These two ancient Mesopotamian Gods are seen as brothers, a dyad or divine twins (maštabba). Both warriors, they guard the gates to Kur, the Underworld. They're also protectors of doors, portals and doorways.
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In Mesopotamian astronomy, the two Gods are called the Great Twins. Stars associated with their names are Alpha Geminorum (Castor) and Beta Geminorum (Pollux). The constellations appear in the zodiac as Gemini.
The ruler of the Underworld is the Goddess Ereskigal. She officially declares a person dead, while her scribe records the names and reason for death. After that, the dead are free to make themselves at home.
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Problem is, all they have to eat is dry dust. If the descendants or relatives don't supply grave goods, which help the deceased in the Underworld, or provide liberal libations and offerings of food, the dead have a miserable life.
A descendent who wants libate his dead kin pours wine down a tube connected to the grave. He can also make a sacrifice or leave a gift of victuals or give money to the priest to ensure quality care of the ancestors.
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As time goes by tombs become more luxurious. From these traditions come the City of the Dead, or Necropolis. Pyramids, and gravesites include weapons, vessels, personal items, gold, precious stones and sometimes a sacrificial servant to attend the needs of the deceased.
Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea work in the Underworld and are thus connected, but are not specifically Underworld Gods. As guardians of doorways and portals they oversee entrances of magical and mortal origin.
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Their job is to let people in. Whether they let people out again is unknown. They did allow Inanna out, but she outranks them. In the Underworld, doors usually open only one way.
Their major cult centers are Kisiga and Dūrum in the old Babylonian Empire, from c. 1894 BCE. They have no temples but are worshipped in other locations too.
Bows and arrows are the weapons of Lugal-irra. His animal is a black raven. Meslamta-ea favors the mace and axe, and his animal is a white raven.
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The wife of Meleamte-ea is Mamitu. She's consort to the God Nergal and any gods conflated with him, such as Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea. Nergal is translated from Sumerian as Lord of the Big City, a euphemism for the Underworld. His cult center is at Kutha in what is now Iraq.
In Mesopotamian mythology Nergal is the god of war, disease and death. He's considered the husband of Goddess Ereshkigal, and becomes Lord of the Underworld when he marries her; however it's the sultry Ereshkigal who features in most of the Babylonian myths.
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Nergal is Lord of the Underworld and like many powerful gods he has trouble with commitment. Tales of Ereshkigal dealing with his sexual exploits appear in much of his surrounding mythology.
The warrior twins Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea are always together. Sacred figures are made of these gods, as figurines or statuettes with apotropaic powers. The divine twins are invoked against the evil eye.
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In the 22nd - 21st century BCE they're associated with judgment, especially river ordeal. The river ordeal is a judicial practice of establishing a person's guilt or innocence by ordeal, such as fire or water.
In c. 1750 BCE the Code of Hammurabi states if a person is accused by another, the accused has to jump into a river. If the accused survives, that person is acquitted.
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Jumping into a river in ancient Babylon is no fun - it's fraught with danger from deadly crocodiles, venomous snakes and hippopotamus. But, if the accused passes the test the accuser is then put to death, and the accused takes possession of the accuser's house.
The practice of trial by ordeal gains popularity after the fall of the Roman Empire. Medieval texts also record the trial by ordeal. In the late Middle Ages, by law a man accused of poaching must be put in a barrel and submerged thrice, and if he sinks he's innocent.
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During the river ordeals offerings are given or praises sung to Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea, whose divine justice will prevail. In the 9th century the church banned the ordeals. They rise again to prominence in the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th century.
By this time, Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea have long passed into myth.
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