Aeshma

DemonIran · West AsiaLegendFear 8/10

Description

A demon from the folklore of Iran. Aeshma (Avestan: 𐬀𐬉𐬴𐬨𐬀 aēṣ̌ma; Old Avestan: 𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬆𐬨𐬀 aēšəma) is the Younger Avestan name…

Origin & Background

Aeshma is the demon of wrath in Zoroastrianism, and is a name from early Avestan. Aeshma is interpreted as 'anger', 'fury', 'madness', and his common epithet is 'of the bloody mace'. The word Aeshma is already confirmed in ancient Avestan as aēšəma, and at this time it was not yet mentioned as an entity. This word is derived from the Indo-Iranian root, which is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁eish₂- 'to strengthen; to drive'. It is related to the ancient Greek oîma (οἶμα) 'spring, rush', Latin īra 'anger', and Lithuanian aistrà 'violent passion'. In Zoroastrian literature from the 9th to 12th centuries, Aeshma appears as Middle Persian eshm or kheshm, and continues as خشم xašm in Pahlavi and modern Persian. The Jewish Asmodeus (Hebrew: אַשְמְדּאָי ʼšmdʼy) may have originated from the Avestan aeshma.daeva. The Georgian word for demon, eshmaki, also derives from Aeshma.

The Legend

Aeshma is an entity that opposes Asha Vahishta in the hierarchy of demons (daeva) in Zoroastrianism, where Asha Vahishta is the hypostasis of 'truth'. Aeshma reflects his position as a servant of Angra Mainyu, while Asha is the servant of Spenta Mainyu. Aeshma's main enemy is Sraosha, the principle of religious devotion and discipline. Aeshma distracts attention from proper worship and distorts the intention and meaning of sacrifice. Aeshma can be driven away through prayer.

Variants

In Zoroastrian literature from the 9th to 12th centuries, the role of fighting Aeshma is also assigned to Mithra, who is described in Denkard 3.116 as opposing Vohu Manah. Aeshma is appointed as a commander by Angra Mainyu, and he is closely related to Az, the demon of 'greed', but will ultimately be swallowed by Az. The opposition with Sraosha continues in subsequent traditions.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Aeshma" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia