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A similar incantation specifically mentions the threshold of the house. This marks the separation between the closed space of the home and the outside world. The threshold is a place where demons lie in wait
In the next section, we will illustrate Ancient Near Eastern views of demons by drawing from the Mesopotamian incantational texts Utukkū Lemnūtu. The literary tradition of Mesopotamia includes numerous series of incantations against ‘evil demons’. In addition to the Sumerian collections of utukkū demons (utukkū lemnūtu), there are also collections of asakku demons, which attack and attempt to kill man through severe fevers, and ṭiʾi demons, responsible for headaches.21 We also have knowledge of the Akkadian incantation series Maqlû and Šurpu. The former contains prayers and incantations against the noxious effects of witchcraft; the latter, incantations for the man who professes his ignorance of why suffering is affecting him or of how he has offended the gods.22
Our choice of the Utukkū Lemnūtu series is justified because it is well documented23 and according to some is one of ‘the most interesting series’24 and provides ‘the fullest description of the evil demons from any Mesopotamian text’. ‘Utukkū Lemnūtu provides rich accounts of demons and ghosts, replete with metaphors and similes, bringing us closer to a general understanding of demons as the agents which most directly affected a patient’s psyche; the very appearance of the demon inspired fear, and the suggestion of the demon’s presence acted as a threat’, writes Geller.25 The texts are more than mere descriptions of applied magic rituals and spells; they provide a theoretical framework for understanding demonic activity in the Mesopotamian worldview.26
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The present chapter is concerned with this fundamental dimension of human existence. Although the content and form of expression of that fear can vary from culture to culture, they nevertheless form a commonality between cultures. 21 R.C. Thompson, Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia II, London 1903, XII–XVI. 22 Langton, Essentials of Demonology, 26. 23 Thus also M.L. Thomsen, ‘Witchcraft and Magic in ancient Mesopotamia’, in: B. Ankarloo, St. Clark (eds.), Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Biblical and Pagan Societies, Philadelphia 2001, 4: ‘The field of witchcraft and magic, in particular, is documented by a large amount of incantations and instructions for rituals, providing much valuable information about this aspect of ancient life’; for more background on the unlettered, semi-lettered and written amulets, see R.D. Kotansky, ‘Textual Amulets and Writing Traditions in the Ancient World’, in: Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic, D. Frankfurter (ed.), Leiden 2019, 507–554. 24 Nash, ‘Devils, Demons and Disease’, 62. 25 M.J. Geller, ‘Freud and Mesopotamian Magic’, in: Mesopotamian Magic—Textual, historical, and interpretative perspectives, Ancient Magic and Divination I, T. Abusch, K. van der Toorn (eds.), Groningen 1999, 49. 26 M.J. Geller, Healing Magic and Evil Demons: Canonical Udug-hul Incantations (Die babylonisch-assyrische Medizin in Texten und Untersuchungen 8), Berlin 2016, 4.
2 Utukkū Lemnūtu:27 Demons in Mesopotamian Religion
The official religion was focused on the ‘maintenance’ of the gods. The common man and woman were practically excluded from the daily cultic activities in the temple.28 This was especially the case for women.29 Yet they too had religious needs and struggled with ‘misfortunes and pain’30 and sought ‘elimination of suffered evil’.31 Where do we encounter these needs in the texts? We will analyse the texts of Utukkū Lemnūtu with the following questions in mind: What is being said about demons? What are they causing? In which areas are they active? How are they warded off or dispelled? In short: what does faith in demons look like in practice? How is the fear of unpredictable, uncontrollable evil articulated and broached?32
In order to bring some order to bear in our analysis, we shall have to organise our data. In his study on how Ancient Near Eastern man dealt with catastrophes, calamities and evil in practice, Robertson observes that: (1) Ancient Near Eastern man protected his person using amulets and other apotropaic objects and customs; but also (2) sought to protect his home and immediate surroundings and keep them unmolested by demonic influences. Protection was thus primarily focused on people and on their living environment. Also, the fear of demons is expressed in cases of (3) sickness and in (4) curses or imprecations. 33
On the basis of Robertson’s analysis and our own analysis, then, we arrive at the following categories: (1) the home, (2) on journeys, (3) magic and sorcery, and (4) sickness. We will analyse Utukkū Lemnūtu on the basis of these four themes.34
27 For backgrounds and discussion of the text and the history of origin of this series, the reader is referred to the studies by Geller: M.J. Geller, Forerunners to Udug-hul: Sumerian Exorcistic Incantations (FAS 12), Stuttgart 1985; Evil Demons—Canonical Utukkū Lemnūtu Incantations, Helsinki 2007; Healing Magic and Evil Demons: Canonical Udug-hul Incantations (BAM 8), Berlin 2016. We shall restrict ourselves here to analysing the content of the texts and the role played in them by demons. All references to textual passages from Utukkū Lemnūtu are to the most recent edition of Geller: Healing Magic and Evil Demons (BAM 8), 2016. 28 Bottéro, Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia, 202. 29 K. van der Toorn, From her Cradle to her Grave: The Role of Religion in the Life of the Israelite and the Babylonian Woman, Sheffield 1994, 111–133. 30 Bottéro, Religion, 114. 31 Bottéro, Religion, 170. 32 Van der Toorn, ‘The theology of Demons’, 62. 33 W.C. Robertson, Drought, Famine, Plague and Pestilence,32–41. 34 We are not ruling out that there might be more categories identifiable, but this seems sufficient for the present study, since we are concerned with an illustrative, not exhaustive, overview of Ancient Mesopotamian man’s understanding of demons.
