In 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 and Babylonian mythology, Pazuzu (Sometimes Fazuzu or Pazuza) was the king of the 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...

s of the wind, and son of the god Hanbi

Hanbi

In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology Hanbi or Hanpa was the father of the more well known Pazuzu. Other than his relationship with Pazuzu, very little is known of this figure....

. He also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought.

Iconography

Pazuzu is often depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. He has the body of a man, the head of a lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

 or dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

, eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

-like taloned feet, two pairs of wings, a scorpion

Scorpion

Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...

's tail, and a serpentine

Serpentine shape

Serpentine refers to the curved shape of an object or design which resembles the letter s, a sine wave or a snake; the latter is the derivation of the term.- Examples :* The Serpentine River...

 penis. He is often depicted with his right hand pointing upward.

Mythology

Pazuzu is the demon of the southwest wind known for bringing famine during dry seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. Pazuzu was said to be invoked in amulets which combat the powers of his wife, the malicious goddess Lamashtu

Lamashtu

In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped children while they were breastfeeding. She would gnaw on their bones and suck their blood, as well as being charged with a number of...

, who was believed to cause harm to mother and child during childbirth. Although Pazuzu is, himself, an evil spirit, he drives away other evil spirits, thus protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes.

Wilfred Lambert (1968) identified a fibula with a Pazuzu head at Megiddo

Megiddo

Megiddo is a Hebrew place name that can refer to:* Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in northern Israel's Jezreel valley** Battle of Megiddo ** Battle of Megiddo ** Battle of Megiddo...

  and also a Sumerian-Akkadian invocation.

In modern culture

In the 1971 novel The Exorcist

The Exorcist

The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...

and the movie based on the novel, Pazuzu is supposedly one of the evil spirits that possesses the young girl Regan MacNeil. He reappears in the 1977 sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn...

. In this movie, Pazuzu is both named as the demon antagonist of Regan MacNeil and the unwitting helper of Father Philip Lamont (played by Richard Burton), as he seeks to finally free Regan from his hold. In the end, Father Lamont finally defeats the demon and accompanies Regan as she apparently heads toward a life in holy orders.

Pazuzu appears on the album cover of the Gorillaz

Gorillaz

Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...

 compilation album D-Sides

D-Sides

D-Sides is a 2007 compilation album by Gorillaz. The album contains B-sides and remixes from singles and bonus tracks for the band's second studio album Demon Days. It was released on 19 November 2007 in the UK and on 20 November in the United States and is available in standard and deluxe editions...

and as a statue in front of the band's former recording studio, as well as in the promo video for the band's song Dare, and the unmade promo video for Rhinestone eyes.

Pazuzu is the demon that haunts Adèle Blanc-Sec

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is a historical fantasy comic book series first appearing in 1976 written and illustrated by French comics artist Jacques Tardi and published in album format by Belgian publisher Casterman, sometimes preceded by serialisation in various periodicals,...

 in Tardi

Jacques Tardi

Jacques Tardi is a French comics artist, born 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. He is often credited solely as Tardi.-Biography:After graduating from the École nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris, he started writing comics in 1969, at the...

's graphic novel

Graphic novel

A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

"The Demon of the Eiffel Tower" ("Le Démon de la tour Eiffel," 1976). Pazuzu also appears in "Mummies on Parade" ("Momies en folie," 1978).

External links

• The Demon of the South-West Wind
• Oriental Institute of Chicago figure of Pazuzu