Seafood allergy

I'm terribly sorry, guys, but there won't be a regular post today.  I'm apparently allergic to seafood, so I've been on allergy meds since last night - and they always knock me out.  Rather than risking having a bunch of typos and a subpar blog post about Ishtar, I'm going to postpone said post until Monday.  I'll hopefully be recovered by then and able to do the post the justice it deserves.
I will have a very special post tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that!
Again, I'm really sorry.  I'll do my best to make it up to you next week.

Ereshkigal and Nergal: Another Underworld Romance

Yes, those really are the names of two of the Mesopotamian gods. No, I’m not making this up.

I know I said in my Intro that I would mostly be calling the gods by their Akkadian names. The name Nergal is actually what the Sumerians called the god (his Akkadian name is Erra), but the tablet that contains the story of these two deities is called Nergal and Ereshkigal, so I’m sticking with the name Nergal to avoid confusion.

At this point you’re probably wondering who Ereshkigal and Nergal are. Ereshkigal is the Mesopotamian goddess of the Underworld; her sister, Ishtar, is the goddess of love. (This will be relevant later.) Nergal is a god who is sometimes associated with pestilence or the sun. Their story is probably my favorite in Mesopotamian mythology. It is almost exactly the reverse of the Greek tale of Hades and Persephone - for in it, Ereshkigal lures Nergal to the Underworld, seduces him, and intices him to stay with her as her consort.

Interested? I hope so! This post was written specially for this week, since it fits rather nicely with the upcoming holiday of Valentine’s Day. The story of these two gods is very much a traditional romance tale (though at times it can read a bit like an erotic romance novel!). Unfortunately, a lot of the tablet Nergal and Ereshkigal is damaged or missing, so we don’t know the whole story. Here is the parts of the tale that we do know:

The Mesopotamian gods are having a huge party when Anu, father of the gods, realizes that his daughter Ereshkigal is not present. Her duties prevent her from leaving the Underworld, just as his duties prevent him from traveling to see her. Not wanting his daughter to miss out on the fun, Anu sends a messenger to the Underworld.

The messenger gives Ereshkigal her father’s regards, and asks her to send her vizier to the party to choose a present for the goddess. Ereshkigal is pleased by this and immediately sends Namtar, her vizier, to the party. Once there, all of the gods are very respectful of Namtar - all, that is, save for Nergal. Nergal refuses to kneel before the vizier even though all of the other gods are doing so. He is admonished for his lack of respect by his father, Ea. As a punishment, Ea sends Nergal down to the Underworld. He is very clearly warned that he must not sit on a chair, eat, or bathe while there. Most important of all, Nergal must not, under any circumstances, have sex with Ereshkigal.

Care to guess which of those rules Nergal breaks?

To his credit, Nergal actually lasts a while before he forgets Ea’s warnings. He remembers not to sit, refuses to eat or drink, and won’t let the servants bathe him. Unfortunately, the god loses all self-control when Ereshkigal puts on a pretty dress and starts flirting with him. They immediately retire to her bedchamber...where they stay for the next six days.

Yeah.

On the seventh day, Nergal remembers that he wasn’t supposed to sleep with Ereshkigal. He flees back to heaven, where an irritated Ea ritually cleanses Nergal in the hopes of preventing Ereshkigal’s minions from recognizing him.

This is very wise of Ea. When Ereshkigal hears that Nergal has left her, she is furious. (Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...especially when that woman rules over hell!) She sends Namtar to her father with a message. Ereshkigal points out that she has never been like other girls. Her sister, Ishtar, always had a man on her arm - but Nergal was Ereshkigal’s first lover. She then loses her calm and warns Anu that if Nergal is not returned to her, she will open the gates of hell and allow the dead to eat the living.

The Walking Dead...Mesopotamian style.

Anu is understandably nervous at Ereshkigal’s threat. He allows Namtar to search amongst the gods for Nergal. Unfortunately, Ea’s ritual cleansing worked; Namtar is unable to recognize Nergal, and must return to Ereshkigal empty-handed.

Equally unfortunate is the fact that the tablet is damaged here, leaving us unsure of what happens next. When the story can be read again, Nergal is furious with Ereshkigal - and, for some reason, he is storming the gates of hell. Nergal fights his way through the seven gates single-handedly, and pushes through to the courtyard of the queen. He stands before Ereshkigal and laughs mockingly, before seizing the goddess by the hair and dragging her from her throne.

Just when you’re sure something terrible is going to happen, Nergal pulls Ereshkigal to him and kisses her passionately! The duo then retire to her bedchamber, where they stay for another seven days.

I’m not making this up.

The last part of the tablet is mostly illegible, but it seems to show Anu making Nergal the king of the Underworld. Other Mesopotamian tablets back up this idea, since they show Nergal ruling over the dead alongside Ereshkigal.

Whatever the case, I hope you enjoyed reading about Ereshkigal and Nergal! Their story cracks me up; I love that romance novels existed even in the Mesopotamian times. I also adore the similarities to the Greek story of Hades and Persephone - though the Greeks definitely have the more family-friendly version!

As always, please post below or email me with any comments or thoughts you have. I’ll be back on Friday with another special Valentine’s Day post - this one dealing with Ereshkigal’s sister Ishtar, goddess of love and war! See you then!

The Rise of Marduk

In this post we’re going to be talking about a group of ancient Babylonian tablets that tell the story The Epic of Creation. The Epic is the tale of the creation of the earth and of mankind (as you might have guessed from its title), but it also tells of the god Marduk’s rise in power. As I mentioned in my Intro, Marduk was originally a minor farming deity - until the Babylonians came, and saw him as something far greater. The Epic tells of how Marduk became that something.
In the beginning, there were only three gods: Apsu, Mummu, and Tiamat (who is sometimes portrayed as a dragon). Apsu and Tiamat were mates, and they produced several godly children. These children in turn produced children of their own, who then went on to have children, and so on. Eventually the god Ea was born.

All of these gods running around was very noisy, and Apsu and Mummu longed for a bit of peace and quiet. (Any parent reading this can probably relate, right? Well, hopefully you won’t relate to what they did next...) Hoping to regain the quiet they had once had, Apsu and Mummu went to Tiamat. They told her that they wanted to kill all of their noisy children.

To her credit, Tiamat refused to take part in their scheme. All of the other gods might have been noisy, but they were her children, and she loved them as fiercely as a mama bear.

Apsu and Mummu continued their plot without the help of Tiamat. Eventually Ea caught word of what they wanted to do. Determined to protect his family, Ea made a pre-emptive move and slew Apsu. He then proceeded to take Mummu captive, and to build a home on top of Apsu’s remains (cozy, right?). At some point around this time Ea’s wife gave birth to Marduk, whom the couple deemed to be perfect. (And not just in that proud parent way - literally perfect, even for a god.)

Unfortunately for Ea, Tiamat was now pissed. She might have tried to protect her children before, but Tiamat apparently drew the line at patricide. She gathered together an army of gods who had not been involved in Ea’s rebellion, and planned to take down the god who had killed her mate.

When Ea heard of Tiamat’s intentions he was terrified. (After all, she might have been a giant dragoness!) So were all of the other gods - all, that is, save for Marduk. Marduk was more than willing to face Tiamat and her armies in battle...provided that a few of his demands were met.

This is where things get interesting. Tiamat’s armies needed a commander, so she had appointed the god Qingu to the position. To cement his leadership, she gave him the Tablet of Destinies - a tablet that grants the being who wears it supreme power over all things.

In exchange for beating Tiamat and her armies, Marduk wanted the gods to give him the Tablet of Destinies.

The other gods readily agreed to his demands, and Marduk went marching off to battle. Tiamat’s army was overcome with fear at the sight of him and retreated. Marduk then challenged Tiamat to single-combat. She accepted, and was readily bested by the champion of the gods. (Seriously. It wasn’t even a contest. He didn’t even get hurt!) With Tiamat dead, Marduk proceeded to defeat all of her forces. This included Qingu, from whom Marduk claimed the Tablet of Destinies.

The remains of Tiamat’s body were then used by Marduk to create the heavens and the earth [this is a common (and disturbing!) theme in various mythologies]. Qingu was charged with being a traitor and inciting a rebellion. Found guilty, he was executed; his blood was used by Ea and Marduk to create mankind, who were declared to be under the authority of the gods.

The rest of this tablet (the 6th of those that tell the Epic) and the entirety of the next depict Marduk assuming a ruler’s position amongst the gods and having them sing his praises. (Yes, there is literally an entire tablet devoted to the other gods telling him how great he is.) I’ll end here was well - but I’d love to know what you think of the Epic of Creation! Please comment below or email me.

I’ve got two very special Mesopotamian posts planned for next week - both of them dealing with love, due to the upcoming holiday! Stay tuned, and I’ll see you guys next post!

Intro to Mesopotamian Mythology

Greetings everyone, and welcome to a new month! We’re going to be starting a new mythology today - that of the Mesopotamians. Ironically, Mesopotamian mythology is one of the oldest in the world...so it most certainly is not new!

Before I start talking about the myths, I’d like to answer a quick question: Who are the Mesopotamians?

The word “Mesopotamia” means “the land between two rivers”. The region of land dubbed Mesopotamia was thus named due to its location between (you guessed it!) two rivers - the Tigris and the Euphrates. When I use the term “Mesopotamian mythology”, I am referring to the collective myths of the several ancient civilizations that called Mesopotamia their home.

These civilizations include the Sumerians, the Babylonians, and the Assyrians. They ruled over Mesopotamia for three millennia, up until the Persians conquered them. At times one of their cultures existed simultaneously with another, but for the most part they succeeded one another.

There are several things that make Mesopotamian mythology fascinating. Firstly - its age. Mesopotamia’s myths and pantheon pre-date the Greek and Roman ones by a goodly long while. In fact, scholars believe that the classical myths of Greece and Rome were influenced by Mesopotamian mythology!  For instance, Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, is very similar to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Worship of Ishtar revolved in part around the planet Venus - which is named for the Roman goddess of love! (This is insanely cool for a myth nerd like me.)  The Mesopotamian god Nabu, god of scribes and wisdom, bears similarities to the Greek god Apollo. These are only a few of many such similarities between Mesopotamia’s myths and those of later civilizations.

The second thing about Mesopotamian mythology that really intrigues me is the fact that the three cultures within Mesopotamia mostly worshipped the same gods. Due to their differences in languages, the gods sometimes had different names in different times/parts of Mesopotamia - but they were essentially the same beings, with basically the same stories.

While we’re on the subject of names - since the gods were often worshipped under more than one name (for example, Ishtar was called Inanna by the Sumerians) I will identify the god by all of its names at the start of my future posts. After that, I will refer to the deity by their Akkadian name (Akkadian being the language of the Babylonians and the Assyrians).

Now that I’ve bored you with all of these details, lets get down to the mythology!

Chief among the Mesopotamian gods was Anu, ruler of heaven. Both he and his son, Ellil (god of the earth) ruled over man and had the right to bestow kingship on mortals. Almost as important as them was Ea, who ruled over water and was thought of as a god of sorcery.

During the Babylonian era a new god rose up to become the chief of the pantheon - Marduk. Marduk was the son of Ea, and had been a farmer’s god associated with agriculture before the Babylonians got their hands on him. They saw Marduk as a champion of good, and told tales of his victories against the forces of evil.

Marduk’s son was Nabu, the scribe god I mentioned earlier in this post. The other deity I mentioned, Ishtar, was said to be the daughter of either Anu, Ellil, or Ea (Which one depends on the myth. Ishtar was also sometimes said to be a consort of Anu). Another possible father of Ishtar was Sin, the god of the moon.

Ishtar’s sister (by one of the multiple father candidates. Seriously. This feels like something out of Mama Mia!.) was Ereshkigal, queen of the Underworld. Their brother, Shamash, was the god of the sun.

Those are the major heavenly players; now lets talk about the human characters. Mesopotamian mythology is closely intertwined with its history. The Babylonians had a story called the Epic of Gilgamesh that tells the tale of a Sumerian king who actually existed. However, the tales of Gilgamesh’s exploits are highly embellished, including multiple interactions with the gods themselves. Gilgamesh is also said to be not entirely human; instead, he is two-thirds god, one-third man (I'm not quite sure how that works...but alright...)

Even the laws of Mesopotamia were influenced by their myths. Hammurabi, a king of Babylon, created the Code of Hammurabi, a collection of laws he claimed had been given to him by Marduk and Shamash themselves. The Code was carved into a stone, at the top of which is a picture of Hammurabi being handed the laws by one of the gods.

With all of that, I think I’ll wrap up my introduction! I’ll be going into stories about the individual deities and their adventures for the next several weeks. Until next post, please feel free to comment below or email me! I’m really looking forward to talking about the Mesopotamian myths, and I hope you guys are too!

Hase-Hime: The Diligent Daughter

Hello everyone!

This will be my last post dealing with Japanese mythology for now; I’ll be switching to a different mythology (Mesopotamian!) next week. I wanted to wrap things up with a beautiful Japanese legend.  I found it to be highly similar to the European fairy tales of Snow White and Cinderella. The story revolves around a young girl named Hase-Hime.

In ancient Japan there lived a Prince and his wife. They loved each other very much, and were quite happy, save for their lack of a child. After many years had passed without the couple conceiving, they traveled to the temple of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of Mercy) in Hase. There they prayed for a child.

Their prayer was quickly answered, and a daughter was born to the couple. In gratitude they named her Hase-Hime, meaning “Princess of Hase”. The family was very happy together.

Unfortunately, the their joy was not to last. Hase-Hime’s mother became deathly ill. Eventually she called her daughter to her deathbed. Hase-Hime listened as her mother told her that she was dying. Her mother implored her to be dutiful and kind. She also warned Hase-Hime that her father might one day remarry. Hase-Hime was told to regard this woman as her true mother, and to obey and respect her.

Hase-Hime’s mother soon passed away, leaving the poor girl - only five years old - without a mother.

This was not to last. True to her mother’s words, Hase-Hime’s father soon remarried. His chosen bride was a spiteful and cruel woman, but Hase-Hime served her with diligence and kindness. The stepmother hated Hase-Hime, for the girl was not her child, but could find nothing in her manners to complain about.

Hase-Hime was a diligent student, particularly of both the harp and poetry. Her skill was so great that she was called upon to play for the Emperor himself when she was only twelve. Her stepmother was asked to accompany Hase-Hime on the flute, but played poorly and had to have one of the court women take her place. This was a huge disgrace on her part, but Hase-Hime played her piece beautifully and was showered with gifts by the Emperor.

Of course, this only made the stepmother hate Hase-Hime even more. Her hatred was made even stronger due to the fact that she had given birth to a son. Hase-Hime’s stepmother believed that her husband loved Hase-Hime more than his son, and thus sought a way to get rid of Hase-Hime.

One day, when Hase-Hime was playing with her little brother, the stepmother came in and gave them both some wine. She had poisoned one of the glasses, but accidentally gave it to her own son instead of Hase-Hime. The boy was rushed to the doctors, but he could not be saved. In her grief, the stepmother blamed his death on Hase-Hime and hated her all the more.

When Hase-Hime was thirteen, the rainy season came and filled the river outside the Emperor’s palace to the top of its banks. The constant roar of rushing water disrupted the Emperor’s sleep, and he soon fell ill. Doctors from all across Japan were called to help, but none could heal the Emperor.

Rumors began to spread in the court as the people remembered an old legend. Years ago, it said, a woman had beseeched the gods through poetry and made the weather change. Could the same thing be done here? Hase-Hime was a skilled poetress - perhaps the gods would listen to her.

These rumors eventually reached the ears of the Emperor, and he called for Hase-Hime’s father. The Emperor told him what he wished Hase-Hime to do, and her father passed the Imperial command on to his daughter.

Though she was terrified at the responsibility that had been placed on her shoulders, Hase-Hime composed a poem and read it at the swollen river. The waters calmed almost immediately, and the Emperor soon regained his health. He heaped praises upon Hase-Hime and bestowed upon her a court rank.

This was all too much for Hase-Hime’s stepmother. The evil woman waited until Hase-Hime’s father was out of town on business - then, she ordered one of her servants to take Hase-Hime into the wilds and kill her.

The servant obediently took Hase-Hime to a rural area, but he could not find the will to kill the sweet, kind girl. Instead, he called for his wife and built a small house, vowing to look after Hase-Hime.

Meanwhile, Hase-Hime’s father was frantic at her disappearance. He kept the matter quiet to avoid scandal, but devoted all of his resources to finding his daughter. One day, while out on a hunting trip, Hase-Hime’s father came across a quaint home in the wilds. A woman’s voice read out loud within it, and he wondered who would be studying so diligently in the middle of nowhere. He was surprised and overjoyed to find that it was his Hase-Hime!

Hase-Hime refused to say what had happened (she was still trying to be a dutiful stepdaughter), but the loyal servant who had looked out for her told Hase-Hime’s father everything. He returned home in a rage, determined to punish his wife. Unfortunately, she had heard of his coming in advance and fled in disgrace to her father’s home. She was never heard from again.

Hase-Hime’s father soon adopted a boy of noble birth as his son. The boy and Hase-Hime later went on to marry. They produced a son, who Hase-Hime’s father declared the heir of the family...and they lived happily ever after!

I love this story! I hope my retelling of it did it justice. I absolutely adore the parallels between Cinderella (the wicked stepmother) and Snow White (the stepmother’s servant being sent to kill the child). The Japanese regarded Hase-Hime as a model of the ideal young woman, and I find it interesting to view their culture through their ideals.

As I said at the beginning of my post, this is the last I’ll be doing with Japanese tales for a while. I’ll be starting to look at Mesopotamian myths next week, so stay tuned for that! I’ll see you then!

Yamato-takeru: Part Myth, Part History

Some of the earliest records we have of Japanese mythology come from the Kojiki - a compilation of history, mythology, and folktales. The Kojiki was ordered written by the Empress Gemmei in the 700’s. Perhaps it is because the Kojiki was commissioned by an Empress that it sometimes reads like propaganda for the Imperial family. Examples of this can be seen in the Emperors being descended from Amaterasu herself, along with Susano bestowing the sword Kusanagi upon the Imperial family. The story of Yamato-takeru is another such example.

Yamato-takeru is the son of Emperor Keiko. Historical documents show that Yamato-takeru was a real prince, but his tales are often of mythical proportions. This is not uncommon to find in mythology; the Romans deified their Emperors and interwove physical deeds with mythic stories. The same can be said of the Egyptians, who worshipped their pharaohs as gods, and the Mesopotamians, whose kings - notably Gilgamesh - interacted directly with the gods. This can make what actually occurred difficult to distinguish from the embellishments added to the tale.

I’ll leave it to the historians to separate fact from fiction. Instead, I’d like to tell you some of Yamato-takeru’s tales.

Yamato-takeru was born Ōsu, the second son of Emperor Keiko. One day his elder brother Ōusu was sent to fetch two beautiful sisters to wed the Emperor. Ōusu instead fell in love with the sisters and married them himself, sending two other women in their place. When the Emperor realized the deception, he ordered Ōsu to bring his brother to be punished. Ōsu instead killed his brother, ripping off his arms and brutally murdering him.

The Emperor was impressed by Ōsu’s strength, but he also feared the brutality of his son. Keiko decided to utilize Ōsu’s strength (and keep him out of the palace) by having him quell uprisings around the kingdom. It was a rebel member of one such uprising that called Ōsu “Yamato-takeru”, meaning “brave Yamato”. (Yamato was the clan name of the Emperor’s family). Ōsu was pleased with the moniker and adopted it as his own.

The Emperor continued to send Yamato-takeru out to defeat his enemies, including the armies of nearby countries. On one such trip, Yamato-takeru was given the sword Kusanagi. (Depending on the version of the story, the blade was gifted to him by either his father or his aunt, the high priestess of Amaterasu. One wonders how she came to own the blade...) Kusanagi was a magical blade that allowed its wielder to defeat armies single-handedly - a skill that Yamato-takeru used to slay his father’s enemies.

“Kusanagi” means “cutter of grass”, and the blade was aptly named. Once, a group of enemies of Japan that Yamato-takeru attacked set fire to a field of grass, trapping the hero. He was able to use his sword to cut through the grass and slay his foes.

Yamato-takeru somehow found the time to marry amidst his adventuring. The story of his wife is one of my favorite in Japanese mythology. During a sea voyage a storm arose. Rather than allow her husband and the ship’s crew to perish, Yamato-takeru’s wife offered herself as a sacrifice to the sea god. Her death calmed the storm, allowing Yamato-takeru to survive.

Unfortunately, the hero did eventually perish. Whilst climbing a mountain, Yamato-takeru insulted a beast he encountered. Unbeknownst to him, the beast was actually a god in disguise. (Remember this the next time you want to insult a random animal!)  The god created a hailstorm that proved to be too much for the weary Yamato-takeru, who died trying to escape it. His soul is said to have turned into a white bird that flew away from the mountaintop.

Some of the stories of Yamato-takeru’s exploits can be confirmed from ancient history texts. Other parts are found only in the Kojiki. It is the tales that are found in both that interest me the most, with their unique blend of history and mythology. Regardless of what is solely myth and what history, I hope you enjoyed reading about Yamato-takeru’s adventures.

I’ll be back on Friday with a post about Hase-Hime, a Japanese folktale character who was supposed to represent the ideal young woman. Until then, please feel free to comment below or email me with any thoughts you have on Yamato-takeru. I’ll see you next post!

Issunboshi: A Kick-butt Thumbelina

I very dimly recall the Thumbelina movie. Mostly I just remember the “Dearie, Marry the Mole!” song (Aha! Now it’s stuck in your head too!). I’m familiar with the story of Thumbelina, though - a girl the size of a thumb, and her adventures in the world.

Issunboshi is like a fierce male warrior version of Thumbelina, despite being even smaller than she is.

“Issunboshi” means “Little One-Inch”, and this Japanese folk hero was aptly named. His parents had struggled to conceive a child for years. They eventually went to a temple and prayed for a son, promising to love him even if he was only the size of an inch.

The wife soon bore an inch tall son she named Issunboshi (I imagine it was a very easy labor.). The boy was brave and clever despite his size, and worked hard as he grew up. When he turned fifteen Issunboshi wanted to travel to Kyoto. (Up until the past couple of centuries, Kyoto was the capitol of Japan. It was also a holy city that people would travel to on pilgrimages.)

Issunboshi’s parents sent him off on his journey with a bowl, a pair of chopsticks, and a needle stuck in a piece of bamboo. He used these items differently than most travelers would, utilizing the bowl as a boat and the chopsticks as paddles. This allowed him to reach Kyoto quite quickly, since the river that ran by his house led directly to the city.

Upon his arrival in Kyoto, Issunboshi found work with a wealthy family. They swiftly grew to like him, for he was kind and a hard worker.

One day Issunboshi was escorting the family’s daughter to the temple when they were attacked by two Oni - Japanese devils with horns and sharp claws. Issunboshi distracted the Oni while the girl ran for cover, but one of the demons picked up Little One-Inch and swallowed him!

Luckily, Issunboshi was brave and clever. The needle he carried was, to him, the size of a sword. Issunboshi began stabbing the Oni’s insides while he crawled his way up its throat and out of its mouth.

The Oni was agonized (I can’t imagine why) and spit Issunboshi out as soon as possible. Its companion lunged for the little warrior, only to find him sitting on its nose! Issunboshi began to stab at the Oni’s eyes, and he quickly chased the evil duo off.

In Japanese mythology mallets are considered to be items of good luck. When one is struck upon the ground its wielder may make a wish. Issunboshi found such a mallet lying on the ground after the Oni had fled. When the girl he had been guarding returned, Little One-Inch asked for her help in picking it up and making a wish. The girl aided him, and the wish was instantly granted - Issunboshi grew to the size of a normal man.

The duo returned home to the girl’s family, and Issunboshi expressed his desire to marry the girl. Her father agreed, and the two were wed.

I love the story of Little One-Inch - particularly how he uses everyday items in a unique way. A needle sword might sound amusing, but I’d imagine the Oni weren't laughing when he used it. I also love the fact that he didn’t let his size stop him from doing anything he wanted to do.

Have a similar story to share? Thoughts or comments? Please post below or email me. I’d love to hear from you!

I’ll be back next post with the story of Yamato-Takeru, wielder of Kusanagi!