Ardat-lilî

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Ardat-lilî (

Old Babylonian period
. References to her are also known from other genres of texts.

Name

In addition to the standard form ardat-lilî, the variant wardat-lilîm appears in

folk etymologies it additionally came to be connected with Akkadian lilâtu, "night".[5]

Ardat-lilî was also known under the Sumerian version of her name, kisikillilla or kisikillillaenna.[1] However, Markham J. Geller notes that in bilingual incantations kisikillilla corresponds to a different demon, lilītu, while the Sumerian translation of ardat-lilî used in them kisikil-uddakarra, "maiden who the storm demon chose".[6] However, this convention is not followed in an Old Babylonian lexical list, where kisikil uddakarra is given as the Sumerian name of a different demon, pāšittum.[7][a] Despite phonetic similarities, the theonym Kilili is not related to kisikillila.[10][b]

Character

While demons were typically less well defined than

lilû ("male phantom") and possibly naššuqītu ("phantom kisser").[15] Additionally, Pazuzu was referred to as the king of the lil.[16][c]

The lil demons were believed to be the ghosts of young people who died sexually unfulfilled.[4] Incantations focused on ardat-lilî accordingly describe her as a being who has never had sex, never got married and as a result had no family.[19] A single incantation additionally states that while still alive, ardat-lilî was unable to partake in a festival (isinnu) alongside other girls, which according to Julia Krul is most likely an allusion to a specific unidentified event which was focused on young women, as opposed to a general reference to religious celebrations.[20]

Ardat-lilî was believed to typically target young men, acting as a demonic seductress.[21] Her role can be compared to that of a succubus.[22] In a number of cases, exorcism formulas prescribe a mock marriage as a solution to problems caused by her.[23]

No evidence exists for any association between ardat-lilî and children.[24]

Attestations

Incantations

Incantations dealing with ardat-lilî were already known in the

Old Babylonian period.[21] The standard texts are bilingual, with Sumerian and Akkadian versions of the same formula listed side by side.[25] One of the early examples places her in the entourage of Erra.[24]

Ardat-lilî is also mentioned in incantations from the series

utukku and alû.[30]

Ardat-lilî appears alongside

lilû and lilītu in an incantation targeting mimma lemnu,[31] "any evil", a personification of a formula referring to any possible cause of harm which has befallen a person.[13] Specific well known demons and illnesses are singled out as possible sources, but the cause ultimately remains undefined.[32] The formula was originally written in the seventh century by Nabû-kabti-aḫḫēšu, an exorcist from the temple of Ashur in Assur.[13] Later copies have been discovered during excavations of Uruk and Babylon as well.[33]

References to ardat-lilî have also been identified in medical incantations.

skin disease, a type of fever, or as a reference to an unidentified bodily fluid.[36]

Other genres of texts

An

astrological text from Sultantepe indicates that the twelfth day of the month was believed to be particularly suitable for performing rituals meant to ward off ardat-lilî.[37]

Under her Sumerian name kisikillila, ardat-lilî appears in the composition Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld.[5][21] It belonged to the curriculum of Old Babylonian scribal schools, and as a result is well documented in the archeological record, with seventy four copies recovered as of 2014.[38] Kisikillila is described in it as one of the three beings Gilgamesh has to drive away from the ḫalub tree planted by Inanna.[39] While part of the narrative was later translated into Akkadian and incorporated into the Epic of Gilgamesh, the section dealing with the ḫalub tree was not, possibly due to thematically overlapping with the myth of the cedar forest.[40]

Disputed or disproved examples

The Burney Relief.

In the past identification of the figure depicted on the

Mesopotamian art.[43] Such figures would generally be destroyed as a part of the ceremony.[44]

While it has been suggested that a passage in the Old Babylonian hymn to Ishtar preserved on the tablet AO 6035 might refer to the eponymous deity as the mistress of ardat-lilî or another similarly named demon, Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman conclude that the word līlu, "evening", is meant instead.[45]

Notes

  1. ^ This name is commonly translated as "exterminator" or "obliterating one" due to being most likely derived from the Akkadian verb pašāṭum, "to erase".[8] In another lexical list its Sumerian equivalent is KA-im-ma.[9]
  2. ^ While the being designated by this name could be regarded as a demon, she belonged to the category of demonic animals, possibly representing a demonized owl.[11]
  3. utukku, lil and KAMAD.[17] The last of them is distinct from the lil and encompasses Lamashtu and related figures like aḫḫazu and labāṣu.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiggermann 2011, p. 320.
  2. ^ Farber 1989, p. 14.
  3. ^ a b Verderame 2013, p. 125.
  4. ^ a b c Wiggermann 2011, p. 311.
  5. ^ a b Farber 1987, p. 23.
  6. ^ Geller 1988, pp. 7–8.
  7. ^ Wagensonner 2020, p. 54.
  8. ^ Wagensonner 2020, p. 55.
  9. ^ Wagensonner 2020, p. 57.
  10. ^ Wiggermann 2007, p. 112.
  11. ^ Wiggermann 2011, p. 315.
  12. ^ Wiggermann 2011, p. 307.
  13. ^ a b c Schwemer 2020, p. 141.
  14. ^ Verderame 2013, p. 124.
  15. ^ Wiggermann 2011, pp. 311–312.
  16. ^ a b Wiggermann 2011, p. 312.
  17. ^ Schmidtchen 2021, p. 143.
  18. ^ Schmidtchen 2021, pp. 148–149.
  19. ^ Geller 1988, pp. 14–15.
  20. ^ Krul 2018, p. 231.
  21. ^ a b c Gadotti 2014, p. 256.
  22. ^ Schmidtchen 2021, p. 266.
  23. ^ Geller 2015, p. 165.
  24. ^ a b c Farber 1987, p. 24.
  25. ^ Geller 1988, p. 7.
  26. ^ Geller 2015, p. 11.
  27. ^ Geller 2015, p. 5.
  28. ^ Geller 2015, p. 229.
  29. ^ Geller 2015, p. 214.
  30. ^ Geller 2015, p. 215.
  31. ^ Schwemer 2020, p. 150.
  32. ^ Schwemer 2020, p. 153.
  33. ^ Schwemer 2020, p. 142.
  34. ^ Schmidtchen 2021, p. 144.
  35. ^ Schmidtchen 2021, p. 148.
  36. ^ Steinert 2018, pp. 267–268.
  37. ^ Wee 2016, p. 208.
  38. ^ Gadotti 2014, p. 1.
  39. ^ Gadotti 2014, p. 40.
  40. ^ Gadotti 2014, p. 2.
  41. ^ Wiggermann 2007, p. 113.
  42. ^ Wiggermann 2011, p. 308.
  43. ^ Wiggermann 2011, p. 309.
  44. ^ Wiggermann 2011, pp. 309–310.
  45. ^ Streck & Wasserman 2018, p. 32.

Bibliography

External links

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