Erishkegal: Goddess of Thankless Tasks
by Elizabeth Barrette
By now, most of you have heard "The Descent of Inanna." This ancient Sumerian myth appears in many forms; you may have heard someone tell it, through oral tradition, or you may have read it in a book. I honor Inanna and I love to listen when a storyteller recites her journey. But have you ever considered the other side of the story? Have you ever wondered about Inanna's sister-Goddess, Erishkegal? Listen, then, to Her side of the story ...
In the Before Time, soon after the world was made, Erishkegal ran naked with the animals, queen of the weeds and the wilds. The rest of the gods divided up the world and all within it amongst themselves; then they went to Erishkegal and said, "You take the Underworld. We don't want it." And so She did. In the Underworld She found a palace of lapis, but it was cold and empty and She had no clothes. She had only clay to eat, and only dirty water to drink.
After a time, the gods above found Gugalanna, the Great Bull of Heaven, guilty of rape and other violence, so they banished him to the Underworld. There Erishkegal took him in, taught him the ways of women, and made him Her husband. Gugalanna learned from his mistakes, and his love for Her helped him change.
As humankind multiplied and spread, the numberless dead poured down into the realm of Erishkegal. She swallowed them, and mourned, for they were Her children. Her belly grew great as She gorged unwillingly on the dead, and She cried out Her misery to the uncaring stones.
One year, Gugalanna died. Erishkegal, Queen of the Dead, swallowed Her husband with the others. Then She wept, for now She was truly alone. When Her sister Inanna, Queen of Earth and Heaven, proposed to use Gugalanna's death as a pretext to enter the Underworld, Erishkegal flew into a rage.
She commanded Her chief gatekeeper, Neti, to challenge Her sister at each of the seven gates, and to strip Inanna of her symbols of power. Though Inanna submitted to this indignity, when she came before Erishkegal, she did not bow down to acknowledge her sister's sovereignty here. She did not sympathize with Erishkegal's pain, nor even offer condolences for Gugalanna's death. Angered still further, Erishkegal struck Inanna down, and she fell dead to the floor. Then Erishkegal ordered the corpse to be hung from a hook on the wall. She wanted Her proud sister to learn what it feels like to be left out, to be ignored and taken for granted and treated as worthless.
Yet soon after, two strange creatures appeared at the lapis palace. They were neither man nor woman, but neuter. When they heard Erishkegal's cries, they ran to Her at once and wailed along with Her lament. Startled by their sympathy, Erishkegal ceased Her complaint. She asked the two asexual beings if there was anything they wanted, because they had shown Her such compassion. Humble before Her, they asked only for the corpse hanging on the hook. Erishkegal knew that Her sister would now understand Her situation, and so She granted their request. The two creatures gave Inanna the Food of Life and the Water of Life.
Then they took Inanna back to the surface world. Erishkegal felt better knowing that someone understood Her and knew of Her service below. Indeed, Inanna counseled peace in the world above, so as to lessen the flood of dead that swelled her sister's belly.
The story sounds quite different told from Erishkegal's point of view, doesn't it? She didn't get to choose Her sphere of influence. The gods decided without Her, and gave Her a nasty, messy, miserable job that no one wanted. They left Her alone in the dark, without comfort or company. Then they exiled a rapist into Her realm, someone they deemed unfit for their exalted presence. Yet even in Her own distress, Erishkegal reached out to Gugalanna, and when he grew into a better person She made him Her husband. When he died, no one really cared about Her sorrow; Inanna saw the funeral only as an excuse to venture into Erishkegal's realm. She was proud, but worse, she showed no compassion for her sister's plight. Erishkegal, tired of being ignored and mistreated, finally lost Her temper. She took Her retribution, but She did so in a way that would teach Inanna an important lesson about understanding. Afterwards, Erishkegal allowed Herself to be swayed by the compassion of the two asexual beings; She forgave Inanna and let her go.
Erishkegal's actions show us the strange dichotomy of Her nature. She is at once the Goddess of Thankless Tasks and She Who Complains. She can be cruel, but She can also be compassionate, and She always responds well to sympathy. She offers the hope of change -- but She also forces change on those who enter Her domain with arrogance. She holds the power of death, yet groans at all the death in the world.
First, as the Goddess of Thankless Tasks, Erishkegal looks out for women who hold similar positions: jobs with miserable working conditions, unfair terms, lousy wages; jobs that nobody wants to do but which nevertheless must be done; jobs that are taken for granted by those who don't have to do them. She watches over the women who clean toilets, wrap bloody meat in neat plastic, and slave over greasy machines in hot factories. Because of this, a good way to gain Her favor is to volunteer: stay to clean up after an event, pick up litter, or fold newsletters.
As She Who Complains, Erishkegal reminds us that sometimes, "Enough is enough!" It's okay to lose your temper under intolerable conditions, especially when someone barges in when you're working but doesn't offer to help. It's okay to say, "No! This is too much." By thinking of Erishkegal, we remember to set limits, to speak up when we aren't happy. She breaks the silence with her howls.
Erishkegal also teaches us how to make our complaints effective. Pure vengeance doesn't improve the situation; only understanding can do that. When rowdy teenagers carelessly track mud all over a clean floor, Erishkegal is the one who tells them to go get some toothbrushes and start scrubbing! When you have a legitimate complaint, turn to Erishkegal for support. She will help you get your point across.
Sympathy always attracts Her attention. If you want to include Erishkegal in a ritual, let Her know that you have heard Her side of the story. Show Her what you have learned: when a claims that no one ever listens, commiserate. Lend an ear, and a shoulder if need be. Volunteers who work crisis lines (for suicide prevention, rape crisis support, or other emergency services) draw her especial care, because they combine understanding with actions which can save lives.
Call on Erishkegal if you need to explore your inner shadows, if you crave change but feel stuck. Don't ask for Her assistance unless you truly mean it, though; She doesn't pull Her punches. She'll get you unstuck, all right, but you won't enjoy the process. Be prepared to have your nose rubbed in everything you've been hiding, or hiding from. On the other hand, if you believe in playing hardball when people seriously abuse their power, invoke Erishkegal. She's good at giving big shots a lesson in compassion. When it comes to change, Erishkegal plays rough.
Still, She does everything in Her power to lessen death in this world, because it causes so much pain. She understands pain very, very well. Although an Underworld goddess, Erishkegal champions the cause of peace. Thus, another excellent way to please Her is to help reduce war and death: write letters protesting dangerous weaponry, participate in a march against violence, or join a peace-oriented group such as Amnesty International. If you don't have the time or skills to volunteer, perhaps you could send a small donation to a charity or other organization. Even telling the story helps.
The story of Erishkegal and Inanna comes from what is now the Middle East and the surrounding area, near the Euphrates river. Once, ancient Sumer supported a lush agriculture and vast green wilds; now, most of the land has fallen into desert. You may hear different names: Irkalla for Erishkegal, Nergal for Gugalanna. Still the story survives, changing with the needs of the changing times.
Now I tell the story of Erishkegal because we need the Goddess of Thankless Tasks, She Who Complains. We need to learn how to balance "Is there anything I can do to help?" with "Enough is enough!" We need to remember to listen to each other, to give thanks, to appreciate work done and service given. Erishkegal, Queen of the Dead, can teach us much if only we listen to Her.
* * *
>>> Bibliography <<<
The Book of Goddesses and Heroines by Patricia Monaghan. Llewellyn Publications, 1993.
The Dark Goddess: Dancing with the Shadow by Marcia Starck and Gynne Stern. The Crossing Press, 1993.
"The Descent of Inanna" Part 1 & Part 2 translated by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer. Soul Rebels. No publication date listed.
"Erishkegal" Wikipedia entry
"Erishkegal, Lady of Shadows" by BellaDonna. White Moon Gallery. No publication date listed.
"From the Great Above to the Great Below" by Dan Sewell Ward. Library of Halexandria, 2003.
Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer. Harper & Row, 1983.
Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, and Mystery by Starhawk. Harper & Row Publishers, 1987.
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker. HarperSanFrancisco, 1983.
I would also like to acknowledge the inspiration of various storytellers who keep "The Descent of Inanna" alive, especially John White, who first introduced me to Inanna and Erishkegal.
This poem was originally published in SageWoman magazine Vol. 31, Autumn 1995.
In the Before Time, soon after the world was made, Erishkegal ran naked with the animals, queen of the weeds and the wilds. The rest of the gods divided up the world and all within it amongst themselves; then they went to Erishkegal and said, "You take the Underworld. We don't want it." And so She did. In the Underworld She found a palace of lapis, but it was cold and empty and She had no clothes. She had only clay to eat, and only dirty water to drink.
After a time, the gods above found Gugalanna, the Great Bull of Heaven, guilty of rape and other violence, so they banished him to the Underworld. There Erishkegal took him in, taught him the ways of women, and made him Her husband. Gugalanna learned from his mistakes, and his love for Her helped him change.
As humankind multiplied and spread, the numberless dead poured down into the realm of Erishkegal. She swallowed them, and mourned, for they were Her children. Her belly grew great as She gorged unwillingly on the dead, and She cried out Her misery to the uncaring stones.
One year, Gugalanna died. Erishkegal, Queen of the Dead, swallowed Her husband with the others. Then She wept, for now She was truly alone. When Her sister Inanna, Queen of Earth and Heaven, proposed to use Gugalanna's death as a pretext to enter the Underworld, Erishkegal flew into a rage.
She commanded Her chief gatekeeper, Neti, to challenge Her sister at each of the seven gates, and to strip Inanna of her symbols of power. Though Inanna submitted to this indignity, when she came before Erishkegal, she did not bow down to acknowledge her sister's sovereignty here. She did not sympathize with Erishkegal's pain, nor even offer condolences for Gugalanna's death. Angered still further, Erishkegal struck Inanna down, and she fell dead to the floor. Then Erishkegal ordered the corpse to be hung from a hook on the wall. She wanted Her proud sister to learn what it feels like to be left out, to be ignored and taken for granted and treated as worthless.
Yet soon after, two strange creatures appeared at the lapis palace. They were neither man nor woman, but neuter. When they heard Erishkegal's cries, they ran to Her at once and wailed along with Her lament. Startled by their sympathy, Erishkegal ceased Her complaint. She asked the two asexual beings if there was anything they wanted, because they had shown Her such compassion. Humble before Her, they asked only for the corpse hanging on the hook. Erishkegal knew that Her sister would now understand Her situation, and so She granted their request. The two creatures gave Inanna the Food of Life and the Water of Life.
Then they took Inanna back to the surface world. Erishkegal felt better knowing that someone understood Her and knew of Her service below. Indeed, Inanna counseled peace in the world above, so as to lessen the flood of dead that swelled her sister's belly.
The story sounds quite different told from Erishkegal's point of view, doesn't it? She didn't get to choose Her sphere of influence. The gods decided without Her, and gave Her a nasty, messy, miserable job that no one wanted. They left Her alone in the dark, without comfort or company. Then they exiled a rapist into Her realm, someone they deemed unfit for their exalted presence. Yet even in Her own distress, Erishkegal reached out to Gugalanna, and when he grew into a better person She made him Her husband. When he died, no one really cared about Her sorrow; Inanna saw the funeral only as an excuse to venture into Erishkegal's realm. She was proud, but worse, she showed no compassion for her sister's plight. Erishkegal, tired of being ignored and mistreated, finally lost Her temper. She took Her retribution, but She did so in a way that would teach Inanna an important lesson about understanding. Afterwards, Erishkegal allowed Herself to be swayed by the compassion of the two asexual beings; She forgave Inanna and let her go.
Erishkegal's actions show us the strange dichotomy of Her nature. She is at once the Goddess of Thankless Tasks and She Who Complains. She can be cruel, but She can also be compassionate, and She always responds well to sympathy. She offers the hope of change -- but She also forces change on those who enter Her domain with arrogance. She holds the power of death, yet groans at all the death in the world.
First, as the Goddess of Thankless Tasks, Erishkegal looks out for women who hold similar positions: jobs with miserable working conditions, unfair terms, lousy wages; jobs that nobody wants to do but which nevertheless must be done; jobs that are taken for granted by those who don't have to do them. She watches over the women who clean toilets, wrap bloody meat in neat plastic, and slave over greasy machines in hot factories. Because of this, a good way to gain Her favor is to volunteer: stay to clean up after an event, pick up litter, or fold newsletters.
As She Who Complains, Erishkegal reminds us that sometimes, "Enough is enough!" It's okay to lose your temper under intolerable conditions, especially when someone barges in when you're working but doesn't offer to help. It's okay to say, "No! This is too much." By thinking of Erishkegal, we remember to set limits, to speak up when we aren't happy. She breaks the silence with her howls.
Erishkegal also teaches us how to make our complaints effective. Pure vengeance doesn't improve the situation; only understanding can do that. When rowdy teenagers carelessly track mud all over a clean floor, Erishkegal is the one who tells them to go get some toothbrushes and start scrubbing! When you have a legitimate complaint, turn to Erishkegal for support. She will help you get your point across.
Sympathy always attracts Her attention. If you want to include Erishkegal in a ritual, let Her know that you have heard Her side of the story. Show Her what you have learned: when a claims that no one ever listens, commiserate. Lend an ear, and a shoulder if need be. Volunteers who work crisis lines (for suicide prevention, rape crisis support, or other emergency services) draw her especial care, because they combine understanding with actions which can save lives.
Call on Erishkegal if you need to explore your inner shadows, if you crave change but feel stuck. Don't ask for Her assistance unless you truly mean it, though; She doesn't pull Her punches. She'll get you unstuck, all right, but you won't enjoy the process. Be prepared to have your nose rubbed in everything you've been hiding, or hiding from. On the other hand, if you believe in playing hardball when people seriously abuse their power, invoke Erishkegal. She's good at giving big shots a lesson in compassion. When it comes to change, Erishkegal plays rough.
Still, She does everything in Her power to lessen death in this world, because it causes so much pain. She understands pain very, very well. Although an Underworld goddess, Erishkegal champions the cause of peace. Thus, another excellent way to please Her is to help reduce war and death: write letters protesting dangerous weaponry, participate in a march against violence, or join a peace-oriented group such as Amnesty International. If you don't have the time or skills to volunteer, perhaps you could send a small donation to a charity or other organization. Even telling the story helps.
The story of Erishkegal and Inanna comes from what is now the Middle East and the surrounding area, near the Euphrates river. Once, ancient Sumer supported a lush agriculture and vast green wilds; now, most of the land has fallen into desert. You may hear different names: Irkalla for Erishkegal, Nergal for Gugalanna. Still the story survives, changing with the needs of the changing times.
Now I tell the story of Erishkegal because we need the Goddess of Thankless Tasks, She Who Complains. We need to learn how to balance "Is there anything I can do to help?" with "Enough is enough!" We need to remember to listen to each other, to give thanks, to appreciate work done and service given. Erishkegal, Queen of the Dead, can teach us much if only we listen to Her.
* * *
>>> Bibliography <<<
The Book of Goddesses and Heroines by Patricia Monaghan. Llewellyn Publications, 1993.
The Dark Goddess: Dancing with the Shadow by Marcia Starck and Gynne Stern. The Crossing Press, 1993.
"The Descent of Inanna" Part 1 & Part 2 translated by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer. Soul Rebels. No publication date listed.
"Erishkegal" Wikipedia entry
"Erishkegal, Lady of Shadows" by BellaDonna. White Moon Gallery. No publication date listed.
"From the Great Above to the Great Below" by Dan Sewell Ward. Library of Halexandria, 2003.
Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer. Harper & Row, 1983.
Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, and Mystery by Starhawk. Harper & Row Publishers, 1987.
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker. HarperSanFrancisco, 1983.
I would also like to acknowledge the inspiration of various storytellers who keep "The Descent of Inanna" alive, especially John White, who first introduced me to Inanna and Erishkegal.
This poem was originally published in SageWoman magazine Vol. 31, Autumn 1995.
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