The name Nergal (or Nirgal, Nirgali) refers to a deity in Babylonia with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Ancient Semitic religion spans the Polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East. The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris In the Levantine pantheon the Elohim are the sons of El the ancient of days (olam assembled on the divine holy place Mount Zephon ( Jebel This is a sub-article to Pre-Islamic Arabia Arabian mythology comprises the ancient Pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs Prior to the Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. In Sumerian mythology, the utukku were a type of Spirit or Demon that could be either benevolent or evil Babylonian mythology is a set of stories depicting the activities of Babylonian deities, Heroes and Mythological creatures While these stories The Anunna are the fifty great gods of Sumerian mythology. Some of them are associated with specific cities while others bear a strong resemblance to the functions of patron This article is about the Sumerian god Adad also known as Ishkur. Ashnan was the goddess of grain in Mesopotamia. She and her brother Lahar, both children of Enlil, were created by the gods to provide the Annunaki In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology Asaruludu is one of the Anunnaku. Enbilulu was a rivers and Canals god in Mesopotamian mythology Disambiguation Sometimes an alternate spelling for Enkidu. Enkimdu is the Sumerian god of farming in charge of canals and ditches a task assigned In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( D EREŠ. KI. GAL, lit Inanna ( D INANNA B153ellstpng|100x20px|INANNA]]) is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love fertility and warfare Lahar was the Sumerian cattle-god sent by Enlil and Enki from heaven to earth in order to make abundant its cattle In Sumerian mythology Nanshe was the daughter of Enki and Ninhursag. Nanibgal ( D NANIBGAL B010ellstpng|100x20px|AN]] 𒀭𒀭𒉀 D NÁNIBGAL 𒀭𒀭𒊺𒉀 also Nisaba or Nidaba Ningal ("Great Lady" in Sumerian mythology was a goddess of reeds daughter of Enki and Ningikurga and the consort of the moon god Nanna In Sumerian mythology, Ninsun or Ninsuna ("lady wild cow" is a goddess best known as the mother of the legendary hero Gilgamesh, and as Ninkasi is the ancient Sumerian matron goddess of Beer. Her father was Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and her mother was Ninti In Sumerian mythology, Ninlil (𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆤 D NIN.LÍL"lady of the open field" or "Lady of the Air" first called Ninurta ( Nin Ur: Lord of the Earth/Plough in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Nippur, identified with Ningirsu Nusku was the name of the light and fire-god in Babylonia and Assyria, who is hardly to be distinguished from a certain time on from a god Girru - Uttu in Sumerian mythology is the goddess of weaving and clothing The Anunnaki (also transcribed as Anunnaku, Ananaki) are a group of Sumerian and Akkadian deities related to and in some cases See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq Kutha (Sumerian Gudua, modern Tell Ibrahim site Iraq) was an ancient city of Sumer on the right bank of the eastern branch of the Upper Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth (Cuthah): "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal" (2 Kings, 17:30). The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic Kutha (Sumerian Gudua, modern Tell Ibrahim site Iraq) was an ancient city of Sumer on the right bank of the eastern branch of the Upper Succoth-benoth or Succoth Benoth was a Babylonian deity one of the deities of the city of Samaria mentioned by name in 2 Kings 1730 The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. He is the son of Enlil and Ninlil. Enlil ( EN = Lord + LIL = Loft "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the Wind" was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in ancient Sumerian In Sumerian mythology, Ninlil (𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆤 D NIN.LÍL"lady of the open field" or "Lady of the Air" first called
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Nergal actually seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only a representative of a certain phase of the sun. For the Canaanite sun godess see Shemesh Shamash was the common Akkadian name of the Sun-god and god of justice in Babylonia Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle.
Nergal was also the deity who presides over the netherworld, and who stands at the head of the special pantheon assigned to the government of the dead (supposed to be gathered in a large subterranean cave known as Aralu or Irkalla). In the study of Mythology and Religion, the underworld (gr κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term Afterlife In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology, Irkalla (also Ir-Kalla, Irkalia) is the Hell -like Underworld from which there In this capacity he has associated with him a goddess Allatu or Ereshkigal, though at one time Allatu may have functioned as the sole mistress of Aralu, ruling in her own person. Allatu ( Allatum) is an underworld goddess worshipped by western Semitic peoples including the Carthaginians. In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( D EREŠ. KI. GAL, lit In some texts the god Ninazu is the son of Nergal by Allatu/Ereshkigal. Ninazu in Sumerian mythology was a god of the underworld and of healing
Ordinarily Nergal pairs with his consort Laz. Standard iconography pictured Nergal as a lion, and boundary-stone monuments symbolise him with a mace surmounted by the head of a lion. The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal and wood carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a Mace-bearer, intended
Nergal's fiery aspect appears in names or epithets such as Lugalgira, Sharrapu ("the burner," perhaps a mere epithet), Erra, Gibil (though this name more properly belongs to Nusku), and Sibitti. Nusku was the name of the light and fire-god in Babylonia and Assyria, who is hardly to be distinguished from a certain time on from a god Girru - A certain confusion exists in cuneiform literature between Ninurta and Nergal. Ninurta ( Nin Ur: Lord of the Earth/Plough in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Nippur, identified with Ningirsu Nergal has epithets such as the "raging king," the "furious one," and the like. A play upon his name -- separated into three elements as Ne-uru-gal (lord of the great dwelling) -- expresses his position at the head of the nether-world pantheon.
In the late Babylonian astral-theological system Nergal is related to the planet Mars. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the Greeks either to the combative demigod Heracles (Latin Hercules) or to the war-god Ares (Latin Mars) -- hence the current name of the planet. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or Hercules is the Roman name for the Mythical Greek hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. In Greek mythology, Ares ( Ancient Greek:, Μodern Greek Άρης) is the son of Zeus and Hera. In Babylonian ecclesiastical art the great lion-headed colossi serving as guardians to the temples and palaces seem to symbolise Nergal, just as the bull-headed colossi probably typify Ninurta.
Nergal's chief temple at Cuthah bore the name Meslam, from which the god receives the designation of Meslamtaeda or Meslamtaea, "the one that rises up from Meslam". The name Meslamtaeda/Meslamtaea indeed is found as early as the list of gods from Fara while the name Nergal only begins to appear in the Akkadian period. Amongst the Hurrians and later Hittites her was known as Aplu, a name derived from the Akkadian Aplu Enlil, meaning "the son of Enlil". The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established As God of the plague, he was invoked during the "plague years" during the reign of Suppiluliuma, when this disease spread from Egypt. Suppiluliuma I was king of the Hittites (ca 1344 – 1322 BC ( Short chronology)
The cult of Nergal does not appear to have spread as widely as that of Ninurta, but in the late Babylonian and early Persian period, syncretism seems to have fused the two divinities, which were invoked together as if they were identical. This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice Ninurta ( Nin Ur: Lord of the Earth/Plough in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Nippur, identified with Ningirsu Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Hymns and votive and other inscriptions of Babylonian and Assyrian rulers frequently invoke him, but we do not learn of many temples to him outside of Cuthah. Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Sennacherib speaks of one at Tarbisu to the north of Nineveh, but significantly, although Nebuchadnezzar II (606 BC - 586 BC), the great temple-builder of the neo-Babylonian monarchy, alludes to his operations at Meslam in Cuthah, he makes no mention of a sanctuary to Nergal in Babylon. Sennacherib ( Akkadian Sîn-ahhe-eriba "(moon god Sîn has replaced (lost brothers for me" was the son of Sargon II, whom he Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) Nebuchadrezzar II, more often called Nebuchadnezzar (c 630-562 BC was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c Local associations with his original seat -- Kutha -- and the conception formed of him as a god of the dead acted in making him feared rather than actively worshipped. Nergal was also called Ni-Marad in Akkadian. Like Lugal Marad in Sumerian, the name means "king of Marad," a city, whose name means "Rebellion" in Akkadian, as yet unidentified. The name Ni-Marad, in Akkadian means "Lord of Marad". The chief deity of this place, therefore, seems to have been Nergal, of whom, therefore, Lugal-Marad or Ni-Marad is another name. Thus, some scholars have drawn the connection of Ni-Marad being yet another deified name for Nimrod, the rebel king of Babylon and Assyria mentioned in Genesis 10: 8-11.
Nergal in demonology
Being a deity of the desert, and a god of fire, the negative aspects of the sun, and the underworld, and also being a god of one of the religions who rivalled Christianity and Judaism, Nergal was sometimes called a demon and even being identified with Satan. In the study of Mythology and Religion, the underworld (gr κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term Afterlife Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally According to Collin de Plancy and Johann Weyer, Nergal was said to be the chief of Hell's "secret police", and said to be "an honorary spy in the service of Belzebuth". Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy (1793-1887 was a French occultist demonologist and writer he published several works on Cultism and Demonology. Johannes Wier aka Johann Weyer, in Latin Ioannes Wierus and Piscinarius, (c Secret police (sometimes political police) are a Police agency which operates in Secrecy to maintain National security against internal Ba‘al Zebûb, Ba‘al Zəbûb or Ba‘al Zəvûv ( Hebrew בעל זבוב, with numerous variants appears as the
Nergal in fiction
- In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Nergal is the name of an outcast devil. Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. In the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying game, devils are a powerful group of monsters used as a high-level challenge for players of the game
- In the Outlanders SF series by Mark Ellis, Nergal is one of the ruthless reincarnated Annunaki Overlords. Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises Mark Ellis is the name of Mark Ellis (actor, Canadian actor Mark Ellis (baseball, Major League Baseball player Mark
- In the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Nergal is a demon and recurring villain. The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy is an award-winning American Animated television series that originally aired on Cartoon Network.
- In Grim Tales From Down Below, largely based on Grim Adventures, Nergal (or a manifestation of him) is a recurring character, this time helping the main protagonists, who have been implied to be his (illegitimate) grandchildren. Snafu Comics is a Webcomics site maintained by David Stanworth an American known online as "SnafuDave"
- In the movie Hellboy, the demon Sammael is called the Son of Nergal. Hellboy is a 2004 Supernatural action-thriller film directed by Guillermo del Toro. This article is about Sammael the fictional character For the angel in Jewish mythology see Samael. In the comic version of same, one of the heads of the villain Ogdru Jahad is referred to as Nergal Jahad. The Ogdru Jahad are fictional characters in Mike Mignola 's Hellboy comic
- In the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Collectible Card Game Nergal is the Prince of Hell. Vampire The Eternal Struggle, published as Jyhad in the first edition and often abbreviated as VTES, VTES or VtES, is Collectible card games (CCGs also called trading card games (TCGs or customizable card games (CCGs are played using specially designed sets of cards
- In Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series Nergal is a pure blood demon with two half-demon daughters. Charlaine Harris (born November 25, 1951 in Tunica Mississippi) is a New York Times bestselling Author
- In the anime Martian Successor Nadesico Nergal is the company that sponsors the building of the ship Nadesico. (often shortened to Nadesico) is a Science fiction Comedy Anime TV series and a later Manga series created by Kia Asamiya
- In the DC Comics universe, Nergal (also spelled Negal) was originally a Golden Age villain opposing Doctor Fate. Doctor Fate (also known by the Diminutive, Fate) is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear within DC Comics ' universe He was also shown as a primary antagonist to the Vertigo character, John Constantine. Vertigo is an Imprint of the American Comic-book publisher DC Comics. John Constantine ( May 10, 1953 in Liverpool, England) is the fictional Protagonist of the comic series He is the primary villain in Steve Gerber's Doctor Fate: More Pain Comics. Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber ( September 20, 1947 - February 10, 2008) was an American Comic book Writer best [1] His name appeared as Nergal in the Hellblazer comics and in the reprint of More Fun Comics #67 in Weird Secret Origins, though in Countdown to Mystery and The Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives, he is referred to as "Negal," even in the latter's reprint of More Fun #67.
- In the seventh Fire Emblem video game, Nergal is the name of the main villain. Fire Emblem, released in Japan as, is a Japanese Tactical role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Intelligent Systems and published He uses a form of dark magic called Ereshkigal as well. In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( D EREŠ. KI. GAL, lit
- The demonic god "Nurgle" is a "Chaos god" of pestilence and decay in the science-fiction/fantasy setting of Warhammer 40,000. In Games Workshop's Warhammer 40000 and Warhammer Fantasy Fictional universes Chaos refers to the often stereotypically Warhammer 40000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K or just 40K) is a tabletop miniature wargame in a Science
- In the RPG Video Game 'Sailor Moon - Another Story', Nergal is the name given to the Oppositio Senshi (a Villain) for Sailor Mars.
- In the RPG Vampire: The Masquerade, Nergal is a Baali Methuselah. Created by Mark Rein·Hagen, Vampire The Masquerade was the first of White Wolf Game Studio's World of Darkness live-action
- In the CCG Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, Nergal is one of the most powerful vampires. Vampire The Eternal Struggle, published as Jyhad in the first edition and often abbreviated as VTES, VTES or VtES, is Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living
- In the Shaman King TCG, the character Duncan's spirit ally is called Nergal.
- Nergal is also the name of a battleship in David Weber's Mutineer's Moon books.
- Nergal is also the nickname of Adam Darski, frontman of the polish black metal band Behemoth. "And Nergal to me is more important than my real name, which is Adam, and only my parents call me Adam. Most people just call me Nergal or Ner. "
- An evil God called Nergal appears in the Conan story The Hand of Nergal.
- There is a character named Nigal in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23 1952) is an American Science fiction Writer, probably best known for his award-winning He was named after a Babylonian wargod, since the planet Mars was named after a Roman wargod.
- In the game Wild Arms for the Sony PlayStation, the female lead Cecilia's first boss battle is with a monster by the name Nelgaul. is a role-playing game developed by Software company MediaVision and originally released in Japan in 1996 for the Sony Playstation is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with The PlayStation (abbreviated PS, PSone, PS1, or informally as PSX) is a 32-bit fifth generation Video game console As it is a Japanese game, the name has been romanized from "Nerugaru", the equivalent of Nergal in katakana. is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with Hiragana, Kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet He happens to be a demon in this incarnation.
Nergal in music
- In 1988 Finnish gothic rock group Russian Love released their first album entitled Nergal. This article is about the musical style of gothic rock For the goth scene in general see Goth subculture. Russian Love was a rock group (active 1986-1998 that came from Northern Finland and was one of the first Gothic rock bands in Finland to sing in English and the first The album was re-released in 2007 by Finnish record company Plastic Passion and Italian record company Eibon Records. Plastic Passion are an English band based in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire who play a mixture of Post-punk and Power-pop, described as "aggressive Eibon Records is an Independent record label from Milan Italy, founded in 1996.
- The singer/guitarist of Polish Death Metal band Behemoth has adopted the alias Nergal (he was born Adam Michał Darski). Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics Behemoth ( is a Polish Blackened death metal band They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish Extreme metal underground Adam Michał Darski (born June 10, 1977) stage name Nergal, is a Polish metal musician for the Blackened death metal band
- Swedish Symphonic Metal band Therion wrote a song dedicated to Nergal titled The Siren of the Woods. Therion is a Swedish Symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987 " Siren of the Woods " is the second single released by Swedish heavy metal band Therion. The Lyrics of this song are unpublished except for those with a Therion Fanclub membership.
- Nergal is referenced in the Ookla the Mok song Stranger in the Mirror in the line "Nergal said, 'Get thee to a nunnery. Ookla the Mok is the name of a Filk band fronted by Rand Bellavia and Adam English. '"
See also
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient In Mesopotamian mythology Mamitu was the goat-headed goddess of Destiny, who decreed the fate of the new-borns In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, Pazuzu was the king of the Demons of the wind and son of the god Hanbi. In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Set (also spelled Seth, Sutekh or Seteh) is an ancient god who was originally the god of the Desert The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
External links
- ETCSL "A hymn to Nergal" and "A tigi to Nergal": Unicode and ASCII
- Ereskigal. net – "Ereshkigal and Nergal": Assyrian version and Amarna version
- Gateway to Babylon: Nergal and Ereshkigal
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