1. LILITH, EVE, PANDORA, ET AL.

2. * Although the hero’s tale has largely been relegated to
men and the quests of females have been different
from those of males, the “bad” woman in myth is as
common as that of the “bad” man.
* While some men are underhanded—Set tricks Osiris
into getting in the coffin—they often settle problems
by battling.
* Women are portrayed as being devious in order to get
what they want. Even in the case of Pandora, who is
not evil, human traits such as curiosity are a sign of
weakness. Women simply cannot help from being evil
because they are born that way [sic]

3. * Lilith exemplifies a mythical character spanning ancient to modern
times. She evolves quite a bit from her days in Sumeria to the present.
* Lilith was originally called “Lilitu.” In Sumeria, “lil” means air, i. e.
Enlil is god of the air. Lilitu was a wind demon or minor goddess. She
was reputed to have been dangerous to male children.
* In the 9th century BCE there exists vampire-like spirits called the Lilu in
Babylonian demonology.
* On a tablet from Ur, ca. 2000 BCE, she was addressed as Lillake.
* In the Talmud, Adam and his first wife, Lilith, were created from the
dust of the earth. When Lilith proved to be a disobedient wife and ran
away from Adam, Eve, the good wife, was created from Adam’s rib.
* Even though most of the Lilith legend is derived from Jewish folklore,
descriptions of the Lilith demon appear in Iranian, Babylonian, Mexican,
Greek, Arab, English, German, Oriental and Native American legends.
Also, she sometimes has been associated with legendary and
mythological characters such as the Queen of Sheba and Helen of Troy.
In medieval Europe she was proclaimed to be the wife, concubine or
grandmother of Satan.
* http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/lilith.html

4. * In Hebrew, Lilith’s name translates as
“screech owl.” This figure is often said
to be that of Inanna, but the owl feet
and two flanking owls argue in favor of
Lilith.
* Babylonian, circa 1950 BCE.
* The owl is also the avatar of Athena,
representing wisdom, but Lilith is not
known for her sagacity.
* Lilith appears in the HS only once—in
Isaiah where her name is translated as
“screech owl.”
* Isaiah 34:14 The wild beasts of the
desert shall also meet with the wild
beasts of the island, and the satyr shall
cry to his fellow; the screech owl also
shall rest there, and find for herself a
place of rest.
* 34:15 There shall the great owl make
her nest, and lay, and hatch, and
gather under her shadow: there shall
the vultures also be gathered, every
one with her mate. (KJV)

5. * In the Talmud, Lilith is created at the same time as
Adam—explaining why there are two creation
stories. Much later, her tale is elaborated upon and
made more complete.
* The Alphabet of ben Sira (circa 800 CE) gives a
complete rendering of Lilith and her departure from
Eden (see the module for this account).
* The Alphabet is relatively new, but the amulets
mentioned in the story predate the time the story
was written down—indicating an older oral
tradition.
* n the Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism,
Lilith is named a succubus—stealing the semen of
men while they sleep to impregnate herself.
* The Zohar, the principal work of the Kabbalah,
describes Lilith's powers at their height during the
waning of the moon; her husband or demon lover is
Samael.

7. * Whether or not Lilith is a heroine or a monster
is determined by the culture who judges her.
She is a primary negative “role model” for
women in the Judeo/Christian mythos, even
more so than Eve who was disobedient but
repented of her wrongdoing—Lilith never
repented or felt guilt or sorrow.

8. * Whether or not Lilith is a heroine or a monster is
determined by the culture who judges her. She is a
primary negative “role model” for women in the
Judeo/Christian mythos, even more so than Eve who
was disobedient but repented of her wrongdoing—
Lilith never repented or felt guilt or sorrow.
* Both Eve and Lilith suffer from the same flaw as did
Gilgamesh—hubris. The punishment for the two
women, however, extend to their children: Lilith’s
lilin children die, and Eve’s children do, as well.
* In reference to Eve’s descendants, the verse Genesis
3:15 states, " . . . it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel,” and is closely worded as in the
Pelasgian myth where Eurynome bruises the head of
Ophion.

9. * In Eden, the serpent tempts Eve by telling her in Genesis
5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will
be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil." (The tree is akin to the “world tree” in other
mythoi.)
* Eve believed that if she ate from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, she would become godlike.
* There was also another tree in Eden from which the pair
does not get to eat:
* Genesis 3:22 (NIV): And the LORD God said, "The man has
now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He
must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also
from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
* Had Eve and Adam eaten from this tree, they would have
realized Gilgamesh’s fondest dream—to become immortal.
* To prevent this from happening, Yahweh/Elohim has the
pair driven from Eden.

11. * I discussed Pandora in
the video, but I do
want to reiterate some
commonalities between
her and Eve:
* They were both gullible
* Both were disobedient
* Their actions had
ramifications for
centuries to come!

12. * Although Eve and Pandora are guilty of cursing
humans, evil women are not charged with
ending the world as are Loki and Satan—or, they
do it indirectly by putting the curses into
motion.
* Women are more often guilty for misdeeds
caused by affairs of the heart; they seek
vengeance in inappropriate manners.
* In addition to those discussed, there is a short
role call on the next slide!

13. * Clytemnestra: kills Agamemnon when he returns from Troy
because he sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia.
* Medusa: turns living things to stone after she was cursed by
Athena for being raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple.
* Medea: kills her two children after Jason dumps her—Medea
goes on to become the wife of Aegeus (King of Athens) and
tries to destroy Theseus.
* Sekhmet: after being instructed by Ra to punish humans, she
goes overboard; Ra sends a flood of beer to stop her.
Sekhmet is later seen as a “good” goddess.
* And lest we forget, there is a plethora of evil women in
faerie tales from the witch in Handsel and Gretel to the
stepmothers of Cinderella and Snow White.

14. * In many mythoi, there is the
concept of the “dark
goddess,” but these dark
goddesses, though associated
with death, are not evil.
* Shiva’s counterpart is Kali,
who is also a destroyer: she
wears a necklace of skulls
and dances on Shiva’s body,
but the skulls are those of
demons and Shiva knows that
to create, destruction is
necessary.

15. * Hekate, who ruled the
underworld before Hades came
along, is a triple headed dark
goddess. She is the “dark
mother” who brings you into life
and who takes you out.
* Likewise, the Morrigan in Celtic
myth is often cited as a triple
goddess of death and war.
* The Sumerian Ereshkigal and
Norse Hel are also dark
goddesses; like Hades, these
goddesses are feared; though
humans have sought immortality
since we understood death, we
also understood that death is
inevitable.