The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia

Download or read book The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia written by Gina Konstantopoulos and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-06-12 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Divine/Demonic Seven and the Place of Demons in Mesopotamia, Gina Konstantopoulos analyses the Sebettu, a group of seven divine/demonic figures found across a wide range of Mesopotamian textual and artistic sources in Mesopotamia from the late third to first millennium BCE. The Sebettu appeared both as fierce, threatening demons and as divine, protective, figures. These seemingly contradictory qualities worked together, as their martial ferocity facilitated their religious and political role. When used in royal inscriptions, they became fierce warriors attacking the king’s enemies, retaining that demonic nature. This flexibility was not unique to the Sebettu, and this study thus provides a lens through which to examine the place of demons in Mesopotamia as a whole.