Lilith the Demoness
Indeed Adam did have a wife before Eve was made from his rib. Hebrew tradition tells us that her name was Lilith.
It is said that Lilith believed she was equal to Adam so she insisted on being treated with full equality with her husband. She demanded this right because she was made the same way that God made Adam - from the earth. So Lilith felt she should have equal status. This story also tells us that Lilith rebelled against Adam's attempts to dominate her sexually. Some versions of the tale recount that Lilith did not want to be beneath Adam during sex. She wanted to be on top of him or to make love with Adam side by side as equals. Of course this horrified Adam so he complained to God. Not content with her situation, Lilith fled to the Red Sea where she is said to have mated with lusty devils and gave birth to hundreds of demons every day. These demonic children are known as lilim.
The lilim were believed to manifest themselves to men in the darkness of night in the form of beautiful, alluring women. They would have sexual intercourse with their victims, leaving the men drained and devitalized. The lilim were also said to attack children, especially infants, by sucking the life breath out of them. Could this have been an ancient way of explaining Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
Lilith herself is also said to attack babies at night. God sent three angels to bring Lilith back but she would not return to Adam so the angels cursed her children to die, a hundred daily. Lilith then focused her revenge on human babies. It was believed, however, that she would not touch a child wearing an amulet, which bore the names of the three angels sent by God.
The Christian version of the lilim is the succubi. And in the Middle Ages there were numerous reports of men falling victim to the sexual wiles of these female demons descended from Lilith. The lilim can also be equated with the Classical lamia. The lamia were also female demons who spent the sexual energies of men as they slept but with the added twist of vampirism.
And so Lilith, Adam's first wife, comes down to us through myth as a female demon figure.
Next time, we will continue our look at the Lilith myth exploring Lilith as the flip side of Eve and representing the instinctive power of female sexuality.
Visit these sites to read more about Lilith!
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/%7Ehumm/Topics/Lilith/lilith.html
http://www.yoni.com/bitchf/lilith.shtml
And to read more Halloween articles go to Trick or Treat and to Happy Halloween '99!
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