Lamashtu
Description
Ancient Mesopotamian demoness who menaced pregnant women and slew infants. Daughter of the sky god Anu, so powerful that even other demons feared her
Origin & Background
In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamastu is known as the daughter of the sky god Anu. She is depicted as a being that commits evil acts not at the behest of other gods, but of her own volition, indicating that she was regarded as an independent goddess or demigod.
The Legend
Lamastu is described as a demonic entity with the head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey, a naked breast, a body covered in hair, hands stained with blood, long fingers and nails, and the feet of Anzû. She is said to consume the blood of human infants and is considered a cause of miscarriages and infant deaths. Her malevolent acts include killing children and fetuses, harming mothers and pregnant women, and devouring men while drinking their blood.
In Popular Culture
Lamastu appears in the 2004 video game 'Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines' in the Ankara Sarcophagus. In the 2009 release of 'Pathfinder Roleplaying Game', she is depicted as the goddess of monsters and the mother of monsters. Lamastu appears in the eighth episode of the 2014 TV series 'Constantine', where the protagonist John Constantine summons Pazuzu to fight her. In the 2017 film 'Still/Born', Lamastu appears as an antagonist, and in the 2023 film 'The Exorcist: Believer', she is portrayed as a demon possessing two young girls.
This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Lamashtu" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia