Lamashtu

In Mesopotamian culture

Lamashtu's father was the Sky god Anu. Unlike many other usual demonic figures and depictions in Mesopotamian 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 determinative 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 neonates; 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, 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 Lamashtu:

Her hand is a net, her embrace is death She is cruel, raging, angry, predatory A runner, a thief is the daughter of Heaven She touches the bellies of women in labour She pulls out the pregnant women's baby The daughter of Heaven is one of the Gods, her brothers With no child of her own. Her head is a lion's head Her body is a donkey's body She roars like a lion She constantly howls like a demon-dog.}}

In another incantation against her, she appears to be identified with Inanna:

Whose name has been uttered by the gods Innin(Inanna), queen of queens Lamashtu, O great lady Who seizes the painful Asakku Overwhelming the Alû Come not nigh what belongeth to the man Be conjured by Heaven Be conjured by the Earth Be conjured by Enlil Be conjured by Ea.}}

In modern culture

• Lamashtu is a demon lord and the goddess of monsters, called the Mother of Beasts and Mistress of Insanity, in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
• Lamashtu is the title of a 2015 audiobook by Paul E Cooley.
• Lamashtu appears as the antagonist in the 2017 film Still/Born.
• 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 as the demon who possesses two young girls in The Exorcist: Believer.
• Lamashtu is worshipped in the 2022 Spanish horror film Venus.
• Lamashtu and her connections with Lilith are presented in the book "Lilith and Lamastu: Legends of the Ancient Abyss" by Michael W. Ford, October 2024
• Lamashtu is summoned in a 2025 Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Lady Gaga.
• In Constantine (TV series) directed by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer, Lamashtu appeared in the 8th Episode ("The Saint of Last Resorts"). In that episode protagonist John Constantine invoked Pazuzu to fight against it. The episode was written by Carly Wray and directed by T. J. Scott.

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:Plaque against Lamashtu-AO 22205-IMG 9971-gradient.jpg|Lamashtu plaque held by Pazuzu File:Lamashtu plaque 9163.jpg|Close-up of plaque's top 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

Sources

References

1. Hartmut Kühne ''[[Dūr-Katlimmu]] 2008 and beyond'' 2010 section 'The place of Lamashtu in the Near Eastern pantheon' [https://books.google.com/books?id=6KnKOTissFQC&pg=PA243 Page 243] "If the demon Lamashtu can already be identified in old Assyrian texts9, the older attestation of her name is its Sumerian equation, DIMME, in an old Babylonian incantation10. "
2. George, Andrew R.. (2018-01-01). "Kamadme, the Sumerian Counterpart of the Demon Lamaštu". Sources of Evil.
3. wiggermann. "Lamashtu, daughter of Anu".
4. Line 47 has ^ddim-me, the superscript ''d'' being the divine determinative.[http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.22.1&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=c4221.46#c4221.46]
5. says, Brent Franco. (16 January 2015). "Lamaštu (Lamashtu)".
6. "Lamashtu | Mesopotamian demon | Britannica".
7. (February 2017). "Ancient Near East: Lamashtu".
8. Emrys, Wendilyn. (March 2018). "The Transformations of a Goddess: Lillake, Lamashtu, and Lilith".
9. https://www.amazon.com/Lilith-Lamastu-Legends-Ancient-Abyss/dp/B0DJXS1RX6
10. "TUAT 2,2, 259-26".