Irkalla

Irkalla ( Big City ) is the Akkadian nickname and place of residence of the underworld goddess Ereškigal and Namtaru . The term Irkalla is also used in Mesopotamian mythology as a synonym for the realm of the dead . The underworld is described in the following epics, among others:

In the Gilgamesh epic , the description of Irkalla as the city of the dead is taken literally from the story of Ištar's journey into hell :

“( Kurnugia ), house of the dark, seat of the Irkalla, house from which those who enter it can never come out, the house whose inhabitants are robbed of light, where their food is made of dust and their food made of clay consists. With a plumage they are dressed like birds there, and they are not allowed to look at the light, because they sit in the dark. The dust is deposited on the gate and bolt. Dead silence was poured over the house of dust. "

- Epic of Gilgamesh, 7th plate, 184-192

"Inanna's walk into the underworld" describes Irkalla, the place of residence of Ereshkigal and Namtarus as a place where there is food, but it is not edible, there is water, but it is not drinkable; The arts and crafts are unknown and the lips are stained with blood.

In Mesopotamian mythology, the souls of all the dead (gidim), regardless of what they had done in their life, came to Irkalla. The way they were buried was considered to be decisive for their well-being there, as it was believed that they would fare badly without food and libations and that they would haunt the living . The worst fared, however, was those who were not buried at all: They would not even continue to exist as gidim. It is believed that treasures in wealthy tombs were intended as offerings to Utu and the Anunnaki so that the deceased in Irkalla would fare better.

literature

Stefan M. Maul : The Gilgamesh Epos , Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-52870-8

Individual evidence

↑ BM 100046, 51-59; Samuel Noah Kramer , The Death of Dumuzi: A New Sumerian Version. Anatolian Studies 30 (Special Number in Honor of the Seventieth Birthday of Professor OR Gurney) 1980, 6
^ ^A ^b ^c Jeremy Black, Anthony Green: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. An Illustrated Dictionary, London 1992, pp. 180-181.
Jump up ↑ Black, Green: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, pp. 88-89.
↑ Caitlín E. Barret, Was dust their food and clay their bread ?. Grave goods, the Mesopotamian afterlife, and the liminal role of Inana / Ishtar, in: Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (vol. 7 ed. 1), January 1, 2007, p. 14.

[1] BM 100046, 51-59; Samuel Noah Kramer , The Death of Dumuzi: A New Sumerian Version. Anatolian Studies 30 (Special Number in Honor of the Seventieth Birthday of Professor OR Gurney) 1980, 6

[black-green-180-181-2] A ^b ^c Jeremy Black, Anthony Green: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. An Illustrated Dictionary, London 1992, pp. 180-181.

[black-green-88-89-3] Jump up ↑ Black, Green: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, pp. 88-89.

[barret-4] Caitlín E. Barret, Was dust their food and clay their bread ?. Grave goods, the Mesopotamian afterlife, and the liminal role of Inana / Ishtar, in: Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions (vol. 7 ed. 1), January 1, 2007, p. 14.