Nergal - Essential Sumerian Knowledge

NergalGod of war, plague, death, and disease

Ancient Parthian relief carving of Nergal from Hatra in Iraq, dating to the first or second century ADAbodeKur or IrkallaPersonal informationConsortEreshkigal (according to some myths)ParentsEnlil and NinlilSiblingsNanna and Ninurta

Nergal, Nirgal, or Nirgali (Sumerian: dGÌR-UNUG-GAL𒀭𒄊𒀕𒃲; Hebrew: נֵרְגַל‬, Modern Nergal, Tiberian Nērḡál; Aramaicܢܹܪܓܵܐܠ; Latin: Nergel) was a deity worshipped throughout Mesopotamia (Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia) with the main seat of his worship at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Other names for him are Erra and Irra.

Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the deity of the city of Cuth (Cuthah): "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal" (2 Kings, 17:30). According to the Talmudists, his emblem was a cockerel and Nergal means a "dunghill cock", although standard iconography pictured Nergal as a lion. He is a son of Enlil and Ninlil, along with Nanna and Ninurta.