A lilu or lilû (Sumerian: líl-lá(-en-na), lú-líl-lá) is the masculine Akkadian word for a spirit or demon. A female lilû was called a lilītu (munus-líl-lá, ki-sikil-líl-lá(en-na), ᵈdim(-me)-gi₆) (and her adolescent counterpart ardat-lilî). Together, these were a class of demon that the ancient Mesopotamians believed emerged from the unfulfilled spirits of adults/adolescents who died before marriage or conceiving children. "Lilû" and its root word lil- also show wider meanings linked to spirits, desolation, and wild creatures.

History Scurlock and Andersen (2005) attribute the origin of "the lilû class of demons" (pg. 434) to treatment of neurological and mental disorders as well as STDs such as syphilis (pg. 95).Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian medicine: ancient sources 2005 "The reason for the attribution of this disorder to the lilu was probably that the majority of patients developed characteristic symptoms in adolescence or early adulthood. This pattern of onset is characteristic of some mental disorders" An abundance of cuneiform text characterizes the lilû as "teenage demons". (pg. 273). As these demons were thought to afflict members of the opposite sex, lilû were often held responsible for illnesses afflicting girls (pg. 434). Scurlock and Andersen suggest an association with Ištar, although not necessarily positively, as one ardat-lilî was described as "mistreated by the hand of Ištar" (pg. 434, pg.273).

Sumerian and Akkadian literature

Sumerian King List In the Sumerian King List the father of Gilgamesh is said to be a lilu.Raphael Patai, p. 221, The Hebrew Goddess: Third Enlarged Edition,

'Spirit in the tree' in the Gilgamesh cycle

Tablet XII, dated , is a later Assyrian Akkadian translation of the latter part of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh.George, A. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian 2003 p. 100 Tablet XII. Appendix The last Tablet in the 'Series of Gilgamesh' It describes a 'spirit in the tree' referred to a ki-sikil-lil-la-ke. In modern scholarship, ki-sikil-lil-la-ke is understood as the Sumerian equivalent of the Akkadian ardat lilî, and accepted translations include phantom maid, demon-maiden and demon-girl. A connection between the Gilgamesh ki-sikil-lil-la-ke and the Jewish Lilith was rejected on textual grounds by Sergio Ribichini (1978).Ribichini, S. Lilith nell-albero Huluppu Pp. 25 in Atti del 1° Convegno Italiano sul Vicino Oriente Antico, Rome, 1976

The ki-sikil-lil-la-ke is associated with a serpent and a zu bird. In Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld, a huluppu tree grows in Inanna's garden in Uruk, whose wood she plans to use to build a new throne. After ten years of growth, she comes to harvest it and finds a serpent living at its base, a Zu bird raising young in its crown, and that a ki-sikil-lil-la-ke made a house in its trunk. Gilgamesh is said to have killed the snake, and then the zu bird flew away to the mountains with its young, while the ki-sikil-lil-la-ke fearfully destroys its house and runs for the forest.Hurwitz (1980) p. 49

Astrology BRM 4 19

Spells to remove lilu and ardat-lili:rev. 20′–21′: On Month 2 Day 12, in order to remove lilû and ardat lilî demons; make (spells/rituals), and it will be well. 2! 12 7 6 Scales (micro-Libra) of Stars (Pleiades in Taurus) is the distance).

22′–23′: On Month 4 Day 12, in order to remove lilû and ardat lilî demons; make (spells/rituals), and it will be well. 4 12 9 6 Pabilsag (micro-Sagittarius) [of] Crab (Cancer) is the distance). BRM 4 20

The tablet from Uruk, adapts older astrological magic to the newly discovered zodiac, presenting a novel approach to magical rituals. It presents specific timings for spells to be performed, amongst them ones that deal with the lilu and ardat-lili.(Spells/rituals for) the lilû demon; with the Stars (Pleiades in (micro)-Taurus) or with the Scales ((micro)-Libra)

(Spells/rituals for) the ardat lilî demon; with the Stars (Pleiades in (micro)-Taurus), or with the Twins ((micro)-Gemini), or with Pabilsag ((micro)-Sagittarius).

(Spells/rituals for) lilû (and) ardat lilî demons; with Pabilsag ((micro)-Sagittarius).Tablet STT ii, 30012–13: If on Month 4 …; on Day 12, in order to remove lilû (and) ardat lilî demons; … make (spells/rituals), and it will be well. 9–11: If on Month …; on Day 12, ( for) 'cutting off the breath' and in order to remove lilû (and) ardat lilî demons; make (spells/rituals), and it will be well …Tablet SpTU v, 2433–4: [(Spells/rituals for) lilû and] ardat lilî demons; with … (or) with the Stars (Pleiades in (micro)-Taurus). 4′–5′: (Spells/rituals for) sorcery, 'cutting off the breath,' lilû and ardat lilî demons; with Pabilsag ((micro)-Sagittarius).

Magical Corpus In Akkadian literature hlilu occurs.Deliver Me from Evil: Mesopotamian Incantations, 2500-1500 BC - Page 149 Graham Cunningham - 1997 "Partly or wholly bilingual incantations in the Old Babylonian period (continued)Text 313: Geller 1989 text An, Malluhi, Directed against witchcraft PBS 1/2 122 b Enki, Utu Features divine dialogue" (partly bilingual) In Sumerian literature lili occurs.Deliver Me from Evil: Mesopotamian Incantations, 2500-1500 BC - Page 177 Graham Cunningham - 1997 "This is particularly the case in Sumerian incantations, with only two of the daimons specified in Sumerian texts being mentioned in Akkadian incantations, Lamastu and to a lesser degree Ardat Lili. In contrast to the Sumerian attribution " Dating of specific Akkadian, Sumerian, and Babylonian texts mentioning lilu (masculine), lilitu (female) and ardat-lili (female) are haphazard. In older scholarship, such as R. Campbell Thompson's The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia (1904), specific text references are rarely given. An exception is K156 which mentions an ardat lili.Thompson p.XXXVIII Heinrich Zimmern (1917) tentatively identified vardat lilitu KAT3, 459 as paramour of lilu.Akkadische Fremdwörter als Beweis für babylonischen Kultureinfluß. Leipzig, 1917Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur - Page 76 James Alan Montgomery - 2011 "So in the Talmud they dwell in the beams and crevices, the cesspools, etc.,52 even as in Greek magic demons 45 Acc. to Zimmern, KAT3, 459 = paramour of lilu. Better Thompson. (Devils, etc., i, p. xxxvii, Semitic Magic, 65), who regards the ..."

Anti-Witchcraft Corpus Texts of Group Eight: CEREMONIAL RITUALS FOR UNDOING WITCHCRAFT

Sumerian Incantations Against a Demonic Witch1 The evil one (variant: Evil storm), evil eye, child of destruction,

[Akk.:] The lilītum-demon, whose e[ye is evil, … ],

2 roaming with witchcraft (and) magic, she is flitting about like a male lil-demon.

[Akk.:] witchcraft (and) magic are roa[ming, … ].Ghosts, Gods and Witches108 'hand-of-a-human', the lilû-demon, the lilītu-demon, [the ardat-lilî-demon],

208 or the lilû-demon, or the lilītu-demon, or the ardat lilî-demonA collection of Anti-Witchcraft Rites Closely Related to Maqlû35 [The lilû-demon, the lilītu-demon (and) the ardat lilî-demon] you have caused to seize me. 36 [May the lilû-demon, the lilītu-demon (and) the ardat lilî-demon] seize you!A parallel to Maqlû II 52-5814" or the aḫḫ[āzu-demon], [or the lilû-demon, or the lilītu-demon, or]

15" the ardat-[lilî-demon], [or]

16" the liʾb[u]-disease [of the mountain], [or bennu-epilepsy, the semen of]

17" Šulpa[ea, ...]

Maqlû

Tablet I137 Lamaštu, labāṣu (disease), ahhāzu-jaundice,

138 lilû, lilītu, ardat-lilî,

139 And any evil that seizes mankind,

140 Melt, dissolve, drip ever away!Tablet II51 Who have given me over to a dead man, who have made me experience hardship

52 Be it an evil utukku-demon, be it an evil alû-demon,

53 Be it an evil ghost, be it an evil (demonic) constable,

54 Be it an evil god, be it an evil lurker-demon,

55 Be it Lamaštu, be it labāṣu (disease), be it ahhāzu-jaundice,

56 Be it lilû, be it lilītu, be it ardat-lilî,

61 Be it Hand-of-a-ghost-disease, be it Hand-[of-a-curse]-disease,

62 Be it Hand-of-mankind-disease, be it young Lamaštu, the daughter of AnuTablet V67 lilû, lilītu, (and) ardat-lilî you have caused to seize me: May lilû, lilītu, (and) ardat-lilî seize you.

Utukkū Lemnūtu (Udug-Hul) The incantations, known in Sumerian as Udug-Hul and in Akkadian as Utukkū Lemnūtu were used to treat patients from illnesses caused by evil demons. The lilu, lilitu and ardat-lili are mentioned across most tablets, frequently together with Lamashtu and other demons. The text is translated by Markham J. Geller, whose translation of lilitu and ardat-lili varies, as he sometimes prefers to translate them as Lilith.

The lil-demons are mentioned on Tablets: 1 (lines 62, 79-81), 2 (65), 3 (114, 119, 140), 4 (131), 5 (ardat-lili incantation), 6 (50-51, 59-60), 9 (87), 10 (17-19, 32-34, 60-62), 11 (4, 16), 13-15 (138, 179, 223), and 16 (170).

Relationship to Hebrew Lilith and lilin Judit M. Blair wrote a thesis on the relation of the Akkadian word lilu, or its cognates, to the Hebrew word lilith in Isaiah 34:14, which is thought to be a night bird.Blair J. M. De-demon. ising the Old Testament: An Investigation of Azazel The Babylonian concept of lilu may be more strongly related to the later Talmudic concept of Lilith (female) and lilin (male); ). In Jewish mythology, Lilin is a term for night spirits. In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, lilin come from the desert and they are similar to shedim.

See also Ahhazu Ardat-lilî Labasu Lamashtu Lilith Lilin Nocnitsa Incubus Succubus

Notes

References