Lilith Unsexed

Abstract

Among the many types of demons which plagued ancient Mesopotamian were those of the líl-type. One of the female members of this type, lilītu, is the ‘ancestor’ of the Jewish demoness Lilith, and indeed Aramaic incantation bows from the city of Nippur make it possible to document the change from lilītu to Lilith over time. Not all the members of the líl-type are equally well attested. Assuming that information about one type also applies to the others, the following overall picture emerges. Líl-demons (at least sometimes) represent the spirits of people who died unmarried, and so roam the earth in search of living human spouses / sexual partners / children. Though they were not the only demon type to behave thus, it is nonetheless a significant characteristic, and one which is harmful to humans: incantations list them alongside other supernatural aggressors. One has the impression that they afflicted individuals rather than communities. It is not clear whether líl-demons’ attacks on adult humans always had a sexual dimension – the language, at least, is not always sexual. Furthermore, Lackenbacher points out that the misfortune of the ardat lilî (leading her to prey on humans) is not just sexual: she also has the privation “de ne pas partager la vie sociale des autres ardatu”. Nonetheless, the sexual dimension is prominent in our extant sources in relation to the activities of líl-demons, and is the likely source of ‘gender polarity’ between demon and human victim.