View source for Asmodeus

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{{infobox demon
|name=Asmodeus,Aeshima,Aeshma,Asmodai,Ashmedai,Ashmodei,Asmodee,Asmoday,Asmodaios,Ashmadia,Hasmodai,Hashmedai,Hashmodai,Hammadai,Khashmodai,Khasmodai,Khammadai,Osmodeus,Osmodai,Sidonay,Sydonay,Shamdon,Shidonai,Sakhr
|title=The Devil on Two Sticks,Prince of Lechery
|image=Asmodeus.jpg
|symbol=Asmodai-agrippa.svg,Asmodai-heydon.svg
|gender=Male
|month=November
|zodiac=Aquarius
|legions=72
|planet=Moon
}}
{{from wikipedia}}

Asmodeus known to Solomon as Saturn, Marcolf, and Morolf ("creature of judgment") - a fallen angel who became the demon of lechery, jealousy, anger, and revenge. He is a deity of Persia's mythological pantheon and an infernal entity in Judaism. In Hell, he rules over gambling casinos. He is said to be the creator of carousels, music, dance, and drama and is currently the ruling patron of French designers. Ashmodai, the "raging fiend" that he is in The Book of Tobit", is said to have gotten Noah drunk, killed the seven men that were to marry Sarah, and was "banished to upper Egypt" by Raphael. He has been depicted as one of the "Vessels of Wrath" and is said to be the son of Adam's first wife Lilith by Samael. The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-melin the Mage says that Asmodeus is the offspring of the incestuous union between Tubal-Cain and Naamah; others call him the "demon of impurity." In Jewish lore he is the father-in-law of Bar Shalmon, a fellow demon. Should you wish to invoke Asmodeus, wear nothing upon your head lest you be tricked by him.<ref>{{cite|url=http://hafapea.com/angelpages/angels.html|title=Angels & Demons}}</ref>

Mag. Sigil supposed by HEYDON 1664 to be a geomantic spirit, ruler of VIA and POPULUS, but the sigil appears to be a poor copy of that given by AGRIPPA 1531 as ruling spirit of the Moon. HEYDON 1664 gives

Gives the Ring of Virtue; Teaches Arithmetic & Astronomy & Geometry & Handicrafts; Answers Demands Truly; Makes a Man Invincible; Reveals & Guards the Places of Treasure. (72)

Plots against Newly-weds so they are Strangers; Makes Married Men Lust After Women & Commit Murder

Bound To / Frustrated By : Dragon's Child (Ursa Major / Great Bear)
Raphael / Sheatfish

A Dictionary Of Angels by Gustav Davidson & The Complete Book Of Devils & Demons by Leonard Ashley says Asmodeus was a fallen angel seraphim

<ref>{{cite|url=http://www.palmyria.co.uk/superstition/angelsdemons.htm|title=Angels & Demons}}</ref>

'''Asmodeus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|z|m|ə|ˈ|d|iː|ə|s}}; {{lang-el|Ασμοδαίος|Asmodaios}}) or '''Ashmedai''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|ʃ|m|ᵻ|ˌ|d|aɪ}}; {{lang-he|אַשְמְדּאָי|ʾAšmədʾāy}}, Ashema Deva; see [[#Etymology|below]] for other variations) is a king of [[demon]]s/[[shedim]]/[[jinn]],<ref name=Brit>"Asmodeus" in ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica|The New Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Chicago: [[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]], 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 635.</ref><ref>Robert Lebling ''Robert Lebling'' I.B.Tauris 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-857-73063-3}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Raphael Patai ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore and Traditions'' Routledge 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-317-47170-7}} page 39</ref> mostly known from the [[Book of Tobit]], in which he is the primary [[antagonist]].<ref>{{cite web
| date = 25 March 2003
| title = Asmodeus/Asmoday
| work = Judeo-Christian Demons
| publisher = Deliriumsrealm.com
| url = http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/97/asmodeus/
| accessdate = 2009-03-04}}</ref> In the [[Binsfeld's classification of demons]], Asmodeus represents [[Lust]]. The demon is also mentioned in some Talmudic legends such as the story of the construction of the [[Temple of Solomon]].

Asmodeus was widely depicted as having a handsome visage, good manners and an engaging nature; however, he was portrayed as walking with a limp and one leg was either clawed or that of a [[rooster]]. He walks aided by two walking sticks in Lesage's work, and this gave rise to the English title ''The Devil on Two Sticks''{{sfn|Rudwin|1970|p=93}} (also later translated ''The Limping Devil'' and ''The Lame Devil''). Lesage attributes his lameness to falling from the sky after fighting with another devil.{{sfn|Rudwin|1970|p=50}}

== Etymology ==
The name ''Asmodai'' is believed to derive from [[w:Avestan language|Avestan language]] ''*aēšma-daēva'' (''aēšma'' meaning "wrath" and [[daeva|daēva]] meaning [[demon]]) based on Aēšma, [[Zoroastrianism]]'s demon of wrath and further still derived from the Canaanite [[god]]dess Ashima.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Stave
| first = Erik
| editor-last=Singer |editor-first=Isidore |editor-last2=Adler |editor-first2=Cyrus
| origyear = 1901–1906
| year = 2002
| title = [[Jewish Encyclopedia]]
| publisher = [[Funk & Wagnalls]]
| location = New York
| chapter = Æshma (Asmodeus, Ashmedai)
| lccn = 16-014703
| chapterurl = http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=873&letter=A&search=asmodeus
| quote= since it is paralleled by the later [[Middle Persian|Pahlavi-form]] "Khashm-dev" ("Khashm dev" = "Æshma dev"), written with the Aramaic "sheda," but pronounced "dev." [..] Asmodeus (Ashmedai) embodies an expression of the influence that the Persian religion or Persian popular beliefs have exercised on the Jewish—an influence that shows itself very prominently in the domain of [[demonology]]. 
| accessdate = 7 March 2018|display-editors=etal}}</ref> In the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] and [[w:Middle Persian|Middle Persian]] [[demonology]], there did exist the conjuncted form ''khashm-dev'', where the word ''dev'' was the same of ''[[daeva]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last= Bane|first= Theresa|editor= [[McFarland & Company|McFarland]]|date= Jan 9, 2012|url=https://books.google.it/books?id=njDRfG6YVb8C&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=%C2%A0%22Khashm-dev%22&source=bl&ots=MlOki2ieaU&sig=33WET9r4ewhJ4HVeKLD6UWtoNDY&hl=it&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8ms78gNvZAhVQy6QKHfT1DVcQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%C2%A0%22Khashm-dev%22&f=false|title= Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures|page= 191|isbn=978-0-786-46360-2}}</ref>

The spellings '''Asmodai''',<ref>{{cite book |last=Milton |first=John |authorlink=John Milton |title=Paradise Regained |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZlNAAAAcAAJ |year=1671}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pomfret |first=John |authorlink=John Pomfret |title=Poems Upon Several Occasions |chapter=Cruelty and Lust |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Us8TAAAAQAAJ |year=1724 |publisher=D. Brown |location= |isbn= |page=73}}</ref> '''Asmodée''',<ref>{{cite book |last=Mauriac |first=François |authorlink=François Mauriac |title=Asmodee; or, The Intruder |year=1939 |publisher=Secker & Warburg }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kleu |first=Michael |authorlink= |last2=Eayrs |first2=Madelene |authorlink2= |title=Who Are You? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6Giy2CSu90C |year=2010 |publisher=Xulon Press |location=USA |isbn=978-1-61579-841-4 |page=214}}</ref> '''Osmodeus''',<ref>{{cite book |last=Connell |first=Evan S. |authorlink=Evan S. Connell |title=The Alchymist's Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbPpM4_hyngC |year=1992 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-14-016932-6 |page=110}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Guppy |first=Henry |authorlink=Henry Guppy (librarian) |title=Bulletin of the John Rylands Library |chapter=Tobit |volume=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tV4aAAAAMAAJ |year=1960 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn= |page=375}}</ref> and '''Osmodai'''<ref>{{cite book |last=Garibay Mora |first=Ernesto |title=Dictionary of Demons and Related Concepts |accessdate= |year=2005 |publisher=L. D. Books |location=Miami, Florida |isbn=970-732-108-3 |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nares |first=Robert |authorlink=Robert Nares |title=A Glossary of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VK60AAAAIAAJ |year=1888 |publisher=Reeves & Turner |location=London |page=21}}</ref> have also been used. The name is alternatively spelled in the [[w:corruption (linguistics)|corrupted]] forms (based on the basic consonants אשמדאי, ʾŠMDʾY) '''Hashmedai''' (חַשְמְדּאָי, ''Hašmədʾāy''; also Hashmodai, Hasmodai, Khashmodai, Khasmodai),<ref>{{cite book |last=Association of Modern Austrian Philologists |title=Moderne Sprachen |volume=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chYIAQAAIAAJ |year=1999 |page=63}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ritchie |first=Leitch |authorlink=Leitch Ritchie |title=The Magician |volume=Vol. I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uS-wxAeo3i8C |year=1836 |publisher=Carey, Lea & Blanchard |location=Philadelphia |isbn= |page=84}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=de Laurence |first=L. W. |authorlink=L. W. de Laurence |title=The Great Book of Magical Art, Hindu Magic and East Indian Occultism |accessdate= |year=1914 |publisher=The de Laurence Co. |location=Chicago |isbn= |page=183}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=MacGregor Mathers |first=S. L. |authorlink=Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers |title=The Book of the Sacred Magic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMgr4062BpkC |year=1458 |page=110}}</ref> '''Hammadai''' (חַמַּדּאָי, ''Hammadʾāy''; also Khammadai),<ref>{{cite book |last=Voltaire |authorlink=Voltaire |title=A Philosophical Dictionary |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwpJAQAAIAAJ |accessdate= |year=1824 |publisher=J. & H. L. Hunt |location=London |page=286}}</ref><ref name=Flax>{{cite book |last=Leland |first=Charles Godfrey |authorlink=Charles Godfrey Leland |title=Flaxius: Leaves from the Life of an Immortal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zhc1AAAAMAAJ |year=1902 |publisher=Philip Wellby |location=London |isbn= |page=72}}</ref> '''Shamdon''' (שַׁמְדּוֹן, ''Šamdōn''),<ref name=AsmoJE>{{cite book |title=Jewish Encyclopedia |chapter=Asmodeus, or Ashmedai |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2019-asmodeus |accessdate=May 1, 2013 |year=1906 |publisher=Funk and Wagnalls}}</ref> and '''Shidonai''' (שִׁדֹנאָי, ''Šidonʾāy'').<ref name=Flax/> Some traditions have subsequently identified Shamdon as the father of Asmodeus.<ref name=AsmoJE/>

== Also known as ==
* [[Shimti]] - "Fate", an Akkadian goddess
* [[Manāt]] - A pre-[[Islam]]ic goddess of measurement and fate
* [[Ashima]] - A [[Canaanite]] goddess of fate
* [[Aeshma]] - [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] demon of wrath

==In the texts==

====In the Book of Tobit====
The Asmodeus of the [[Book of Tobit]] is hostile to Sarah, [[Raguel (name)|Raguel]]'s daughter,  ({{bibleverse||Tobit|6:13|NRSV}}); and slays seven successive husbands on their wedding nights, impeding the sexual consummation of the marriages. He is described as 'the worst of demons'. When the young Tobias is about to marry her, Asmodeus proposes the same fate for him, but Tobias is enabled, through the counsels of his attendant angel [[Raphael]], to render him innocuous. By placing a fish's heart and liver on red-hot cinders, Tobias produces a smoky vapour that causes the demon to flee to [[Egypt]], where [[Raphael]] binds him ({{bibleverse||Tobit|8:2-3|NRSV}}).

Perhaps Asmodeus punishes the suitors for their  carnal desire, since Tobias prays to be free from such desire and is kept safe. Asmodeus is also described as an evil spirit in general: 'Ασμοδαίος τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον or τõ δαιμόνιον πονηρόν, and πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον ({{bibleverse||Tobit|3:8|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Tobit|3:17|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Tobit|6:13|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse||Tobit|8:3|NRSV}}).

===In the Talmud===
The figure of Ashmedai in the [[Talmud]] is less malign in character than the Asmodeus of Tobit. In the former, he appears 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]].

Another Talmudic legend has King Solomon tricking Asmodai into collaborating in the construction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]]<ref name="ReferenceA"/> (see: [[w:s:Translation:The Story of King Solomon and Ashmedai|The Story of King Solomon and Ashmedai]]).

Another legend depicts Asmodai throwing king Solomon over 400 leagues away from the capital by putting one wing on the ground and the other stretched skyward. He then changed places for some years with King Solomon. When King Solomon returned, Asmodai fled from his wrath.<ref>{{cite book|last=Talmud|title=Gittin|pages=68b}}</ref> Similar legends can be found in [[Islam]]ic folklore. There Asmodeus is called '''Sakhr''' ({{lang-ar|صخر}} ''the Rock'' or ''the Stony One''), because in Islamic lore, Solomon banished him into a rock, after he takes his kingdom back from him. There he counts as the king of the jinn.<ref>Robert Lebling ''Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar'' I.B.Tauris 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-857-73063-3}}</ref>

Another passage describes him as marrying [[Lilith]], who became his queen.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Schwartz
| first = Howard
| authorlink = Howard Schwartz
| year = 1988
| title = Lilith's cave: Jewish tales of the supernatural
| publisher = [[Harper & Row]]
| location = San Francisco, CA
| page = 8
| isbn = 978-0-06-250779-2
| oclc = 62241318
| lccn = 87045196}}</ref>

He has also been recorded as the offspring of the union between Adam and the angel of prostitution, [[Naamah]], conceived while Adam was married to Lilith.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

===In the Testament of Solomon===
In the [[Testament of Solomon]], a 1st–3rd century text, the king invokes Asmodeus to aid in the construction of the Temple. The demon appears and predicts Solomon's kingdom will one day be divided (Testament of Solomon, verse 21–25).<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Conybeare
| first = Frederick Cornwallis (trans.)
| authorlink = Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare
|date=October 1898
| title = The Testament of Solomon
| journal = [[The Jewish Quarterly Review]]
| volume = 11
| issue = 1
| pages = 1–45
| issn = 0021-6682
| jstor = 1450398
| doi = 10.2307/1450398
| url = http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/testamen.htm
| accessdate = 2012-02-09
}}</ref> When Solomon interrogates Asmodeus further, the king learns that Asmodeus is thwarted by the angel [[Raphael]], as well as by sheatfish found in the rivers of Assyria. He also admits to hating water and birds because both remind him of God.

===In the ''Malleus Maleficarum''===
In the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (1486), Asmodeus was considered the demon of [[lust]].<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Kramer
| first1 = Heinrich
| authorlink1 = Heinrich Kramer
| last2 = Summers
| first2 = Montague (trans.)
| authorlink2 = Montague Summers
| origyear = 1486
| year = 1928
| title = [[Malleus Maleficarum]]
| publisher = [[John Rodker|J. Rodker]]
| location = London, England
| volume = 1
| chapter = Question IV: By which Devils are the Operations of Incubus and Succubus Practised?
| oclc = 504248484
| lccn = 29017069
| chapterurl = http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/mm/mm01_04a.htm
| quote = But the very devil of Fornication, and the chief of that abomination, is called Asmodeus, which means the Creature of Judgement: for because of this kind of sin a terrible judgement was executed upon Sodom and the four other cities.
}}</ref> [[Sebastien Michaelis]] said that his adversary is [[John the Apostle|St. John]]. Some demonologists of the 16th century assigned a month to a demon and considered November to be the month in which Asmodai's power was strongest. Other demonologists asserted that his [[zodiac]]al sign was [[Aquarius (astrology)|Aquarius]] but only between the dates of January 30 and February 8.

He has 72 legions of demons under his command. He is one of the Kings of Hell under [[Lucifer]] the emperor. He incites gambling, and is the overseer of all the gambling houses in the court of Hell. Yet other authors considered Asmodeus a prince of revenge.

===In the ''Dictionnaire Infernal''===
In the ''[[Dictionnaire Infernal]]'' by [[Collin de Plancy]], Asmodeus is depicted with a [[human]] torso, a [[rooster]] leg, [[snake]] tail, three heads (one of a man spitting fire, one of a [[sheep]], and one of a [[bull]]),{{sfn|Mathers|Crowley|1995|p=32}} riding a [[lion]] with [[dragon]] wings and neck, all of these animals being associated with either lascivity, lust or revenge.

==Later depictions==
===In Christian thought ===
Asmodeus was named as an angel of the [[Christian angelic hierarchy|Order of Thrones]] by [[Gregory the Great]].{{sfn|Rudwin|1970|p=20}}

Asmodeus was cited by the nuns of Loudun in the [[Loudun possessions]] of 1634.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Dumas
| first = Alexandre
| authorlink = Alexandre Dumas
| year = 1634
| title = Urbain Grandier
| series = Celebrated Crimes
| chapter = Urbain Grandier: Chapter V
| chapterurl = http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Urbain_Grandier,_Celebrated_Crimes#CHAPTER_V
| url = http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Urbain_Grandier,_Celebrated_Crimes}}</ref>

Asmodeus' reputation as the personification of lust continued into later writings, as he was known as the "Prince of Lechery" in the 16th century romance ''Friar Rush''.{{sfn|Rudwin|1970|p=87}} The 16th century Dutch demonologist [[Johann Weyer]] described him as the banker at the [[baccarat]] table in hell, and overseer of earthly gambling houses.{{sfn|Rudwin|1970|p=92}}

===In the Kabbalah===
According to the [[Kabbalah]] and the school of [[Shlomo ibn Aderet]],  Asmodeus is a [[cambion]] born as the result of a union between [[Agrat bat Mahlat]], a [[succubus]], and King [[David]].<ref>{{cite web
| author = Humm, Alan
| title = Kabbala: Lilith, Queen of the Demons
| work = The Lilith Gallery of Toronto
| publisher = Moffat, Charles Alexander
| url = http://www.lilithgallery.com/library/lilith/Queen-of-the-Demons.html
| accessdate = 2012-02-09}}</ref>

=== In Islam or Arabian thought ===
The story of Asmodeus and Solomon has a reappearance in Arabian and Islamic lore, however Asmodeus is commonly named ''Sakhr'' (rock) probably a reference to his fate, because according to Islamic lore, after Solomon defeated Asmodeus, he imprisoned him inside a box of rock, chained with iron, and threw it into the sea.<ref>Sami Helewa ''Models of Leadership in the Adab Narratives of Joseph, David, and Solomon: Lament for the Sacred'' Lexington Books 2017 {{ISBN|978-1-498-55267-7}} page 167</ref> [[Tabari]] linked Asmodeus to [[Surah]] 37:106 of the [[Quran]] in his work [[History of the Prophets and Kings|Annals of al-Tabari]], therefore [[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]] was replaced by Asmodeus over forty days.<ref>Tabari ''History of al-Tabari Vol. 3, The: The Children of Israel'' SUNY Press 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-791-49752-4}} page 170</ref>

In ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'' Asmodeus is one of the jinn consulted by a young Jewish boy, seeking to find [[Muhammad]] and asked about hell, thereupon he describes the different layers of hell.<ref>Christian Lange ''Locating Hell in Islamic Traditions'' BRILL  978-90-04-30121-4 p. 12-13</ref>

== Sources ==
* [[Book of Incantations]]
* [[The Black Books of Elverum]]
* [[Hygromanteia]]
* [[The Magus]]
* [[Testament of Solomon]]
* [[The Discoverie of Witchcraft]]
* [[The Book of Spirits]]
* [[The Book of the Office of Spirits]]
* [[Three Books of Occult Philosophy]]
* [[The Book of Abramelin]]
* [[The Book of Oberon]]
* [[Five Books of Mystery]]
* [[Pseudomonarchia Daemonum]]
* [[The Lesser Key of Solomon]]
* [[Paradise Lost]]
* [[Dictionnaire Infernal]]

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:Goetic demons]]
[[Category:Jinn]]
[[Category:Semitic deities]]