Nergal

The Lord of War and Plague

Domain: War, Plague & Underworld
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Element: Fire
Relics of Power: Double-Headed Mace

Speak with Nergal

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5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

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The People

People

Sumerians, Akkadians & Babylonians

Region

Mesopotamia (modern Iraq)

Period

c. 3500 – 500 BC

The Mesopotamian gods were worshipped by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates, the cradle of writing and cities. Each city raised a ziggurat to its patron god, served by a powerful priestly caste. Their myths, such as the Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamesh, are among the oldest in the world.

The Akitu festival opened the new year with processions along Babylon's Sacred Way, and the sacred marriage rite symbolically united Inanna and Dumuzi to ensure fertility. Lamentations, hymns, and divination by animal livers marked daily religious life.

At a glance

Sumerian texts present Nergal as a son of Enlil, a warrior of devastating force, and a lord of the netherworld. A later Akkadian poem explains his union with Ereškigal, queen of the dead, but survives in versions with different plots. The hymns also invoke him on behalf of kings and communities: his power threatens enemies while protecting those who ask for his help. These functions do not form a single biography. They show how different genres, places, and periods assigned tasks to the same god. The combination of warfare, judgment, and rule below does not justify reducing him to a generic embodiment of evil. In the adab, the same god who threatens opposing cities is asked to protect the king's health. In the tigi, his authority includes decisions about destinies and the offerings of Lagaš. The Ereškigal myth adds an explanation for his place among the rulers of the afterlife without replacing the hymns' portrait.

8 min read · Reviewed on October 14, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

The double mace, the lion, the sword and the midday sun

Family

Parents

Enlil

Nergal

Unions

Ereshkigal

Genealogy according to ETCSL 4.15.3, linhas/lines 11–20; Almeida 2024, p. 1

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, An adab to Nergal for Šu-ilīšu (Šu-ilīšu A), ETCSL 2.5.2.1. read
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, A hymn to Nergal (Nergal B), ETCSL 4.15.2. read
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, A tigi to Nergal (Nergal C), ETCSL 4.15.3. read

Studies

Isabel Gomes de Almeida, Nergal and Ereškigal. Database of Religious History, 2024. open
O. R. Gurney, The Sultantepe Tablets (continued) VII. The Myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal. Anatolian Studies 10, 1960. open

Name and epithets

Nergal Mešlamta-ea: A name applied to Nergal in the hymns; the text connects him with the netherworld and the E-mešlam shrine without supplying a secure etymology..

In the ancient sources

An adab to Nergal for Šu-ilīšu, A Sumerian composition preserved in ancient copies; the consulted edition gives no single date for the poem..

The myths

The banquet offense and the Amarna version. Ereškigal cannot leave the netherworld to attend a banquet of the gods. She sends Namtar in her place.

Worship and archaeology

The adab for Šu-ilīšu links Nergal to the protection of a king. It asks the god to defeat opponents, sustain the ruler's life and health, and remain worthy of trust for a long time.

How the god was depicted

The hymns favor verbal images over a description of a statue. They compare Nergal's advance to a storm, flood, lion, and bull; the adab speaks of weapons and the terror he inspires in opponents.

What scholars debate

Erra and Nergal. The hymn Nergal B places Erra in the same composition and makes his relationship to Nergal seem close.

After antiquity

The survival of two recensions of the poem, one known from Amarna and the other from copies at Sultantepe and Uruk, shows that the story continued to be copied and reworked in different places and periods.

Did you know?

The adab asks Nergal both to defeat enemies and to grant Šu-ilīšu lasting health. The juxtaposition shows how the same destructive power could be invoked in favor of a king.

Codex relic

Double-Headed Mace. A terrible mace that spreads war, plague, and destruction wherever it passes.

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