Editing Demonology (section)

===Ancient Mesopotamian religion===
{{main|Ancient Mesopotamian underworld}}

{{Further|Asag| Pazuzu}}
[[File:Dumuzi aux enfers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Ancient Sumerian [[cylinder seal]] impression showing the god [[Dumuzid]] being tortured in the [[Ancient Mesopotamian underworld|underworld]] by ''[[gallu|galla]]'' demons]]
The [[ancient Mesopotamians]] believed that the underworld (Kur) was home to many [[Ancient Mesopotamian underworld#Demons|demons]],{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=180}} which are sometimes referred to as "offspring of ''arali''".{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=180}} These demons could sometimes leave [[Ancient Mesopotamian underworld|the underworld]] and terrorize mortals on earth.{{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 other demons, however, ''galla'' could also be benevolent{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=86}} and, in a hymn from King [[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]] ({{circa}} 2144 – 2124 BC), a minor god named Ig-alima is described as "the great ''galla'' of [[Girsu]]".{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=86}} Demons had no [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] in [[Mesopotamian religious]] practice since demons "know no food, know no drink, eat no flour offering and drink no [[libation]]."<ref>cf. [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.4.1# line 295 in "Inanna's descent into the nether world"]</ref>