Ardat-lilî

Character

While demons were typically less well defined than deities in Mesopotamian beliefs, Daniel Schwemer stresses that in the case of ardat-lilî it is nonetheless possible to speak of a "detailed, standardized set of motifs". Lorenzo Verderame notes that she was believed to have an "appealing" appearance, in contrast with other demons, who could be described as faceless, "ever-changing" (uttakkarū) or "strange" (nakru) She belonged to a class of supernatural beings designated by the term lil. It also included figures such as eṭel-lilî ("phantom bridegroom"), lilītu ("female phantom"), lilû ("male phantom") and possibly naššuqītu ("phantom kisser"). Additionally, Pazuzu was referred to as the king of the lil.

The lil demons were believed to be the ghosts of young people who died sexually unfulfilled. Incantations focused on ardat-lilî accordingly describe her as a being who has never had sex, never got married and as a result had no family. A single incantation additionally states that while still alive, ardat-lilî was unable to partake in a festival (isinnu) alongside other girls, which according to Julia Krul is most likely an allusion to a specific unidentified event which was focused on young women, as opposed to a general reference to religious celebrations.

Ardat-lilî was believed to typically target young men, acting as a demonic seductress. Her role can be compared to that of a succubus. In a number of cases, exorcism formulas prescribe a mock marriage as a solution to problems caused by her.

No evidence exists for any association between ardat-lilî and children.

Attestations

Incantations

Incantations dealing with ardat-lilî were already known in the Old Babylonian period. The standard texts are bilingual, with Sumerian and Akkadian versions of the same formula listed side by side. One of the early examples places her in the entourage of Erra.

Ardat-lilî is also mentioned in incantations from the series Udug Hul. Markham J. Geller notes there is a degree of textual overlap between this corpus and independent ardat-lilî incantations. She appears for example in a formula meant to prevent various demons from approaching their victims on tablet 6. However, on tablet 5 ardat-lilî is herself described as a victim of another demon and is placed under the protection of Ishtar. The incantation is instead aimed against the utukku and alû.

Ardat-lilî appears alongside lilû and lilītu in an incantation targeting mimma lemnu, "any evil", a personification of a formula referring to any possible cause of harm which has befallen a person. Specific well known demons and illnesses are singled out as possible sources, but the cause ultimately remains undefined. The formula was originally written in the seventh century by Nabû-kabti-aḫḫēšu, an exorcist from the temple of Ashur in Assur. Later copies have been discovered during excavations of Uruk and Babylon as well.

References to ardat-lilî have also been identified in medical incantations. An illness called the "hand of ardat-lilî" (qāt ardat lilî) is known from multiple sources. In the Assur Medical Catalogue, it is described as the cause of la’bu, which has been variously interpreted as a skin disease, a type of fever, or as a reference to an unidentified bodily fluid.

Other genres of texts

An astrological text from Sultantepe indicates that the twelfth day of the month was believed to be particularly suitable for performing rituals meant to ward off ardat-lilî.

Under her Sumerian name kisikillila, ardat-lilî appears in the composition Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld. It belonged to the curriculum of Old Babylonian scribal schools, and as a result is well documented in the archeological record, with seventy four copies recovered as of 2014. Kisikillila is described in it as one of the three beings Gilgamesh has to drive away from the ḫalub tree planted by Inanna. While part of the narrative was later translated into Akkadian and incorporated into the Epic of Gilgamesh, the section dealing with the ḫalub tree was not, possibly due to thematically overlapping with the myth of the cedar forest.

Disputed or disproved examples

In the past identification of the figure depicted on the Burney Relief as ardat-lilî or lilītu has been proposed, but today it is considered implausible as it is unlikely a figure perceived negatively would be represented as a cultic image. In ancient Mesopotamia demons were not an object of cult, and it was believed they are incapable of heeding prayers of humans the way gods were supposed to. With the exception of first millennium BCE exorcist rituals which required the preparation of figures of demons such as Lamashtu, utukku or rābiṣu, there is no evidence that demons known from exorcistic literature were depicted in Mesopotamian art. Such figures would generally be destroyed as a part of the ceremony.

While it has been suggested that a passage in the Old Babylonian hymn to Ishtar preserved on the tablet AO 6035 might refer to the eponymous deity as the mistress of ardat-lilî or another similarly named demon, Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman conclude that the word līlu, "evening", is meant instead.