The Evolution of Lilith’s Image

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Recommended: Synopsis of the legend of Gilgamesh

Images of biblical women have been used for centuries but some are much more controversial than others. One of the most infamous women associated with the bible is only directly mentioned in the bible once. Lilith is a woman whose story stems from Babylonian myths, demonology, and was the answer to a conflict in the Jewish creation story. She first appears in the folklore and more importantly the story of Gilgamesh, her story has grown into a femme fatale. The effect of social constructs on the interpretation of femme fatale archetypes such as Lilith are evident in the comparison of Lilith’s mythological beginnings to sexualized representation in Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Lady Lilith 1886. This transformation can be understood through analyzing the mythology surrounding Lilith, application of Jungian female archetypes, and the examination of art associated with Lilith.

Lilith is a character whose origin is rooted in Babylonian demonology. She has been used to represent multiple different themes ranging from a seductress, Heroine, and even a murderer. These entire stories stem from the epic poem Gilgamesh and the Huluppu-Tree, found on a Sumerian tablet that is dated around 2000 B.C.E. Gilgamesh is a vain hero who seeks eternal life. In one of his adventures he rushes to assist Inanna the goddess of erotic love, and war. Inanna’s precious willow (Huluppu) tree had been possessed with spirits, one a dragon who lay at the base, a Zu-bird who had placed her young in the branches of the tree, and near by the demon Lilith had built her house. Gilgamesh, adorned in heavy armor, slays the dragon which scares the Zu-bird into flying to the mountains, and terrifies Lilith the flee into the desert.

Lilith is briefly...

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...onstructs.

Works Cited

Cotterell, Arthur. The Encyclopedia of Mythology. London: Lorenz, 1996. Print.

"Epic of Gilgamesh." Epic of Gilgamesh. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Body’s Beauty” in The House of Life: A Sonnet-Sequence (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1928), p. 183

"Judaism 101." Judaism 101. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.

"King James Bible Online." KING JAMES BIBLE ONLINE. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013

Samuel N. Kramer, Gilgamesh and the Huluppu-Tree: A Reconstructed Sumerian Text, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago Assyriological Studies 10 (Chicago Unic, of Chicago, 1938)

Tzvi Abusch, “Gilgamesh: Hero, King, God and Striving Man,” AO 03:04.

Wehr, Demaris S. Jung & Feminism: Liberating Archetypes. Boston: Beacon, 1987. Print.

Zohar, Sperling, Harry, 2nd ed. (London: Sconcino 1984)

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