ProfessorChaos
New member
I remember a long time ago reading a book about Sumerian mythology; in the book, a theory stated that the Sumerian netherworld of Kur was based on accounts of a real place that rulers like Nimrod and Gilgamesh journeyed to and brought back exaggerated stories of. I will detail the whole theory...
Supposedly, Kur was ruled by Queen Ereshkigal and King Nergal. It was said to be a jungle paradise bordered on one end by a massive waterfall and on the other by deep mines full of sparkling diamonds. The city where Ereshkigal ruled from had seven gates and was inhabited by the dead, who found their final rest within the city's halls where they ate only of ashes and dwelled only in buildings made of clay. The damned had to work in the mines, and knew no respite from their labors. The wealth of the kingdom of Kur inspired the Greek notion of Hades as being a rich domain filled with all of the world's treasures.
The theory states that the kingdom of Kur was in Africa. The waterfall was what we today call Victoria Falls, while the diamond mines are the same as the legendary mines of King Solomon. The city was likely a necropolis where an important queen and king were buried with their treasure. In Africa, it is not uncommon to see buildings of clay or mud, and certain tribes decorate themselves with ashes, sometimes as a mourning custom. In Biblical times, it was said that to "put on ashes" was to mourn for the dead. The connection between King Solomon, Etheopia, and his lost Diamond Mines shows us there was trade between the peoples of the Middle East / Mesopotamia and certain tribes and countries in Africa. Nether means "southern" as well as "lower".
Now, I've gone beyond the basic theory and discovered what could well be the truth behind the legend not only of Kur, but of several other myths as well! My research took me to the writings of famous novelist H. Rider Haggard.
H. Rider Haggard's story "She", about an immortal queen ruling a hidden African kingdom, may have been inspired by Ereshkigal the goddess-queen of Kur. In the story of She, the kingdom was fabulously wealthy just as in the myth of Ereshkigal's kingdom. In both tales, the woman is the dominant ruler, while the king serves her. I have no doubt that "She" is a reworking of the Ereshkigal myth, but could it also (like King Solomon's Mines) be based partly in fact as well as in the fiction? I believe so. The evidence is too similar to what the myths tell of to not be genuine.
The legend of She: Ayesha, a beautiful and apparently immortal woman born centuries ago in ancient Egypt, had waited thousands of years for the reincarnation of her lover Kallikrates, whom she believed she had found. Attempting to persuade him to step into the strange volcanic flame that had granted her immortality, so that he too would live forever, she stepped into it herself; but the second time undid all the years that had been suspended for her and she grew old in an instant and died.
The legend of Ereshkigal: Ereshkigal... a beautiful goddes of ancient Sumeria, sister of Inanna (Ishtar) who was herself the goddess of beauty, love, and war... had entrapped the god Tammuz in the netherworld, where she ruled as goddess of the dead, because she had fallen in love with him. Once there, he had tasted of the same fruit that kept the gods of the netherworld immortal (a pomegranate), and so he immediately died.
Even the names have the same elements: Ayesha / Ereshkigal is clearly one and the same being. Plus, before archeological evidence proved the reality of ancient Sumeria and Babylon, people often equated the gods of Sumerian mythology with Egyptian deities. Thus, Ayesha / Ereshkigal being from Egypt is not entirely untrue. The Egyptian counterpart to her is Nepthys, who also has similar elements in her name to Ayesha. Which shows that Haggard was indeed on to something in his story, however fictionalized the account was.
The Norse Death Goddess is called Hela and the name was later used by Rider Haggard in his two "Viking" novels, Eric Brighteyes and The Wanderer's Necklace. The mythological Hela had an allegorical "deathbed" called Kör that means "disease" in Old Norse. In She, Ayesha lives in a city named Kôr that had its original inhabitants decimated by a terrible "plague", and its' vast catacombs serve as a giant deathbed. "Ella", Spanish for "she", resembles the name "Hela". Hela was the direct Norse counterpart of Ereshkigal as goddess of the dead. So, indeed, Ayesha is proven to be this very goddess! Kör is Hela's domain in Norse mythology, also called Helheim. Kôr is Ayesha's domain in the novel She. Kur is Ereshkigal's domain in Sumerian mythology, also called Kur-nu-gia which is "Land of no return".
Proof that Ereshkigal's city was an African necropolis lies in the story of She.
It's original inhabitants were all destroyed by a "plague", and it now held vast catacombs. In Sumerian mythology the plague god Namtar was Ereshkigal's chief advisor as well as a necromancer. A necromancer is a wizard who holds power over the dead. Is it possible that Namtar was the "plague" which killed the people of Kur? Since plague is used in quotes every time the reference is made, that could only mean the term plague is metaphorical and refers to something else. In this case, it is genocide that is hinted at, with the hidden implication being that Namtar was responsible for it, possibly by Ereshkigal's command. Why would a queen order her own subjects to be killed? That was common when the death of the ruler was on the way. In the city of Ur, in ancient Sumeria, there were death pits filled with the bones of the king as well as his entire family, their servants, and their guards who all were sacrificed and laid to rest the very day the king died. This was a custom in those days, practiced by the same culture Ereshkigal was born into.
It paints this picture: Ereshkigal was a queen from Sumeria who came to rule the kingdom of Kur in Africa with her husband Nergal and her advisor Namtar. One day, the queen died and her advisor decided to go one better than the usual tradition. Instead of just sacrificing her immediate family, servants, and guards... he has her entire people sacrificed. Namtar was probably the last one left, and may have killed himself to keep the catacombs' location secret.
Thus, the legend of Ereshkigal ruling from a giant deathbed was born. Likely, this gained Kur it's reputation as the "Land of no return", for not one of it's inhabitants ever came out of the place alive due to Namtar sacrificing them.
This could also be why the city itself has never been found, but that does make one wonder... if nobody escaped the demise of Kur, then how did it's history come down to us over time? Clearly, some people must have known it's location, such as Ereshkigal's sister Inanna (Ishtar) who went there on a journey to find out what happened to Tammuz. Which explains a whole lot!
Tammuz must have been taken to Kur the day the queen died, possibly as her final request. Since everyone else was dying that day, so would he. He may have been killed by being given a poisoned pomegranate to eat, then laid to rest with Ereshigal and Nergal in the catacombs underneath the city.
Ishtar decides to find out what happened, so she journeys to Kur only to find the place deserted. She finds her way into the catacombs. In Sumerian mythology, this legend is called "The Descent of Inanna into the Underworld". According to the legend, Ishtar descended and made her way past seven gates. (This reveals that it isn't the above-ground city that had seven gates... it was the necropolis underneath, known as the catacombs!) At any rate, Inanna had to remove a piece of her clothing at each gate. The truth behind that could be that as she was going deeper undergound, Ishtar was getting hotter and finding the air harder to beathe. Thus the reason why she would remove her garments a bit at a time. The legend goes on to say that she found Ereshkigal seated upon a throne, surrounded by the dead. She asked Ereshkigal about Tammuz, who showed him to her and would not give him up, for being dead he was in her realm now. The truth would have been that Ishtar found Ereshkigal not quite dead yet (since people often in ancient times were buried alive after going into comas, narcoleptic fits, etc.) and convinced her to show her Tammuz's resting place. Here is where it gets really ugly! Ereshkigal was furious with Ishtar for disturbing her (waking her up?) and so she kills Ishtar by impaling her on a stake with a hook through her. The legend gets really mythical at this point by saying that two eunuchs referred to as "angels" in one version of the story go in search of Ishtar and eventually discover her dead in Ereshkigal's underworld (the catacombs). On finding her, they give her the "water of life" and resurrect her. Ishtar gets Ereshkigal to agree to part with Tammuz (his dead body) for part of the year (the spring). Every winter, Ishtar would return Tammuz (his dead body) to Ereshkigal once more. Ishtar then, on her way out, liberates anyone who was trapped down there while still living. They then return to her temple in Sumer.
So, what do we know? We know Ereshkigal was not dead when she was first buried, and she took to living in the catacombs upon her sister waking her up.
Apparently, others were likewise buried while still alive, and those were the ones rescued by Ishtar who herself was brought near death but not killed. Hence, why her two eunuchs were able to heal her and help her get free.
Presumably, Ereshigal remained in the catacombs until she died there for real.
Just think: somewhere in Africa, there actually once was (perhaps still is) a lost necropolis that inspired all the legends of Kur/Helheim/Hades! It looks like Tomb Raider: Underworld had the right idea, just the wrong part of the world.
Supposedly, Kur was ruled by Queen Ereshkigal and King Nergal. It was said to be a jungle paradise bordered on one end by a massive waterfall and on the other by deep mines full of sparkling diamonds. The city where Ereshkigal ruled from had seven gates and was inhabited by the dead, who found their final rest within the city's halls where they ate only of ashes and dwelled only in buildings made of clay. The damned had to work in the mines, and knew no respite from their labors. The wealth of the kingdom of Kur inspired the Greek notion of Hades as being a rich domain filled with all of the world's treasures.
The theory states that the kingdom of Kur was in Africa. The waterfall was what we today call Victoria Falls, while the diamond mines are the same as the legendary mines of King Solomon. The city was likely a necropolis where an important queen and king were buried with their treasure. In Africa, it is not uncommon to see buildings of clay or mud, and certain tribes decorate themselves with ashes, sometimes as a mourning custom. In Biblical times, it was said that to "put on ashes" was to mourn for the dead. The connection between King Solomon, Etheopia, and his lost Diamond Mines shows us there was trade between the peoples of the Middle East / Mesopotamia and certain tribes and countries in Africa. Nether means "southern" as well as "lower".
Now, I've gone beyond the basic theory and discovered what could well be the truth behind the legend not only of Kur, but of several other myths as well! My research took me to the writings of famous novelist H. Rider Haggard.
H. Rider Haggard's story "She", about an immortal queen ruling a hidden African kingdom, may have been inspired by Ereshkigal the goddess-queen of Kur. In the story of She, the kingdom was fabulously wealthy just as in the myth of Ereshkigal's kingdom. In both tales, the woman is the dominant ruler, while the king serves her. I have no doubt that "She" is a reworking of the Ereshkigal myth, but could it also (like King Solomon's Mines) be based partly in fact as well as in the fiction? I believe so. The evidence is too similar to what the myths tell of to not be genuine.
The legend of She: Ayesha, a beautiful and apparently immortal woman born centuries ago in ancient Egypt, had waited thousands of years for the reincarnation of her lover Kallikrates, whom she believed she had found. Attempting to persuade him to step into the strange volcanic flame that had granted her immortality, so that he too would live forever, she stepped into it herself; but the second time undid all the years that had been suspended for her and she grew old in an instant and died.
The legend of Ereshkigal: Ereshkigal... a beautiful goddes of ancient Sumeria, sister of Inanna (Ishtar) who was herself the goddess of beauty, love, and war... had entrapped the god Tammuz in the netherworld, where she ruled as goddess of the dead, because she had fallen in love with him. Once there, he had tasted of the same fruit that kept the gods of the netherworld immortal (a pomegranate), and so he immediately died.
Even the names have the same elements: Ayesha / Ereshkigal is clearly one and the same being. Plus, before archeological evidence proved the reality of ancient Sumeria and Babylon, people often equated the gods of Sumerian mythology with Egyptian deities. Thus, Ayesha / Ereshkigal being from Egypt is not entirely untrue. The Egyptian counterpart to her is Nepthys, who also has similar elements in her name to Ayesha. Which shows that Haggard was indeed on to something in his story, however fictionalized the account was.
The Norse Death Goddess is called Hela and the name was later used by Rider Haggard in his two "Viking" novels, Eric Brighteyes and The Wanderer's Necklace. The mythological Hela had an allegorical "deathbed" called Kör that means "disease" in Old Norse. In She, Ayesha lives in a city named Kôr that had its original inhabitants decimated by a terrible "plague", and its' vast catacombs serve as a giant deathbed. "Ella", Spanish for "she", resembles the name "Hela". Hela was the direct Norse counterpart of Ereshkigal as goddess of the dead. So, indeed, Ayesha is proven to be this very goddess! Kör is Hela's domain in Norse mythology, also called Helheim. Kôr is Ayesha's domain in the novel She. Kur is Ereshkigal's domain in Sumerian mythology, also called Kur-nu-gia which is "Land of no return".
Proof that Ereshkigal's city was an African necropolis lies in the story of She.
It's original inhabitants were all destroyed by a "plague", and it now held vast catacombs. In Sumerian mythology the plague god Namtar was Ereshkigal's chief advisor as well as a necromancer. A necromancer is a wizard who holds power over the dead. Is it possible that Namtar was the "plague" which killed the people of Kur? Since plague is used in quotes every time the reference is made, that could only mean the term plague is metaphorical and refers to something else. In this case, it is genocide that is hinted at, with the hidden implication being that Namtar was responsible for it, possibly by Ereshkigal's command. Why would a queen order her own subjects to be killed? That was common when the death of the ruler was on the way. In the city of Ur, in ancient Sumeria, there were death pits filled with the bones of the king as well as his entire family, their servants, and their guards who all were sacrificed and laid to rest the very day the king died. This was a custom in those days, practiced by the same culture Ereshkigal was born into.
It paints this picture: Ereshkigal was a queen from Sumeria who came to rule the kingdom of Kur in Africa with her husband Nergal and her advisor Namtar. One day, the queen died and her advisor decided to go one better than the usual tradition. Instead of just sacrificing her immediate family, servants, and guards... he has her entire people sacrificed. Namtar was probably the last one left, and may have killed himself to keep the catacombs' location secret.
Thus, the legend of Ereshkigal ruling from a giant deathbed was born. Likely, this gained Kur it's reputation as the "Land of no return", for not one of it's inhabitants ever came out of the place alive due to Namtar sacrificing them.
This could also be why the city itself has never been found, but that does make one wonder... if nobody escaped the demise of Kur, then how did it's history come down to us over time? Clearly, some people must have known it's location, such as Ereshkigal's sister Inanna (Ishtar) who went there on a journey to find out what happened to Tammuz. Which explains a whole lot!
Tammuz must have been taken to Kur the day the queen died, possibly as her final request. Since everyone else was dying that day, so would he. He may have been killed by being given a poisoned pomegranate to eat, then laid to rest with Ereshigal and Nergal in the catacombs underneath the city.
Ishtar decides to find out what happened, so she journeys to Kur only to find the place deserted. She finds her way into the catacombs. In Sumerian mythology, this legend is called "The Descent of Inanna into the Underworld". According to the legend, Ishtar descended and made her way past seven gates. (This reveals that it isn't the above-ground city that had seven gates... it was the necropolis underneath, known as the catacombs!) At any rate, Inanna had to remove a piece of her clothing at each gate. The truth behind that could be that as she was going deeper undergound, Ishtar was getting hotter and finding the air harder to beathe. Thus the reason why she would remove her garments a bit at a time. The legend goes on to say that she found Ereshkigal seated upon a throne, surrounded by the dead. She asked Ereshkigal about Tammuz, who showed him to her and would not give him up, for being dead he was in her realm now. The truth would have been that Ishtar found Ereshkigal not quite dead yet (since people often in ancient times were buried alive after going into comas, narcoleptic fits, etc.) and convinced her to show her Tammuz's resting place. Here is where it gets really ugly! Ereshkigal was furious with Ishtar for disturbing her (waking her up?) and so she kills Ishtar by impaling her on a stake with a hook through her. The legend gets really mythical at this point by saying that two eunuchs referred to as "angels" in one version of the story go in search of Ishtar and eventually discover her dead in Ereshkigal's underworld (the catacombs). On finding her, they give her the "water of life" and resurrect her. Ishtar gets Ereshkigal to agree to part with Tammuz (his dead body) for part of the year (the spring). Every winter, Ishtar would return Tammuz (his dead body) to Ereshkigal once more. Ishtar then, on her way out, liberates anyone who was trapped down there while still living. They then return to her temple in Sumer.
So, what do we know? We know Ereshkigal was not dead when she was first buried, and she took to living in the catacombs upon her sister waking her up.
Apparently, others were likewise buried while still alive, and those were the ones rescued by Ishtar who herself was brought near death but not killed. Hence, why her two eunuchs were able to heal her and help her get free.
Presumably, Ereshigal remained in the catacombs until she died there for real.
Just think: somewhere in Africa, there actually once was (perhaps still is) a lost necropolis that inspired all the legends of Kur/Helheim/Hades! It looks like Tomb Raider: Underworld had the right idea, just the wrong part of the world.
