Origins of the Demon Princes

demiurge1138

Inventor of Super-Toast
OK, I know Orcus. Orcus was an Etruscan death god, absorbed by the Romans and eventually associated with Hades/Dis. I know that Baphomet was a fertility god associated with the heresy of the Knights Templar. But what about the rest of the demon princes?

The only other one I know I've seen reference to is Demogorgon, who was used by Shelley in Prometheus Unbound as a name for the Demiurge, the creator of the universe and bestower of wisdom (sn plug!). But how did Demogorgon go from a benign creator to a two-headed baboon demon? And are Graz'zt, Lolth and any other major demons historically derived?

Demiurge out.
 

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Apparantly Demiurge got cast as the bad guy by the Gnostics... but is possibly the maker of earth. No mention of multiheaded goodness though. More about it here:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04707b.htm

Seems like a none too bad a site.


Asmodeus pops up in the bible... he tormented a girl by killing her husbands. Some other book says that he was recruited by Solomon to help build his temple? :confused:

http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/mythology/asmodeus.asp

Still, I can't recall whether he was a Demon or a Devil.
 
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There is a jewish tale about how Solomon got Ashmadai to aid him with building the temple, and how Ashmadai tricked him (yes, A tricked S). So I guess that is the source for Asmodeus.
I'm not sure, though. Ashmadai has a meaning in Hebrew (sort-of), and that "deus" at the end makes me think Asmodeus has one too...

I've heard that DisPater is the Father of the (City of) Dis. Don't know where.
 


Several are EGG's creation: Graz'zt, Fraz'Urb'luu, Lolth, Juiblex, Yeenoghu (sp?), etc.

Many (especially those listed as demons and devils in the MM2 rosters) are from Hebrew/Christian rolls of demons (many of which were, of course, gods/demons from other mythologies absorbed by the newer religions as demonic forces).

A great resource for researching the origins of these names is Gustav Davidson's Dictionary of Angels, which details celestial and fallen angels across many mythologies/religions/beliefs.
 

Demogorgon's first certain appearance is in Bocaccio's De Genealogia Deorum, which purports to use Lactantius Placidus as its source. The name is thought by some to be a misreading of Demiurgos, Demiurge.
 

To get obscure for a second, Kostchtchie (or Koschei), who in D&D is cast as a demon prince of a frozen layer of the abyss, is from Russian folklore.
 

Let's see what my copy of The Concise Mythological Dictionary has to say- it's a great little book, well worth getting.

Here are various references to where other mythologies were spun into Christian mythology, In general, a number of the deities of "pagan" religions contemporary to early Christianity were demonized to discourage their worship. I've included some good ones as well as the demonizing ones.

Asmodeus - Latinized form of the Hebrew Ashmedai, prince of demons in medieval Jewish legend.

Beelzebub - the term is a deliberate mocking perversion of the Canaanite Baal-Zebul, 'Prince Baal' one of the standard titles by which Baal was called. Baal was a fertility god in Canaanite (Syro-Palestinian) myth, with attributes of lightning, the rainstorm, and the generative forces of nature.

Cherubim - a lesser order of ancient Mesopotamian deities: bulls with wings and human heads who guarded the royal palace gates. They are mentioned in Ezekiel in the bible as bearing the throne and chariot of God, and later were conceived as a type of angel.

Daemon - a Greek term originally denoting the deities in general, but later used for intermediate or lesser gods, and protective spirits. Under the influence of medieval Christianity the word became known as referring to evil spirits.

Demiurge (Demiourgos): in the dualistic Gnostic theology, the creator of the material world, which is evil by nature. Hence he was identified by the early Christian Gnostic heretics with Yahweh.

Demogorgon - a confused medieval rendering of Demiurge.

Easte (Ostara) - ancient Saxon goddess of spring, associated with fertility of the earth, from whose name and rites the festival of Easter is derived.

Gehennna - a corruption of the Hebrew "Genem Hinnom", originally a place outside Jerusalem where the Canaanites performed human sacrifices and in later Israelite times became a refuse heap. As a result it was used allegorically for punishment of the wicked in the afterlife - hell.

Lilith - a night demoness of ancient Assyria, mentioned in the old testament and adopted into medieval Judeo-Christian demonology as a sort of lamia.

Lucifer - the "light bearer" (Phosphoros in the Greek) the name given to the planet Venus as the morning star and called the son of Eos as a personified deity. (Eos was the Greek goddess of the dawn.) In medieval Christian theology the name was applied to the chief of the angels who rebelled and was cast down into hell - Satan.

Marduk - chief god of ancient Babylon, who slew Tiamat, and became king of gods. He is the Merodach of the old testament and his name is also reflected in that of Mordecai.

Sabazios - a deity originating in Phrygian Asia Minor, often identified with Dionysus and Zeus. His cult spread during the Roman Empire, and he was identified by some with Yahweh Sabaoth of the old testament.

Seraphim - possibly they were originally winged serpents. The word means the fiery or burnings ones in Hebrew. Divine winged creatures associated with the Cherubim in the old testament and later taken to be angels.

Teraphim - the little images of ancient Syrian household gods mentioned in the old testament in connection with the story of Rachel. They probably correspond to the Roman Lares (ancestral spirits among the household gods) and Penates (household gods who were the protective family deities).

Tiamat - primeval Sumero-Babylonian goddess personifying the salt water ocean and waters of chaos. Described as a huge, bloated dragon monster, whose consort is Apsu, (the abyss of sweet waters under the earth, whereas Tiamat is the abyss of salt waters). Marduk split her body in two, fixing one half on high to become the watery vault of the heavens. "The deep" (Hebrew tehom) at the beginning of Genesis derives from Tiamat.

In general, I find the origins and intertwining of mythology fascinating. The Concise Mythological Dictionary has more detail which I skipped over.

Orcus was the Roman name of Hades. I think we covered that in an earlier thread.
 

Obviously, whereas EGG may have just swiped some names, he pretty much invented the image that we are familair with in D&D. I mean Orcus may have been a swiped name but all the cool stuff that has become with Orcus is a whole other issue.

As for some of the others, I have to think that EGG and some of his cronies just came up with them.
 

Baphomet was actually a cleverly disguised code referring to Sophia of the Gnostics, this one has been proven using simple Qabalistic techniques of coding that the Templars were certainly familiar with. Sophia was the Gnostic conception of Wisdom and the Holy Spirit as well as covering the Hebrew concept of the Shekinah, the Bride of the One True God (as opposed to the evil natured demiurgic creator) who fell with the angels in order to help in the redemption of man. The Templars had learned and adopted the practices of the ancient Gnostics and many of their practices were fertility based as in worshipping the female as the expression of god. The Templars were accused of worshipping an ass headed demon and performing acts of homosexual nature. Baphomet was turned into a demon in the falsely grounded charges of the French King and the Pope... damn frenchies. :p

Jason
 

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