Gates of hell unearthed by Italian archaeologists is said to be the entry gate to the Underworld; it is linked to the Greco-Roman mythology and tradition. Rivers Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon and Styx were also entrances to the Underworld. The god Hades kidnapped the goddess Persephone from a field in Sicily and led her to the Underworld through a cleft in the earth so he could marry her. Into the medieval period, Mount Etna on Sicily was considered to be an entryway to hell. The gates of hell were commonly depicted as jaws, forming the Hellmouth, which was simultaneously the entrance to hell and
Ancient Mesopotamian underworld originally meant "canal inspector of An" and he may be merely an alternative name for Ennugi. The son of Ereshkigal and Gugalanna is Ninazu. In "Inanna's Descent into the Underworld", Inanna tells the gatekeeper Neti that she is descending to the underworld to attend the funeral of "Gugalanna, the husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal". During the Akkadian Period ( 2334 – 2154 BC), Ereshkigal's role as the ruler of the underworld was assigned to Nergal, the god of death. The Akkadians attempted to harmonize this dual rulership of the underworld by making Nergal Ereshkigal's husband. Nergal is the deity