Legend Has It: The Legend of Lilith
11/01/2004
Patricia Guillory, Brandy Landry and Shanna Poche
For centuries Lilith, the Queen of the Night, has been blamed when a child or man dies without certain cause or when a woman refuses to be submissive to her husband. While the Legend of Lilith is not widely known today, it is not difficult to find information about the demoness. However, there are slight variations found from story to story. Here we will focus on the myth as found in Hebrew mythology, and we will particularly emphasize the similarities seen between Lilith and various vampires seen in literature today.
The Hebrew figure of Lilith was actually borrowed from Babylonian and Syrian myths. Lilitu was a Babylonian demon and a spirit of the night and of storms. Lamassu was a Sumerian goddess and the daughter of Anu, the god of Heaven. It is believed that Lilith is a combination of these two demons from earlier legends. However, for the purpose of our study, we will focus on the legend of Lilith found in Hebrew scriptures.
According to Hebrew scriptures, Lilith was Eves predecessor and therefore, the first wife of Adam. However, there are two variations on the Hebrew creation myth. The first states that God made man and woman out of the same material (earth or clay), at the same time, thus the two beings were equals in every way. The alternative version of this myth states that Adam was made of clay while Lilith was made of dirt and filth. However, regardless of her origin, the remainder of the myth proceeds much the same way.
Legends states when it was time for the two to have sexual intercourse, Adam insisted that Lilith take the more submissive position. This angered her and in frustration she called out the sacred and secret name of Yahweh. She was then granted wings and flew away. At Adams request, God sent three angels, named Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, in search of Lilith to return her to the Garden of Eden. They found her in the company of demons near the Red Sea, but she refused to return to Adam. She was punished by God to give birth to thousands of deformed offspring, called lilim, a hundred of which would die per day. Upset by her punishment, she throws herself into the Red Sea. The three angels take pity on her and give her power over all newborn children. She has power of life or death over male children for eight days after which they are circumcised and over female children for twenty days. She was also given power over children born out of wedlock for an undetermined about of time. However, Lilith promised to spare children who had an amulet with the likeness and/or names of the angels in their rooms.
Lilith is not mentioned by name in the Authorized Version of the Bible. In Isaiah 34:14, she is referenced only as a screech owl who rests among the wild beasts of the island. In the Revised Version, she is called the night-hag. She is also assumed to be the Queen of Sheba, Abrahams concubine Hagar, and one of the two women seeking Solomons wisdom over the custody of an infant. It is also possible that she could be Zipporah, a winged and clawed creature, who was Moses first wife. The Gnostic Mandeans, who have their origin with John the Baptist, believe that Lilith was Zahriel, the daughter of the King and Queen of the Underworld. According to their teachings, she is married to the Son of Light and their offspring have knowledge of both Heaven and Hell. In the Gnostic tradition, she is not a demon who preys on children, but a kindly woman who comes to women during childbirth and comforts them. Most importantly, however, Lilith is known as the Queen of the Succubi. This means she is known to seduce and couple with any man who is alone in his bed at night. She takes their semen and blood and sucks out their energy. It is easy to see how this implies that she is the first known vampire. It is impossible to overlook the similarities seen between Lilith and various vampires in literature.
Common themes amongst female vampires are that they are beautiful, sensual, and bisexual. Unlike their male counterparts, it is not supernatural powers, which make them dangerous but these characteristics of raw beauty and seduction. These are characteristics mortal women may possess, but vampires thrive on. Beauty is an attribute that empowers female vampires because it allows man and women to trust them. Beauty lures the female vampires victimtheir power lies in their ability to seduce both sexes. They enjoy sex, and do so with either man or woman. In some ways, this makes them even more powerful. In many of the texts reviewed this semester, there are similarities between female vampires and Lilith.
In Le Fanus Carmilla, the vampire is able to intrude upon Laura and her family using her beauty alone. Carmilla demands a level of intimacy with Laura that leads Laura to question if Carmilla may really be a man disguised as a woman who wants to pursue her. This hint to bisexuality implies that Carmilla, being sexually insatiable by only men, must pursue woman as well. Lilith could not be sexually satisfied by Adam, and found satisfaction elsewhere after she was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. The fact that Carmilla was mistaken for a man is also comparable to Lilith. Lilith was equal to Adam and would not submit to him. In society, when a woman does not play the role of the weaker sex, she is comparable to a man. She is resented because she is supposedly trying to be male.
In Christabel and Geraldine, the vampire Geraldine feeds on emotions. In Christabel, Geraldine preys upon Christabel and her fathers vulnerability. In Geraldine, Geraldine feeds upon the emotion of her victim. She takes away the feelings the victim had towards the father of her child, whether the emotions are good or bad. In both stories, Geraldine is able to allure her victims through her sexuality and beauty. They are attracted to her because of this indescribable beauty. In Geraldine, Geraldine feeds upon Chris during homosexual intercourse; the vampires nourishment is the victims unborn child. This is identical to the belief that Lilith also feeds upon very young children.
In The Hunger, Miriam is the creator and destroyer. She creates vampires, then gets rid of them by placing them in boxes when they age. When she creates a vampire, it is as if they are her children. When they age, she gets rid of them as Lilith destroyed her own children. During the bedroom scene between Sara and Miriam, Sara looks boyish with her short hair and Miriam is seen as the more feminine of the two. However, Miriam is the lead throughout this intimate scene. This equates to how Lilith is female, yet wanted to have the lead role during intercourse with Adam.
Lastly, in Bram Stokers Dracula, Lucy is almost the complete embodiment of Lilith. Lucy possesses the qualities of being beautiful and sexy like other female vampires. She is very promiscuous, not being satisfied by just one mans proposal but three. Lucy is also extremely feminine, yet this is where her power lies. She is unable to care for herself, but the men who love her cater to her every need throughout her illness. When she becomes a vampire, she becomes much stronger and instead uses her femininity to attract prey. Like Lilith, the vampire Lucy is strong, powerful, and only feeds on children.
After examining the similarities between Lilith and other female vampires, it is easy to see the connection. The legend of Lilith states that she was the first woman to ever walk the earth. After her exile from the Garden of Eden, she was doomed to forever prey on newborn children and suck the blood and life fluids from men. For this reason, she is the earliest known force of evil, thus making her the perfect image of the mother of all vampires.
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