ASMODEUS
Doing research about Demons, I found that demons, who are now described as evil creatures, were at first not necessarily maleficent and vengeful. In fact, modern Catholicism has made it such.Demons are categorized into different groups, and they all focus on specific things. I decided to focus more specifically on the Seven Deadly Sins Demons. I finally decided to narrow my choice down to Asmodeus ,the Demon of Lust. Out of the seven respective demons, Asmodeus was the one I related to the most. Lust being the hardest thing to control in my opinion, I wanted to have an occasion to further my researches about this demon, what he represents and where his origins come from. Furthermore, his appearance is the most interesting. Asmodeus has three different heads (human, bovine and ram), the body of a human and a chicken leg. He also rides and is accompanied by a lion with the neck and wings of a dragon.
Using Wikipedia to research about the Seven Deadly Sins, I found the names of the seven demons, their respective stories and their conjured appearance. This information led me to make an educated choice as which one to write about. Asmodeus's role as one of seven princes of hell and demon of lust, which is better known as twisting sexual desires, is what makes him such a powerful subject.
In the Book of Tobit, Asmodeus is in love and seems to be only attracted one woman, but after killing seven of her potential husbands one of them actually succeeds in marrying her by tricking him and Asmodeus is forced to leave. This would be the explanation for his role as demon of Lust. In the Dictionnaire Infernal and The lesser key of Solomon Asmodeus is depicted almost exactly the same way. His three heads (man spitting fire, bull and sheep or ram) are all three related to lust and revenge. For the rest of his figure, his torso is that of a man, but his leg is that of a cock. After a quick research about chicken or cocks as symbols, I have found that Greeks believed that even lions were afraid of cocks and also that in the new testament, cocks became a symbol of vigilance and betrayal, which could be an explanation for his companion being a lion and how he keeps him tame.In later depiction, Asmodeus is portrayed as a handsome looking man, who is personable with good manners but limping because of the presence of his chicken leg. Another explanation for his handicap could be the fight he had with another demon which sent him plummeting from the sky.
This blog entry has taught me everything about this specific demon (or lord of lust). From the first research about demons and deadly sins, I also gained knowledge about the origins of these demons and their stories. What interested me the most about this research is the fact that through time our beliefs and how we depict our own created demons has changed dramatically. Asmodeus and other demons went from neutral to malevolent. What strikes me is the fact that as our culture has evolved, our demons followed.
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Due to the fact that he killed seven potential husbands to a woman he loved classifies him as a demon for sure. Is it ironic that he killed seven and the eigth ended up defeating him. Possibly symbolic? Its also very interesting the meaning of the three heads that he obtained. huge case of anthromorphic figures.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog to be well thought out with complete information on the demon Asmodeus, one of the seven princes of hell. Your entry was so descriptive that after reading your blog about demons, the first thing I thought about was the film “The Exorcist” the 1973 version, which was and is, the best movie ever made! The demon in the film was Pazuza the demon of the south-west wind and is known for bringing famine. Also, I love the drawing of the demon of lust, it depicted him the way I pictured him while I was reading. A very descriptive blog entry! Thanks, I guess I will not be sleeping tonight, because the images of demons are tattooed on my brain :)
ReplyDeleteI love that image!
ReplyDeleteWIse Sly I like your point, number 8 killed him and we all know that if you take this number and turn it just a bit you get the infinity/eternity sign, plus in every religion 8 seems to be the symbol of a new start, rebirth, the end of a cycle... so i think we got more than enough to say that you are right.
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