LILITH, EVE, PANDORA, ET AL.

*Although the hero’s tale has largely been relegated to men and the quests of females have been different from those of males, the “bad” woman in myth is as common as that of the “bad” man.

*While some men are underhanded—Set tricks Osiris into getting in the coffin—they often settle problems by battling.

*Women are portrayed as being devious in order to get what they want. Even in the case of Pandora, who is not evil, human traits such as curiosity are a sign of weakness. Women simply cannot help from being evil because they are born that way [sic]

*Lilith exemplifies a mythical character spanning ancient to modern times. She evolves quite a bit from her days in Sumeria to the present.

*Lilith was originally called “Lilitu.” In Sumeria, “lil” means air, i. e. Enlil is god of the air. Lilitu was a wind demon or minor goddess. She was reputed to have been dangerous to male children.

* In the 9th century BCE there exists vampire-like spirits called the Lilu in Babylonian demonology.

*On a tablet from Ur, ca. 2000 BCE, she was addressed as Lillake.

* In the Talmud, Adam and his first wife, Lilith, were created from the dust of the earth. When Lilith proved to be a disobedient wife and ran away from Adam, Eve, the good wife, was created from Adam’s rib.

*Even though most of the Lilith legend is derived from Jewish folklore, descriptions of the Lilith demon appear in Iranian, Babylonian, Mexican, Greek, Arab, English, German, Oriental and Native American legends. Also, she sometimes has been associated with legendary and mythological characters such as the Queen of Sheba and Helen of Troy. In medieval Europe she was proclaimed to be the wife, concubine or grandmother of Satan.

*http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/lilith.html

*In Hebrew, Lilith’s name translates as “screech owl.” This figure is often said to be that of Inanna, but the owl feet and two flanking owls argue in favor of Lilith.*Babylonian, circa 1950 BCE.*The owl is also the avatar of Athena,

representing wisdom, but Lilith is not known for her sagacity.*Lilith appears in the HS only once—

in Isaiah where her name is translated as “screech owl.” *Isaiah 34:14 The wild beasts of the

desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. *34:15 There shall the great owl

make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. (KJV)

*In the Talmud, Lilith is created at the same time as Adam—explaining why there are two creation stories. Much later, her tale is elaborated upon and made more complete.

*The Alphabet of ben Sira (circa 800 CE) gives a complete rendering of Lilith and her departure from Eden (see the module for this account).

*The Alphabet is relatively new, but the amulets mentioned in the story predate the time the story was written down—indicating an older oral tradition.

*n the Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism, Lilith is named a succubus—stealing the semen of men while they sleep to impregnate herself.

*The Zohar, the principal work of the Kabbalah, describes Lilith's powers at their height during the waning of the moon; her husband or demon lover is Samael.

*Whether or not Lilith is a heroine or a monster is determined by the culture who judges her. She is a primary negative “role model” for women in the Judeo/Christian mythos, even more so than Eve who was disobedient but repented of her wrongdoing—Lilith never repented or felt guilt or sorrow.

*Whether or not Lilith is a heroine or a monster is determined by the culture who judges her. She is a primary negative “role model” for women in the Judeo/Christian mythos, even more so than Eve who was disobedient but repented of her wrongdoing—Lilith never repented or felt guilt or sorrow.

*Both Eve and Lilith suffer from the same flaw as did Gilgamesh—hubris. The punishment for the two women, however, extend to their children: Lilith’s lilin children die, and Eve’s children do, as well.

*In reference to Eve’s descendants, the verse Genesis 3:15 states, " . . . it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” and is closely worded as in the Pelasgian myth where Eurynome bruises the head of Ophion.

*In Eden, the serpent tempts Eve by telling her in Genesis 5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (The tree is akin to the “world tree” in other mythoi.)*Eve believed that if she ate from the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil, she would become godlike.*There was also another tree in Eden from which the

pair does not get to eat:*Genesis 3:22 (NIV): And the LORD God said, "The

man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."*Had Eve and Adam eaten from this tree, they would

have realized Gilgamesh’s fondest dream—to become immortal. *To prevent this from happening, Yahweh/Elohim has

the pair driven from Eden.

*I discussed Pandora in the video, but I do want to reiterate some commonalities between her and Eve:

*They were both gullible

*Both were disobedient

*Their actions had ramifications for centuries to come!

*Although Eve and Pandora are guilty of cursing humans, evil women are not charged with ending the world as are Loki and Satan—or, they do it indirectly by putting the curses into motion.

*Women are more often guilty for misdeeds caused by affairs of the heart; they seek vengeance in inappropriate manners.

*In addition to those discussed, there is a short role call on the next slide!

*Clytemnestra: kills Agamemnon when he returns from Troy because he sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia.

*Medusa: turns living things to stone after she was cursed by Athena for being raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple.

*Medea: kills her two children after Jason dumps her—Medea goes on to become the wife of Aegeus (King of Athens) and tries to destroy Theseus.

*Sekhmet: after being instructed by Ra to punish humans, she goes overboard; Ra sends a flood of beer to stop her. Sekhmet is later seen as a “good” goddess.

*And lest we forget, there is a plethora of evil women in faerie tales from the witch in Handsel and Gretel to the stepmothers of Cinderella and Snow White.

*In many mythoi, there is the concept of the “dark goddess,” but these dark goddesses, though associated with death, are not evil.

*Shiva’s counterpart is Kali, who is also a destroyer: she wears a necklace of skulls and dances on Shiva’s body, but the skulls are those of demons and Shiva knows that to create, destruction is necessary.

*Hekate, who ruled the underworld before Hades came along, is a triple headed dark goddess. She is the “dark mother” who brings you into life and who takes you out.

*Likewise, the Morrigan in Celtic myth is often cited as a triple goddess of death and war.

*The Sumerian Ereshkigal and Norse Hel are also dark goddesses; like Hades, these goddesses are feared; though humans have sought immortality since we understood death, we also understood that death is inevitable.