Back لاماشتو Arabic Labartu Catalan Lamaštu German Lamashtu Spanish Lamashtu Basque لاماستو Persian Lamaštu Finnish Lamashtu French Lamastu Hungarian Lamashtu ID
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In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu (𒀭𒈕𒈨; Akkadian dLa-maš-tu; Sumerian Dimme dDim3-me or Kamadme[2]) is a demonic Mesopotamian deity with the "head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey, naked breasts, a hairy body, hands stained (with blood?), long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of Anzû".[3] She was believed to feed on the blood of human infants[3] and was widely blamed as the cause of miscarriages and cot deaths.[3]
Although Lamashtu has traditionally been identified as a demoness,[4] the fact that she could cause evil on her own without the permission of other deities strongly indicates that she was seen as a goddess in her own right.[3] Mesopotamian peoples protected against her using amulets and talismans.[3] She was believed to ride in her boat on the river of the underworld[3] and she was associated with donkeys.[3] She was believed to be the daughter of An.[3]
- ^ Hartmut Kühne Dūr-Katlimmu 2008 and beyond 2010 section 'The place of Lamashtu in the Near Eastern pantheon' Page 243 "If the demon Lamashtu can already be identified in old Assyrian texts9, the older attestation of her name is its Sumerian equation, DIMME, in an old Babylonian incantation10. "
- ^ George, Andrew R. (2018-01-01). "Kamadme, the Sumerian Counterpart of the Demon Lamaštu". Sources of Evil: 150–157. doi:10.1163/9789004373341_006. ISBN 9789004373341.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Black & Green 1992, p. 116.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, pp. 115–116.