Who is Lamashtu?
Fig. 1 - Hand-drawing of the Lamashtu amulet LB 2927 - F.A.M. Wiggerman, 2000: “Lamashtu, Daughter of Anu. A Profile” in M. Stol, Birth in Babylonian and the Bible. Its Mediterranean Setting, Cuneiform Monographs 14, Groningen, p. 221
On the front side of this amulet we find a crude drawing of the baby-eating evil demoness Lamashtu. The drawing does not do her justice: to the Mesopotamians she was the stuff of horrors and nightmares. We know from a number of amulets what she looked like: she is depicted with the head of a lion or bird, a hairy or scaled body, (sagging) breasts, human hands, and claws for feet.
She was feared for thousands of years by all layers of society in ancient Mesopotamia (broadly speaking current day Syria and Iraq). Lamashtu was already known under the name “Dimme” in texts dating to around 2100 BCE, where she was part of a group of seven demons. From that time onward she is mentioned individually more than other demons, and people started to make amulets and recite incantations to keep her at bay. Her role was similar to that of the demoness Lilith mentioned in the Bible (Isiah 34: 14) and in Jewish literature.