tell al-Deylam). A female form of Lagamal was worshiped in Terqa on the Euphrates in Upper Mesopotamia. The male Lagamal was also at some point introduced to the pantheon of Susa in Elam.

mesopotamian primordial deities

Dimmeku (also read as Dimpimeku), Dimku or Ḫedimku was a Mesopotamian goddess or demon associated with the underworld. From the Old Babylonian period on she was associated with Namtar, and in the god list An = Anum she appears as his daughter. It has been suggested that the similarly named Ḫedimmeku, who is attested in the same source as a daughter of Enki, was identical with her, though this conclusion is not universally accepted.