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Nergal

File:Nergal.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ468912· pop 47· linked from 469 articles

Also known as Nirgal

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

Key facts

Deity.type
Mesopotamian
Deity.name
Nergal
Deity.image
File:Nergal.png
Deity.caption
Nergal holding his attributes—a lion-headed mace and a sword—on a cylinder seal from Larsa
Deity.god_of
God of war, disease, and death
Deity.abode
Kur (the Mesopotamian underworld)
Deity.cult_center
Kutha
Deity.symbol
lion-headed mace, sword, lion, bull, possibly chameleon
Deity.number
14
Deity.planet
Mars
Deity.children
Tadmushtum
Deity.parents
Enlil and Ninlil
Deity.siblings
Nanna, Ninazu, Enbilulu (in the myth Enlil and Ninlil)
Deity.equivalent1_type
Southern Mesopotamian
Deity.equivalent1
Ninazu
Deity.equivalent2_type
Akkadian
Deity.equivalent2
Erra
Deity.equivalent3_type
Eblaite and Ugaritic

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Nergal.png
Show 2 more facts
native label
𒀭𒄊𒀕𒃲
Commons category
Nergal
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~42 min read

Article

24 sections
Contents
  • Names and epithets
  • Meslamtaea and related logograms
  • Erra
  • U.GUR
  • IGI.DU
  • Other names and epithets
  • Character
  • Astral role
  • Iconography
  • Associations with other deities
  • Parents and siblings
  • Wives and children
  • Servants
  • Foreign deities
  • Worship
  • Hurrian reception
  • Mythology
  • ''Nergal and Ereshkigal''
  • ''Epic of Erra''
  • Other myths
  • Later relevance
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • External links

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 either Mammitum, a goddess possibly connected to frost, or Laṣ, sometimes assumed to be a minor medicine goddess, were regarded as his wife, though other traditions existed, too.

His primary cult center was Kutha, located in the north of historical Babylonia. His main temple bore the ceremonial name E-Meslam and he was also known by the name Meslamtaea, "he who comes out of Meslam". Initially he was only worshiped in the north, with a notable exception being Girsu during the reign of Gudea of Lagash, but starting with the Ur III period he became a major deity in the south too. He remained prominent in both Babylonia and Assyria in later periods, and in the Neo-Babylonian state pantheon he was regarded as the third most important god, after Marduk and Nabu.

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