Djed › Ereshkigal » Ancient origins
Articles and Definitions › Contents
- Djed › Antique Origins
- Ereshkigal › Who Was
Ancient civilizations › Historical and archaeological sites
Djed › Antique Origins
Definition and Origins
The djed is an ancient Egyptian symbol for stability which features prominently in Egyptian art and architecture throughout the country's history. `Stability' should be understood to mean not only a firm footing but immutability and permanance. The symbol is a column with a broad base which narrows as it rises to a capital and is crossed by four parallel lines. The column and the lines are sometimes brightly painted and other times monochrome. The djed first appears in the Predynastic Period in Egypt (c. 6000-3150 BCE) and continues through the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE), the last dynasty to rule Egyptbefore it became a province of the Roman Empire.
The djed is often overlooked in Egyptian art, and especially in architecture, simply because it is so ubiquitous; the djed is featured on pillars, tomb walls, architraves (the main beam which rests on pillars), palace walls, sheets of painted papyrus, and especially sarcophagi. Once one is aware of the djed and its importance to ancient Egyptian culture it is impossible to miss. It is a potent symbol associated with the god Osiris and his return from the dead. The symbol has been interpreted to represent different objects such as the god Osiris' backbone, the tamarisk tree which enclosed the god, four pillars rising one behind another, and a fertility pole raised at festivals. `Stability', however, seems to have been its prime meaning and the one which the ancient Egyptians attached the greatest importance to.
MEANING & ORIGINS
The precise origin of the djed is unknown but it was associated with the god Ptah, an early creator god in the Predynastic Period whose attributes were later assumed by the deities Atum and Osiris. According to historian Clare Gibson, the djed was an early phonogram which could also act as a pictogram or ideogram. A phonogram is a symbol representing a sound and a pictogram a symbol for a specific word or phrase while an ideogram is a symbol of a thing itself without reference to words or sounds (such as numerals where one recognizes the symbol 10 as representing a certain quantity). The djed symbolized the spoken word-concept for stability, was the written word for stability, and stood for the concept itself.
THE DJED SYMBOLIZED THE SPOKEN WORD-CONCEPT FOR STABILITY, WAS THE WRITTEN WORD FOR STABILITY, AND STOOD FOR THE CONCEPT ITSELF.
In the Predynastic Period it may have originally been a representation of a fertility pole upon which sheaves of grain were suspended at festivals. This pole may have been a feature of early fertility rituals which eventually came to be associated with the god who made the land fertile. The god Ptah carried a sceptre which combined the djed and the Ankh (symbol of life) and is referenced as "The Noble Djed" in ancient inscriptions. The Djed Pillar Festival was held annually at which an actual djed pillar was built and raised by the local priesthood on the first day of the harvest season. Raising the pillar may have originally symbolized the grains rising from the earth but, in time, came to represent the god Osiris returning from the dead.
With the rise of the cult of Osiris, the djed came to be firmly associated with him and, especially, with the tree of Byblos which enclosed him and the pillar made from that tree. The djed also symbolized the backbone of Osiris in that, just as Osiris rose from the dead, the deceased would rise from their body after death. In the same way that the human backbone allowed one to sit up and stand and walk, the spiritual image of Osiris' backbone would encourage the soul to rise up from the body and move toward the afterlife. The myth of Osiris was one of the most popular in ancient Egypt, especially in the period of the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE). The story details the death of the god, his ressurection by his wife Isis, and descent to the underworld to reign as Lord of the Dead.
THE MYTH OF OSIRIS
In the beginning of time, shortly after creation, the gods Osiris, Isis, Set, Nepthys, and Horus were born of the union between Geb (earth) and Nut (sky). Osiris, as the eldest, was given reign of the earth and took his sister Isis as his wife and queen. Set grew jealous of Osiris' success and trapped him in a coffin which he then threw into the Nile River. The coffin floated to the Phoenician city of Byblos where it became lodged in a tamarisk tree by the shore. The tree quickly grew around and enclosed the coffin within it. The king and queen of Byblos noticed the tree and that it gave forth a sweet scent and so had it cut down and brought to their palace to decorate the court as a central pillar.
Ankh, Djed & Was
Isis, in the meantime, had gone searching for her missing husband and finally arrived at the court of Byblos. Disguised as an older woman, she ingratiated herself to the royal family by teaching the handmaidens how to plait their hair and became nursemaid to the young princes. Isis was particularly fond of the younger child, Dictys, and tried to make him immortal by burning away his mortal part in a flame. When the queen found her doing this one night she became upset and Isis threw off her disguise to reveal herself as a goddess. The royal couple begged her mercy for their affrontery and promised her anything she wanted; Isis claimed the tree which held her husband.
She freed Osiris' body from the tree and brought him back to Egypt to revive him but, while she was out gathering the necessary herbs, Set found the body, cut it into pieces, and scattered it across the land. When Isis found her husband had been dismembered she instantly set about collecting his remains with the help of her sister Nepthys. They found all his body parts, except for his penis which had been eaten by a fish, and he was brought back to life. Isis transformed herself into a kite and summoned the seed from Osiris' body by flying around him, drawing the seed into herself and becoming pregnant with a son, Horus. Osiris, since he was not complete, could no longer rule the living and descended to the underworld as Lord of the Dead. Horus grew to maturity and then challenged Set for rule, defeating him and restoring order to the land. The myth illustrated the importance of ma'at (harmony) and the triumph of order over chaos.
THE DJED & OSIRIS
This best known version of the myth (which comes from the Greek writer Plutarch, 45-120 CE) places the tamarisk tree at Byblos but other versions say the tree was by the shores of the city of Djedu in Syria. This has led some scholars to assert that Osiris was originally a Syrian fertility god who was introduced to Egypt through trade. According to this theory, the djed was their cult symbol which was based on the practice of decorating a pillar to resemble a tree and draping it with icons representing fertility and abundant harvest. This theory has some merit, primarily due to the name of the Syrian city lending itself to the symbol, but falters in claiming validity based on the scarcity of trees in Egypt and their abundance in Syria.
Djed Pillars, Hall of Osiris, Abydos
Whatever abundance of forestation Syria may or may not have enjoyed, trees featured prominently in Egyptian literature as special blessings from the gods and even their homes. Osiris may have originally been a Syrian deity but one cannot base this claim on a scarcity of trees in Egypt. Osiris' name first appears in the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt (2498-2345 BCE) even though images of him pre-date this period and his origins are obscure. By the time of the New Kingdom, however, he was among the most popular and important gods of Egypt and the djed symbol was linked to his story. Scholar Geraldine Pinch comments on this, writing :
By the New Kingdom, the djed was closely associated with the mythology of Osiris. The taboo subject of the murder of Osiris could be alluded to by saying that Set had "laid the djed on its side". Scenes in temples or royal tombs show the god Horus (or the king playing the role of Horus) raising the djed column to help his father Osiris to rise from the dead (128).
The Osiris myth, with its emphasis on resurrection, immortality, and order from chaos, expressed some of the most highly valued concepts in Egyptian culture and Osiris became one of the most often invoked gods. His wife, Isis, rose to even greater prominence to eventually become the only deity in Egypt worshipped by everyone regardless of their location or duty to other gods. Isis was associated with the symbol of the tiet (also tjet, the `knot') representing fertility and was often paired with the djed, especially on Egyptian coffins. Scholar Clare Gibson comments on this pairing, writing:
It is particularly significant that the djed and the tiet are given such prominence, for these symbols respectively represented Osiris and Isis, or the masculine and feminine principles (and it is probably no coincidence that one is phallic and the other, uterine in shape), and together thus the innate potential to bring new life into being (159).
Osiris, though no longer ruler of the world, had given life to the people and, through his son, brought harmony to the land. In his role as Lord of the Dead, Osiris was the just judge who presided over the fate of the soul in the Hall of Truth. It is hardly surprising, then, that his symbol should be found on the walls of tombs, in the Pyramid Texts, and on coffins. The Egyptians believed that their earthly journey was only one aspect of an eternal voyage and death was simply another realm to be traveled. The djed symbol, like the Pyramid Texts themselves, would have been inscribed where the soul could see it in order to help free the eternal aspect of the individual from the physical body after death.
THE DJED IN ART & ARCHITECTURE
As noted above, there are so many instances of the djed featured in the art works and building projects of the Egyptians it is impossible to overlook the symbol once one is aware of it. A notable use of the Djed in the Early Dynastic Period (c.3150-2613) is the temple complex of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. The pillars of the interior of Temple T, in the Heb Sed Court, are decorated with djed symbols. The djed is also represented in a very interesting fashion at the South Tomb of the complex where a series of cobras rise in stone from the facade. The spaces in between these cobras are djed-shaped.
Djed pillars
Raising the djed pillar was an important part of the festival known as the Heb Sed which was observed to restore power to the king. Geraldine Pinch notes how, at this festival, "the raising of the djed was preceeded by a mock combat between people representing the opposing forces of order and chaos" (128). Once order had been restored, the djed pillar was raised as a symbol of triumph and stability. The king would be renewed through his association with Osiris who returned from death to life.Temple T's djed pillars and the other djed symbols in the Saqqara complex invoked not only Osiris and his resurrection but represented stability in that they were carefully placed to look like pillars holding up the sky. There are many different sites throughout Egypt where one sees djed symbols repeated across the lintels and architrives of buldings and, if one does not recognize the djed, these seem to be simple ornamentation; if one does, however, the djed symbols are clearly pillars supporting the canopy of the sky above.
In the Old Kingdom the djed is featured prominently on tombs as it continues to be in the New Kingdom. The Book of the Dead is illustrated with so many djed symbols that they sometimes blend into a kind of wallpaper behind the images of the soul ascending and the attendant gods. The New Kingdom tomb of the scribe Ani, dated to c. 1250 BCE, is inscribed with a page from the Book of the Dead customized to speak directly to Ani's soul. As with all such tomb inscriptions, the purpose was to direct the soul toward the afterlife and assist in leaving the body and the things of the earth behind. Ani's tomb shows his soul leaving his wife, his life, and his body behind to travel toward Osiris in the Hall of Truth. Gibson comments on this, writing:
The vignettes that illustrate the passages of text reproduced here are all imbued with profound significance regarding what the ancient Egyptians devoutly hoped would occur after their death, with the scenarios shown invoking the aid and protection of the gods Osiris, Anubis, and Nepthys, and giving prominent positions to such amuletic symbols as the djed pillar and the lotus and papyrus plants (173).
The djed pillar not only symbolized stability in life and after death but also the enduring presence of the gods in one's life. The symbol assured the ancient Egyptians that the gods were with them every step of their journey through their earthly travels and would continue with them after death. The djed symbol promised human beings that, like Osiris, they would rise from death to life and continue on to live eternally in the Field of Reeds. The Egyptian afterlife was a mirror-image of one's life on earth but eternally blissful without loss, disappointment, or death. The immutability of the soul and the promise of this eternal life was represented by the djed. The symbol appears so regularly throughout Egypt's history because it reminded the people of the true nature of life, that death was not the end, and that the gods were always near.
Ereshkigal › Who Was
Definition and Origins
Ereshkigal (also known as Irkalla and Allatu) is the Mesopotamian Queen of the Dead who rules the underworld. Her name translates as 'Queen of the Great Below' or 'Lady of the Great Place.' The word 'great' should be understood as 'vast,' not 'exceptional' and referred to the land of the dead which was thought to lie beneath the Mountains of Sunset to the west and was known as Kurnugia ('the Land of No Return'). Kurnugia was an immense realm of gloom under the earth, where the souls of the dead drank from muddy puddles and ate dust. Ereshkigal ruled over these souls from her palace Ganzir, located at the entrance to the underworld, and guarded by seven gates which were kept by her faithful servant Neti. She ruled her realm alone until the war god Nergal (also known as Erra) became her consort and co-ruler for six months of the year.
Erishkigal is the older sister of the goddess Inanna and best known for the part she plays in the famous Sumerian poem The Descent of Inanna (c. 1900-1600 BCE). Her first husband (and father of the god Ninazu) was the Great Bull of Heaven, Gugalana, who was killed by the hero Enkidu in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Her second husband (or consort) was the god Enlilwith whom she bore a son, Namtar, and by another consort her daughter Nungal (also known as Manungal) was conceived, an underworld deity who punished the wicked and was associated with healing and retribution. Her fourth consort was Nergal, the only mate who agreed to remain with her in the realm of the dead.
THE BURNEY RELIEF, OR THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT, IS OFTEN INTERPRETED AS REPRESENTING ERESHKIGAL, BUT SCHOLARS HAVE ALSO INTERPRETED THE WORK AS HONORING INANNA OR THE DEMON LILITH.
There is no known iconography for Ereshkigal or, at least, none universally agreed on. The Burney Relief (also known as The Queen of the Night, dating from Hammurabi 's reign of 1792-1750 BCE) is often interpreted as representing Ereshkigal. The terracotta relief depicts a naked woman with downward-pointing wings standing on the backs of two lions and flanked by owls.She holds symbols of power and, beneath the lions, are images of mountains. This iconography strongly suggests a depiction of Ereshkigal but scholars have also interpreted the work as honoring Inanna or the demon Lilith.
Although the relief most likely does depict Ereshkigal, and there are other similar reliefs of this same figure with varying details, it would not be surprising to find few images of her in art. Ereshkigal was the most feared deity in the Mesopotamian pantheonbecause she represented one's final destination from which there was no returning. In Mesopotamian belief, to create an image of someone or something was to invite the attention of the subject. Statues of the gods were thought to house the gods themselves, for example, and images on people's cylinder seals were thought to have amuletic properties. A statue or image of Ereshkigal, then, would have directed the attention of the Queen of the Dead to the creator or owner, and this was far from desirable.
EARLY MENTION & POPULARITY
Ereshkigal is first mentioned in the Sumerian poem The Death of Ur-Nammu which dates to the reign of Shulgi of Ur (2029-1982 BCE). She was undoubtedly known earlier, however, and most likely during the time of the Akkadian Empire (2334-2218 BCE). Her Akkadian name, Allatu, may be referenced on fragments predating Shulgi's reign.
By the time of the Old Babylonian Period (c. 2000-1600 BCE) Ereshkigal was widely recognized as the Queen of the Dead, lending support to the claim that the Queen of the Night relief from Hammurabi's reign depicts her. Although goddesses lost their status later in Mesopotamian history, early evidence clearly shows the most powerful deities were once female.
Inanna (later Ishtar of the Assyrians) was among the most popular deities and may have inspired similar goddesses in many other cultures including Sauska of the Hittites, Astarte of the Phoenicians, Aphrodite of the Greeks, Venus of the Romans, and perhaps even Isis of the Egyptians. The underworld in all these other cultures was ruled by a god, however, and Ereshkigal is unique in being the only female deity to hold this position even after gods supplanted goddesses and Nergal was given to her as consort.
ERESHKIGAL IN THE DESCENT OF INANNA
Although Ereshkigal was feared, she was also greatly respected. The Descent of Inanna has been widely - and wrongly - interpreted in the modern day as a symbolic journey of a woman becoming her 'true self.' Written works may be interpreted in any reasonable way only insofar as that interpretation can be supported by the text. The Descent of Inanna certainly lends itself to a Jungian interpretation of a journey to wholeness by confronting one's darker half, but this would not have been the original meaning of the poem nor is that interpretation supported by the work itself. Far from praising Inanna, or presenting her as some heroic archetype, the poem shows her as selfish and self-serving and, further, ends with praise for Ereshkigal, not Inanna.
Inanna/Ishtar is frequently depicted in Mesopotamian literature as a woman who largely thinks only of herself and her own desires, often at the expense of others. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, her sexual advances are spurned by the hero and so she sends her sister's husband, Gugulana, The Bull of Heaven, to destroy Gilgamesh's realm. After hundreds of people are killed by the bull's rampage, it is killed by Enkidu, the friend and comrade-in-arms of Gilgamesh. Enkidu is condemned by the gods for killing a deity and sentenced to die; the event which then sends Gilgamesh on his quest for immortality. In the Gilgamesh story, Inanna/Ishtar only thinks of herself and the same is true in The Descent of Inanna.
Ishtar's Descent into the Underworld Inscription
The work begins by stating how Inanna chooses to travel to the underworld to attend Gugulana's funeral - a death she brought about - and details how she is treated when she arrives. Ereshkigal is not happy to hear her sister is at the gates and instructs Neti to make her remove various articles of clothing and ornaments at each of the seven gates before admitting her to the throne room. By the time Inanna stands before Ereshkigal she is naked, and after the Annuna of the Dead pass judgment against her, Ereshkigal kills her sister and hangs her corpse on the wall. It is only through Inanna's cleverness in previously instructing her servant Ninshubur what to do, and Ninshubur's ability to persuade the gods in favor of her mistress, that Inanna is resurrected. Even so, Inanna's consort Dumuzi and his sister (agricultural dying and reviving deities) then need to take her place in the underworld because it is the land of no return and no soul can come back without finding a replacement.
The main character of the piece is not Inanna but Ereshkigal. The queen acts on the judgment of her advisors, the Annuna, who recognize that Inanna is guilty of causing Gugulana's death. The text reads:
The annuna, the judges of the underworld, surrounded her
They passed judgment against her.
Then Ereshkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of death
She spoke against her the word of wrath
She uttered against her the cry of guilt
She struck her.
Inanna was turned into a corpse
A piece of rotting meat
And was hung from a hook on the wall
(Wolkstein and Kramer, 60)
Inanna is judged and executed for her crime, but she has obviously foreseen this possibility and left instructions with her servant Ninshubur. After three days and three nights waiting for Inanna, Ninshubur follows the commands of the goddess, goes to Inanna's father-god Enki for help, and receives two galla (androgynous demons) to help her in returning Inanna to the earth. The galla enter the underworld "like flies" and, following Enki's specific instructions, attach themselves closely to Ereshkigal. The Queen of the Dead is seen in distress:
No linen was spread over her body
Her breasts were uncovered
Her hair swirled around her head like leeks
(Wolkstein and Kramer, 63-66).
The poem continues to describe the queen experiencing the pains of labor. The galla sympathize with the queen's pains, and she, in gratitude, offers them whatever gift they ask for. As ordered by Enki, the galla respond, "We wish only the corpse that hangs from the hook on the wall" (Wolkstein and Kramer, 67) and Ereshkigal gives it to them. The galla revive Inanna with the food and water of life, and she rises from the dead. It is at this point, after Inanna leaves and is given back all that Neti took from her at the seven gates, that someone else must be found to take Inanna's place. Her husband Dumuzi is chosen by Inanna and his sister Geshtinanna volunteers to go with him; Dumuzi will remain in the underworld for six months and Geshtinanna for the other six while Inanna, who caused all the problems in the first place, goes on to do as she pleases.
Marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi
The Descent of Inanna would have resonated with an ancient audience in the same way it does today if one understands who the central character actually is. The poem ends with the lines:
Holy Ereshkigal! Great is your renown!
Holy Ereshkigal! I sing your praises!
(Wolkstein and Kramer, 89)
Ereshkigal is chosen as the main character of the work because of her position as the formidable Queen of the Dead, and the message of the poem relates to injustice: if a goddess as powerful as Ereshkigal can be denied justice and endure the sting then so can anyone reading or hearing the poem recited.
ERESHKIGAL & NERGAL
Ereshkigal reigns over her kingdom alone until the war god Nergal becomes her consort. In one version of the story, Nergal is seduced by the queen when he visits the underworld, leaves her after seven days of love-making, but then returns to stay with her for six months of the year. Versions of the story have been found in Egypt (among the Amarna Letters ) dating to the 15th century BCE and at Sultantepe, site of an ancient Assyrian city, dated to the 7th century BCE; but the best-known version, dating from the Neo-Babylonian Period (c. 626-539 BCE), has Enki manipulating the events which send Nergal to the underworld as consort to the Queen of the Dead.
One day the gods prepared a great banquet to which everyone was invited. Ereshkigal could not attend, however, because she could not leave the underworld and the gods could not descend to hold their banquet there because they would afterwards be unable to leave. The god Enki sent a message to Ereshkigal to send a servant who could bring her back her share of the feast, and she sent her son Namtar.
When Namtar arrived at the gods' banquet hall, they all stood out of respect for his mother except for the war god Nergal.Namtar was insulted and wanted the wrong redressed, but Enki told him to simply return to the underworld and tell his mother what happened. When Ereshkigal hears of the disrespect of Nergal, she tells Namtar to send a message back to Enki demanding that Nergal be sent so she could kill him.
The Queen of the Night Reconstruction
The gods confer on this request and recognize its legitimacy and so Nergal is told he must journey to the underworld. Enki has understood this would happen, of course, and provides Nergal with 14 demon escorts to assist him at each of the seven gates of the underworld. When Nergal arrives, his presence is announced by Neti, and Namtar tells his mother that the god who would not rise has come. Ereshkigal gives orders that he is to be admitted through each of the seven gates which should then be barred behind him and she will kill him when he reaches the throne room.
After passing through each gate, however, Nergal posts two of his demon escorts to keep it open and marches to the throne room where he overpowers Namtar and drags Ereshkigal to the floor. He raises his great axe to cut off her head, but she pleads with him to spare her, promising to be his wife if he agrees and share her power with him. Nergal consents and seems to feel sorry for what he has done. The poem ends with the two kissing and the promise that they will remain together.
Since Nergal was often causing problems on earth by losing his temper and causing war and strife, it has been suggested that Enki arranged the entire scenario to get him out of the way. War was recognized as a part of the human experience, however, and so Nergal could not remain in the underworld permanently but had to return to the surface for six months out of the year.Since he had posted his demon escorts at the gates, had arrived of his own free will, and been invited to stay as consort by the queen, Nergal was able to leave without having to find a replacement.
As in The Descent of Inanna, the symbolism of The Marriage of Ereshkigal and Nergal (either version) touches on the same themes as the Greek story of the Demeter, goddess of nature and bounty, and her daughter Persephone who is abducted by Hades. In the Greek tale, having eaten of the fruit of the dead, Persephone must spend half a year in the underworld with Hades and, during this time, Demeter mourned the loss of her daughter. This story explained the seasons in that when Demeter and Persephone were together, the world was in bloom, but when Persephone returned to the underworld, nothing would grow and the earth was cold. The Descent of Inanna corresponds directly while The Marriage of Ereshkigal and Nergalexplains the seasons of war since conflicts were waged only in certain seasons.
ERESHKIGAL'S SIGNIFICANCE
Ereshkigal is always represented in prayers and rituals as a formidable goddess of great power but often in stories as one who forgives an injustice or a wrong in the interests of the greater good. In this role, she encouraged piety in the people who should follow her example in their own lives. If Ereshkigal could suffer injustice and continue to perform her tasks in accordance with the will of the gods, then human beings should do no less.
Her further significance was as the ruler of the underworld by which she was understood to reward the good and punish the evil, of course, but more importantly to keep the dead in the realm where they belonged. The seven gates of the underworld were not constructed to keep anyone out but rather to keep everyone who belonged there in. A cult of the dead grew up around Ereshkigal to honor those who had passed into her realm and continue to remember and care for them. Since the dead had nothing but muddy water to drink and dust to eat, food was placed and fresh water poured on tombs, which was thought to trickle down to the mouth of the departed. Scholar EA Wallis Budge writes:
The tears of the living comforted the dead and their lamentations and dirges consoled them. To satisfy the cravings of the dead these offerings were sometimes made by priests who devoted their lives to the cult of the dead, and the kinsmen of the dead often employed them to recite incantations that would have the effect of bettering the lot of the dead in the dread kingdom of Ereshkigal...The chief object of all such pious acts was to benefit the dead but underneath it all was the fervent desire of the living to keep the dead in the underworld. The living were afraid lest the dead should return to this world and it was necessary to avoid such a calamity at all costs. (145)
Ereshkigal, as with all the gods of Mesopotamia, maintained order and stood against the forces of chaos. Those souls who had left the world of the living were not supposed to return, and Ereshkigal made certain they remained where they belonged.If a ghost should come back to haunt the living, one could be sure it was for a good reason and with Ereshkigal's permission.As in other cultures, the main reasons for a haunting were improper burial of the dead or impious acts which had gone unpunished. As queen and guardian of the dead, Ereshkigal stood as a potent reminder to the living to observe the proper rites and rituals in their lives and to act in the best interests of their immediate and larger communities.
LICENSE:
Article based on information obtained from these sources:with permission from the Website Ancient History Encyclopedia
Content is available under License Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. CC-BY-NC-SA License