Image Details

Erich Lessing

LILITH. In early Mesopotamian traditions, Lilith demons were thought to roam the earth, attacking birthing mothers and their infants. Later, in the medieval period, Lilith is identified as the rebellious first wife of Adam as the serpent in Michelangelo’s painting of the Temptation on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Two of the five known Aramaic incantation skulls make reference to Lilith: A skull at the University of Pennsylvania refers to “Liliths” in the plural and a skull at the Berlin Museum mentions the son and grandsons of the demoness.