Igigi are designated as offspring of Anu,--the god
of heaven.[1245] They are not exclusively at the service of Nergal and
Allatu. Bel, Ninib, Marduk, and Ishtar also send them out on missions.
Evidently, the fact that their chief function was to injure mankind
suggested the doctrine which gave them a place in the lower world with
the demons. The distinction between Anunnaki and the Igigi is not
sharply maintained in the religious literature. Though Ramman-nirari
places the Igigi in heaven, it is not impossible that a later view
transferred them, like the Anunnaki, to the lower world. There were, of
course, some misfortunes that were sent against mankind from on
high--Ramman was a god who required such messengers as the Igigi, and
besides the Igigi, there were other spirits sent out from above. But, as
in the course of time the general doctrine was developed which made the
gods, on the whole, favorably inclined towards man, while the evil was
ascribed to the demons[1246]--as occupying the lower rank of divine
beings--we note the tendency also to ascribe the ills that humanity is
heir to, to the forces that dwell under the earth,--to Nergal and Allatu
and to those who did their bidding. Probably, Lakhmu and Lakhamu were
also regarded, at least by the theologians, as part of Allatu's court,
just as Alala and Belili[1247] were so regarded.

The confusion resulting from the double position of Nergal in the
religious literature, as the deity of the summer solstice and as the
chief of the nether-world pantheon, raises a doubt whether some gods who
are closely associated with Nergal are to be placed on high with the
gods or have their seats below with Nergal. Among these, three require
mention here: Dibbarra, Gibil, and Ishum. Of these, the first two are
directly identified with Nergal in the systematized pantheon[1248],
while Ishum is closely associated with Nergal, or appears as the
attendant of Dibbarra[1249]. These gods, symbolizing violent destruction
through war and fire, are evidently related to the Nergal of the upper
world,--to Nergal, the solar deity; but in the later stages of the
religion, the Nergal of the lower world almost completely sets aside the
earlier conception. It is, therefore, likely that deities who stand so
close to the terrible god as those under consideration, were also
regarded as having a position near his throne in the lower world.

The pantheon of Aralu thus assumes considerable dimensions. At t