Mesopotamian Origins

Although her most well-known tale comes from rabbinic literature, Lilith was by no means a Jewish invention. Instead, Lilith, her name, and numerous aspects of her character were merely adopted from surrounding Middle Eastern mythology–which witnessed its own evolution in depictions of Lilith from a vampiric demoness to a nocturnal deity. However, Lilith’s assimilation into Jewish and later Abrahamic doctrines (and her evolution therein) represents the opposite trend: A shift away from female divinity due to patriarchal religious ideology, along with the vilification of any aspect of womanhood that did not directly benefit men or or female sexuality outside domestic life.

The earliest iterations of Lilith appear to come from the Sumerian class of sexual demons known as the Lilû (feminine form: Lilitu). In Tablet XII of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the story Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree (ca. 2000 BCE), Lilith appears as a "shrieking" vampiric demoness who destroys the Huluppu tree and flees to the desert after Gilgamesh slays the serpent-dragon:

“And the dark maid Lilith built her home in the [Huluppu] trunk…

Gilgamesh struck the serpent who could not be charmed.

The Anzu-bird flew with his young to the mountains;

And Lilith smashed her home and fled to the wild, uninhabited places.”

Tablet XII (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Tablet XII (Epic of Gilgamesh), 1st millennium BCE, Clay, Several pieces, London, The British Museum, Creative Commons 4.0.

A few centuries later, the Mesopotamian Lilith gained divine status–possibly inspired by the Canaanites who had always called her Baalat or “Divine Lady.” The clay tablet known as the Burney Relief or “The Queen of the Night” (pictured to the right) depicts this iteration of Lilith as she was believed to appear to the human eye:

Burney Relief / The Queen of the Night

Burney Relief/The Queen of the Night, 18th-19th century BCE, Fired clay, 4.80 cm x 37 cm x 49.50 cm., London, The British Museum, Creative Commons 4.0.

“She is slender, well-shaped, beautiful and nude, with wings and owl-feet. She stands erect on two reclining lions which are turned away from each other and are flanked by owls. On her head she wears a cap embellished by several pairs of horns. In her hands she holds a ring-and-rod combination. Evidently, this is no longer a lowly she-demon, but a goddess who tames wild beasts and, as shown by the owls on the reliefs, rules by night.” (Patai 222)

Amulet with a Lamashtu demon

Amulet with a Lamashtu demon, ca. early 1st millennium BCE, Obsidian, 2 1/4 in × 1 13/16 in × 3/8 in., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain.

Divine Inspirations

The well-known Lilith from Jewish folklore was most likely borrowed from these Mesopotamian characterizations. Before that, however, some scholars argue Lilith was adapted from the primordial Mesopotamian goddess Belili, while others claim her character resembles that of Ishtar or Lamashtu. The sexual and demonic aspects of Lilith’s later adaptations likely come from a combination of Ishtar, a renowned seductress as the Sumerian goddess of love, passion, and sexuality, and Lamashtu, a Sumerian mother goddess associated with kidnapping and consuming newborns.

The obsidian amulet pictured to the left was created to protect against the demoness Lamashtu, who is still referred to as “exalted lady” illustrating her divine status. Like the Burney Relief, the goddess is depicted with animal features (lion arms, for example) and adult animals at her feet.

Part of Tablet VI (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Part of Tablet VI (Epic of Gilgamesh), 7th century BCE, Clay, 13 cm x 2.54 cm x 14 cm., London, The British Museum, Creative Commons 4.0.

Tablet VI of The Epic of Gilgamesh (pictured to the right) describes the scene in which Ishtar lusts after Gilgamesh and he rejects her marriage proposal. The hero is ultimately intimidated by Ishtar’s beauty and divinity, and is afraid of her because she is obsessive, prideful, and has inflicted horrible fates on past lovers that did her wrong.

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