Superphysics
The Mutiny of the Anunnaki
5 minutes • 854 words
The Abzu
After Enlil arrived on Earth, “Earth Command” was transferred out of Enki’s hands.
Enki’s name was then changed to EA (“lord waters”) rather than “lord earth.”
In the arrival of the gods on Earth, a separation of powers was agreed on:
- Anu was to stay in the heavens and rule over Nibiru
- Enlil was to command the lands
- Enki was put in charge of the ABZU (apsu in Akkadian) “watery deep”
As in Greek mythology, Enlil represented the thundering Zeus, and Ea was Poseidon, God of the Oceans.
In other instances, Enlil’s domain was referred to as the Upper World, and Ea’s as the Lower World;
We assume these meant that:
- Enlil controlled Earth’s atmosphere
- Ea was ruler of the “subterranean waters”
Abyss (which derives from apsu) denotes deep, dark, dangerous waters in which one can sink and disappear.
This Mesopotamian word was translated as Unterwelt (“underworld”) or Totenwelt (“world of the dead”).
Only recently did the Sumerologists change it to netherworld.*
Superphysics Note
This misinterpretation was caused by the Mesopotamian text lamenting the disappearance of Dumuzi or the god Tammuz.
It was with him that Inanna/Ishtar had her most celebrated love affair.
When he disappeared, she went to the Lower World to seek him.
She decided to visit her sister Ereshkigal, mistress of the place.
Ishtar went there neither dead nor against her will—she went alive and uninvited, forcing her way in by threatening the gatekeeper.
“If you do not open the gate, I will smash the door.”
One by one, the 7 gates leading to the abode of Ereshkigal were opened to Ishtar. Ereshkigal saw her, she literally blew her top (the Akkadian text says, “burst at her presence”).
The Sumerian text, vague about the purpose of the trip or the cause of EreshkigaI’s anger, reveals that Inanna expected such a reception.
She took pains to notify the other principal deities of her journey in advance, and made sure that they would take steps to rescue her in case she was imprisoned in the “Great Below.”
Nergal
The spouse of Ereshkigal—and Lord of the Lower World—was Nergal, a son of Ea (Enki).
He arrived in the Great Below and became its lord. The story shows:
- the human nature of the “gods”
- that the Lower World is not a “world of the dead”
It starts with a banquet held “in the heavens” with the guests of honor being Anu, Enlil, and Ea.
Ereshkigal could not ascend to join them. And so the gods sent her a messenger who “descended the long staircase of the heavens, reached the gate of Ereshkigal.”
Having received the invitation, Ereshkigal instructed her counselor, Namtar:
“Ascend, Namtar, the long staircase of the heavens; Remove the dish from the table, take my share; Whatever Anti gives to thee, bring it all to me.”
When Namtar entered the banquet hall, all the gods except “a bald god, seated in the back,” rose to greet him. Namtar reported the incident to Ereshkigal when he returned to the Lower World.
She and all the lesser gods of her domain were insulted. She demanded that the offending god be sent to her for punishment.
The offender, however, was Nergal, a son of Ea.
After a severe reprimand by his father, Nergal was instructed to make the trip alone, armed only with lots of fatherly advice on how to behave. When Nergal arrived at the gate, he was recognized by Namtar as the offending god and led in to “Ereshkigal’s wide courtyard,” where he was put to several tests.
Sooner or later, Ereshkigal went to take her daily bath.
For 7 days and nights they made love. In the Upper World, an alarm had gone out for the missing Nergal.
Release me. I will go, and I will come back
But no sooner had he left than Namtar went to Ereshkigal and accused Nergal of having no intention of coming back. Once more Namtar was sent up to Anu. Ereshkigal’s message was clear:
With married life perhaps not yet on his mind, Nergal organized a military expedition and stormed the gates of Ereshkigal, intending to “cut off her head.”
But Ereshkigal pleaded:
