Monday, September 13, 2010

Lilith, Mother of demons


Lilith began in Mesopotamia as Lilitu, a demon of the night and wind.

In Jewish folklore, Lilith was Adam's first wife. Adam rejects her because she refuses to lie beneath him during intercourse. God casts Lilith out of the garden, and in her jealousy she mates with demons and gives birth to monsters. She is depicted in the old testament as a "night bird" or demon of the night.

In later medieval belief she became a baby-snatching succubus, blamed for infant mortality syndrome. She is often depicted as a normal human being with the feet of a bird of prey. Newborn male children were often adorned with amulets to protect them, as Lilith apparently had no interest in females.

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