Editing Nergal (section)

==Character==
Nergal's role as a god of the [[Ancient Mesopotamian underworld|underworld]] is the already attested in an Early Dynastic ''[[Zame Hymns]]'', specifically in the hymn dedicated to [[Kutha]], where he is additionally associated with the so-called "[[Enki-Ninki deities]]", a group regarded as ancestors of [[Enlil]] believed to reside in the underworld.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=219}} According to a hymn from the reign of [[Ishme-Dagan]], dominion over the land of the dead was bestowed upon Nergal by his parents, Enlil and [[Ninlil]].{{sfn|Zólyomi|2010|p=419}} He was believed to decide fates of the dead the same way as Enlil did for the living.{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=56}} In one Old Babylonian ''adab'' song Nergal is described as "Enlil of the homeland (''kalam'') and the underworld (''kur'')".{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=48}} He was also occasionally referred to as Enlil-banda, "junior Enlil",{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=219}} though this title also functioned as an epithet of the god [[Enki]].{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=57}}

In addition to being a god of the underworld, Nergal was also a war god, believed to accompany rulers on campaigns, but also to guarantee peace due to his fearsome nature serving as a deterrent.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|pp=221–222}} In that capacity he was known as Lugal-silimma, "lord of peace".{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} He was also associated with disease.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|pp=221–222}} As summed up by Frans Wiggermann, his various domains make him the god of "inflicted death".{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=221}} He also played an important role in [[Apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] rituals, in which he was commonly invoked to protect houses from evil.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} Fragments of tablets containing the ''[[Epic of Erra]]'', a text detailing his exploits, were used as amulets.{{sfn|George|2013|p=65}}

===Astral role===
Nergal was associated with [[Mars]].{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} Like him, this planet was linked with disease (especially [[kidney disease]]) in Mesopotamian beliefs.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|pp=222–223}} However, Mars was also associated with other deities: [[Ninazu]] (under the name "the [[Elam]] star"),{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998b|p=335}} [[Nintinugga]],{{sfn|Peterson|2009a|pp=235–238}} and especially [[Simut (god)|Simut]], in origin an Elamite god.{{sfn|Henkelman|2011|p=511}} The name of the last of these figures in Mesopotamian sources could outright refer to the planet (''<sup>mul</sup>Si-mu-ut'', "the star Simut").{{sfn|Henkelman|2011|p=512}}

A number of scholars in the early 20th century, for example [[Emil Kraeling]], assumed that Nergal was in part a solar deity, and as such was sometimes identified with [[Shamash]].{{sfn|Kraeling|1925|p=175}} Kraeling argued that Nergal was representative of a certain phase of the sun, specifically the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle.{{sfn|Kraeling|1925|p=175}} This view is no longer present in modern scholarship. While some authors, for example Nikita Artemov, refer to Nergal as a deity of "quasi-solar" character,  primary sources show a connection between him and sunset rather than noon.{{sfn|Artemov|2012|pp=22–23}}  For instance, an Old Babylonian ''adab'' song contains a description of Nergal serving as a judge at sunset,{{sfn|Peterson|2015|p=48}} while another composition calls him the "king of sunset".{{sfn|Zólyomi|2010|p=419}} This association is also present in rituals meant to compel [[Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions|ghosts]] to return to the underworld through the gates to sunset.{{sfn|Woods|2009|pp=187–188}}

===Iconography===
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| image1 = Nergal symbol, Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Nippur, Southern Mesopotamian, Iraq.jpg
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| caption1 = A symbol of Nergal on Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Nippur, Southern Mesopotamian, Iraq
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| caption2 = A bull-eared deity, possibly a courtier of Nergal{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|p=223}}
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Nergal's role as a war god was exemplified by some of his attributes: mace, dagger and bow.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=222}} A mace with three lion-shaped heads and a scimitar adorned with leonine decorations often appear as Nergal's weapons on [[cylinder seal]]s.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|p=224}} He was also often depicted in a type of flat cap commonly, but not exclusively, worn by underworld deities in Mesopotamian glyptic art.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|p=224}}

Bulls and lions were associated with Nergal.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|p=223}} On the basis of this connection it has been proposed that minor deities with bull-like ears on Old Babylonian terracotta plaques and cylinder seals might have been depictions of unspecified members of Nergal's entourage.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|p=223}} An entry in the explanatory god list ''An = Anu ša amēli'' seemingly associates Nergal with [[chameleon]]s, as his title ''Bar-''MUŠEN''-na'', explained as "Nergal of rage" (''ša uzzi'') is like a scribal mistake for ''bar-gun<sub>3</sub>-(gun<sub>3</sub>)-na'' ("the one with a colorful exterior"), presumed to be the Akkadian term for chameleon; Ryan D. Winters suggests that the animal's color changing might have been associated with mood swings or choleric temperament, and additionally that it was perceived as a "[[chthonic]]" being.{{sfn|Lambert|Winters|2023|p=259}}

War standards could serve as a symbolic representation of Nergal too, and the Assyrians armies in particular were often accompanied by such devotional objects during campaigns.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|pp=225–226}} A similar symbol also represented Nergal on ''[[kudurru]]'', inscribed boundary stones.{{sfn|Seidl|1989|p=74}}