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Astaroth illustration from theDictionnaire Infernal (1818)

AstarothFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth), in demonology,is a Crowned Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after theCanaanite goddess Ashtoreth.

Contents1 Background2 Appearances in literature3 See also4 References5 Sources

BackgroundThe name Astaroth was ultimately derived from that of 2ndmillennium BC Phoenician goddess Astarte,[1] an equivalent of the Babylonian Ishtar, and the earlierSumerian Inanna. She is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the forms Ashtoreth (singular) and Ashtaroth(plural, in reference to multiple statues of her). This latter form was directly transliterated in the early Greekand Latin versions of the Bible, where it was less apparent that it had been a plural feminine in Hebrew.

The pseudepigraphal work Testament of Solomon, attributed to King Solomon of Israel, but thought to dateto the early centuries AD, mentions "Asteraoth" (in Greek) as an angel, who is opposed to the demon ofpower. (cf. 1 Kings 11:4-5)

Appearances in literatureThe name "Astaroth" as a male demon is first known from The Book of Abramelin, purportedly written inHebrew ca. 1458, and recurred in most occult grimoires of the following centuries. Astaroth also features asan arch-demon associated with the qliphoth (adverse forces) according to later Kabbalistic texts.

Dutch demonologist Johann Weyer also described Astaroth in his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1577)thus: Astaroth is a great and a strong duke, coming forth in the shape of a foul angel, sitting upon aninfernal dragon, and carrying on his right hand a viper, who also claimed to rule 40 legions, and had to beapproached by the conjuror with a magical ring on account of his stinking breath.[2] He is similarly referredto in the 17th-century work The Lesser Key of Solomon.

According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon'sattacks against man are stronger. According to Sebastien Michaelis, he is a demon of the First Hierarchy,who seduces by means of laziness, vanity, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew,

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Astaroth's seal (according to TheLesser Key of Solomon)

who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematicalsciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers everyquestion formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents.

According to Francis Barrett (c. 1801), Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. In art, in theDictionnaire Infernal (1818), Astaroth is depicted as a nude manwith feathered wings, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in onehand, and riding a beast with dragon-like wings and a serpent-liketail.

See alsoAstaroth in popular cultureIshtar

References1. Lon Milo DuQuette and Christopher S. Hyatt. Aleister Crowley's Illustrated

Goetia (1992). New Falcon: Temple, AZ, USA, p. 52.2. Astaroth in Weyer

(http://www.esotericarchives.com/solomon/weyer.htm#par28)

SourcesS. L. MacGregor Mathers, A. Crowley, The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King (1904).1995 reprint: ISBN 0-87728-847-X.

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Categories: Goetic demons Qliphoth Demons in Judaism

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