In Mesopotamian mythology, Irkalla is the underworld which is ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal and her consort, the death god, Nergal. Irkalla had no punishment or reward, being seen as a more dreary version of life above, with Erishkigal being seen as both warden and guardian of the dead rather than a sinister ruler like Satan or death gods of other religions.
So. That wouldn't be too awful. Right? Then again, imagine an eternity in some dreary place you could never leave.
Excerpt from Mort, by Terry Pratchett, in which DEATH takes on an apprentice...
Mort was impressed. King Olerve had held on to his throne for many years and, even when dead, knew how to behave.
"Oh," he said, "I see. I didn't expect to see you so soon."
A grey eternity? Bleah.
ReplyDeleteYou mean like my job?
ReplyDeleteJust kidding! I like what I do.
Some people already live a grey life. How much more dreary for them then?
Alex is so funny. But it is true like he says that sometimes people live like that in real life. It can be easy to go for a sad, grey life in hard times. I try not to go there. It sounds so sad.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, dreary underworlds don't make sense to me... It had to be hard to live with that idea of the afterlife. I do love the part of the epic of Gilgamesh where there is a tavern in the Underworld with the Goddess of Beer... :D
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
Laughing at Alex's comment (at least the first line...).
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting illustration.
Being a mythology fan myself, I'm always fascinated at how different cultures personified death. Gray and colorless seems to be a common theme of death gods.
ReplyDeleteI can see how that would become hellish rather fast. Look at how people in the north get in the north will all of those gray skies. Horribly depressed, that's how. I'm thinking that would not be much fun...
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Whenever my life gets too dreary and grey, I change it. I've never heard of Irkalla. Interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteI like the quote - "I didn't expect to see you so soon". Funny. today is a gray dreary day in TX, but I'm not dead yet....Whew!
ReplyDeleteThat seems a dreadful place. ~shudders~ I'm hoping to reach heaven, for sure.
ReplyDeleteAwakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Take care!
Dreary here in NY too. Terrific and spine tingling post!
ReplyDeleteAnyone who mentions Discworld is ok in my book.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea. I guess each culture envisions an afterlife that they deserve?
ReplyDeleteNever heard of that one, but I love her name. Ereshkigal... Why don't we use cool names like that for our kids? Would have been way more exciting than growing up with 100+ Mikes and Ashleys.
ReplyDeleteThis is new to me, and interesting. Many cultures have an underworld - and they usually have a cost associated with travelling there (especially if you aren't dead. . .)
ReplyDeleteThis is true for folks right here on Earth, too. Not for all, but some tend to enjoy the gray life.
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