Demon types vs Groups of individuals

[saharda]

There are many types of demons out there. Asag demons, Lilitu demons, Galla demons. Some of these demon species have a noted individual in their ranks. Lilitu demons have Lilith, Imdugud demons have The Imdugud who stole the Tablet, and Galla demons have each of the individuals in the Decent of Inanna myth.

You also get groups of demon individuals. These usually come in groups of seven or fourteen and don't seem to be part of a larger species of demon. You have the demons that Ninurta took with him to fight The Imdugud. (Capital 'The' to differentiate him from his species.) You have the gatekeepers of the underworld. You have the demons that Gilgamesh took with him to the mountains. You have the demons that Nergal took to breach the gates of the underworld.

For the demon species out there I have started a few threads, and You can feel free to start a few more threads if you are particularly interested in any one species of demon. In here I wanted to look at the groups of individuals and how they compare to each other and to demon species.

[david]

This is a really cool post, and I hope you don't mind me asking this question, but how does Lilith compare to the other Lilitu demons?, like does she fit the character profile of them, are there any differences between the Lilith and other Lilitu demons, etc.

[cynsanity]

As is my habit - someone please kick me to get out my materials for "Dumuzid's Dream"; we were discussing the galla-demons that appear in that text quite lenghtily.

*wants something to make her memory better*

[xuchilpaba]

david said:

This is a really cool post, and I hope you don't mind me asking this question, but how does Lilith compare to the other Lilitu demons?, like does she fit the character profile of them, are there any differences between the Lilith and other Lilitu demons, etc.

Good question. I know compared to the Jewish figure I would say it was similar, Lilith and her children lilim. Her children really be of lesser extent and probaly different looking. Also a good caomparable myth is Lamia and the Lamia, which is about the same as Lilitu in Sumer and the Lilitus.

[saharda]

My understanding is that the Babylonian Lilith is simply a characteristic Lilitu demon.