Ereshkigal is Queen of the dead and one of the oldest known deities in Babylonian myth. She was Goddess of the Underworld also known as Kur, or Kurnugia (The Land of No Return) among many other names. Ereshkigal strictly rules over this dark and gloomy world from her palace called Ganzir which was set at the entrance of Kur with a tight security of 7 gates guarded by her servant Neti.

Ereshkigal is the older sister of Ishtar and a prominent figure in the poem “The Descent of Inanna” Where Ishtar doing what she does best, selfishly descends into Ereshkigal’s realm under the guise of offering her condolences due to the passing of her husband the Bull of Heaven Gugulanna of which Ishtar caused. In actuality she was there to overthrow her sister.

Ereshkigal already being grief stricken and left alone while pregnant with her now fatherless child, was disgusted when her servant Neti informed her of her arrival. Ereshkigal ordered him to bolt the gates and let her in one by one, stripping her garments of power at each gate until she arrives naked before Ereshkigal much to Ishtar’s confusion and rage. Ereshkigal then unleashed her full fury upon Ishtar, inflicting her with countless diseases and hanging her lifeless corpse upon a meat hook on her palace wall.

Ereshkigal had a reputation for being one of the most feared but also highly respected deities. Despite this, she has known nothing but injustice and misery, mostly due to her sister whom she despises but is also quite jealous of. Even after enacting revenge on Ishtar she is later retrieved with help from the God Enki, thus escaping her sisters wrath and rightful punishment on the pain she caused Ereshkigal.