Pazuzu

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Assyrian representation of Pazuzu in the Musée du Louvre from the 1st millennium BC Chr.

Pazuzu is originally a wind demon in Mesopotamian mythology from the 1st millennium BC. He introduces himself as the son of Ḫanpu. In his exorcistic and apotropaic function he appears as an opponent of the demon Lamaštu .

etymology

The origin of the name Pazuzu is unclear. Various theories about its origin have been developed.

A possible origin for the name Pazuzu lies in the Aramaic root pzz ("ready to move, be flexible"), which shows its relationship to the west wind, which is characterized in the representations mainly by its mobility. If the name is derived from the Babylonian word pessû ("dwarf"), this indicates that it belongs to the apotropaic dwarf figures from Babylonia and Egypt . A connection to the name of the Egyptian god Bes is also possible.

Based on the spelling Pa-sa-su , his name may have originated from the Akkadian verb pasāsu ("to destroy") and thus be a reference to its destructive power as a cold wind.

iconography

The common iconography of Pazuzu is characterized by the combination of animal, fantastic and human features.

His head has a basic human shape, which is provided with an angular, comb-like superstructure on the flat top of the skull and animal features. The nose is shown as a flattened dog's snout, to which a closed mouth with raised corners of the mouth connects. Flashing through the teeth, especially four fangs in the front of the mouth, creates a malicious grimace. Sometimes a small part of the tongue can also be seen in the images. He also has a straight cheekbone and a pointed goatee. The eyes, highlighted by bulging eyebrows, are usually shown as round and open. Human ears are also a common trait for Pazuzu. There are goat-like horns above the head, which converge at the back of the head. These start either between the eyes or above them. The neck is decorated with horizontal lines.

The body resembles a long, thin and upright dog with visible costal arches and a vertical bulge in the chest area. In addition to human arms and shoulders, animal-like thighs, predatory paws and bird-like feet as well as a scorpion tail and erect phallus with a snake's head are common. His posture is upright, while his right paw is documented raised like a claw and the left hangs down. Pazuzu is represented with four wings or a pair of wings.

Various features of the body iconography of Pazuzu can be proven earlier for other hybrid beings and demons. There are parallels to the lion demon (including bodies with protruding ribs) and to depictions of scorpion people. Furthermore, features of the body can be associated with earlier versions of the west wind, such as the wings and bird characteristics as a representation of moving air and the scorpion features associated with the west wind. The iconographic features of the head, on the other hand, can hardly be traced back to previous forms and thus suddenly appear in their standardization and attention to detail. Therefore, an extra-Mesopotamian influence seems likely, especially the reference to depictions of the Egyptian god Bes .

history

Dating

The idea of ​​the Pazuzu is due to figurative findings and the mention in texts in the 1st millennium BC. To date. The representations were certainly from the second half of the 8th century BC. In use until the Seleucid period .

distribution

The distribution of Pazuzu representations extends from Babylonia through Assyria to outside Mesopotamia . Most of the finds, however, were recorded in Babylonia. However, this does not allow any final conclusions to be drawn about its distribution. Due to the decline of the Assyrian state in the 7th century BC The possibility of a production on the same scale as that of the Babylonians was not given. The area of ​​origin is probably in Mesopotamia, because texts on the demon were only found there.

Research history

In 1873, François Lernomant described a Pazu figure for the first time in a publication and interpreted its inscription, after individual collector's items had already been published without more specific explanations. He recognized in him a demon of the southwest wind, whom he equated with the Ḫamsin . In a Lamaštu amulet published a little later, the god Nergal was assumed to be in Pazuzu . It was only Karl Frank in 1909 who identified the demon's name as Pazuzu . In his 1965 work, Roger Moorey compared numerous previously published representations and tried to systematically describe the iconography. After Rykle Borger presented the reconstruction of a detailed evocation of Pacu from Nineveh in 1987 , Pascal Charlier questioned the interpretation of the demon as embodied heat wind for the first time in 1992 and responded by identifying it as a cold wind.

mythology

Pazuzu looks over a Lamashtu incantation plaque. Lamashtu plaque 9163

Pazuzu received its mythological function as a modification of the personification of one of the four winds from the Bronze Age. Research diverges as to whether this is the east or west wind. As a descendant of one of these two, he is king and ruler of the wind spirits as well as a traveler. With his function as a protective house ghost , he succeeds Ḫuwawa . This and the westerly wind were already connected in a westerly direction through their common homeland, which is not specified. As the demon Lamaštu gained in importance and power , a figure was necessary that combined the characteristics of both figures. Pazuzu received his exorcistic and apotropaic properties, which were primarily attributed to his head, in order to act as a potent opponent to Lamaštu and to protect people. This connection is supported by various finds, because Lamaštu amulets often also show a Pazuzu representation. The conflict between the two is described in some ritual texts by Uruk .

In Akkadian incantations, Pazuzu is also described as a destructive cold wind from the east. This explained extreme temperature fluctuations and severe cold spells in Mesopotamia .

The wind demon Pazuzu was called to help in healing rituals to exorcise other disease demons . The patient kept himself z. B. a depiction of Pazuzu over the head. If this was not possible for him, he was helped by the healer. As soon as the harmful demon saw Pazuzu, he let go of the sick man, who was then able to recover.

As an apotropaion , larger Pazuzu representations were placed in the living area opposite the entry points of evil demons in order to drive them away. Smaller versions, especially of the head, can be found on amulets, seals and fibulas. Its connection with the last two objects in particular shows the great importance that was attached to it. Because for safe protection it was necessary to permanently wear a Pazuzu representation.

swell

Incantation texts about the actions of Pazuzu were found on the heads of Pazuzu as well as on clay tablets . Two of the incantations appear frequently and are therefore referred to as standard inscription A and standard inscription B.

Standard inscription A (Sumerian-Akkadian)

Transcription:

102 én gá-e d Pá-zu-zu dumu d H̬a-an-ba lugal-líl-lá-h̬ul-a-me̬š
103 anāku d Pazuzu mār d H̬anbi šār lilê lemnūti
104 ḫur-sag-ta kalag-ga mu- un-ḫuš / ba-an-ḫuš ba-ab-e 11 -dè gá-e-me-en
105 ana šadî danni uštarībi ēlâšu anāku
106 im-e-ne-ne lú šà-bi gin-na im-mar- tu igi-ne-ne ba-an-gar
107 šārī ša ina libbīšu attalku ana Amurri pānūšu šaknū
108 dili-e-ne pa-e-ne-ne ba-an-ḫaš
109 iltēnû izrīšunu ušabbir

Translation:

102 f. Conjuration: I am Pazuzu, the son of H̬anbu, the king (s) of the evil Lilû demons (wind demons),
104 f. I climbed the mighty mountain, which trembled, myself.
106 f. The winds under which (or: against which) I walked were set their direction to the west,
108 f. I broke their wings one by one.

Use in modern times

Baphomet after a fantasy by Éliphas Lévi - illustration in his work Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1854)

Pazuzu is also the name of the demon who takes possession of a young girl in the movie The Exorcist . One of the first shots also shows a statue of him. This statue was later reused by the band Gorillaz .

In the second volume of the comic series Adele's unusual adventures by the French cartoonist Jacques Tardi , a bizarre Pazuzu cult in Paris is revealed shortly before the First World War. One of Batman's opponents in the No Man's Land storyline by Dino Comics from 2000 is also called Pazuzu .

In the animated series Futurama Professor Hubert Farnsworth creates a living, flying gargoyles ( Gargoyle ), who in the name Pazuzu hear.

Likewise, a short story ( Treehouse of Horror XXVIII , Season 29) from The Simpsons deals with a wind demon named Pazuzu .

The name Pazuzu is also picked up by the Polish death metal band Behemoth as a title on the album The Apostasy .

Éliphas Lévis Baphomet is said to be based on Pazuzu, among other things, which is evident from the position of his arms and wings.

The name Pazuzu also appears in the current Perry Rhodan novel cycle and describes an artificial intelligence based on nanotechnology , which appears as a "genie in a bottle".

literature

  • Frans AM Wiggermann: Pazuzu. In: Dietz Otto von Edzard, Michael P. Streck (eds.): Panzer plant science. (= Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. Volume 10). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, ISBN 3-11-017980-6 , pp. 372-381.
  • Frans AM Wiggermann: The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuzu. In: Claus Wilcke (ed.): The spiritual understanding of the world in the ancient Orient. Language, religion, culture and society. Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 3-447-05518-9 , pp. 125-167.
  • Nils P. Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Tzvi Abusch, Ann K. Guinan (Ed.): Ancient magic and divination (Volume 4). Brill-Styx, Leiden / Boston / Cologne 2002, ISBN 90-04-12386-5 .

Web links

Commons : Pazuzu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wiggermann: Pazuzu . In: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. tape 10 : Panzer Herbalism , No. 5-6 , 2004, ISBN 3-11-017980-6 , pp. 375 .
  2. ^ A b Wiggermann: The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuzu . In: The spiritual understanding of the world in the ancient Orient. Language, religion, culture and society . 2007, p. 136 .
  3. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 80 .
  4. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 79 .
  5. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 9-11 .
  6. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 20-21 .
  7. ^ Wiggermann: The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuzu. In: The spiritual understanding of the world in the ancient Orient. Language, religion, culture and society. 2007, p. 131 .
  8. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 21-22 .
  9. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 32-33 .
  10. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 35-36 .
  11. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 2-3 .
  12. ^ Wiggermann: The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuzu. In: The spiritual understanding of the world in the ancient Orient. Language, religion, culture and society. 2007, p. 125 .
  13. ^ Wiggermann: The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuzu. In: The spiritual understanding of the world in the ancient Orient. Language, religion, culture and society. 2007, p. 134 .
  14. ^ Wiggermann: Pazuzu . In: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. tape 10 : Panzer Herbalism , No. 5-6 , 2004, ISBN 3-11-017980-6 , pp. 372-373 .
  15. ^ Wiggermann: Pazuzu . In: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. tape 10 : Panzer Herbalism , No. 5-6 , 2004, ISBN 3-11-017980-6 , pp. 374 .
  16. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 68-69 .
  17. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 52 .
  18. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 51 .
  19. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 57 .
  20. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 59 .
  21. ↑ Heeßel: Pazuzu. Archaeological and philological studies on an ancient oriental demon. In: Ancient magic and divination. tape 4 , 2002, p. 62 .
  22. ^ Wiggermann: Pazuzu . In: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology. tape 10 : Panzer Herbalism , No. 5-6 , 2004, ISBN 3-11-017980-6 , pp. 374 .