In Sumerian and

ancient Mesopotamian religion Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 6000 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syria ...

, gallûs (also called gallas;

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

''gallû'' < Sumerian ) were great demons or

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

s of the

ancient Mesopotamian Underworld The ancient Mesopotamian underworld, most often known in Sumerian as Kur, Irkalla, Kukku, Arali, or Kigal and in Akkadian as Erṣetu, although it had many names in both languages, was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where ...

Role in mythology

Gallu demons hauled unfortunate victims off to the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

. They were one of seven devils (or "the offspring of hell") of Babylonian theology that could be appeased by the sacrifice of a lamb at their altars. The goddess Inanna was pursued by ''gallu'' demons after being escorted from the Underworld by Galatura and Kuryara. In the ''Descent'', it is stated that said demons “know no food, know no drink, eat no flour offering, drink no libation. They never enjoy the pleasures of marital embrace, never have any sweet children to kiss. They snatch the son from a man’s knee. They make the bride leave the house of her father in law”. An especially fierce gallu demon, the monstrous

Asag In the Sumerian mythological poem '' Lugal-e'', Asag or Azag ( Sumerian: ), is a monstrous demon, so hideous that his presence alone makes fish boil alive in the rivers. He was said to be accompanied into battle by an army of rock demon offsp ...

, was slain by Ninurta using the enchanted mace

Sharur Sharur ( ) is a city in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. It is the administrative centre of the Sharur District. The city is located 66 km northwest of Nakhchivan city, on the Sharur plain. History In a manuscript of the 16t ...

Other uses

The word ''gallu'' may also refer to a human adversary, one that is dangerous and implacable.I. Tzvi Abusch ''Babylonian Witchcraft Literature: Case Studies'' 1987 "...especially, the initial position which he occupies in both support the propriety of our earlier analysis of obv. 37-40 on the basis of the comparison "Contra AHw sv, ''gallu'' in this line refers not to a demon but to a human enemy..."

References

Mesopotamian demons Mesopotamian underworld Ghouls {{MEast-myth-stub

Role in mythology

Other uses

See also

References