Lamashtu

Chthonia

This episode looks at the Babylonian goddess Lamashtu, who may be one of the earliest examples of a vampiric goddess who hunts humans and feeds on flesh, particularly that of unborn children. While we may expect such a goddess to be classed as a demon, Lamashtu is the daughter of the sky god Anu, and has celestial origins. Her ill effects on pregnant mothers and others cannot be exorcised, only appeased. We look at the iconography of Lamashtu, her role, and how she topples ideas about female deities and about masculine/feminine categories in general.