Jawnomicon

Pazuzu

In Mesopotamian religion, this king of the wind demons is a fearsome protective spirit invoked against the child-snatching demoness Lamashtu. He is defined by his paradoxical role as a malevolent being whose terrifying form was harnessed for apotropaic defense.

At a glance

Tradition
Mesopotamian mythology
Region
Mesopotamia (place of origin)
Symbols
Scorpion

Symbols

Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Form

  • Scorpion tail on mammalian body
    why

    a canine or leonine face with bulging eyes, a scaly body, a scorpion's tail, talons on both his hands and feet, and two pairs of wings

  • Hybrid of multiple animals
    why

    Pazuzu is depicted with a grotesque, composite form: a canine or leonine face with bulging eyes, a scaly body, a scorpion's tail, talons on both his hands and feet, and two pairs of wings.

Defensive powers

  • Warding malevolent spirits
    why

    Pazuzu's most attested role is as an apotropaic protector invoked against Lamashtu, a demoness who threatened pregnant women and endangered infants; amulets bearing his image were hung near beds or worn by expectant mothers to frighten Lamashtu away, and incantation texts describe Pazuzu driving her back to the underworld.

Curses

  • Causes natural disasters
    why

    Despite this protective function, Pazuzu himself was regarded as a bringer of famine and pestilence when unappeased, associated with locust plagues and the fevers carried on the destructive west and southwest winds of Mesopotamia, so that his cult treated him as a danger to be placated and directed rather than a benevolent guardian in the ordinary sense.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.