Belphegor
Encyclopedia
In demonology
, Belphegor (or Beelphegor) is a demon
, and one of the seven princes of Hell
, who helps people to make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich. According to some 16th century demonologists, his power is stronger in April. Bishop
and witch-hunt
er Peter Binsfeld
believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness. Also, according to Peter Binsfeld's Binsfeld's Classification of Demons, Belphegor is the chief demon of the deadly sin known as Sloth in Christian tradition.
Belphegor originated as the Assyria
n Baal-Peor, the Moab
itish god to whom the Israelite
s became attached in Shittim
(Numbers 25:3), which was associated with licentiousness and orgies. It was worshipped in the form of a phallus
.
As a demon, he is described in Kabbalistic
writings as the "disputer", an enemy of the sixth Sephiroth
"beauty". When summoned, he can grant riches, the power of discovery and ingenious invention. His role as a demon was to sow discord among men and seduce them to evil through the apportionment of wealth.
Belphegor (Lord of the Opening) was pictured in two different fashions: as a beautiful young woman or as a monstrous, bearded demon with horns and sharply pointed nails; the former form, according to most sources, was his earthly disguise when invoked
by mortals. According to De Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal
, he was Hell
's ambassador to France
. Belphegor also figures in Milton
's Paradise Lost
and in Victor Hugo
's The Toilers of the Sea
.
According to legend, Belphegor was sent from Hell by Pluto
to find out if there really was such a thing on earth as married happiness. Rumor of such had reached the demons but they knew that people were not designed to live in harmony. Belphegor's experiences in the world soon convinced him that the rumor was groundless. The story is found in various works of early modern literature, hence the use of the name to apply to a misanthrope or a licentious person.
Demonology
Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...
, Belphegor (or Beelphegor) is a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
, and one of the seven princes of Hell
Seven princes of Hell
The seven princes of Hell are, in Christian demonology tradition, the seven highest demons in Hell.The seven demon princes can be seen as Hell's equivalent to the Seven Archangels of Heaven.Often, each demon prince corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins...
, who helps people to make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich. According to some 16th century demonologists, his power is stronger in April. Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and witch-hunt
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
er Peter Binsfeld
Peter Binsfeld
Peter Binsfeld was a German bishop and theologian....
believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness. Also, according to Peter Binsfeld's Binsfeld's Classification of Demons, Belphegor is the chief demon of the deadly sin known as Sloth in Christian tradition.
Belphegor originated as the Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n Baal-Peor, the Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
itish god to whom the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s became attached in Shittim
Shittim
Shittim may mean several different things:Botany*Shittim, the plural of Shittah, which is Hebrew for wood from the acacia tree, which appears in the BibleGeography*Abel-Shittim, later Abila , a place which appears in the Bible...
(Numbers 25:3), which was associated with licentiousness and orgies. It was worshipped in the form of a phallus
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
.
As a demon, he is described in Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
writings as the "disputer", an enemy of the sixth Sephiroth
Sephirot (Kabbalah)
Sephirot or Sephiroth , meaning "enumerations", are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which God reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms...
"beauty". When summoned, he can grant riches, the power of discovery and ingenious invention. His role as a demon was to sow discord among men and seduce them to evil through the apportionment of wealth.
Belphegor (Lord of the Opening) was pictured in two different fashions: as a beautiful young woman or as a monstrous, bearded demon with horns and sharply pointed nails; the former form, according to most sources, was his earthly disguise when invoked
Conjuration
Conjuration is used in many video games, mainly RPGs, where it is usually referred to as summoning.* A notable example is the Final Fantasy franchise which incorporates summoning of monsters to fight alongside the characters....
by mortals. According to De Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal
Dictionnaire Infernal
The Dictionnaire Infernal is a book on demonology, organised in hellish hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book, but perhaps the most famous is the edition of 1863, in which sixty-nine illustrations...
, he was Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
's ambassador to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Belphegor also figures in Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
and in Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
's The Toilers of the Sea
Toilers of the Sea
Toilers of the Sea , is a novel by Victor Hugo.The book is dedicated to the island of Guernsey, where Hugo spent 15 years in exile.The story concerns a Guernseyman named Gilliatt, a social outcast who falls in love with Deruchette, the niece of a local shipowner, Mess Lethierry...
.
According to legend, Belphegor was sent from Hell by Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
to find out if there really was such a thing on earth as married happiness. Rumor of such had reached the demons but they knew that people were not designed to live in harmony. Belphegor's experiences in the world soon convinced him that the rumor was groundless. The story is found in various works of early modern literature, hence the use of the name to apply to a misanthrope or a licentious person.
Popular culture
- BelphegorBelphegor (band)Belphegor is a blackened death metal band from Salzburg, Austria. They originally formed in 1991 under the name Betrayer before changing their name in 1993. They are named after the demon Belphegor.-Early years :...
is the name of a blackened death metal band from SalzburgSalzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The band also has an eponymous song: Belphegor - Hell's AmbassadorPestapokalypse VIPestapokalypse VI is the sixth studio album by Austrian blackened death metal band Belphegor. It was produced by Andy Classen at Stage One Studio and released in 2006.- Track listing :#"Belphegor - Hell's Ambassador" - 4:24#"Seyn Todt in Schwartz" - 3:22...
, which describes the role of the demon Belphegor as a bringer of ingenious inventions. - Belfagor arcidiavoloBelfagor arcidiavoloBelfagor arcidiavolo is a novella by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was written between 1518 and 1527 and published with Machiavelli's collected works in 1549. It is also known under the titles La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo or Il demonio che prese moglie.An abbreviated version of Machiavelli's...
aka Il demonio che prese moglie is a short story written in 16th century by Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò MachiavelliNiccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
. - BelphégorBelphégor (novel)Belphégor is a 1927 horror novel by French writer Arthur Bernède, about a "ghost" which haunts the Louvre Museum, in reality a masked villain trying to steal a hidden treasure...
is a 1927 horror novel by Arthur BernèdeArthur BernèdeArthur Bernède was a French writer, poet, opera libretist, and playwright.He was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany....
. - In the webcomicWebcomicWebcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
MegatokyoMegatokyois an English-language webcomic created by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston, debuting on August 14, 2000, and then written and illustrated solely by Gallagher since July 17, 2002. Gallagher's style of writing and illustration is heavily influenced by Japanese manga. Megatokyo is freely available on...
, Belphegor is a cat who works for the main character's "anti-conscience". - Belphegor appears as a recurring demon in the Shin Megami Tensei series of occult-themed RPGs. The demon is depicted as a purple skinned demon sitting on a toilet.
- In Dominions 3: The AwakeningDominions 3: The AwakeningDominions 3: The Awakening is a fantasy turn-based strategy game created by Illwinter and published in 2006 by Shrapnel Games. It is the third game in the Dominions series, preceded by Dominions: Priests, Prophets and Pretenders and Dominions II: The Ascension Wars.The game combines a simple...
, he is a demon lord associated with seducing people to evil. - In the game Heroes Of Newerth, Balphagore is a playable hero.
- In RF OnlineRF OnlineRF Online, originally named 'Rising Force', is a 3D MMORPG developed by CCR. The first version of the game was released in South Korea and was later followed by Chinese , Japanese, Portuguese and English translations. The North American/European version of the game launched its retail phase on...
, Belphegor is a boss monster living inside a volcano at Volcano Cauldron. - Belphégor, a film made in 1927 and directed by Henri DesfontainesHenri DesfontainesHenri Desfontaines was a French film director, actor and scriptwriter.- As director :* 1908 : Hamlet* 1909 : Le Puits et le pendule* 1910 : Un invité gênant...
. - Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre in 2001.