The demon's opposition to Sraosha is also reflected in their respective standard epithets. At the renovation of the world, Sraosha overthrow Aeshma, who will flee before the saoshyant ( Yasht 19.95), but in the present the fiend flees before Mithra ( Yasna 57.10 Yasht 10.97). Aeshma distracts from proper worship, distorting "the intention and meaning of sacrifice through brutality against cattle and violence in war and drunkenness." ( Yasna 10.8, Yasht 17.5)Īccording to Yasht 11.15, Ahura Mazda created Sraosha to counter the demon's mischief, and in Yasna 57.25, Sraosha protects the faithful from the fiend's assault. The opposition between religious obedience and distraction from it is also expressed in the Yasna 10.8's portrayal of Aeshma as the metaphysical endangerment of the Good Religion.
The demon's chief adversary however is Sraosha "Obedience", the principle of religious devotion and discipline. In the hierarchy of Zoroastrian demons ( daevas) that mirrors a similar hierarchy of divinities, Aeshma is opposed to Asha Vahishta, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis of "Truth." This opposition also reflects Aeshma's position as messenger of Angra Mainyu ( Yasht 19.46), for in the hierarchy of divinities, Asha is the messenger of Spenta Mainyu, the instrument through which Ahura Mazda's realized ("created by His thought") creation. Judaism's Asmodai (Talmudic ʼšmdʼy, Book of Tobit asmodios) derives from Avestan aeshma.daeva. In the Zoroastrian texts of the 9th-12th centuries, aeshma appears as Middle Persian eshm or kheshm, continuing in Pazend and New Persian as kashm. Tri-syllabic aeshma is already attested in Gathic Avestan as aeshema ( aēšəma), though not yet - at that early stage - as an entity. The playwright William Shakespeare abbreviated his name to Modo.Īeshma ( Aēšma) is the Younger Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's demon of "wrath." As a hypostatic entity, Aeshma is variously interpreted as "wrath," "rage," and "fury." His standard epithet is "of the bloody mace." Other spelling variations include Asmodaeus (Latin), Asmodaios-Ασμοδαίος (Greek), Ashmadia, Asmoday, Asmodée (French), Asmodee, Asmodei, Ashmodei, Ashmodai, Asmodeios, Asmodeo (Spanish and Italian), Asmodeu (Portuguese), Asmodeius, Asmodi, Chammaday, Chashmodai, Sidonay, Sydonai, Asimodai (Romanian), Asmodeusz (Polish), Asmodevs (Armenian).
It is nonetheless likely that such a form did exist, and that the Book of Tobit's "Asmodaios" (Ἀσμοδαῖος) and the Talmud's "Ashmedai" (אשמדאי) reflect it. While the daēva Aēšma is thus Zoroastrianism's demon of wrath and is also well attested as such, the compound aēšma-daēva is not attested in scripture. The name Asmodai is believed to derive from Avestan language *aēšma-daēva, where aēšma means "wrath", and daēva signifies "demon". It is said in Asmodeus Or, The Devil on Two Sticks that people who fall to Asmodeus' ways will be sentenced to an eternity in the second level of hell. Asmodeus is the demon of lust and is therefore responsible for twisting people's sexual desires. In Binsfeld's classification of demons, each one of these princes represents one of the seven deadly sins (Pride, Lust, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Wrath).
Asmodeus also is referred to as one of the seven princes of Jinnestan. He was supposed by some Renaissance Christians to be the King of the Nine Hells. This marid is also mentioned in some Talmudic legends, for instance, in the story of the construction of the Temple of Solomon. The modern illustration of the demon AsmodeusĪsmodeus as depicted in Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal.Īsmodeus or Asmodai (Hebrew: אשמדאי Ashmedai) (see below for other variations) is a king of demons mostly known from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit, in which he is the primary antagonist.
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