In Christian demonology, Belphegor (or Beelphegor, he, בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר ''Báʿal-pəʿór'' - Lord of the Gap) is a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

. In later

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

Belphegor is a demon who helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich, stagnating that which could not be accredited to it. Auxiliary Bishop and

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

er Peter Binsfeld believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness. Also, according to Peter Binsfeld's Classification of Demons, Belphegor is the chief demon of the deadly sin known as

Sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...

in Christian tradition.

Literature

The novella by Italian diplomat

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

was first published in 1549, and regales how the demon comes to earth to find a mate. Belphegor figures in ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

'' by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

, 1667. According to the 1818 by Collin de Plancy Belphegor was

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

's ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The same claim was repeated by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

in '' Toilers of the Sea'' (1866). In the grimoire ''

Key of Solomon The ''Key of Solomon'' ( la, Clavicula Salomonis; he, מפתח שלמה []) (Also known as "The Greater Key of Solomon") is a pseudepigraphical grimoire (also known as a book of spells) attributed to Solomon, King Solomon. It probably dates ba ...

'' translated into English by S.L. Mathers in 1889, Belphegor is listed near the end of the book as an Assyrian idol, now destroyed. The novella by Machiavelli became the basis for the opera ''

Belfagor ''Belfagor'' (premiere 26 April 1923) is an Italian-language opera by the composer Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla (1880–1948) based on the comedy ''Belfagor'' of Ercole Luigi Morselli (1882–1921), itself loosely base ...

'' by

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...

, which premiered at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1923.

In popular culture

* The PZL M-15 Belphegor, a 1970s Polish utility aeroplane, was named after the demon, due to its strange look, the noise of its jet engine, and its unsuitability for crop dusting, for which it had been purpose-designed. * Belphegor appears as a young human male in the first episode of the final season of the TV show ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' played by Alexander Calvert. * Belphegor is a recurring demon/persona in the '' Megami Tensei'' and ''Persona'' video game series. * Belphegor is the youngest demon brother in the

otome game An , is a story-based video game that is targeted towards women. Generally one of the goals, besides the main idea/goal, is to develop a romantic relationship between the female player/main character and one of the second-lead male characters. His ...

''Obey Me''. He appears as the avatar of sloth and the twin brother of Beelzebub. * Belphegor is a

blackened death metal Blackened death metal (also known as black death metal) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal that fuses elements of black metal and death metal. The genre emerged in early 1990s when black metal bands began incorporating elements of death me ...

band. * Belphegor is the Storm Officer of the Varia in the anime and manga series ''Katekyo Hitman Reborn''. He is also known as 'Prince the Ripper'. List of Reborn! antagonists#The Varia *Belphegor is the name one of the heretical gods, more specifically that of yellow luxin and sloth, in the ''Lightbringer'' saga by

Brent Weeks Brent Weeks (born March 7, 1977) is an American fantasy writer. His debut novel, ''The Way of Shadows'', was a ''New York Times'' best seller in April 2009. Each of the five books in his Lightbringer Series made the NYT list as well, starting w ...

. * Belphegor is a random demon/monster encounter in the Square Enix game '' Final Fantasy IV''. * Belphegor is a young female demon in the series ''

As Miss Beelzebub Likes is a Japanese comedy manga series written and illustrated by matoba. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' magazine from July 2015 to May 2020, with its chapters collected into twelve ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series ...

''. One of the main characters, and the love interest of Azazel.

References

{{Reflist Baal Demons in Christianity