Asmodeus is more than the “demon of lust.” In this episode, I trace his journey from the Avestan aēšma in Zoroastrian texts to Ashmedai in Jewish literature, through the Book of Tobit and the Babylonian Talmud, into Islamic narratives of Solomon’s throne, and on to Christian demonology, Renaissance grimoires, Enlightenment satire, and modern occult reinterpretations. Rather than a single biography, Asmodeus emerges as a cultural palimpsest that different communities used to think about desire, power, and knowledge. We examine philology, theology, ritual technologies, and iconography to ask what this demon reveals about changing ideas of evil and the management of sexuality. If you value evidence-based scholarship on magic and esotericism, this one is for you.

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RECOMMENDED READINGS 📖

REFERENCES 📚(full list on screen)

Boyce, M. (1975). A history of Zoroastrianism: The early period. Brill.

Duling, D. C. (1983). Testament of Solomon: A new translation and introduction. In J. H. Charlesworth (Ed.), The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (Vol. 1, pp. 935–987). Doubleday.

Fitzmyer, J. A. (2003). Tobit. De Gruyter.

Al-Ṭabarī. (2001). The history of al-Ṭabarī: Volume III, The children of Israel (W. M. Brinner, Trans.). State University of New York Press.

Clark, S. (1997). Thinking with demons: The idea of witchcraft in early modern Europe. Oxford University Press.

Davies, O. (2009). Grimoires: A history of magic books. Oxford University Press.

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00:00 Introduction: Who is Asmodeus the Demon?

06:57 Asmodeus: Philological Archaeology and Zoroastrian Foundations

11:38 Asmodeus inJewish Tradition and Second Temple Literature

13:40 Asmodeus Reimagined in the Testament of Solomon

16:49 Asmodeus in Christian Demonology

18:53 The possessed Nuns of Loudun

21:37 Islamic Adaptations of Asmodeus

26:05 Asmodeus in Renaissance Grimoires and Systematic Demonology

31:44 Modern Occult and Esoteric Reinterpretations of the Demon King Asmodeus

36:46 Conclusion: The Demon as a Cultural Palimpsest

41:33 Support Angela’s Symposium

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