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The Ranks of
Hell
Just
as archangels and
angels, Dominions, Principalities,
and Powers are in heaven, so it is said demons and devils
are in hierarchy of hell,
Princes, Ministers, Ambassadors, Justices, The House of
Princes, and the Trivial Spirits, Alphonsus de Spina (who
brought into Christianity a lot of Jewish lore) says there
are ten orders of demons.
Some other authorities say there are nine orders of devils,
some six, some four.
This
was an idea that was especially appealing to the hierarchical
mind-set of the Middle Ages. At the top is God's Adversary
himself, Satan. At various
times he is confused with Lucifer,
The Angel of Light, The Prince of Darkness, The Dark Angel,
and others but it is Satan we usually mean when we speak
of The Devil. All others
are demons, not devils, though our language tends to regard
devils and demons as synonymous.
Here
are the principal personages in the infernal kingdom, in
alphabetical order, because there is some disagreement about
their exact placement.
What
is more interesting than that, however, is how it is imagined
that the kingdom of hell mirrors other kingdoms. It is also
interesting how and why students of demonology hit upon
the very specific numbers of infernal legions commanded
by this or that power.
Mark
V:7 says Christ was attacked by a legion of demons in the
form of pigs. They were drowned.
But
to our hierarchy: Here, collected from a number of sources,
is probably the most complete - I do not claim 'the most
accurate' - list to be found anywhere:
| Abaddon |
King
of Demons. Better known by his Greek name Apollyon. |
| Abigor |
A
horseman with a lance and scepter, commanding 60 legions
of devils. |
| Adramelech |
Chancellor
of Hell and President of The High Council of Devils. |
| Aguares |
Grand
Duke of Eastern Hell, commanding 30 legions of devils.
|
| Alocer |
Grand
Duke of Hell, commanding 36 legions of devils. |
| Amduscias |
Grand
Duke of Hell, commanding 29 legions, popular with black
magicians. |
| Andras |
Marquis
of Hell, commanding 30 legions of devils. |
| Asmodeus |
Head
of the Casinos of Hell, banished to the desert by Raphael. |
| Astaroth |
Grand
Duke of Western Hell, Lord Treasurer of Hell.
|
| Astarte |
One
of a number of heathen gods and goddesses sometimes
consigned to Hell. |
| Aym |
Grand
Duke of Hell, commanding 26 legions of demons. Also
Haborym. |
| Ayperos |
Prince
of Hell, commanding 36 legions of devils. |
| Azazel |
Standard
Bearer of the armies of Hell. Also Satanael. |
| Baal |
Commanding
General of the Infernal Armies. |
| Baalberith |
Chief
Secretary and Archivist of Hell, a second-order demon.
Also Berith. |
| Balan |
Prince
of Hell. |
| Bearded
Demon, the |
His
name cannot be given lest people deal with him in search
of the Philosopher's Stone (as King Solomon and Paracelsus
are said to have done). |
| Beelzebub |
Prince
of Demons, Lord of the Flies, second only to Satan. |
| Belial |
Prince
of Trickery, Demon of Sodomy, sometimes called The Antichrist.
It is likely he is also the one called Zephar
by the German demonologist Weir. |
| Belphegor |
Demon
of Ingenious Discoveries and Wealth. |
| Buer |
Second-order
demon but commanding 50 legions of devils. |
| Caym |
Grand
President of Hell |
| Charon |
Boatman
of Hell who ferries souls across the Styx or Archeron |
| Chax |
Grand
Duke of Hell. Also Scox. |
| Cresil |
Demon
of impurity and slovenliness (according to Sebastien
Michaelis, 1613). |
| Dagon |
Baker
of Hell, member of the House of Princes. |
| Eurynomus |
Prince
of Hell who feeds on corpses. |
| Furfur |
Count
of Hell, commanding 26 legions of demons. |
| Geryon |
Giant
centaur who (Dante said)
guards Hell. Others say the guardian is a dragon. |
| Hecate |
Queen
of the witches. |
| Jezebeth |
Demon
of Falsehoods. |
| Kasdeya |
According
to The Book of Enoch (LXIX:12) 'the fifth Satan.' |
| Kobal |
Entertainment
Director of Hell, patron of comedians |
| Leonard |
Inspector-General
of Black Magic and Sorcery,
The Great Negro of the witches' sabbats as a giant black
goat. In Germany, Urian. |
| Leviathan |
Grand
Admiral of Hell; androgynous, he is said to have seduced
both Adam and Eve. |
| Lilith |
Princess
of Hell, first wife of Adam. |
| Malphas |
Grand
President of Hell, commanding 40 legions of devils.
Same as Caym? |
| Mammon |
A
word misunderstood was personified as the Demon of Avarice. |
| Mastema |
Leader
of the offspring of fallen angels by human beings. |
| Melchom |
Treasurer
of the House of the Princes of Hell. |
| Mephistopheles |
In
some versions, servant of Lucifer,
in others, The Devil himself. |
| Merihim |
Prince
of Pestilence. |
| Moloch |
Another
demon inherited from Jewish belief. |
| Mullin |
Servant
of the House of Princes, lieutenant to Leonard. |
| Murmur |
Count
of Hell, Demon of Music. |
| Naburus |
Marquis
of Hell, connected with Cerberus. |
| Nergal |
Chief
of Secret Police of Hell, a second-order demon, married
to Allotu. |
| Nybras |
Grand
Publicist of the Pleasures of Hell, an inferior demon. |
| Nysrogh |
Chief
of the House of Princes of Hell, a second order demon. |
| Orias |
Marquis
of Hell, Demon of Diabolic Astrologers and Diviners. |
| Orthon |
A
minor demon familiar to the Comte de Corasse and the
Comte de Foix. Another personal demon known by name
is Sybacco, rather unreliably said to have attended
Adriano Lemmi, connected with the alleged Satanic-Masonic
cult of Palladinism in 19th century Italy and then there
are all sorts of demons (usually with French names)
that possessed French nuns, etc. |
| Paymon |
Master
of Ceremonies of Hell. |
| Philotanus |
Demon
assisting Belial in furthering pederasty and sodomy. |
| Proserpine |
In
some accounts, Princess of Hell. |
| Pyro |
Prince
of Falsehood. |
| Raum |
Count
of Hell, commanding 30 legions of demons. |
| Rimmon |
Ambassador
from Hell to (Czarist) Russia, Chief Physician of Hell.
Also Damas. |
| Ronwe |
Minor
demon commanding 19 legions of devils. |
| Samael |
Angel
of Death, Prince of the Air, perhaps the one who tempted
Eve. |
| Semiazas |
Chief
of the Fallen Angels. |
| Shabriri |
Demon
who struck people blind. The Jews also had goat demons
(Schirim, Seirim), demon monsters (Behemoth,
Leviathan), and
Lilim, Nazzikim, Ruchoth, and many
more. |
| Sonneillon |
Demon
of Hate (Michaelis). |
| Succorbenoth |
Chief
Eunuch of the House of Princes, Demon of Gates and Jealousy. |
| Thamuz |
Ambassador
of Hell, Creator of The Holy Inquisition, Investor of
Artillery. |
| Ukobach |
Stationary
Engineer of Hell, Inventor of Fireworks, maybe Cooking
Out. |
| Uphir |
Head
of the HMO of Hell, Demon physician and apothecary. |
| Valafar |
Grand
Duke of Hell 'in charge' say Tondriau and Villeneuve
(1972) 'of good relations among brigands.' |
| Verdelet |
Master
of Ceremonies of the House of the Princes of Hell. |
| Verin |
Demon
of Impatience. |
| Vetis |
A
devil who specializes in tempting and corrupting the
holy. |
| Xaphan |
Stokes
the furnaces of Hell, a second-order demon. |
| Zaebos |
One
of the many animal-human combinations in Hebrew imitation
of the Sumerians. This one is part crocodile, part human. |
| Zagam |
Demon
of Deceit and Counterfeiting. He can do Christ's first
miracle, changing water into wine. |
In
the list above the information allegedly was revealed by
Baalberith to Soeur Madeleine de Demandoix in the early
17th century. She had pretty familiar names in her first
hierarchy but her second (Carreau, Carnivean, Oeillet, Rosier,
Verrier) and their hierarchy (Belial, Olivier, Juvart) look
incredibly French.
My
list is long enough, though if Weir (who wrote in the 16th
century) is to be believed, Hell has 66 princes, each commanding
6,666 legions, each legion comprising 6,666 devils. That
would amount to about half the world's populations in his
time. This looks suspiciously like a riff on the
number of the Beast of The
Apocalypse, 666, which some cabalists say is 600 (false
religion), 60 (greed), and 6 (this world).
It
might be added that some devils or demons refuse to give
their names even when summoned by magical means because
in their names is power. On the other hand, having a name
always makes communications of any sort easier.
See
also Fallen Angels
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'the Complete Book of Devils & Demons' -
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