Nick Concklin
November 29, 2007
ENGS 25: World Literature
Research Paper
The Archetype of Lilith
The question “Who is Lilith?” has no one answer. Lilith is a demon temptress of the night . Lilith is the first wife of Adam, the first man according to Abrahamic tradition. Lilith is an archetype for independent, obstinate women . She is present in the mythological folklore of almost every Middle-Eastern and European culture to have developed since she first appeared in Sumerian mythology. Some scholars have placed her origin within a set of Sumerian wind and storm demons called Lilitu around 3000 B.C. Some scholars such as Samuel Kramer have (controversially) identified Lilith with the character Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke (“maiden [of Gilgamesh’s father Lila/Lillu ] who screeches constantly; gladdener of all hearts”) as well as Ki-sikil-ud-da-ka-ra (“maiden who has stolen/seized the light”) from the prologue to the Sumerian epic Gilgamesh . Nonetheless it is Jewish......
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Approximate Word Count: 1891
Approximate Pages: 8 (260 words per double-spaced page) |