The Myths of Lilith
She of the Night
A female demon of the night who supposedly flies around searching for newborns to either strangle or kidnap. Also, she sleeps with men to seduce them into propagating demon sons.
Legends about Lilith are ancient. The rabbinical myths of her being Adam's first wife seem to relate to the Sumero-Babylonian goddess Belit-ili, or Belili. To the Canaanites Lilith was Baalat ~ the 'Divine Lady'. On a tablet from Ur, circa 2000BC, she was addressed as Lillake.
It is from the Hebraic rabbinical tradition that the first substantial myths of Lilith come. One story is that God created Adam and Lilith as twins joined together at the back. She demanded equality with Adam and, failing to get it, she left him in anger. This is sometimes accompanied by the Muslem legend that after leaving Adam, Lilith slept with Satan, thus creating the demonic Djinn.
In another version of the myth she was Adam's first wife, before Eve. Adam married her because he became tired of coupling with animals, a common Middle-Eastern practice, although the Old Testament declared this a sin ~ Deuteronomy 27:21. Adam tried to make her lie beneath him during congress, and refusing to meet this demand for male dominance, Lilith cursed Adam and hurried to her home by the Red Sea.
Adam complained to God, who sent three Angels, Sanvi, Sansanvi and Semangelaf, to bring her back to Eden. Lilith cursed and rebufed the Angels. Whilst by the Red Sea, Lilith became a lover to demons and produced 100 babies a day.
The Angels said that God would take those demon children away from her unless she returned to Adam. When she did not return she was punished accordinly. God then gave Adam the docile Eve. ?
According to some, Lilith's fecundity and sexual preferances showed she was the Great Mother of settled agricultural tribes who resisted the invasion of the nomadic herdsmen represented by Adam.
It is felt that the early Hebrews disliked the Great Mother who drank the blood of Abel, the herdsman, after being slain by the elder god of agriculture and smithcraft, Cain ~ Genesis 4:11.
Lilith's Red Sea is but another version of Kali Ma's Ocean of Blood which gave birth to all things but needed periodic sacrificial replenishment.
Perhaps there was a connection between Lilith and the Etruscan divinity Lenith, who possessed no face and waited at the gate of the underworld with Eita and Persipnei (Hecate and Persephone) to receive the souls of the dead.
The underworld gate was a yoni, also a lily, which had "no face". Admission to the underworld was often mythologized as a sexual union ~ also found in Tantrism. The lily or lili (lotus) was the Great Mother's flower-yoni, who's title formed Lilith's name.
Even though the story of Lilith disappeared from the canonical Bible, her daughters ~ the Lilim ~ have haunted men for over a thousand years. Well into the Middle Ages Jews were still making amulets to keep away the Lilim. Supposedly, they were lusty she demons who copulated with men in their dreams.
The Greeks adopted the belief of the Lilim, calling them Lamiae,
Empusae(Forces-in), or daughters of Hecate.
Likewise, the Christians adopted the belief, calling them Harlots of Hell, or succbi, the counterparts of the incubi. Celebrant monks, attempting to fend them off, would sleep with their hands over their genitals, cluching a crucifix.
Even though most of the Lilith legend is derived from Jewish folklaw, discriptions of the Lilith demon appear in Iranian, Babylonian, Mexican, Greek, Arab, English, German, Orietial and Native American legends. Also, she has sometimes been associated with legendary and mythological characters such as the Queen of Sheba and Helen of Troy. In medieval Europe she was said to be the wife, concubine or grandmother of Satan. ?
It was believed that Lilith was assisted in her bloodthirsty nocturnal quests by succbi, who gathered near the "mountains of darkness" to frolic with her demon lover, Samael, who's name means left or sinister. The Zohar, the principal work of the Kabbalah, discribes Lilith's powers to be at their height during the waning of the moon.
Legend says that Liliths attraction to children comes from the belief that God took her demon children when she would not return to Adam, and that she launched a reign of terror against women in childbirth and newborn babies, especially boys. However, it is also believed that the three Angels who were sent to fetch her from her Red Sea home forced her to swear that whenever she saw their names or images on amulets she would leave the mothers and infants alone.
These beliefs continued for centuries. As late as the 18th. century it was a common practice in many cultures to protect new mothers and infants with amulets against Lilith.
Males were most vulnerable during their first week of life, and girls during their first three weeks.
Sometimes a magic circle was drawn around the lying-in bed, with a charm inscribed with the names of the three Angels, Adam and Eve, and the words "barring Lilith",or "protect this child from all harm".
Frequently amulets were placed in the four corners and throughout the bedchamber. If a child laughed while sleeping, lilith was said to be present. Tapping the child on the nose was believed to make her go away.
The Historical Origin Of Lilith
The first myth I wish to dispel is that Lilith was originally found in the ancient land of Sumeria. Her roots do certainly extend that far, but Lilith Herself is not to be found among that massive pantheon of Gods and Demons.
In Sumerian, the word "Lil" means "Air." Enlil, for instance, was the Lord (En) of Air (Lil). The oldest known term relating to Lilith would be the Sumerian word "Lili" (plural "Lilitu"), which seems to imply the same definition as our word "spirit." In many ancient cultures, the same word for "air" or "breath" would also be used for "spirit." The very word "spiritus" is one such example. The Hebrew "ruach" is another. Therefore, the Lilitu were either a specific type of demon, or were simply "spirits" in general.
Normally, Lilith is thought to have been a Sumerian Succubus. And, in fact, there was such a creature in Sumer-Babylonia who surely had it's part in the Hebrew conception of Lilith. This being was known as the "Ardat Lili." "Ardatu" was a term that described a young woman of marrying age. Thus, the Ardat Lili was a young female spirit—the Succubus—the demoness credited with "night-hag syndrome." Most of us have experienced this once or twice—where the victim awakens to find that he is being restrained and paralyzed by an unseen force (this is a "chemical malfunction" of the body). She is also said to cause erotic dreams, thus robbing the male of semen and spiritual vitality. Of course, there is also a male version of this—the incubus—but I will not be addressing this creature here.
It is also interesting to note that the Sumerian word for "wantonness" was "Lulu." The word for "luxuriousness" was "Lalu." Also, the very word for "evil" was "Limnu." This has an obvious relation to the word Lili (and Ardat Lili specifically); not just in the similarity of pronunciation and spelling, but also in the very definition of the words. Keep in mind that these ancient languages did not possess the specific definition of our modern words. A single word would indicate any one of a number of related concepts.
This does not exhaust the etymology of Lilith. However, the word-play does not continue until the Hebrew Captivity in Babylon (600 BCE), and I do not wish to jump ahead just yet. Still concerning Sumer, there are two instances that are generally seen as proof of Lilith's existence there.
One is a mythos in which a female demon takes residence within the Goddess Inanna's sacred Tree of Life—thus effectively stunting the Tree's growth and production. This demoness is supposed to be Lilith Herself, whom the hero Gilgamesh finally forces out of the Tree and into the desert. However, it turns out that there is no basis for assuming this creature is Lilith, or even an Ardat Lili. It was Kramer who translated, as "Lilith," the word "ki-sikil-lil-la-ke." Where the word for air is obviously present, there is no indication of a Lilith—anymore than the presence of the word "ki" (Earth) indicates the Earth Goddess Ki. Perhaps Kramer was concentrating on the two syllables "lil-la."
The second instance is the famous plaque which depicts a woman with owl talons and wings, standing upon two lions, with two owls flanking her on either side. It was the above (mis)translation by Kramer that was used to interpret this figure as Lilith. Of course, as the demoness of the Tree is not Lilith, then surely the woman in the sculpture is not either.
There is also a note that I wish to add here. In the Torah, there is said to be one reference to Lilith—Isaiah XXXIV:14. The verse speaks of a Screech Owl, and this is said to indicate Lilith by way of the above-mentioned plaque. This instance is even used to argue that Lilith's Name is derived from the Hebrew term for "to screech." However, nothing could be farther from the truth in either case. Such relations are accepted Qabalistic practices, but they cannot be used in a scholarly/historic sense
Legends about Lilith are ancient. The rabbinical myths of her being Adam's first wife seem to relate to the Sumero-Babylonian goddess Belit-ili, or Belili. To the Canaanites Lilith was Baalat ~ the 'Divine Lady'. On a tablet from Ur, circa 2000BC, she was addressed as Lillake.
It is from the Hebraic rabbinical tradition that the first substantial myths of Lilith come. One story is that God created Adam and Lilith as twins joined together at the back. She demanded equality with Adam and, failing to get it, she left him in anger. This is sometimes accompanied by the Muslem legend that after leaving Adam, Lilith slept with Satan, thus creating the demonic Djinn.
In another version of the myth she was Adam's first wife, before Eve. Adam married her because he became tired of coupling with animals, a common Middle-Eastern practice, although the Old Testament declared this a sin ~ Deuteronomy 27:21. Adam tried to make her lie beneath him during congress, and refusing to meet this demand for male dominance, Lilith cursed Adam and hurried to her home by the Red Sea.
Adam complained to God, who sent three Angels, Sanvi, Sansanvi and Semangelaf, to bring her back to Eden. Lilith cursed and rebufed the Angels. Whilst by the Red Sea, Lilith became a lover to demons and produced 100 babies a day.
The Angels said that God would take those demon children away from her unless she returned to Adam. When she did not return she was punished accordinly. God then gave Adam the docile Eve. ?
According to some, Lilith's fecundity and sexual preferances showed she was the Great Mother of settled agricultural tribes who resisted the invasion of the nomadic herdsmen represented by Adam.
It is felt that the early Hebrews disliked the Great Mother who drank the blood of Abel, the herdsman, after being slain by the elder god of agriculture and smithcraft, Cain ~ Genesis 4:11.
Lilith's Red Sea is but another version of Kali Ma's Ocean of Blood which gave birth to all things but needed periodic sacrificial replenishment.
Perhaps there was a connection between Lilith and the Etruscan divinity Lenith, who possessed no face and waited at the gate of the underworld with Eita and Persipnei (Hecate and Persephone) to receive the souls of the dead.
The underworld gate was a yoni, also a lily, which had "no face". Admission to the underworld was often mythologized as a sexual union ~ also found in Tantrism. The lily or lili (lotus) was the Great Mother's flower-yoni, who's title formed Lilith's name.
Even though the story of Lilith disappeared from the canonical Bible, her daughters ~ the Lilim ~ have haunted men for over a thousand years. Well into the Middle Ages Jews were still making amulets to keep away the Lilim. Supposedly, they were lusty she demons who copulated with men in their dreams.
The Greeks adopted the belief of the Lilim, calling them Lamiae,
Empusae(Forces-in), or daughters of Hecate.
Likewise, the Christians adopted the belief, calling them Harlots of Hell, or succbi, the counterparts of the incubi. Celebrant monks, attempting to fend them off, would sleep with their hands over their genitals, cluching a crucifix.
Even though most of the Lilith legend is derived from Jewish folklaw, discriptions of the Lilith demon appear in Iranian, Babylonian, Mexican, Greek, Arab, English, German, Orietial and Native American legends. Also, she has sometimes been associated with legendary and mythological characters such as the Queen of Sheba and Helen of Troy. In medieval Europe she was said to be the wife, concubine or grandmother of Satan. ?
It was believed that Lilith was assisted in her bloodthirsty nocturnal quests by succbi, who gathered near the "mountains of darkness" to frolic with her demon lover, Samael, who's name means left or sinister. The Zohar, the principal work of the Kabbalah, discribes Lilith's powers to be at their height during the waning of the moon.
Legend says that Liliths attraction to children comes from the belief that God took her demon children when she would not return to Adam, and that she launched a reign of terror against women in childbirth and newborn babies, especially boys. However, it is also believed that the three Angels who were sent to fetch her from her Red Sea home forced her to swear that whenever she saw their names or images on amulets she would leave the mothers and infants alone.
These beliefs continued for centuries. As late as the 18th. century it was a common practice in many cultures to protect new mothers and infants with amulets against Lilith.
Males were most vulnerable during their first week of life, and girls during their first three weeks.
Sometimes a magic circle was drawn around the lying-in bed, with a charm inscribed with the names of the three Angels, Adam and Eve, and the words "barring Lilith",or "protect this child from all harm".
Frequently amulets were placed in the four corners and throughout the bedchamber. If a child laughed while sleeping, lilith was said to be present. Tapping the child on the nose was believed to make her go away.
The Historical Origin Of Lilith
The first myth I wish to dispel is that Lilith was originally found in the ancient land of Sumeria. Her roots do certainly extend that far, but Lilith Herself is not to be found among that massive pantheon of Gods and Demons.
In Sumerian, the word "Lil" means "Air." Enlil, for instance, was the Lord (En) of Air (Lil). The oldest known term relating to Lilith would be the Sumerian word "Lili" (plural "Lilitu"), which seems to imply the same definition as our word "spirit." In many ancient cultures, the same word for "air" or "breath" would also be used for "spirit." The very word "spiritus" is one such example. The Hebrew "ruach" is another. Therefore, the Lilitu were either a specific type of demon, or were simply "spirits" in general.
Normally, Lilith is thought to have been a Sumerian Succubus. And, in fact, there was such a creature in Sumer-Babylonia who surely had it's part in the Hebrew conception of Lilith. This being was known as the "Ardat Lili." "Ardatu" was a term that described a young woman of marrying age. Thus, the Ardat Lili was a young female spirit—the Succubus—the demoness credited with "night-hag syndrome." Most of us have experienced this once or twice—where the victim awakens to find that he is being restrained and paralyzed by an unseen force (this is a "chemical malfunction" of the body). She is also said to cause erotic dreams, thus robbing the male of semen and spiritual vitality. Of course, there is also a male version of this—the incubus—but I will not be addressing this creature here.
It is also interesting to note that the Sumerian word for "wantonness" was "Lulu." The word for "luxuriousness" was "Lalu." Also, the very word for "evil" was "Limnu." This has an obvious relation to the word Lili (and Ardat Lili specifically); not just in the similarity of pronunciation and spelling, but also in the very definition of the words. Keep in mind that these ancient languages did not possess the specific definition of our modern words. A single word would indicate any one of a number of related concepts.
This does not exhaust the etymology of Lilith. However, the word-play does not continue until the Hebrew Captivity in Babylon (600 BCE), and I do not wish to jump ahead just yet. Still concerning Sumer, there are two instances that are generally seen as proof of Lilith's existence there.
One is a mythos in which a female demon takes residence within the Goddess Inanna's sacred Tree of Life—thus effectively stunting the Tree's growth and production. This demoness is supposed to be Lilith Herself, whom the hero Gilgamesh finally forces out of the Tree and into the desert. However, it turns out that there is no basis for assuming this creature is Lilith, or even an Ardat Lili. It was Kramer who translated, as "Lilith," the word "ki-sikil-lil-la-ke." Where the word for air is obviously present, there is no indication of a Lilith—anymore than the presence of the word "ki" (Earth) indicates the Earth Goddess Ki. Perhaps Kramer was concentrating on the two syllables "lil-la."
The second instance is the famous plaque which depicts a woman with owl talons and wings, standing upon two lions, with two owls flanking her on either side. It was the above (mis)translation by Kramer that was used to interpret this figure as Lilith. Of course, as the demoness of the Tree is not Lilith, then surely the woman in the sculpture is not either.
There is also a note that I wish to add here. In the Torah, there is said to be one reference to Lilith—Isaiah XXXIV:14. The verse speaks of a Screech Owl, and this is said to indicate Lilith by way of the above-mentioned plaque. This instance is even used to argue that Lilith's Name is derived from the Hebrew term for "to screech." However, nothing could be farther from the truth in either case. Such relations are accepted Qabalistic practices, but they cannot be used in a scholarly/historic sense
