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Allatu is grieved upon hearing the news of Ishtar's arrival, for Ishtar's disappearance from the world means death. I must weep for the masters who forsake their consorts. I must weep for the wives who are torn from their husbands' side. Go, watchman, open thy gate. Deal with her according to the ancient laws.
If he falls from heaven, he naturally enters the realm of Allatu, and it is possible that the story in its original form was suggested by a myth illustrating the change of seasons. The question, however, must for the present remain an open one. A god associated with the nether world who again appears to be a solar deity is Nin-azu.
Eabani reveals glimpses of the sad conditions that prevail there. It is the domain of the terrible Allatu, and Etana is named among those who dwell in this region. Eabani bewails his fate. He curses Ukhat, whom, together with Sadu, he holds responsible for having brought death upon him.
The dwelling is elsewhere spoken of as a 'great palace' in which Allatu and her consort Nergal have their thrones. A gloomier place than the one described in these opening lines of the story cannot well be imagined. The picture reflects the popular views, and up to this point, the doctrines of the school are in agreement with the early beliefs.
While perhaps not much stress is laid by the artist upon this symbolism, its existence can hardly be questioned. The water certainly represents the Apsu. Allatu rests upon the bark. The dead are buried, and by virtue of this fact enter Aralû, which is in the earth. Egyptian influence is possible, but unlikely. IVR. 26, no. 1. I.e., the nether world. IVR. 30, no. 1; obverse 5, 14.
Tammuz, of whose position in this pantheon we have already had occasion to speak, is the god of spring vegetation. Another solar deity, Nin-gishzida, who is associated in the Adapa legend with Tammuz, is the deity who presides over the growth of trees. En-meshara, who also belongs to the court of Nergal and Allatu, appears to represent vegetation in general.
She breaks out in tears, offers herself in marriage if Nergal will spare her. You shall be my husband and I will be your wife. The tablets of wisdom I will lay in your hands. You shall be master and I mistress. Nergal accepts the condition, kisses Allatu, and wipes away her tears. One cannot resist the conclusion that the tale is, as already suggested, an imitation of the Marduk-Tiâmat episode.
The so-called song of Hannah expresses the new view when it praises Yahwe as the one 'who kills and restores to life, who leads to Sheol, and who can lead out of it. Such a description of Yahwe is totally different from the Babylonians' praise of Ninib, Gula, or Marduk as the 'restorer of the dead to life, which simply meant that these gods could restrain Allatu.
The dead being placed below the earth, they were actually conveyed within the realm of which Aralû was a part, and since it became customary for the Babylonians to bury their dead together, the cities of the dead that thus arose could easily be imagined to constitute the kingdom presided over by Allatu and Nergal.
The place is synonymous with inactivity and decay; and, though the goddess returns, the conclusion drawn is that the exception proves the inexorable rule. A goddess may escape, but mortals are doomed to everlasting sojourn, or rather imprisonment, in the realm presided over by Allatu and her consort Nergal. To the road from which there is no return, when once it has been trodden.
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