Working my way through the story of Ereškigal and Nergal

[kurnugi4a]

Hi everyone, I'm currently working my way through the story of Ereskigal and Nergal. I'd thought I'd pose some questions as I work my way through (reading from the cuneiform). Unfortunately, I'm not in school currently so I'm faced with the lack of resources other than my assortment of pdfs and online searches. I'll be sure to update the OP each time something new pops up and maybe you guys can direct me to some academic work or comment on it. Thanks!

For my first question:
- Why is ereškigal read as ereš-ki-gal. Why not nin-ki-gal? Back when I was in school, I think someone commented that it is read Ereš instead of Nin because of a grammatical issue? What is the difference between ereš and nin anyways? According to EPSD both nin and ereš have the same meaning of bēltu. Does ereš have a more nuanced meaning?
    Please see us4-he2-gal's post that addresses these questions with references


Unfortunately, I'm going to have to put this post on hold until next year. Please stay tuned as I have some questions and answers that will be addressed and updated in the OP.

[enkur]

Unfortunately still cannot afford it but probably the most exhaustive study.

Attachments:

[us4-he2-gal2]

kurnugi4a:




This is a tricky question, why is ereš favored in the writing of the divine name Ereškigal, and since both nin and ereš are written with the same sign (NIN), is there some special nuance to ereš?


We know that the answers to these questions lie in the conventions of modern scholarship (which is the interpretation of ancient language we rely on), hence we need a discussion of the sign NIN and its values. ePSD provides an easy place to start, at the bottom of each entry is a small bibliography, the entry for ereš gives:


[2004] G. Marchesi, OrNS 73 186-189.
[2001] H. Maaartin, F. Pomponio, G. Visicato and A. Westenholz, Fara Tablets 54.
[1987] K. Maekawa, ASJ 9 102-109.
[1972] H. Waetzoldt, UNT 48.



Another more in depth bibliographical service is the web resource called ISSL (Index of Sumerian Secondary Literature) which will gives you even more bibliography. Anyone finding the journal abbreviations problematic (i.e. OrNS = Orientalia Nova Series) can consult the CDLI abbreviations section.




I found a reasonable answer to your questions in G. Marchesi, OrNS 73, p. 186-189. Marchesi, like the many Sumerologists who established current reading conventions, refers to lexical lists for answers in interpreting written Sumerian, that is, the bi-lingual lexical lists written by the ancient Akkadian scribes with Sumerian in one column and the Akkadian equivalent in the next column. These bi-lingual lexical lists were the main way in which Sumerian was rescued from the past, and make up the basis of many Sumerological arguments.

Above, from Marchesi's article, you see that according the lexical lists e-re-eš (spelled phonetically) = Akk. bēltu, and also, ereš = šarratu. So from many such entries, it emerges that NIN can stand for ereš (because it is occasionally spelled out phonetically e-re-eš) and ereš can mean 'lady' and ereš can mean 'queen' . What's interesting about Marchesi's article is that he isolates the meaning of ereš to those female persons/deities who are in the status of consort, that is, the female half of a partnership. The lexical evidence is clear about this, providing the corresponding terms in Akkadian. The interpretation of Ereškigal's name is particularly clear because of a line in UET 6/2 reading 'e-ri-iš Ereškigal' - queen spelled out phonetically, followed by the divine name, indicating her status is clearing an ereš. Marchesi suggests that there are likely many female divinities whose names are currently read Nin-X but whose status as consorts means that their names should probably have been read Ereš-X all along.

On the other hand, little can be discerned from lexical sources which helps to define the nuance of nin, but Marchesi believes nin connotes a woman acting on her own or independently, such as a mistress or a proprietress (a female owner of something). For example, Marchesi maintains that Inanna's epithet nin me-šár-ra should still be read nin and should mean 'proprietress of all me's.'