ERESHKIGAL

Real Name: Eriskegal (more common spelling)

Identity/Class: Mesopotamian God

Occupation: Goddess of the Dead

Group Membership: The Annunaki (Mesopotamian gods)

Affiliations: Gods of the Dead (Ahpuch, Hela, Mephisto, Pluto, Seth, Yama), Indra (see comments)

Enemies: Tiamat and her progeny, Demogorge

Known Relatives: Anu (father), Kishar (mother); Enki (brothers), Mami, Damkina (sisters);
Nergal (husband); Nusku, Gibil, Kinyras, Martu, Enlil, Marduk, Ninurta, Hadad (brothers-in-law/nephews),
Zarpandit, Ningal (nieces/sisters-in-law); Inanna (former sister-in-law, see comments)

Aliases: Allatu, Ganair, Irkalla, Queen of the Great Below

Base of Operations: Her palace at Ganzir, the doorway to Irkalla

First Appearance: Thor Annual#10 (1982)

Powers/Abilities: Eriskegal possesses the conventional powers of the Mesopotamian gods including superhuman strength (Class 25 at least) and durability including certain undefined mystical skills such as the ability to conjure hellfire.

HISTORY: Eriskegal is the Sumer-Babylonian goddess of the dead who taunted her husband's adopted sister, Inanna, many millenia ago. She married Nergal, her brother's son, the war-god, to keep him from conqering the underworld.

(Tales of the Zombie#4/3 - BTS) - Ereshkigal was invoked by an Egyptian man who created a zombie in order to force a woman into marrying him. However, the woman eventually learned how to control the zombie herself, and used it to murder him.

(Thor Annual#10) - In recent years, dissatisfied with the lack of procured souls to her realm, she entered into and unholy alliance with other gods of the dead to unite their perspective realms. Their ritual, however, released from the dawn of time Atum in his form of Demogorge the God Eater. Consumed by the entity, she was rescued by Thor working in alliance with several thunder and sun gods of different pantheons.

COMMENTS: Created by William Zeleneta and Bob Hall

In the ancient Sumerian myths, Tiamat was the great saltwater goddess that the gods overthrew to take their place in the heavens. Their story greatly parallels that of the Olympians over throwing the Titans.

Also in the myths, Inanna is also the goddess Aphrodite: The story of Aphrodite's embarrassment by Eriskegal can be found in the Sumerian Tale "Inanna's Descent into the Underworld." The fact that the Greeks borrowed Inanna to be Aphrodite suggests she was both deities.

Indra in this story is actually Shiva from Thor I#301 claiming to be Indra. Someone obviously was trying to link the stories for the continuity without creating a new character. The violet-skinned and hot-headed likeness works great for Shiva, but would not for Indra who is a golden-skinned deity.
As a result of the uproar of Thor's defeat of Shiva, Indra appeared in Thor Annual#10, and claimed that it was he who had fought Thor in Thor#301, not Shiva.

In the Annunaki entry in All-New OHotMU Update#3 it was assumed that Ereshkigal kept her power and avoided demon degeneration by expelling her demonic aspects as Allatou or by trading her name and husband to the demon who would become Allatou.

Profile by William Uchtman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
In ancient times (and modern ones, too), Eriskegal was impersonated by the Deviant Ereshkigal the same way that certain Eternals impersonated the Olympian Gods.

Inanna, the demon in Hellstorm, may or may not be the same as the Mesopotamian Goddess. God's have degenerated into demons before.

Nergal, the demon who is the husband of the demon Allatou, may or may not be the same as the Mesopotamian God who is Eriskegal's husband.

Ningal, Eriskegal's niece, is probably not the same as:

Tiamat, the saltwater goddess, has no known connections to:

Tales of the Zombie#4 (March, 1974) - Tony Isabella (writer), Ron Wilson (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Thor Annual#10 (1982) - Mark Gruenwald & Alan Zelenetz (writers), Bob Hall (pencils), Rick Bryant, Andy Myshynsky, Al Gordon & Kevin Dzuban (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

First Posted: 01/19/2002
Last Updated: 06/28/2005

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