In Sumerian religion, Gugalanna (𒄞𒃲𒀭𒈾 or 𒀭𒄘𒃲𒀭𒈾) is the first husband of Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld.[1] His name probably originally meant "canal inspector of An"[1] and he may be merely an alternative name for Ennugi.[1] The son of Ereshkigal and Gugalanna is Ninazu.[1] In Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, Inanna, the goddess of love, beauty, sex, and war, tells the gatekeeper Neti that she is descending to the Underworld to attend the funeral of "Gugalanna, the husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal".[1][2][3] Some scholars consider Gugalanna to be the same figure as the Bull of Heaven, slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Black & Green 1992, p. 77.
  2. ^ Kramer 1961, p. 90.
  3. ^ Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 55.
  4. ^ Pryke 2017, p. 205.

Bibliography

  • Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum Press, ISBN 0714117056
  • Kramer, Samuel Noah (1961), Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C.: Revised Edition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 0812210476
  • Pryke, Louise M. (2017), Ishtar, New York and London: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-138--86073-5
  • Wolkstein, Diane; Kramer, Samuel Noah (1983), Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer, New York City, New York: Harper&Row Publishers, ISBN 0-06-090854-8
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