Anonymous
×
Create a new article
Write your page title here:
We currently have 2,416 articles on Monstropedia. Type your article name above or click on one of the titles below and start writing!



Monstropedia
2,416Articles
Revision as of 09:54, 14 August 2006 by Bloody Angel (talk | contribs) (Added Asmodeus' related deadly sin, Lust)

Asmodeys (Asmodai, Asmodaeus, pronounced Ashmed or Ashmedai in Hebrew, also Chammadai, Sydonai) is a semi Biblical demon mostly known thanks to the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit; he is also mentioned in some Talmudic legends and in demonology, as he is a leading figure in the construction efforts of the Temple of Solomon. Amongst critical scholars, legends about Asmodai are thought to derive from Zoroastrianism, and incorporated into Judaism (and hence Christianity) during the Persian Achaemenids' rule over the Jews. [1]

Spelling Variations

Æshma (Old Persian), Æshma-dæva, Ashmadia, Ashmedai (Hebrew), Asmodaios (Greek), Asmoday, Asmodée (French), Asmodee, Asmodei, Ashmodai, Asmodeios, Asmodeo (Spanish, from a Latin declination), Asmodeius, Asmodeus (Latin, as he is known in most translations of the Book of Tobit), Asmodi, Chammaday, Chashmodai, Sidonay, Sydonai.

Special Office of Æshma

This general designation of an evil spirit tallies with the description of Æshma in the Bundahis (xxviii.15 et seq.): "Seven powers are given Æshm that he may utterly destroy the creatures therewith: with those seven powers he will destroy seven of the Kayân heroes in his own time; but one will remain. There where Mîtôkht ["Falsehood"] arrives, Arask ["Malice"] becomes welcome; [and there where Arask is welcome] Æshm lays a foundation; and there where Æshm has a foundation many creatures perish, and he causes much non-Iranianism. Æshm mostly contrives all evil for the creatures of Auhramazd, and the evil deeds of those Kayân heroes have been more complete through Æshm, as it says that Æshm, the impetuous assailant, causes them most" (E. W. West, Sacred Books of the East, by F. Max Müller, v.108).

Less harmful in character than Æshma and Asmodeus is the figure of Ashmedai in the Talmud: he appears there repeatedly in the light of a good-natured and humorous fellow. But besides that, there is one feature in which he parallels Asmodeus, inasmuch as his desires turn upon Solomon's wives and Bath-sheba. Thus, while Asmodeus resembles Æshma-dæva with tolerable closeness, Ashmedai, on the contrary, would seem to come into direct comparison with a Greek satyr rather than with an evil demon. The historical element, however, that identifies him with Asmodeus on the one hand, and both with their Persian parallels on the other, is by no means to be ignored. Besides, if the Jews have merely borrowed the name from the Æshma-dæva of Parseeism, and have developed, independently, the idea of a demon corresponding to the name, it merely shows that the Jews shaped on lines of their own the materials they had borrowed from their neighbors.

Influence of Persian Beliefs on Judaism

However, it is not impossible that Æshma-dæva, too, may have had other qualities analogous, point for point, to those of Asmodeus and Ashmedai. It is probable that the belief in the existence of a number of carnally minded and lascivious spirits, which was prevalent among the Parsees as among other peoples with whom the people of Israel came in contact, exercised an influence not merely on the Hebrew conceptions of an Asmodeus or Ashmedai, but also on Jewish ideas in general with regard to the qualities of evil spirits. In later Judaism there may be observed an extensive evolution of the conceptions that are present by intimation in the mythological reminiscence found in Gen. vi.1 et seq. This evolution would seem, in any case, to have been advanced by the views spread by foreign religions. Not the least was the influence of Parseeism. To what extent this influence made itself felt among the Jews of later times, it is of course impossible to determine from the mere presence of Asmodeus in the Book of Tobit or of Ashmedai in the Talmud. But this occurrence indicates one of the channels through which the influence of foreign religions found its way among the Jews. Just as several of the apocalyptic works seem to show that the ideas of the Persian religion have had a bearing upon Jewish theological modes of thought, so do the conceptions of the Book of Tobit with regard to Asmodeus, and the depiction of Ashmedai in the Talmud, show that the popular beliefs of the Persians have likewise had a bearing, presumably in the first instance, on popular beliefs, and later, through them, on their theological modes of thought.

Asmodai in demonology

The importance given to Asmodai in demonology is less than in Judaism, being considered somewhat lower to other hellish authorities by most Christian demonologists (according to The Lesser Key of Solomon he is the thirty second in rank), but all of them coincide on his duty, which is to exacerbate carnal desire.

In the Testament of Solomon (dated 1st - 3rd centuries CE) , Solomon invokes Asmodeus to aid in the construction of the Temple. The demon appears and predicts Solomon's kingdom will one day be divided.

"My constellation (is like an animal which) reclines in its den in heaven; some men call me the Great Bear, but others the Offspring of a Dragon. Moreover, a smaller constellation accompanies my constellation, for the high position and throne of my father is always in the sky. So do not ask me so many things, Solomon, for eventually your kingdom will be divided. This glory of yours is temporary. You have us to torture for a little while; then we shall disperse among human beings again with the result that we shall be worshipped as gods because men do not know the names of the angels who rule over us."

- Testament of Solomon 5:4-5

When Solomon interrogated Asmodeus further, he learned that Asmodeus was thwarted by the angel, Raphael, as well as sheatfish found in the rivers of Assyria. He also admitted he hated water.

In the Malleus Maleficarum (1486), he was considered the demon of lust, to which agreed Sebastian Michaelis saying that his adversary is St. John. To some demonologists of the 16th Century, that assigned each month to a demon, Asmodai's power is stronger in November. According to other demonologists his zodiacal sign is Aquarius but only between the dates of January 30 and February 8, he has seventy-two legions of demons under his command, and is one of the kings of Hell, (Lucifer being the emperor). They also add to his mission that of inciting gambling, as he was said to be overseer of all the gambling houses in the court of Hell; and some Catholic theologians compared him with Abaddon. To other authors this demon is considered a prince of revenge and protector of male homosexuals, homosexuality being one of his methods of seduction. In the Dictionnaire Infernal by Collin de Plancy he is depicted with the chest of a man, cock legs, serpent tail, three heads (one of a man spitting fire, one of a ram, and one of a bull), riding a lion with dragon wings and neck, all of these creatures being associated with either lasciviousness, lust or revenge.

It is rumored that the modern-day exorcist Dr. Daniel J. Garguillio has made claims to be the literal son of Asmodeus.

Special Office of Æshma

This general designation of an evil spirit tallies with the description of Æshma in the Bundahis (xxviii.15 et seq.): "Seven powers are given Æshm that he may utterly destroy the creatures therewith: with those seven powers he will destroy seven of the Kayân heroes in his own time; but one will remain. There where Mîtôkht ["Falsehood"] arrives, Arask ["Malice"] becomes welcome; [and there where Arask is welcome] Æshm lays a foundation; and there where Æshm has a foundation many creatures perish, and he causes much non-Iranianism. Æshm mostly contrives all evil for the creatures of Auhramazd, and the evil deeds of those Kayân heroes have been more complete through Æshm, as it says that Æshm, the impetuous assailant, causes them most" (E. W. West, Sacred Books of the East, by F. Max Müller, v.108).

Less harmful in character than Æshma and Asmodeus is the figure of Ashmedai in the Talmud: he appears there repeatedly in the light of a good-natured and humorous fellow. But besides that, there is one feature in which he parallels Asmodeus, inasmuch as his desires turn upon Solomon's wives and Bath-sheba. Thus, while Asmodeus resembles Æshma-dæva with tolerable closeness, Ashmedai, on the contrary, would seem to come into direct comparison with a Greek satyr rather than with an evil demon. The historical element, however, that identifies him with Asmodeus on the one hand, and both with their Persian parallels on the other, is by no means to be ignored. Besides, if the Jews have merely borrowed the name from the Æshma-dæva of Parseeism, and have developed, independently, the idea of a demon corresponding to the name, it merely shows that the Jews shaped on lines of their own the materials they had borrowed from their neighbors.

Influence of Persian Beliefs on Judaism

However, it is not impossible that Æshma-dæva, too, may have had other qualities analogous, point for point, to those of Asmodeus and Ashmedai. It is probable that the belief in the existence of a number of carnally minded and lascivious spirits, which was prevalent among the Parsees as among other peoples with whom the people of Israel came in contact, exercised an influence not merely on the Hebrew conceptions of an Asmodeus or Ashmedai, but also on Jewish ideas in general with regard to the qualities of evil spirits. In later Judaism there may be observed an extensive evolution of the conceptions that are present by intimation in the mythological reminiscence found in Gen. vi.1 et seq. This evolution would seem, in any case, to have been advanced by the views spread by foreign religions. Not the least was the influence of Parseeism. To what extent this influence made itself felt among the Jews of later times, it is of course impossible to determine from the mere presence of Asmodeus in the Book of Tobit or of Ashmedai in the Talmud. But this occurrence indicates one of the channels through which the influence of foreign religions found its way among the Jews. Just as several of the apocalyptic works seem to show that the ideas of the Persian religion have had a bearing upon Jewish theological modes of thought, so do the conceptions of the Book of Tobit with regard to Asmodeus, and the depiction of Ashmedai in the Talmud, show that the popular beliefs of the Persians have likewise had a bearing, presumably in the first instance, on popular beliefs, and later, through them, on their theological modes of thought.

Bibliography: Baudissin, Asmodi, in Hauck's Realencyklopädie für Theologie und Kirche, ii.142; Stave, Einfluss des Parsismus auf das Judentum, 1898; Kohut, Aruch Completum, i.318.

Asmodai in demonology

The importance given to Asmodai in demonology is less than in Judaism, being considered somewhat lower to other hellish authorities by most Christian demonologists (according to The Lesser Key of Solomon he is the thirty second in rank), but all of them coincide on his duty, which is to exacerbate carnal desire.

In the Testament of Solomon (dated 1st - 3rd centuries CE) , Solomon invokes Asmodeus to aid in the construction of the Temple. The demon appears and predicts Solomon's kingdom will one day be divided.

Asmodeus and the Seven Deadly Sins

Each of the Seven Deadly Sins is linked to a Demon. Asmodeus' sin is "lust", carried from Hell by the goat, animal considered lascivious, or the ass, that used to play the same role in Ancient Rome. The sin of the flesh leads to "unclealiness"; its opposite virtue is "chastity".


Asmoday

The spelling Asmoday can be seen in the Ars Goetia as a king, and is said to have a seal in gold and is listed as number 32 according to respective rank. He "is strong, powerful and appears with three heads; the first is like a bull, the second like a man, and the third like a ram; the tail of a serpent, and from his mouth issue flames of fire”. Also, he sits upon an infernal dragon, holds a lance with a banner and, "amongst the Legions of Amaymon governs seventy two legions of inferior spirits.

Popular Culture

Comics

  • Megatokyo webcomic as Asmodeus, archenemy to Seraphim
  • In the comic series RFU, Asmodeus is the leader of the Pointy Hat Guys, responsible for orchestrating many of the series' events.

Games

  • In Dungeons & Dragons, Asmodeus resides in Fortress Malsheem, located in Nessus, the ninth layer of Baator. He is acknowledged by all baatezu as the king of Baator, essentially making him lord of the nine layers of Hell.
  • In Nomine as Asmodeus, one of the Demon Princes.
  • Shadow Hearts: Covenant as Asmodeus, a demon. He was summoned by Rasputin.
  • Terranigma as Asmodeus, the disease that ravaged the surface world.
  • In the arcade/Nintendo 64 fighting game Mace: The Dark Age, Asmodeus is a demon who wields an unholy relic called the Mace of Tanis. Drawing on its netherwordly power, he supports the Covenant of Seven, an alliance of vicious rulers in the medieval world. In return, these sovereigns constantly war on their neighbouring countries and subject their lessers to the worst kinds of torture imaginable, thus satisfying the dark cravings of the Mace and its master.
  • The first Star Ocean video game features the Demon King Asmodeus as the source of the virus that ravaged the planet of Roak.
  • In the Ogre Battle Saga, as both Asmodeus and Asmodee, the god of Bane.
  • In Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, Asmodeus is the demon the titular character must defeat in the Temple of Solomon.
  • In Robot Alchemical Drive, Asmodeus is the Leader of an evil robot race, and the final boss.
  • In a Role-Playing Story called the "Yoshi Bodyguards" (located in the Nintendo Nsider Forums), Asmodeus is a Titan made of fire. The story's main character was named Asmodeus as well.
  • In the PC game Diablo, referred to as Azmodan, the Lord of Sin.
  • In the video game Painkiller, Asmodeus is the leader of Lucifer's armies. In the expansion, he usurps the throne of Lucifer.
  • In the action videogame Max Payne', the psychotic mafia goon Jack Lupino mentions Asmodeus in his deluded worship of various demons and other malevolent figures.

Literature

Movies

  • Gene Roddenberry's Spectre has a fictional cult devoted to the worship of him.

TV

  • In the TV series Charmed the leader of the demonic group known as the Triad, the leader is named Asmodeus.


Trivia facts

  • Asmodaios was the name of a Greek satirical newspaper published by writer Emmanouel Roidis between 1875 and 1876.

Sources

Part of this article consists of modified text from Wikipedia, and the article is therefore licensed under GFDL.