Lamashtu

Lamashtu is a demon-goddess of the Akkadian-Babylonian, Mesopotamian mythology. She was a menacing goddess to women that had give birth because she kidnapped their infants while breastfeeding. After this she would gnaw the bones of the infants and suck their blood which attributed vampyric traits to her.

Unlike other demonic deities of Mesopotamian lore Lamashtu is indicated to have acted of her own volition, not ordered by other deities, signifying that she was a goddess or demigoddess of her own right. Lamashtu is daughter of the sky-god Anu.

Lamashtu is depicted as a mythological hybrid, having body parts of more than one species. She has a hairy body, a lioness’ head with a donkey’s teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails, and she has bird’s feet with long talons. She often is kneeling or standing on a donkey nursing a pig and a dog, and holding snakes.

She bears seven names that describe seven witches in incantations. Included among her attributable deeds are slaying children, the unborn, and infants, causing harm to mothers and expectant mothers, eating men and drinking their blood, disturbing sleep, causing nightmares, killing foliage, infesting rivers and streams, and carrier of disease, illness, and death.

Lamashtu exhibits the same or similar traits as Lilith. She steals and kills children; she is a menace to mothers, especially expectant and mothers who just given birth; and she terrorizes men by her vampyric tactics as well as causing sleep disturbances and nightmares.

Although she appears to display more vampirism than Lilith the traits of disturbing sleep and causing nightmares indicate the same as Lilith she was a succubus, Lilith’s famous trait. Presently it is widely help vampires are very seductive, another resemblance with Lilith .A.G.H.


Sources:

Lamashtu. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamashtu>