From the earliest ignorant times, mythical demons have inhabited all superstitious faiths and religions but it was Christianity that really grasped the thorny nettle wholeheartedly, with various hellbent writers recording ever-more elaborate inhabitants of mythical Hell and going to great lengths to explain their apparently heinous roles and where they specifically resided in satanic situ.

Thus, the obviously very learned Spanish Franciscan Catholic Bishop, Alphonso de Spina, recorded in 1467 that demons could be classified in the following ways:

Demons of fate

Goblins

Incubi and succubi

Wandering groups or armies of demons

Familiars

Drudes

Cambions and other demons that are born from the union of a demon with a human being.

Liar and mischievous demons

Demons that attack the saints

Demons that try to induce old women to attend Witches’ Sabbats

A hundred years later, Peter Binsfield, a German bishop with too much time on his hands, honed these vague categories and aligned them to the seven deadly sins, hence, the seven princes of Hell looked like this:

Lucifer: pride

Mammon: greed

Asmodeus: lust

Leviathan: envy

Beelzebub: gluttony

Amon or Satan: wrath

Belphegor: sloth



Another befuddled and mathematically keen theologist, Johannes Wierus, recounted the evidence as he saw it and proclaimed that when Lucifer fell from Heaven, he took 2400 evil angels with him; when they arrived at Hell, there were eleven princes of Hell, each commanding 6,660,000 demons each; mathematical mayhem!

Hence, mythical Hell was essentially the mirror image of mythical Heaven, so whilst Cherubim and Arch Angels featured for the good, ‘downstairs’, Lucifer (most often agreed to be the head of all the demons) appointed many of the evilest angels to preside of different areas of the Underworld.

Dictionnaire Infernal “Infernal Dictionary”) was first published in France in 1818. Written and compiled by occultist and demonologist Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy, it was reprinted several times before its most recent incarnation in 1863 in an edition that contained 69 illustrations by surrealist-inclined artist Louis Le Breton.

Aamon

A Marquis of Hell who governs forty infernal legions. Said to have a little owl’s head, lion’s or wolf’s fore part of the body, including legs, and worm’s or snake’s tail. He knows all past and future events.

Abaddon (the destroyer)

His early career as the angel sent to collect the earth which was used to create Adam, he later took up the role of an angel of the bottomless pit. Chief of the human-faced, scorpion-tailed, horse-bodies demon locusts

Appearances in popular culture:

Abaddon (as Apollyon) appears in Act 2 of the opera “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

In the episode “Alice” of Star Trek: Voyager , Abaddon is the proprietor of “Abaddon’s Repository of Lost Treasures”

, Abaddon is the proprietor of “Abaddon’s Repository of Lost Treasures” In John Bunyan’s allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, Abaddon (as Apollyon) appears as the “foul fiend” who assaulted Christian on his pilgrimage through the Valley of Humiliation. He rules over the city of Destruction and attacks Christian when he refuses to return.

Adramelech (king of fire)

Great minister of Beelzebub’s Order of the Fly. Adramelech became the President of the Senate of the demons. He is also the Chancellor of Hell and supervisor of Satan’s wardrobe. Being generally depicted with a human torso and head, and the rest of the body of a mule (or sometimes as a peacock).

Agares

Described as a duke “under the powers of the east,” an “old man, riding upon a crocodile, and carrying a hawke on his fist,” who teaches languages, stops and retrieves runaway persons, causes earthquakes, and grants noble titles.

Asmodeus

Asmodeus takes charge of the casinos of Hell, specialising in all things related to greed and illicit pleasure. Sporting three heads (bull, ram and human), he leads mortals to squander their wealth of frippery and tempt them into wildly inappropriate relationships.

Appearances in popular culture:

In the 1970 film, In Equinox, Asmodeus is the controller of various demons and spirits.

Asmodeus is the villain in the 1979 comic-fantasy novel And the Devil Will Drag You Under by Jack L. Chalker.

In Robert A. Heinlein‘s novel Job: A Comedy of Justice, Alex and Margrethe are granted their request to spend eternity together operating a small-town diner and soda-fountain which they purchased from “Mr. & Mrs. A.S. Modeus”.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game, there is a Monster Card named Darklord Asmodeus.

The demon Azmodan, the Lord of Sin, is one of the Lesser Evils from the Diablo series of games, most notably appearing as a major boss in Diablo III.

In Demon Keeper (1993), Asmodeus is the demon unwittingly conjured up by psychic charlatan Remy Grilland (played by Edward Albert).

Astaroth (Treasurer of Hell)

Riding around on a dragon and carrying a serpent-like a staff, Astaroth is a mentor to newer demons joining the ranks

Appearances in popular culture:

Astaroth appeared in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode “Trials of the Demon”, voiced by Tony Todd.

episode “Trials of the Demon”, voiced by Tony Todd. Astaroth is the main antagonist and recurring boss character in the Ghosts ‘n Goblins franchise

franchise Astaroth has made several appearances in the comic book series Hellboy by Mike Mignola

by Mike Mignola Astaroth is a demon in the manga and anime Ao No Exorcist, and is a demon of rot

Azazel

Referenced in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Azazel was one of the first angels to fall from Heaven and lists amongst his achievements, leading men to create and take-up weapons and women to apply make-up. Bit sexist.

Appearances in popular culture:

Azazel is the main character in a series of short stories written by Isaac Asimov.

The X-Men comic books feature a mutant based on the legendary demon, created by writer Chuck Austen.

Featured in the film In the film Fallen with Denzel Washington, as a body-switching demon.

In the TV series Supernatural, a demon named Azazel is the main antagonist in seasons one and two

More mythical demons from Hell…

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