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Astaroth
According to some authors on demonology, Astaroth is a king of Hell, being Lucifer the Emperor and Satan a seducer of women; his main assistants are three demons called Aamon, Pruslas and Barbatos. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is commonly depicted as a nude man with dragon-like wings, hands and feet, a second pair of feathered wings after the main, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a wolf or dog. According to Sebastian Michaelis[?] he is a demon of the 'First Hierarchy', who seduces by means of laziness and vanity, and his adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him.
According to Francis Barrett[?], Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. According to some demonologists of the XVIth. Century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against humans are stronger. His name seems to be a corruption of that of the goddess Aphtoreth, Astoreth or Astarte; anyhow, it is some confusion concerning the origin of the name, because meanwhile Astoreth is used by some authors as a dialectal[?] ancient Phoenician spelling for Astarte, in some biblical translations is mentioned a deity named Astoreth (see Asherah) depicted as a bull, which in the Biblia Vulgata is mentioned as Astaroth with no depiction; both Astarte and the bull (used to depict Baal, her husband) were symbols of fertility and to both were offered human sacrifices; it is known that with the advent of monotheistic Judaism and then Christianity the ancient gods/goddesses became "demons".
Other spellings: Astarot, Ashtaroth.
See also The Lesser Key of Solomon, Ars Goetia.
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