Irkalla

In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology, Irkalla (also Ir-Kalla, Irkalia) is the hell-like underworld from which there is no return. It is also called Arali, Kigal, Gizal, and the lower world. Irkalla is ruled by the death god Nergal and his consort Ereshkigal.

Irkalla was originally another name for Ereshkigal, who ruled the underworld until overthrown by Nergal. Both the deity and the location were called Irkalla, much like how Hades in Greek mythology is both the name of the underworld and the god who ruled it.

The Sumerian netherworld was a place for the bodies of the dead to exist after death. One passed through the seven gates on their journey through the portal to the netherworld leaving articles of clothing and adornment at each gate, not necessarily by choice as there was a guardian at each gate to extract a toll for one's passage and to keep one from going the wrong way. The living spirits of the dead are only spoken of in connection with this netherworld when someone has been placed here before they are dead or wrongly killed and can be saved. The bodies of the dead decompose in this afterlife, as they would in the world above.

As the subterranean destination for all who die, Irkalla is similar to sheol of the Hebrew Bible or hades of classic Greek myth. It is different from more hopeful visions of the afterlife that later appeared in Platonic philosophy, Judaism, and Christianity.

In the Namco video game Soul Calibur III, the final boss Abyss uses a mutated scythe named Irkalla.

Sources

• Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green (ISBN 0-292-70794-0)
• The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels by Alexander Heidel (ISBN 0-226-32398-6)