Mesopotamian mythology Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies ...

, Lamashtu (;

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 ...

^d''La-maš-tu''; Sumerian ''Dimme'' ^d''Dim₃-me'' or ''Kamadme'') was a female

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 ...

, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...

and, if possible, kidnapped their children while they were

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

. She would gnaw on their bones and suck their blood, as well as being charged with a number of other evil deeds. She was a daughter of the Sky God

Anu Anu ( akk, , from wikt:𒀭#Sumerian, 𒀭 ''an'' “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An ( sux, ), was the sky father, divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the list of Mesopotamian deities, dei ...

. Lamashtu is depicted as a

mythological hybrid Hybrid beasts are creatures composed of parts from different animals, including humans, appearing in the folklore of a variety of cultures as legendary creatures. In burial sites Remains similar to those of mythological hybrids have been found ...

, with a hairy body, a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

ess' head with

donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

's teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

with sharp

talons A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

. She is often shown standing or kneeling on a donkey, nursing a

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

and a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

, and holding

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s. She thus bears some functions and resemblance to the demon

Lilith Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...

Jewish mythology Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on world culture in general. Christian mythology directly inhe ...

Mythology

Lamashtu's father was the Sky God

. Unlike many other usual demonic figures and depictions in

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

lore, Lamashtu was said to act in malevolence of her own accord, rather than at the gods' instructions. Along with this her name was written together with the

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

determinative A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may ...

indicating deity. This means she was a goddess or a demigoddess in her own right. She bore seven names and was described as seven witches in incantations. Her evil deeds included (but were not limited to): slaying children, unborns, and

neonate An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

s; causing harm to mothers and expectant mothers; eating men and drinking their blood; disturbing sleep; bringing nightmares; killing foliage; infesting rivers and lakes; and being a bringer of disease, sickness, and death.

Pazuzu In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Pazuzu ( akk, , translit=pà.zu.zu; also called Fazuzu or Pazuza) was a personification of the southwestern wind, and held kingship over the lilu wind demons. As an apotropaic entity, he was considered as bo ...

, a god or demon, was invoked to protect birthing mothers and infants against Lamashtu's malevolence, usually on amulets and statues. Although Pazuzu was said to be bringer of famine and drought, he was also invoked against evil for protection, and against plague, but he was primarily and popularly invoked against his fierce, malicious rival Lamashtu. Incantation against Lamaštu: In another incantation against her, she appears to be identified with Inanna:

In modern culture

* Lamashtu is a demon lord and the goddess of monsters, called the Mother of Beasts and Mistress of Insanity, in the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

setting ''

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

''. * Lamashtu appears as a character in the NBC television series ''Constantine'' in the episode "The Saint of Last Resorts". * Lamashtu is the title of a 2015 audiobook by

Paul E Cooley Paul Elard Cooley is an American contemporary speculative fiction writer, prolific podcaster and Systems Administrator from Houston, Texas. Life and work Cooley has been writing since the age of 12. In 2009, he began producing free psychologica ...

. * Lamashtu appears as an antagonist in the 2018 novel "On Devil's Wings" by M. J. Meade. * Lamashtu appears as the antagonist in the 2017 film ''

Still/Born ''Still/Born'' is a 2017 Canadian psychological horror film directed and co-written by Brandon Christensen and starring Christie Burke and Jesse Moss. It premiered on April 29, 2017 at the Overlook Film Festival and received generally positive r ...

''. * The song "lamashtu" by Necrophobic on their 2018 album "Mark of the Necrogram" is named for Lamashtu. * Lamashtu is depicted on the Ankaran Sarcophagus in the videogame '' Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines''. * Lamashtu appears in the book "Sebitti - Mesopotamian Magick & Demonology" by Michael W. Ford. * The 2020 album "Scourge of Lamashtu" by Black Funeral is themed after Lamashtu. * Lamashtu appears a secondary protagonist in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mod "Clockwork" by Nexusmods user Antistar

Ritual

An Akkadian incantation and ritual against Lamashtu is edited in ''Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments'' vol. 2 (1988) It is glossed as an "incantation to dispel lasting fever and Lamashtu". The prescribed ritual involves a Lamashtu figurine. A sacrifice of bread must be placed before the figurine and water must be poured over it. A black dog must be made to carry the figurine. Then it is placed near the head of the sick child for three days, with the heart of a piglet placed in its mouth. The incantation must be recited three times a day, besides further food sacrifices. At dusk on the third day, the figurine is taken outdoors and buried near the wall. File:Lamashtu plaque 9167.jpg, Lamashtu plaque held by

File:Lamashtu plaque 9163.jpg, Close-up of plaque's top register (sculpture), register File:Lamashtu plaque 9165.jpg, Close-up of plaque's bottom register File:Lamashtu plaque h9174.jpg, Lamashtu plaque File:Bronze plate, several Mesopotamian deities or creatures ward off evil spirits. From Iraq. 9th-7th century BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Bronze plate, several Mesopotamian deities ward off evil spirits. From northern Iraq. 9th-7th century BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mesopotamian goddesses Mesopotamian demons Mythological hybrids Mythological hematophages Female legendary creatures Snake goddesses Evil deities Mesopotamian underworld Mythological cannibals Donkey deities

Mythology

In modern culture

Ritual

See also

References

External links