9/20/2019 Abyzou - Wikipedia

Abyzou
In the my th and folklore of the Near East and Europe, Aby zou is the name of a female demon. Aby zou was blamed for miscarriages and infant mortality and was said to be motiv ated by env y (Greek: φθόνος phthonos), as she herself was
infertile. In the Coptic Egy pt she is identified with Alabasandria, and in By zantine culture with Gy lou, but in v arious texts surv iv ing from the sy ncretic magical practice of antiquity and the early mediev al era she is said to hav e many or
v irtually innumerable names. [1 ]

Aby zou (also spelled Abizou, Obizu, Obizuth, Oby zouth, By zou etc.) is pictured on amulets with fish- or serpent-like attributes. Her fullest literary depiction is the compendium of demonology known as the Testament of Solomon, dated
v ariously by scholars from as early as the 1st century AD to as late as the 4th. [2 ]

Contents
Origins
The Testament of Solomon
On medical amulets
The names of Abyzou
Gyllou, Gylou, Gello
Antaura
Alabasandria
In popular culture
See also
References
Selected bibliography

Origins
A.A. Barb connected Aby zou and similar female demons to the story of the primev al sea, Abzu, in ancient Mesopotamian religion. Barb argued that although the name "Aby zou" appears to be a corrupted form of the Greek ἄβυσ σ ος ábyssos
"aby ss", [3 ] the Greek itself was borrowed from Akkadian Apsu or Sumerian Abzu.

The primev al sea was originally an androgy ne or asexual, later div iding into the male Abzu (fresh water) and the female Tiamat (seawater, appearing as the Tehom in the Book of Genesis). The female demons, among whom Lilith is the best-
known, are often said to hav e come from the primev al sea. In ancient Greek religion, female sea monsters that combine allure and deadliness may also deriv e from this tradition, including the Gorgons (who were daughters of the old sea god
Phorcy s), sirens, harpies, and ev en water ny mphs and Nereids. [4 ]

In the Septuagint, the Greek v ersion of the Hebrew Bible, the word Abyssos is treated as a noun of feminine grammatical gender, ev en though Greek nouns ending in -os are ty pically masculine. Abyssos is equiv alent in meaning to Abzu as the
dark chaotic sea before Creation. The word also appears in the Christian New Testament, occurring six times in the Book of Rev elation, where it is conv entionally translated not as "the deep" but as "the bottomless pit" of Hell. Barb argues that in
essence the Sumerian Abzu is the "grandmother" of the Christian Dev il. [5 ]

The Testament of Solomon

In the late antique Testament of Solomon, [6 ] Aby zou (as Obizuth) is described as hav ing a "greenish gleaming face with dishev elled serpent-like hair"; the rest of her body is cov ered by darkness. [7 ] The speaker ("King Solomon") encounters a
series of demons, binds and tortures each in turn, and inquires into their activ ities; then he metes out punishment or controls them as he sees fit. Put to the test, Aby zou say s that she does not sleep, but rather wanders the world looking for
women about to giv e birth; giv en the opportunity , she will strangle newborns. She claims also to be the source of many other afflictions, including deafness, ey e trouble, obstructions of the throat, madness, and bodily pain. [8 ] Solomon orders
that she be chained by her own hair and hung up in front of the Temple in public v iew. The writer of the Testament appears to hav e been thinking of the gorgoneion, or the icon of the Medusa's head, which often adorned Greek temples and
occasionally Jewish sy nagogues in late antiquity . [7 ]

Env y is a theme in the Testament, [9 ] and during his interrogation by the king, Beelzebub himself asserts that he inspires env y among humans. [1 0 ] Among the succession of demons bound and questioned, the personification of Env y is
described as headless, and motiv ated by the need to steal another's head: "I grasp in an instant a man's head ... and put it on my self."[1 1 ] As with Env y 's Sisy phean efforts to replace his head, Aby zou (Obizuth) cannot rest until she steals a child
each night.

On medical amulets
On the inscribed healing amulets of the Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman magico-medical tradition, illness or affliction is often personified and addressed directly ; the practitioner may be instructed to inscribe
or chant a phrase that orders the ailment to depart: for example, "Flee, Fev er!"[1 2 ] The ailment may also be conceiv ed of as caused by a demon, who must be identified correctly by name and commanded to
depart. In this mode, magico-healing practice bears comparison to exorcism. [1 3 ]

Aby zou is depicted and named on sev eral early By zantine bronze amulets. With her hands tied behind her back, she kneels as she is whipped by a standing figure, identified as Solomon or Arlaph, called Afarof in
the Testament of Solomon and identified with the archangel Raphael. On one amulet, the figure is labeled as Arlaph, but an inscription reads "The Seal of Solomon [is] with the bearer; I am Noskam." The rev erse
inscription is written within an ouroboros, the sy mbol of a snake biting its tail to form a circle: "Flee, flee, Aby zou, [from] Sisinios and Sisinnia; the v oracious dog dwells here." (Saint Sisinnios[1 4 ] sometimes
takes the Solomon role on Christian amulets.) Although Aby zou is regarded mainly as a threat to child-bearing women and to infants, some of the names of those seeking protection from her on extant amulets
are masculine. [1 5 ]

Mediev al amulets show a v ariation on this iconography , with Aby zou trampled underfoot by a horseman. The rider is identified again either as Solomon or Arlaph; one example depicts the rider as Sisinnios,
with the demon named as both Abizou and Anabardalea, and an angel named Araph (for Arlaph) standing by with one raised wing. The mediev al lead amulets that show the rider subduing the female often hav e
a main image that resembles a gorgoneion and is likely a womb sy mbol (hystera). [1 6 ]

The names of Abyzou

Amulet depicting Abyzou
In one magic-related text, the archangel Michael confronts Aby zou and compels her to tell him the 40 names that can control her. [1 7 ] In magico-religious practice, the knowledge of the secret name of a deity ,
whipped by Arlaph
div ine force, or demon offers power ov er that entity . [1 8 ]

In the Testament of Solomon, the demon herself declares that she has ten-thousands of names and forms, and that Raphael is her antithesis. She say s that if her name is written on a scrap of papy rus when a woman is about to giv e birth, "I shall
flee from them to the other world."[1 9 ]

Variants on the name of Aby zou appear frequently in charms in languages such as ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Romanian. [2 0 ]

Gyllou, Gylou, Gello

The female childbirth demon appears frequently in magical texts under her Baby lonian name Gy llou or Gy lou. In one Greek tale set in the time of "Trajan the King", Gy llou under torture rev eals her "twelv e and a half names":

My first and special name is called Gy llou; the second Amorphous; the third Aby zou; the fourth Karkhous; the fifth Brianê; the sixth Bardellous; the sev enth Aigy ptianê; the eighth Barna; the ninth Kharkhanistrea; the tenth
Adikia; ... [2 1 ] the twelfth My ia; the half Petomene. [2 2 ]

In mediev al texts, one of Gy lou's twelv e and a half names is giv en as Anabardalea, a name also associated with Aby zou. [2 3 ]

In the form of Gello, the demon appears in a fragment from Sappho's poetry . [2 4 ]

Antaura
Antaura is a female demon who causes migraine headaches. She is known primarily from a 2nd/3rd century silv er lamella (inscribed metal leaf) found at the Roman military settlement Carnuntum in present-day Austria. Antaura, whose name
means something like "Contrary Wind", is said to come out of the sea. In the inscription, she is confronted by the Ephesian Artemis, who play s the role assigned to the male figures Solomon, Arlaph, and Sisinnios in Jewish and Christian
magic. [2 6 ]

Alabasandria
At the monastery of St. Apollo in Bawit, Egy pt, a wall painting depicts the childbirth demon under the name Alabasandria (or Alabasdria) as she is trampled under the hoov es of a horse. The rider wears a belted tunic and trousers in the
Parthian manner, and an inscription, now faded, was read at the time of its discov ery as Sisinnios. [2 7 ] This central image is surrounded by other figures, including a centaur, the piercing of the ev il ey e, and the demon's daughter, winged and
reptile-tailed, identified by an inscription. [2 8 ]

In popular culture
In the 2012 horror film The Possession, Abyzou is the name of the Dybbuk that haunts one of the main characters, Emily "Em" Brenek.
In "The Sisters Mills", an episode of the Fox fantasy series Sleepy Hollow, Abyzou is featured as the primary antagonist. Here she is the origin of the myth of the Tooth Fairy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyzou 1/2
9/20/2019
Also sinister 1 and 2
See also
For similar or related figures, see:
Al
Empusa
Lamashtu
Lamia
Lilith
References
1. Mary Margaret Fulgum, "Coins Used as Amulets in Late Antiquity," in Between Magic
and Religion: Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Mediterranean Religion and Society
(Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), p. 142
2. A.A. Barb, "Antaura. The Mermaid and the Devil's Grandmother: A Lecture," Journal of
the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 29 (1966), p. 5; "at least to the 2nd century," Sara
Iles Johnston, Religions of the Ancient World (Harvard University Press, 2004), p. 122
online (https://books.google.com/books?id=uvtebmqZZDYC&pg=PA122&dq=%22to+at+l
east+the+2nd%22+inauthor:Sarah+inauthor:Iles+inauthor:Johnston&lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt
=ALLTYPES); "probably dates to the third century," James H. Charlesworth, "Jewish
Interest in Astrology," Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II 20.2 (1987) pp.
935–936 online. (https://books.google.com/books?id=W98sGP3j1GQC&pg=PA935&dq
=%22Testament+of+Solomon%22&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES) et al.
3. Based on a popular etymology that saw in the word Greek bythos ("depth") with an alpha
privative to mean "without depth" or "bottomless"; Liddell and Scott, A Greek –English
Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1843, 1985 printing), p. 4, gives no etymology for
ἄβυσσος.
4. A.A. Barb, "Antaura. The Mermaid and the Devil's Grandmother: A Lecture," Journal of
the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 29 (1966), p. 6
5. Barb, "Antaura," pp. 10–12.
6. Testament of Solomon 58–59, translation and introduction by F.C. Conybeare, Jewish
Quarterly Review 11 (1898), p. 30 online. (https://books.google.com/books?id=dw4ZAAA
AYAAJ&pg=PA30&dq=%22I+am+called+among+men+Obizuth%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&a
s_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=3#v=onep
age&q=%22I%20am%20called%20among%20men%20Obizuth%22&f=false)
7. Barb, "Antaura," p. 9.
8. Barb, "Antaura," p. 5; for online texts of the Testament, see "Selected bibliography"
below.
9. Fr. George R.A. Aquaro, Death by Envy: The Evil Eye and Envy in the Christian Tradition
(iUniverse, 2004), p. 99 online. (https://books.google.com/books?id=kO1s6RFN6R4C&pg
=PA99&dq=Gyllou+OR+Gylou&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES)
10. Testament of Solomon 27, p. 22 in Conybeare.
11. Testament of Solomon 43–44, p. 26 in Conybeare.
12. For an example of a course of treatment employing a "flee" charm, see article on
Medicina Plinii.
13. Roy Kotansky, "Incantations and Prayers on Inscribed Greek Amulets," in Magik a Hiera:
Ancient Greek Magic and Religion, edited by Christopher A. Faraone and Dirk Obbink
(Oxford University Press, 1991), pp. 113–114 and 119; on exorcism of the childbirth
demon, Vasilakē, Maria (2005). Images of the Mother of God: Perceptions of the
Theotok os in Byzantium (https://books.google.com/books?id=Qw9zUeRLJ1QC&pg=PA2
56). Ashgate Pub. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-7546-3603-8.
14. Walter, Christopher (2003). The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=BRju9VQdW3QC&pg=PA241). Ashgate. pp. 241–2. ISBN 978-
1-84014-694-3.
15. Jeffrey Spier, "Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets and Their Tradition," Journal of the
Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 56 (1993), pp. 37–38, full text available online. (http://w
ww.tc.umn.edu/~cmedst/gmap/uploaded/Medieval%20Byzantine%20Magical%20Amulet
s%20and%20Their%20Tradition.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/200908240552
55/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~cmedst/gmap/uploaded/Medieval%20Byzantine%20Magical%
20Amulets%20and%20Their%20Tradition.pdf) 2009-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
Selected bibliography
Barb, A.A. "Antaura. The Mermaid and the Devil's Grandmother: A Lecture." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 29 (1966) 1–23.
Conybeare, F.C. "The Testament of Solomon," translation and introduction. Jewish Quarterly Review 11 (1898) 1– 46 online (https://books.google.com/books?id=ylkpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22Testament+of+Solomon%22&lr=&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTY
PES), full text available and downloadable.
Fulgum, Mary Margaret. "Coins Used as Amulets in Late Antiquity." In Between Magic and Religion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), pp. 139–148 limited preview online. (https://books.google.com/books?id=NBQe3gS_ys0C&pg=PA139&dq=%22Coins+Used+
as+Amulets+in+Late+Antiquity%22&lr=&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES)
Spier, Jeffrey. "Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets and Their Tradition." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 56 (1993) 25–62, online (https://web.archive.org/web/20090824055255/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~cmedst/gmap/uploaded/Medieval%20
Byzantine%20Magical%20Amulets%20and%20Their%20Tradition.pdf).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abyzou&oldid=908747031"
This page was last edited on 31 July 2019, at 18:24 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-
profit organization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyzou
Abyzou - Wikipedia
16. Fulgum, "Coins Used as Amulets in Late Antiquity," p. 142; Spier, "Medieval Byzantine
Magical Amulets," pp. 38–40.
17. Sergio Giannobile and D.R. Jordan, "A Lead Phylactery from Colle san Basilio (Sicily),"
Greek , Roman, and Byzantine Studies 46 (2006), p. 80, citing Cod.Marc.gr.app. II 163 in Fresco unearthed at Bawit. Mounted figure is Sissinios (only
"os" remains to be read), the trampled female is
F. Pradel, Griechische und süditalienische Gebete, Beschwörungen und Rezepte des
Alabasandria. The winged half-serpent is "daughter of
Mittelalters, RGVV 3.3 (1907) 23–24 online (https://books.google.com/books?id=RhQYA
Alabasandria".[25]
AAAIAAJ&pg=PA275) for the relevant passage in Greek.
18. The secrecy surrounding the correct names of gods extended to prayer formularies in
general and was characteristic of Ancient Egyptian religion, mystery religions, early
Christianity and Judaism, and other religions of antiquity. See Matthias Klinghardt,
"Prayer Formularies for Public Recitation: Their Use and Function in Ancient Religion,"
Numen 46 (1999) 1–52, and for an example of dire consequences attending on the
revelation of a secret name, see article on Quintus Valerius Soranus.
19. Barb, "Antaura,"p. 5; Spier, "Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets and Their Tradition," p.
12.
20. Barb, "Antaura," p. 5.
21. There is a gap in the original text.
22. Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of
Late Antiquity (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1985), pp. 114–115.
23. Spier, "Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets," p. 38.
24. Sappho, frg. 178 in Poeta Lesbiorum fragmenta, edited by Edgar Lobel and Denys Page
(Oxford 1955), p. 101; Karen Hartnup, On the Beliefs of the Greek s: Leo Allatios and
Popular Orthodoxy (Brill, 2004), pp. 35, 85–86, 149–150, limited preview online. (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=xnqI8uSeekwC)
25. Perdrizet, Paul (1922), Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris, études de démonologie
gréco-orientale (https://archive.org/stream/negotiumperambul00perd#page/14/mode/2up),
Lib. Istra, pp. 14, 25–26
26. Barb, "Antaura," especially pp. 2–5; Georg Luck, Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in
the Greek and Roman Worlds. A Collection of Ancient Texts (The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1985, 2nd ed. 2006), p. 281 online (https://books.google.com/books?id
=ROcBMDUXCMoC&pg=PA281&dq=Antaura&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPE
S); Roy Kotansky, "Jesus and the Lady of the Abyss (Mark 2:25–34): Hieros gamos,
Cosmogony, and the Elixir of Life," in Antiquity and Humanity: Essays on Ancient
Religion and Philosophy Presented to Hans Dieter Betz on His 70th Birthday (Mohr
Siebeck, 2001), p. 100, note 49 online (https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl0k7IMJaN
MC&pg=PA100&dq=Antaura&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES); Roy
Kotansky, "An Early Christian Gold lamella for Headache," in Magic and Ritual in the
Ancient World (Brill, 2001), pp. 41–42 online (https://books.google.com/books?id=xMDH
gzjSU_MC&pg=PA41&dq=Antaura&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA41,
M1); Vivian Nutton, Ancient Medicine (Routledge, 2004), p. 274 online (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=oShfkIhduowC&pg=PA274&dq=Antaura&lr=&num=100&as_brr=0&as_
pt=ALLTYPES). Full discussion of this amulet in Roy Kotansky, Greek Magical Amulets:
The Inscribed Gold, Silver, Copper, and Bronze Lamellae: Text and Commentary
(Opladen : Westdeutscher Verlag, 1994), 1.270–300 (nos. 52.93–95), esp. 279, 295–96.
27. Fulgum, "Coins Used as Amulets in Late Antiquity," p. 142 online. (https://books.google.
com/books?id=NBQe3gS_ys0C&pg=PA142&dq=Alabasandria&lr=&num=100&as_brr=3&
as_pt=ALLTYPES)
28. Christopher Walter, The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition (Ashgate
Publishing, 2003), p. 241 online. (https://books.google.com/books?id=BRju9VQdW3QC&
pg=RA1-PA241&dq=demon+Gyllou,+OR+Gylou,+OR+Gello,+OR+Gillo&lr=&as_drrb_is=
q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=2009&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2009&num=100&a
s_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES)
2/2