The Mythology of Supernatural

by Nathan Robert Brown

  Judea may have actually been a brief safe haven for Lilith’s expelled followers. However, it would soon become a very dangerous place for any religious group aside from the YHVH cult (now known as Judaism). During the time of the young King Josiah’s reign, between 641 BCE and 609 BCE, the ruler of Judea began to strictly enforce the religion of the monotheistic YHVH cult. As part of this “religious reform,” Josiah went on a bloody campaign of persecution in which he had the temples of all non-YHVH cults razed to the ground, their idols smashed, altars burned, and priests and priestesses executed. Needless to say, any remaining members of the Lilith cult would have suddenly found themselves in a terribly frightening and dangerous situation. As can be rather easily deduced from noncanonical Judaic writings about Lilith, she was mythically declared an enemy of YHVH and by association all of Judea. This likely encouraged the demonized form of the Lilith of Eden, which will be discussed in the next section of this chapter.

  What of the other followers of the Lilith cult, however? What became of them? No one knows for sure, but there are linguistic clues that suggest Lilith may have been reborn elsewhere, transformed by the culture groups who came into contact with her loyalist exiles. This is where things get really interesting.

  Lilith is known to have been referred to by three names in the dialects of the Sumer-Akkad region—Lilit (Sumerian), Lam (Akkad), and Kal (used in various East Mesopotamian dialects, mainly by those who resided on or near the eastern side of the Tigris River). These names are striking in their phonetic similarities to similar female mythical/religious figures among cultures that very well could have come into contact with the exiled followers of Lilith.

  You will read more details about Kali, the Hindu Dharma goddess of death, destruction, and pestilence, in chapter 9, but it is possible that this frightening goddess is one of Lilith’s later, non-Mesopotamian extensions.

  The idea that trade and sharing occurred between ancient Mesopotamia and the Hindu Kush was long thought impossible by modern scholars. However, all of that changed when an ancient cylinder seal portraying a row of tusked elephants was discovered among ancient Sumerian ruins. There was just one issue with this: elephants are not indigenous to ancient Mesopotamia. So the only way someone would know what an elephant looked like would be if either he or she traveled to the neighboring Hindi region and saw one or a Hindi caravan brought elephants to the area.

  The discovery of this seal stands as evidence that ancient trade routes were longer and far more developed than previously thought. This means that some form of passable route, likely used primarily by armed trading caravans, was in operation between the two countries. This also means that members of the exiled Lilith cult would have known of the route and perhaps chose to make new lives for themselves among the ancient Hindi culture groups, bringing with them their name for Lilith, a dark maiden who in their dialect was called Kal. As one will see in chapter 9 on ancient apocalyptic lore, Kali’s skin is said to be the color of night or darkness. In fact, Kali is called the Dark/Black One.

  Shortly before the time of its exile, the Lilith cult seems to have become integrated with that of a similar goddess named Lamashtu, who brought death and illness and had a thing for eating babies. This baby-killing element was likely modified by Hindi/Vedic myths, which claim that Kali was the first victim of infanticide.

  Lilith’s other name, Lam, may have further encouraged the confusion and integration between the Lilith and Lamashtu cults. Lam, likely from an Akkad dialect, may have been used by those of Lilith’s followers who traveled west to the Mediterranean coastal areas of Sidon and Judea. As mentioned earlier, a portion of these exiles were likely absorbed by the seafaring Phoenician culture group, taking to the waters of the Mediterranean and further spreading their influence to the Minoans of Crete and other ancient Greek peoples.

  Among the ruins of the Minoans, statues that depict a bare-breasted goddess/maiden holding snakes in both her hands have been excavated. Her posture bears similarities to reliefs and cylinder seal depictions that are believed to be of Lilith or Lamashtu. However, it is a Greek mythical figure who is of most interesting note—Lamia.

  Greek myth describes Lamia as having once been human. Depending on which version you are reading, she was once a queen of Libya, Egypt, or Persia (to the Greeks, Mesopotamia came to be known as Persia). For reasons that differ from one version of the myth to the next, she was cursed by being transformed into a monstrous creature. Some versions say she had an illegitimate child with Zeus, whose wrathful wife, Hera, cursed her with a lust for the flesh of babies and thus caused her to eat her own child. While there may be differing reasons for her curse, most of the elements about what she became are fairly consistent. Homicidally insane, Lamia drank the blood of men she seduced, stole unattended babies from their cribs and ate them (again with the baby eating!), and was generally unpleasant in just about every way imaginable. Sounds a lot like the Lilith in Supernatural, doesn’t she?

  Speaking of Lilith, she is still around (in mythological terms, at least). Sometimes revered, sometimes demonized, Lilith has stood the test of time unlike any other known mythical figure. With six thousand to eight thousand years of mythological tradition under her belt, it is unlikely that any mythical figure will ever be found who can match her in this regard, which seems rather ironic considering the lengths to which so many culture groups have gone throughout the centuries in their attempts to get rid of her. For the most part, we have the mystical and noncanonical traditions of Judaism to thank for Lilith’s preservation.

  LILITH OF EDEN

  Most people would probably say they know the Creation story. However, the standard version of this Judeo-Christian primal myth is likely an alteration of an older story that had some key differences. Why change it? Better yet, what was changed? The canonical version of the Eden story was likely changed for one very specific reason—to get rid of Lilith. Putting together how this happened requires a little detective work, however (you didn’t think this was going to be easy, did you?).

  Clues about Lilith’s role in the original Eden story can even be found in the Judeo-Christian version of the myth. In Genesis, for example, on the sixth day of God’s work, when the creation of humans is first mentioned, it is written, “Man and Woman, He created them.” This is sort of odd when you consider that Eve (commonly thought of as the “first woman”) doesn’t actually show up until later on in the myth, when God does the whole “rib trick” thing. So this raises a question—who was this woman in the initial “Man and Woman” verse, if not Eve? Long story short . . . it was Lilith.

  Many believe that evidence of Lilith’s presence was removed from the Judaic canon around the time it was written down. However, the myth had long been conveyed by way of an oral tradition. After all, altering a myth may change what people read, but it cannot change what they already know. Despite her removal from the canonical texts, Lilith’s name and stories survive in noncanonical texts such as the Zohar (or Book of Splendor), a text of the Judaic mystical practice of Kabala, and the Alpha Bet of Ben Sira.

  The Alpha Bet of Ben Sira (also known as the Alpha Beta text) is a medieval manuscript written by a Jewish mystic named Ben Sira. While the text covers a variety of topics, it has received the most attention for one particular story—a retelling of the Genesis myth, one that includes a character absent from the canonical Judeo-Christian texts. Lilith.

  No complete English translations of Ben Sira’s Alpha Bet exist, though a number of academic texts reference translated excerpts, especially when it comes to the Lilith story.

  The story goes that Ben Sira was serving as a mystic, adviser, and healer to a nobleman. When the nobleman’s young son fell terribly ill, he demanded that Ben Sira heal the boy. The mystic drew a magical symbol on the floor beneath where the boy slept. When the nobleman inquired as to the symbol’s meaning, most likely fearing that it was some dark magic, Ben Sira explained that it was a symbol to bar Lilith, a demon who brought illness and death to youn
g children. The nobleman inquired further, demanding to know the origins of this Lilith demon, and so Ben Sira wrote down the story. While minor details change from one English language telling of the story to the next, the basic plotline remains the same.

  The story, as told by Ben Sira, goes a little something like this:

  Lilith is formed from the Earth in the same manner as Adam (hence the confusing “Man and Woman, He created them” verse in Genesis). Problems arise between the two inhabitants of Eden almost immediately. More or less, their feud comes to a head when Adam demands to be on top of Lilith, in the “dominant position” during sex. Lilith refuses to obey. Adam flies into a rage and tries to force himself on her, but she escapes his attempt at rape by calling out God’s “Holy Name.” By doing so, Lilith is rescued from the attack by the hand of God and ascends from Eden. Her escape is short lived, however, and God insists that she return to Eden and “play nice” with Adam. In the presence of the Almighty himself, Lilith again refuses to obey even His orders. As punishment for rebelling against His demands, God casts Lilith from His divine presence and exiles her into the terrible wastelands that lie beyond the paradise of Eden. On top of this, He also curses Lilith with delivering one hundred stillborn babies each day. She wanders from Eden into the direction of what will later be known as the Sea of Reeds.

  In order that Lilith will be at least given a chance to repent of her rebellion (one has to admit, however, that agreeing to live with a guy who tried to rape you sounds less like rebellion and more like common sense), God sends three angels—Sanvi, Sansanvi, and Semangelaf—to offer her a chance to return to Eden, submit to the will of God, and be subservient to Adam. To put it simply, Lilith tells all three angels to shove it where the sun don’t shine. The exchange between Lilith and these three angels reveals a number of things about her. Most translations are in line with the following excerpt:

  God immediately sent three angels and told them: “Go and fetch Lilith; if she agrees to come, bring her, and if she does not, bring her by force.” The three angels went . . . and caught up with her at the Sea [the Red Sea, or Sea of Reeds], in the place where the Egyptians were destined to die. They seized her and said to her: “If you will agree to come, then come. If not, we shall drown you in the sea.” Lilith answered, “Darlings, I know myself that God created me only to afflict babies with fatal disease when they are eight days old; I shall have permission to harm them from their births until their eighth day of life and no longer when the baby is male; but when a baby is female, I shall have permission to afflict them for twelve days.” The angels, however, would not leave her alone, not until she swore by the name of God that wherever she saw their names or likenesses in a writing or amulet, she would not possess or afflict the baby. She swore, and they then left her immediately.

  This story is important because in a way it ties Lilith to her original huluppu tree myth. Ben Sira’s Lilith of Eden, much like her huluppu tree predecessor, flies away from the violent attack of a male figure. In Ben Sira’s tale, however, she is fleeing from Adam’s attempt at forced sexual dominance instead of Gilgamesh’s insanely heavy ax. In fact, most English translations of this part of Ben Sira’s story say that Lilith “flew into the air and fled” after speaking the “Holy Name.” This is interesting because in the huluppu story it is also written that Lilith “flew away and fled” into the wild when Gilgamesh advances with his weapon. Many scholars agree that it is more than likely that Ben Sira’s story is his own telling of an original version of the Genesis myth.

  LILITH THE BABY EATER

  RUBY: I closed in on a member of Lilith’s entourage. You might call her a . . . personal chef.

  SAM: Chef? Seriously? . . . What does she eat?

  RUBY: (shakes her head and grimaces with subtle disgust) You don’t wanna know.

  —SAM WINCHESTER AND RUBY, “WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS” (4-21)

  As you read in the previous section’s excerpt from Ben Sira’s Alpha Bet, Lilith was only allowed to escape the wrath of the angels by agreeing not to do harm in any place where she saw an amulet or writing that depicted them or bore their names. For untold centuries, pregnant mothers in Judaic culture often wore small amulets inscribed with the names of these three angels. As time went on, the names of Adam and Eve became a common addition to these amulets. Finally, on a majority of these round amulets can be found an inscription that reads BARRING LILITH. Before a woman was about to give birth, it was common for Jewish midwives to inscribe symbols similar to those found on such amulets upon the floor of the delivery room with charcoal or chalk.

  Her later identification as a “baby eater” likely came from Lilith’s integration with Lamashtu. Lamashtu, on top of being a female spirit of pestilence, was also said to be especially fond of devouring infants. When the cults of these two figures merged, Lilith acquired the reputation for eating babies that follows her to this very day.

  After her encounter with the three angels, in the Judaic story, Lilith jumped into the Red Sea. There is some lore that says that Lilith, and certain members of her demonic brood called lilin or lilum, lie in wait underwater and snatch away children who linger too close. Their helpless victims are dragged to the watery depths and, more often than not, eaten alive.

  LILITH THE DEMON QUEEN

  Judaic demonology and folklore states that it was in the depths of the sea that Lilith became the wife of one of the Four Demon Princes of Hell, Samael, in his form as the “Slant Serpent” Leviathan, to which Lilith became the female version counterpart. The coupling of these two figures (male/Samael and female/Lilith) came to be called Leviathan, the name by which this creature is now known. During the end times, as written in the Old Testament book of Isaiah 27:1, “In that day God, with his mighty sword, shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that Slant Serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.”

  Lilith is also identified in lore as the consort of another high-ranking Demon King by the name of Ashmodai. Her relationships with Samael and Ashmodai eventually led to her being split into two forms in the lore—“Great Lilith/Grandmother Lilith” as the wife of Samael, and “Maiden Lilith” as the wife of Ashmodai. Interestingly enough, it is said that these two Liliths do not get along with one another. However, on the final Day of Atonement, they will return to their original wholeness and become Lilith as the Demon Queen, of whom it is written, “Lilith and her four hundred and twenty demonic legions shall march out from the deserts.” And Lilith the Demon Queen, it is said, will be right out front . . . her voice shattering the air as she screeches in delight.

  However, Lilith is not the only ancient mythological figure who has a bone to pick when it comes to the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse. As you will see in the next chapter, just about every major culture group on Earth has its own take on how the human world finally gets obliterated. And, as one might expect, it rarely ends pretty.

  9

  ANCIENT ORIGINS OF A FUTURE APOCALYPSE

  I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap Apocalypse. They want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one’s ours, and I say they get the hell off it.

  We take ’em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Mi-

  chael if we have to. But we do it our damn selves.

  —DEAN WINCHESTER, “SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL” (5-1)

  Sam and Dean spend a good amount of their time and energy trying to prevent the world from coming to a bloody and violent end. However, myth tells us that the Winchester gang may just be fighting a losing battle. The idea of the Apocalypse is nothing new, after all. In fact, a large majority of the human race has been looking forward to a future doom for thousands of years. Perhaps, in the end, there is no way to permanently stop the world from ending. Maybe the Apocalypse can only be postponed.

  Spookily enough, the apocalyptic myths of most world religions agree that in the end, just as the mythos of Supernatural portrays, the celestial forces of good and evil will eventually cl
ash in a final battle that will bring an end to the world as we know it. The Apocalypse is not an exclusively Judeo-Christian affair, however, and the writers of Supernatural address this issue in season 5, episode 19, “Hammer of the Gods,” in which many figures from pre-Christian religions assemble in order to halt the Christian Armageddon jump-started by a group of powerful but rogue archangels.

  THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL: AHURA MAZDA VERSUS ANGRA MAINYU

  It’s uh . . . turns out it’s Zoroastrian. Very, very old school... like two thousand years before Christ.

  —SAM WINCHESTER, “SHADOW” (1-16)

  Supernatural portrays the Christian Apocalypse as a final showdown between two of God’s most powerful creations, the warrior archangel Michael and the rebellious fallen archangel Lucifer (for more information, see chapters 3 and 4). However, this concept of the world being destroyed during a final battle between good and evil forces is not a new one. In fact, it has its origins in what is thought to be one of the world’s earliest monotheistic religions.