An archdemon
| “ | Faster than humans can fill the land... Faster than the humans can destroy the planet... I shall give birth to demons to keep them in check! So long as this land is abundant with seeds, I will birth an endless orchard of demons! | „ |
| ~ Archdemon Tiamat. |
An Archdemon, also known as Archdevil or Archdaemon, is a high-ranking demon and spiritual entity as it is a physical one, prominent in the infernal hierarchy as a leader of the infernal host. Essentially, the archdemons are the demonic counterparts of the Archangels. Archdemons are described as the leaders of demonic hosts, just as archangels lead choirs of angels.
Contents
Overview
There is controversy regarding which demons should be classed as archdemons. During different ages, some demons were historically "promoted" to archdemons, others were completely forgotten, and new ones were created. Archdemons are also said to be once fallen angels whom were in a choir of angels before they were cast out from Heaven and unto Hell. Archdemons are described as the leaders of demonic hosts, just as archangels lead choirs of angels. In ancient Jewish lore, many of the pagan gods of neighboring cultures were identified as extremely pernicious demons in order to prevent Jews from worshiping them.
Therefore, the pagan deity Baal was reinterpreted as the archdemon Baal or Beelzebub, and the pagan deity Astarte was reinterpreted as the archdemon Astaroth. These two in particular were seen as some of the worst enemies of God. By the Middle Ages, these pagan deities were no longer worshiped, so their characterizations as archdemons were no longer important, but they still persisted anyway. New archdemons were invented over time, most of them revolving around Satan and the Antichrist.
Description
They were dubbed as archdemons simply due to the fact that they retained their high status as they once did in Heaven. The only difference being is that they were promoted as archdemon by a once high ranking angel such as Lucifer, Belial, or Astaroth. Archdemons are at times thought to be demon lords or Princes of Hell such as Asmodeus or Belphegor, but it depends on the iteration of it. Archdemons are simply high ranking demons whom are tasked of being second in command of their Lords' demonic legion. They are possibly referred to as "archangels of death" in the Bible.
Given that many devils were rebellious angels who had fallen, they maintained their rank as ex-angels within their new roles. Alphonsus de Spina in 1459 believed that specifically one third of the original angelic court became devils; specifically 133,306,668. However, accounts have varied throughout history and Johann Weyer altered the figures from 7,405,926 demons to 72 demons of hell.
Ahmad al-Buni qualified four kings of infernal demons named Mudhib, Maimun, Barqan and Al-Ahmar, as archdemons paralleling the hierarchy of archangels in Islam. Each of them has their own demons under command. These kings are identified with different days of the week.
Notable Archdemons
Princes of Hell
- Lucifer
- Satan
- Beelzebub
- Asmodeus
- Leviathan
- Belphegor
- Mammon
- Lilith
- Barbelo
- Mephistopheles
- Dis
- Pythius
- Merihem
Six Great Officers
Demon Kings of Directions
Four Infernal Kings of Islam
- Mudhib
- Maimun
- Barqan
- Al-Ahmar
