Editing Nergal (section)

{{Short description|Mesopotamian god of death}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Mesopotamian
| name = Nergal
| image = File:Nergal.png
| caption = Nergal holding his attributes—a lion-headed mace and a sword—on a cylinder seal from [[Larsa]]
| god_of = God of war, disease, and death
| abode = [[Kur]] (the Mesopotamian underworld)
| cult_center = [[Kutha]]
| symbol = lion-headed mace, sword, lion, bull, possibly chameleon
| number = 14
| planet = [[Mars]]
| consort = {{plainlist|
*[[Laṣ]] (most commonly)
*[[Mamitu|Mammitum]] (in [[Nippur]] and in ''Epic of Erra'')
*[[Adamma (goddess)#Mari|Admu]] (in [[Mari, Syria|Mari]])
*[[Ereshkigal]] (in the myth ''Nergal and Ereshkigal'')
*[[Ninshubur]] (in [[Girsu]] in the third millennium BCE)}}
| children = [[Tadmushtum]]
| parents = [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]]
| siblings = [[Nanna (Sumerian deity)|Nanna]], [[Ninazu]], [[Enbilulu]] (in the myth ''[[Enlil and Ninlil]]'')
| equivalent1_type = Southern Mesopotamian
| equivalent1 = [[Ninazu]]
| equivalent2_type = Akkadian
| equivalent2 = [[Erra (god)|Erra]]
| equivalent3_type = Eblaite and Ugaritic
| equivalent3 = [[Resheph]]
| equivalent4_type = Elamite
| equivalent4 = [[Simut (god)|Simut]]
| equivalent5_type = Mandaean
| equivalent5 = [[Nirig]]
}}
'''Nergal''' ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: {{cuneiform|𒀭𒄊𒀕𒃲}}{{sfn|Borger|2004|p=402}} <sup>[[Dingir|d]]</sup>''KIŠ.UNU'' or {{lang|sux-Latn|<sup>[[dingir|d]]</sup>GÌR.UNU.GAL}};{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=215}} {{Hebrew name|נֵרְגַל|Nerəgal|Nērəgal}}; [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ;{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=216}} {{langx|la|Nirgal}}) was a [[Mesopotamian god]] worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic]] to [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian]] times, with a few attestations indicating that his cult survived into the period of [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] domination. He was primarily associated with war, death, and disease, and has been described as the "god of inflicted death".{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=221}} He reigned over [[Ancient Mesopotamian underworld|Kur, the Mesopotamian underworld]], depending on the myth either on behalf of his parents [[Enlil]] and [[Ninlil]], or in later periods as a result of his marriage with the goddess [[Ereshkigal]]. Originally either [[Mamitu|Mammitum]], a goddess possibly connected to frost, or [[Laṣ]], sometimes assumed to be a minor medicine goddess, were regarded as his wife, though other traditions existed, too.

His primary cult center was [[Kutha]], located in the north of historical [[Babylonia]]. His main [[É (temple)|temple]] bore the ceremonial name E-Meslam and he was also known by the name Meslamtaea, "he who comes out of Meslam". Initially he was only worshiped in the north, with a notable exception being [[Girsu]] during the reign of [[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]], but starting with the [[Ur III period]] he became a major deity in the south too. He remained prominent in both Babylonia and [[Assyria]] in later periods, and in the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian]] state pantheon he was regarded as the third most important god, after [[Marduk]] and [[Nabu]].

Nergal was associated with a large number of local or foreign deities. The Akkadian god [[Erra (god)|Erra]] was syncretised with him at an early date, and especially in literary texts they functioned as synonyms of each other. Other major deities frequently compared to or syncretised with him include the western god [[Resheph]], best attested in [[Ebla]] and [[Ugarit]], who was also a god of war, plague and death, and [[Elam]]ite [[Simut (god)|Simut]], who was likely a warrior god and shared Nergal's association with the planet [[Mars]]. It has also been proposed that his name was used to represent a Hurrian god, possibly [[Kumarbi]] or [[Aštabi]], in early inscriptions from [[Urkesh]], but there is also evidence that he was worshiped by the [[Hurrians]] under his own name as one of the Mesopotamian deities they incorporated into their own [[List of Hurrian deities|pantheon]].

Two well known myths focus on Nergal, ''Nergal and Ereshkigal'' and ''Epic of Erra''. The former describes the circumstances of his marriage of [[Ereshkigal]], the Mesopotamian goddess of the dead, while the latter describes his rampages and efforts of his [[sukkal]] (attendant deity) [[Ishum]] to stop them. He also appears in a number of other, less well-preserved compositions.