Editing Demon (section)

=== Mesopotamia ===
{{Further|Ancient Mesopotamian underworld#Demons}}
[[File:Dumuzi aux enfers.jpg|thumb|left|Ancient Sumerian [[cylinder seal]] impression showing the god [[Dumuzid the Shepherd|Dumuzid]] being tortured in the [[Kur|Underworld]] by ''[[gallu|galla]]'' demons]]
[[Mesopotamia]]n demonology had strong influence on later [[Judaism|Hebrew]] and [[Christianity|Christian]] concepts of demons,<ref name="Russell, Jeffrey Burton 1987. p. 92">Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 92</ref> such as ''[[shedu]]'' from [[Chaldea]]n mythology.<ref name="JE-shedim">{{harvnb|Hirsch|Gottheil|Kohler|Broydé|1906}}.</ref> The demons of Mesopotamia were generally hostile spirits of lesser power than a deity.<ref name="Russell, Jeffrey Burton 1987. p. 92"/> Since both nature and culture were in constant change, neither were considered part of a divine cosmos.<ref name="Russell, Jeffrey Burton 1987. p. 88">Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 88</ref> According to the Babylonian creation epic ''[[Enūma Eliš]]'', both gods and demons are the children of [[Tiamat]], the goddess of [[Chaos (cosmogony)|primordial chaos]].<ref>Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 88-89</ref> The demons were engendered by Tiamat as an act of revenge in reaction to the gods slaying her primordial partner [[Abzu]].<ref name="Russell, Jeffrey Burton 1987. p. 88"/> In the Babylonian tale of the Great Flood, since gods promised to never flood humanity again, instead installed the demoness Lamaštu, to kill humans in order to avoid excessive multiplication.<ref name="Maul, S. 2006">Maul, S. (., Jansen-Winkeln, K. (., Niehr, H. (., Macuch, M. (., & Johnston, S. I. (. (2006). Demons. In Brill's New Pauly Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e309270</ref>

Some demons were evil spirits of those who died in misery, while other demons were nature demons causing harm by carrying plagues, nightmares, causing headaches, and storms.<ref name="Maul, S. 2006"/><ref name="Russell, Jeffrey Burton 1987. p. 92"/> To protect oneself from demons, one were to wear amulets, using magic, or seeking refuge among another demon or deity.<ref name="Russell, Jeffrey Burton 1987. p. 92"/><ref name="Maul, S. 2006"/> On an ontological level, in early Semitic history, deities and demons often shed into another, as the distinction was of no importance for the believer.<ref>Introduction: 
Angels and Their Religious and 
Cosmological Contexts p. 17</ref>

The [[Kur|underworld]] was home to many demonic beings,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=180}} sometimes referred to as "offspring of ''arali''".{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=180}} These demons ascend from the underworld and terrorize mortals.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=180}} One class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld were known as ''[[Gallu|galla]]'';{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=85}} their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=85}} They are frequently referenced in magical texts,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=85–86}} and some texts describe them as being seven in number.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=85–86}} Several extant poems describe the ''galla'' dragging the god [[Dumuzid]] into the underworld.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=86}} Like many other Mesopotamian demons ''galla'' could also fulfill a protective role.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=86}} In a hymn from King [[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]] ({{circa}} 2144 – 2124 BCE), a minor god named Ig-alima is described as "the great ''galla'' of [[Girsu]]".{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=86}}