Aralu

Aralu (Arallu, Irkalla) In Near Eastern mythology, the Babylonian land of the dead, ruled over by the goddess Ereshkigal and her husband, the god Nergal. Aralu was pictured as a vast place, dark and gloomy. Sometimes it was called a land, sometimes a great house. It was difficult to approach because it lay in the lowest part of a mountain. Aralu was surrounded by seven walls and guarded so that no living persons could enter it. If they did, they would never come out. A second name for the land of the dead in Babylonian mythology was Ekur (the bright mountain house), a third was Shalu (to ask), and a fourth was Ganzir, a name whose meaning is uncertain. In numerous incantations used in cultic rites the names of the dead were avoided and the place was often described as “land of no return,” “dark dwelling,” or “great city.”

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow
Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante