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Ereshkigal

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Ruler of the underworld in Mesopotamian traditions, exercising authority over death’s realm in the descent narratives.

K.162, Akkadian copy of Ishtar’s Descent from Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh, seventh century BCE, British Museum. Not a tablet of the Sumerian Inanna composition
K.162, Akkadian copy of Ishtar’s Descent from Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh, seventh century BCE, British Museum. Not a tablet of the Sumerian Inanna compositionMarie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5 · CC BYLicense · Image source

Text

Her actions should be read within each composition, without automatically combining Sumerian and AkkadianAkkadianAn ancient East Semitic language written in cuneiform in Mesopotamia.Glossary · Click to read the explanation details. The illustrated tablet witnesses the Akkadian narrative; it does not depict the goddess.[1][2][3]

References and notes

  1. Oxford ETCSL edition of Inanna’s Sumerian descent, including variants and gaps; references identify narrative units rather than reproduce the translation. ETCSL 1.4.1; lines 114–175, 217–289, 306–358 Return to the text ↑
  2. Historical public-domain translation of the Akkadian text; its older terminology does not settle present-day questions of identity or gender. Morris Jastrow, 1915; Akkadian Descent of Ishtar Return to the text ↑
  3. Akkadian tablet from Ashurbanipal’s library, seventh century BCE; the copy’s date does not establish the story’s first composition. British Museum K.162 Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 12 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Ereshkigal», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/ereshkigal