Shades: Lilith in Greek Mythology, Part 1 (Revised, 11/25)

Traces of Lilith occur in Greek Mythology.  To be fair, "traces" is putting it lightly.  Lilith is evident in at least three races of humanoid women, the Lamiai, the Empusae and the Mormo.  She is also similar to the Libyan Queen Lamia and the sorceress Medea. Parallels abound in the the heritage of these creatures, their legacies and physical depictions.  It's very likely they represent a phase in Lilith's evolution from ancient Sumer to the spirit we know today.  Therefore they can be coined "transitional Liliths."

     In this entry, which is part of a series on Lilith's connection to Greek Mythology, we'll explore the parallels between Lamia, her demonic contemporaries and the Semetic Lilim.

Images of Lilith are regularly conjured in the Greek world's "demon" element the Lamiai, Empusae and Mormo.  Each of these classes are known for their seductive demeanor and strong associations with vampires and succubi.  In the case of the Lamiai and the Mormo they were believed to abduct or devour children. The also have strong associations with night time, shapes shifting, magic and snake lore.  Let's examine each species below:

The Lamiai are believed to take their name from a plural-form of Lamia, the Libyan queen who was cursed by Hera, the Queen of Heaven.  Lamia slept with Zeus and boasted of her accomplishment, making her a prime target for his famous wife.  Hera, being the goddess of childbirth, cursed Lamia with continuous still-borns.  This added to her poor reputation and Lamia eventually went mad.  To replace her own children she would steal others in the night and gradually turned into a snake hybrid.  It was said she could resemble either form and tempt men to devour or covet their seed.  Lamia is a truly fearsome, much storied creature worthy of Medusa.

The Empusae were believed to serve Greece's witch queen Hecate.  They are most famous for opposing travelers, perhaps in connection to their mistress who guarded the crossroads.  Their epithet, "Daughters of Hecate" may imply a form of devotion or an actual lineage as the witch's offspring.  They were said to transform like the Lamiai but are generally depicted with ass or goat features and one leg made out of brass.  Their primary function in Greek Mythology was to scare or haunt people.

Less famous is the Mormo or Mormo' Lyceion, a sort of Greek bogey-woman.  Nurses and mothers would tell their children to behave so the Mormo wouldn't get them.  They were believed to bite said children and travel with Hecate.  They also appear in the service of Queen Laestrygonian to steal children.

It's interesting to note the Lamiai, the Empusae and the Mormo share Lilith's association with child theft.  Lilith was threatened by God in the Genesis story to have her children killed if she did not return to Adam.  To compensate, she decided to abduct human children and produce hybrids of her own.  In Greek Myths Lamia is cursed with still-births by Hera, another sky god, and compensates by stealing, devouring and spawning human babies.  The Empusae and the Mormo were believed to share similar succubus rites.  The are each linked to sexuality and procreation. Each of these breeds, in fact, have a recurrence in the film version of Neil Gaiman's Stardust linking them with Lilith. Here the Witch Queens (also called Lilim in the book, a popular name for Lilith's daughters) are named Lamia, Empusa and Mormo.  Their leader Lamia is played by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Rough Magic: The Wicked Queen

Lilith has been called the Queen of Witches.  Like Diana and Herodias her name appears in witch trials and folklore.  One well known story links Lilith's cave by the Red Sea with "every mirror." In it, a mother buys a mirror in connection to several furnishings for her home.  She places the mirror in the room of her daughter who later becomes possessed by a daughter of Lilith because, "every mirror is a gateway to the Other World and leads directly to Lilith's cave...That is why it is said that Lilith makes her home in every mirror..."  That said, is it likely that such traditions made their way to the mythos collected by the Brothers Grimm?  Enter the Wicked Queen.

   We are all familiar with Snow-white and the Seven Dwarves.  In the earliest version, Snow-white offends her jealous stepmother, the Queen, by possessing richer beauty than her own.  This is discovered by a magic mirror the Queen consults everyday.  "Looking glass upon the wall, who is fairest of us all?"  After the huntsmen tries to deceive her with a deer's heart the Queen makes three attempts on Snow-white's life.  Each time she poses as a peddler and tempts Snow-white with fatal wares.  At first she uses a corset and a comb "poisoned with witchcraft."  In the end she offers Snow-white the fabled apple and temporarily ends her life.  The Queen herself is captured when the heroic Prince weds Snow-white.  Her life ends after she is forced to dance in a pair of red-hot shoes.  Typically, abridged reincarnations omit this part, taking a page (perhaps) from Walt Disney.

   Modern renditions featuring Snow-white and the Wicked Queen attempt to flesh out her back story.  In both  The 10th Kingdom and Once Upon a Time (owned by Disney subordinate ABC) the "Evil Queen" represents a pact or bond between two women, a sort of lineage.  Diane Weist's Evil Queen from The 10th Kingdom was chosen as the successor of the original Queen to continue her work and ruin Snow White's entire house.  Lana Parrilla's Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time was forced into power by conniving mother, who arranges her marriage to the father of Snow White.

   Concerning her connection to the Queen of Demons in Jewish mythology, the Wicked Queen shares several of her motifs.  An apple is used to tempt Snow-white and an apple is used to temp Eve by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.  In art, the serpent has been depicted as Lilith, reflecting an older belief in the Fall of Man.  Consider too the Wicked Queen's fascination with mirrors   Everyday she stood before the magic looking-glass to assess her beauty, not unlike the daughter in the famous Jewish tale.  While it is unlikely that the Wicked Queen is a Brothers Grimm avatar of Lilith she makes an appropriate totem.  Even more likely, their shared features stem from Lilith's lineage in world mythology. Lilith is "the soul of every living thing which creepeth," and the genetrix of every spirit, demon, goblin and fatal entity from the ancient world.  Perhaps like Jadis in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, the Wicked Queen could be viewed as her descendant.

PULP! Lilith and Vampirella

Vampirella is a famous comic book character whose mother just happens to be Lilith.  She was devised in the late sixties for Warren Publishing by Forrest Ackerman, Tim Sutton and costume designer Trina Robbins.  In the 1990's she was rewritten as the daughter of Lilith and, possibly, her avatar.  As a result, Vampirella made it her mission to rid the world of all vampires and redeem her mother.  But Lilith, who fashioned her daughter in the bowels of Hell, had an ulterior motive.

In the Vampirella universe Lilith is known as The Conjuress.  She is based primarily on the Garden of Eden Lilith with a heavy emphasis on her vampiric legends.  In story she was banished from Paradise by God and birthed legions of demons as an act of spite.  Apparently repentant, she created Vampirella as a counter agent.  The anti-heroine's mission was to erase her mother's work by ridding the earth of every last vampire.  Of course this was merely a ploy.  Lilith had been killed by God and was using these murders to fuel her resurrection.  Currently the character appears in Dynamite's Vampirella and Pantha titles.