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Astaroth

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For the Soul Calibur character, see Astaroth (Soul Calibur).

In demonology Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Prince of Hell.

Background

File:Seal of demon Astaroth.JPG
Astaroth's seal
In demonology Astaroth is a prince of Hell

He is referred to in The Lesser Key of Solomon as a very powerful deity. His main assistants are four demons called Aamon, Pruslas, Barbatos and Rashaverak. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with dragon-like wings, hands and feet, a second pair of feathered wings after the main, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a wolf or dog. According to Sebastien Michaelis he is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness and vanity, and his adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents.

According to Francis Barrett, Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against man are stronger. He also goes by the name ‘Ashtart/Astarte which was rendered in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible as Astharthe (singular) and Astharoth (plural), that last form rendered in the King James Version of the Bible as Ashtaroth. It seems this plural form was taken either from the Latin or from some translation or other by those who did not know it was a plural form.

According to Lon Milo DuQuette and Christopher S. Hyatt, Astaroth is "a thinly disguised version of the goddess Astarte...."[1]

Jeff Rovin's The Fantasy Encyclopedia (1979) depicted Astaroth with a likeness fitting the description of Baal, including a newly-created illustration, and this error has been repeated in other places, such as with Monster in My Pocket, in which a spidery, 3-headed Astaroth is #102.

Modern cultural references

Film

  • Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920). This Silent film depiction of the "Golem of Prague" legend shows Rabbi Judah Loew consulting esoteric books to find the secret on how to create the clay monster. Rabbi Loew says to his assistant, "Venus enters the constellation of Libra! The auspicious hour has come to summon the dread spirit Astaroth, and compel him to reveal the magic word. Then we can bring the Golem to life to save our people." Later, when the Golem rebels, Rabbi Loew reads the following passage from a book: "If you have brought the dead to life through magic, beware of that life. When Uranus enters the house of the planets, Astaroth will demand his creature back. Then the lifeless clay will scorn its master and turn to destroy him and all it meets."
  • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). 'The Star of Asteroth' is the artifact the protagonists get from the Isle of Naboombu. It has the magic words "Tragoona Mequoites Trequorom Satis Dee" inscribed upon it.

Music

  • Referenced in the song "At the Sound of the Demon Bell" by the black metal band Mercyful Fate
  • Referenced in the song "Black Dwarf" by the doom metal band Candlemass
  • The song "Alone in the Dark" by Testament contains a reference to Astaroth.
  • Mentioned in the CD soundtrack to the hit computer game "The 7th Guest". Though the song is not featured in the game, the theme music used for the chapel room is used for the song that mentions Asteroth. It is the first song to be heard on the soundtrack, and the lyrics were composed by the writer of the game, Matthew Costello. (Incidentally, Matthew Costello actually spoke the lyrics down the phone to composer of the game music, The Fat Man, who decided to not only use it for the song, but actually mixed in the phone message by Matthew Costello into the soundtrack itself.)
  • A song of the Spanish heavy metal group Mägo de Oz from their album Finisterra. Astaroth is also mentioned in several of their songs.
  • Stage name of Josh Daly writer/producer/mixer of the instrumental progressive rock band "Dark Eulogy".
  • Mentioned by the Swedish doom metal band Draconian in their songs "The Gothic Embrace" and "Serenade of Sorrow".
  • Mentioned in the song "Come to the Sabbat" by Black Widow on their Sacrifice album. (Note that it is not "Sabbath", but "Sabbat")
  • Referenced in the title of California based Hardcore band Catherine's debut album "Rumor Has It: Astaroth has Stolen Your Eyes".
  • The seal of Astaroth is printed on (some editions of) the CD Aenima by the band Tool.
  • Mentioned in the song "Slaying the Prophets Ov Isa" by the Polish death metal band Behemoth.
  • The band Thus Defiled has a song called "Astaroth (The Art of Balance in the Dark) on their 2007 release Demonspawn.
  • A number of lesser known black-metal and death-metal bands are called Astaroth.

Literature

  • Name of a novel written by Croatian writer Ivo Brešan.
  • Made several appearances as a demon in the comic book Hellboy.
  • The chief enemy and brother of The Demiurge in the horror Role-playing game Kult.
  • A demon representing Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins in the manga Angel Sanctuary. There he shares his body with his twin sister, who when appearing transforms the body into a female; Countess Astaroth.
  • One of the many aliases of the Stephen King villain Randall Flagg.
  • A daemon who appeared briefly in the Warhammer 40,000 comic Daemonifuge.
  • Subtitel of German cartoonist Harm Bengen's erotic-humor cartoon series Sandra Bodyshelly's volume 6. The main character temporarily gets Astaroth's job, later quits to return to earth. A short reference of that also can be found in volume 7 of the series.

Other

  • An ogre named Astaroth is a playable character in the Soul series of video games by Namco.
  • In Dungeons & Dragons Astaroth appears as a deity for those of chaotic evil alignment.
  • Astaroth is also the name of Monster in My Pocket #102. He appears as a spider with heads of an old man, a frog, and a cat--in short, like Baal. This appears to be derived from a similar identification in Jeff Rovin' The Fantasy Encyclopedia.
  • The prince of demons and enemy Kushulai'n in Omikron: The Nomad Soul is named Astaroth.
  • Astarot, Asutarotto in Japanese (アスタロット), appears is the card game and snack food Shinra-Bansho and is a purple-skinned female version. She was appropriated by the imageboard 2chan and is depicted in her off time as preferring offensive and weird T-shirts more than her impractical demon outfit.
  • In Blood Ties (TV series), the lead character has the seal of Astaroth magically tattooed on her wrists.
  • In Ultima V, Astaroth is the name of the Shadowlord of Hatred.
  • In Final Fantasy 2, Astaroth is a creature that you fight near the end of the game
  • In Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Astaroth appears as one of the main boss enemies as well as a crest that gives the characters magical abilities. In this version, he appears as an emaciated giant with thorns breaking out of his back, dragon-like wings on his hips and blades instead of feet.
  • In Slayers, powerful mazoku Fibrizzo the Hellmaster has the seal, similar to Astaroth's one.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lon Milo DuQuette and Christopher S. Hyatt. Aleister Crowley's Illustrated Goetia . New Falcon: Temple, AZ, USA, p. 52.

Sources

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