Three Underworld Queens of different religions

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i'm talking of course about Ereshkigal of the Assyro-Babylonian religion, Persephone of Greek Hellenism, and Izanami of Japanese Shintoism.

These three Goddesses share some interesting similarities. All three are Underworld Goddesses who rule over the realm of the dead, and they each share coincidental similarities in how they came to become the Queens of the Dead.

Izanami died in childbirth and when her soul travelled to Yomi (Japan's Underworld) she, like Persephone, ate the forbidden "fruit of the dead" and she could never return to the world of the living.

Ereshkigal, also like Persephone, was forcibly dragged down to Kur (the Mesopotamian Underworld) and was bound to this gloomy realm where she was forced to rule as Queen against her will too.

Somehow I doubt the Japanese were aware of Persephone and Ereshkigal's myths when they started the worship around their creator gods Izanami and Izanagi, but who really knows for sure? It sure is fascinating.

I also find it fascinating that ancient humans didn't view the "Underworld" as horrific as Christians do their Hell, but they didnt think of it as a particularly pleasant place either. Just a sad, gloomy place where all life is doomed to go once our time comes...

Maybe they were smarter than most of us in today's world and recognized death as the great equalizer?

Ereshkigal:

https://youtu.be/9NQcuWSl-Gg?si=lyq1uGasA793tm3o


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ereshkigal

Persephone:

https://youtu.be/UF8OfeXIrFk?si=I1JOPHoMFDD3xy_E


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persephone

Izanami:

https://youtu.be/MEqgg9uuqfY?si=zvWocoNR3CCoi8jk


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izanami

More interesting websites on these three Underworld Goddesses (and their husbands)

Izanami & Izanagi

https://oldworldgods.com/japanese/izana ... nami-myth/

Persephone & Hades

https://oldworldgods.com/greeks/myth-ha ... ersephone/

Ereshkigal

https://oldworldgods.com/sumerian/sumer ... reshkigal/

WP user Persephone should post here

I wish more people would respond to my topics.

A fourth interesting Underworld Goddess known as Hel in Norse Mythology. Much like Ereshkigal, Persephone, and Izanami she ruled over a gloomy realm of the dead where no soul was permitted to leave. Unlike Valhalla where the honorable warriors slain in battle went, Hel's Underworld was reserved for those less honorable in life such as criminals and those who died of old age and sickness.

https://youtu.be/rRxqYp2EhJI?si=0ZfyYXj7gIR0ke1H



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_(mythological_being)

https://oldworldgods.com/norse/norse-goddess-hel/

this is somewhat esoteric and there are not as many esoterics out there [on WP ] as there are folks who like more pedestrian stuff.

That's understandable...

Unfortunately the esoteric message boards out there always seem to drive me away. Maybe it's because of my own autistic tendencies towards stuff like this?

I feel like autists would likely be over-represented in the user base.

Well I also tend to take this stuff way too seriously at times. I guess I live in a kind of fantastly world? But it helps me cope with stuff.

Eh, what the Hel?

Meet Persephone's lesser known sister known as Despina: The Goddess of Winter.

https://youtu.be/lplzLKSANs8?si=PiyvW6PtAp8zZcG_

You're probably not the only one. I feel like autists who share a special interest but disagree over some details are bound to end up banging heads over those details. Agreeing to disagree doesn't always seem to be something we tend to be good at.

You're probablty right about that.

It's frustrating, but once we're aware of a tendency I think it gets easier to actively compensate for.

Like, I've known I'm prone to black and white thinking so I put a lot of effort into 'walking in circles' around my thoughts to see if I can think of other perspectives and ways of seeing a situation. The end result usually being a bunch of criticisms of my preferred position that help prepare me to hear other people offer similar criticisms.

Yeah, I try so hard to be open minded and avoid black and white thinking myself. But it's very hard...

That's why I enjoy all of these polytheistic religions. It's clear to me that the ancient people who worshipped these old gods didn't see the world in terms of absolute good and evil the way society does today (and it's funny how us autists get blamed for this... when frankly everyone in the modern world thinks this way!).

Absolutely. Autistic traits are regular traits exaggerated to the point they interfere with our lives more than usual, not withstanding that they probably interfere with most people's lives when they're too pronounced.

I wonder how we could retrain society to think as ancient civilizations did and accept that the accepted morals in our world aren't as straight black and white as we were led to believe they are? And that life and existance is really just many shades of grey? I long for a world like that...

Just like I prefer flawed gods over one who claims to be perfect when he's clearly not.