mammon

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adoration of Mammon (painting by Evelyn De Morgan )

Mammon is originally a dishonestly acquired gain or immorally invested wealth , for example when it becomes a life-determining maxim . Today, the term disparaging is used to describe money in general ("disgraceful mammon"). In a broader sense, Mammon means "that which you trust".

term

The term is known from its mention in the Bible :

“No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You can not serve God and mammon."

- Mt 6.24  Lut

The word Mammon is originally derived from the Aramaic word מָמוֹן mamon or in the status emphaticus מָמוֹנָא mamona 'fortune', 'possession'. The derivation from the Aramaic אמן ˀmn 'object of trust' is considered dubious. The word found its way into the Bible via its Greek spelling μαμωνάς mamonás , in the Vulgate it became Latin mam [m] ona . The spelling with double consonants μαμμωνᾶς can only be found in one tradition of the Gospel of Matthew and is probably wrong. Martin Luther did not translate the word and so it came into German as Mammon from the 16th century. The result was that Mammon in popular belief and literature as the personification of wealth to a demon was the man to avarice and greed seduced.

Mammon in literature, film and theater

The mammon and his slave , Sascha Schneider , 1896

The demon Mammon, who seduces people to be greedy , appears as personified wealth in the play Jedermann . As such, he is also represented in the humorous, macabre pen & paper role-playing game about heaven and hell "In Nomine" by Steve Jackson Games . In 1667 published epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton is Mammon one of the fallen angels under Satan turn lead against God.

In the film Constantine , the son of Satan is called "Mammon". In the comic series Spawn by the American Todd McFarlane, the character of Mammon plays the role of the underground puller. He is depicted as a man in a white suit with three scars above his left eye. In the cartoon series DuckTales , Dagobert Duck uses the expression "Holy Mammon!" Relatively often in the German dubbing when he is surprised. In the video game Chrono Trigger a device called the Mammon Machine appears, which was developed by a high culture in 12,000 BC. Was built to bring vast amounts of energy from the interior of the planet to the surface and to help the people to unlimited power and wealth. In the video game and anime Umineko no Naku Koro ni , Mammon appears as one of the "Seven Sisters of Purgatory".

In the children's book Der satanarchaeolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch by Michael Ende , Mammon is mentioned as the "Infernal Finance Minister".

Mammon is also the name of a three-part Norwegian political and media thriller that wasbroadcast on ARD at the beginning of 2015.

literature

  • Jochen Weiß: Mammon. A motif story on the religiosity of money. Dissertation, University of Mannheim 2004 ( E-Text )

Web links

Wiktionary: Mammon  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. a b Emil Kautzsch : Grammar of Biblical Aramaic . With a critical discussion of the Aramaic words in the New Testament. FCW Vogel publisher, Leipzig 1884, p. 10 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  2. Mammon . In: Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon 1894–1896, Volume 11, p. 537.
  3. a b Strong's Greek: 3126. μαμωνᾶς (mamónas) - riches. Retrieved February 10, 2018 .
  4. Strong G3126 (Unrevised Elberfeld translation from 1905 with Strongs) - Study Bible :: bibelkommentare.de. Retrieved September 22, 2019 .
  5. A fine spider web of deceit and lies on Stern.de, January 1, 2015