Astaroth
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Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot, and Asteroth) is a Grand Duke of Hell; his main assistants are four demons called Aamon, Pruslas, Barbatos and Rashaverak. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is 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 S.Francis Barrett, Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against humans are stronger. His name seems to come from the goddess ‘Ashtart/Astarte which was rendered in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible as Astharthe (singular) and Astharoth (plural), that last form rendered in the King James Version of the Bible as Ashtaroth. It seems this plural form was taken either from the Latin or from some translation or other by those who did not know it was a plural form nor knew that it referred to a goddess, seeing it only as a name applied to some god other than God and therefore the name of a devil.
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[edit] Modern cultural references in film & television
- The Star of Astaroth is the highly sought-after key to casting the Nazi-invasion-ending Substitutionary Locomotion spell in the Disney film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, starring Angela Lansbury
- Astaroth was a one-shot villain in the animated series The Mighty Ducks.
- Astaroth Asran (Astharoshe) is a Methuselah/vampire in the series Trinity Blood.
- The seal of Astaroth is used to represent Hellmaster Fibrizo in the Slayers series.
- Astaroth is the demon called upon by Rabbi Low, in the film Der Golem: Wie er in die Welt Kam, to produce the correct Tetragrammaton for the creation of a Golem.
- Astaroth is a town in the horror movie Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural.
[edit] Modern cultural references in music
- Astaroth is referenced in the song "At the Sound of the Demon Bell" by the black metal band Merciful Fate-> I hear a bell/A sound from Hell, the demon bell/I see a light in shadow in between the graves/Swinging his sword of hate towards the gates of Heaven/"Beelzebub, Astaroth' ...bring me the Devil"/And as he says these words I can't believe my eyes...
- Astaroth is referenced in the song "Black Dwarf" by the doom metal band Candlemass
- Astaroth's seal appears on the cover art of the heavy metal album The Best of Bruce Dickinson
- Catherine, a 2-step/metalcore band from Sacramento, CA, has an album titled; "Rumour has it: Astaroth Has Stolen Your Eyes".
- Legions of Astaroth is an occult black metal band based out of Georgia.
- The song "Alone in the Dark" by Testament contains a reference to Astaroth.
- Astaroth is a Finnish death metal band.
- Astaroth's seal appears on the Tool CD Ænima.
- Astaroth's seal appears on the Vital Remains CD Into Cold Darkness.
- Astaroth is mentioned in the CD soundtrack to the hit computer game "The 7th Guest". Though the song is not featured in the game, the theme music used for the chapel room is used for the song that mentions Asteroth. It is the first song to be heard on the soundtrack, and the lyrics were composed by the writer of the game, Matthew Costello. (Incidentally, Matthew Costello actually spoke the lyrics down the phone to composer of the game music, The Fat Man, who decided to not only use it for the song, but actually mixed in the phone message by Matthew Costello into the soundtrack itself.)
- Astaroth is a song of the Spanish heavy metal group "Mägo de Oz".
- Astaroth is the stage name of Josh Daly writer/producer/mixer of the instrumental progressive rock band "Dark Eulogy".
- Astaroth is mentioned by the Swedish doom metal band Draconian in their song The Gothic Embrace.
[edit] Modern cultural references in digital games
- There is a character in Soul Calibur and its subsequent sequels named Astaroth, though he has nothing to do with the mythological demon, even though, like the mythological demon, he is also evil.
- Astaroth is the name of a vampire in the On line RPG-Ravenblack Roleplayand Vampires: The Dark Alleyway
- Astaroth is also the name of one of the three "Shadowlords" in the role playing computer game Ultima V - Warriors of Destiny.
- Astaroth is also the name of a monster featured in Final Fantasy II.
- Astaroth was one of the three gods of destruction in Shadow Hearts: Covenant. He was summoned by Nicolai Conrad.
- Astaroth's seal appears as a selectable emblem in the games City of Heroes and City of Villains.
- In the game Disciples II: Dark Prophecy there is a demon named Asteroth whose name is obviously a variation of Astaroth.
- Astaroth: The Angel of Death is a computer game for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.
- Astaroth is one of many random names given to a spawning daemon in ultima online.
- Astaroth is the name of a class of Shivan fighter craft in the science fiction computer game FreeSpace 2.
- Astaroth is the demon lord of Tartarus in the video game Sacrifice.
- Astaroth is a recurring villain in Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins video game series.
- Astaroth is a demon who appears in several of the Megami Tensei console rpgs.
- Ashtoroth is a belguim black metal band from the area maaseik
[edit] Modern cultural references in literature
- Astaroth is the name of a novel written by Croatian writer Ivo Brešan.
- Astaroth has made several appearances as a demon in the comic book Hellboy.
- Astaroth is the chief enemy and brother of The Demiurge in the horror Role-playing game Kult.
- Astaroth is also a demon representing Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins in the manga Angel Sanctuary.
- Astaroth is one of the many aliases of the Stephen King villain Randall Flagg.
- Astaroth was a daemon who appeared briefly in the Warhammer 40,000 comic Daemonifuge.
[edit] Other
- Astaroth is Monster in My Pocket #102. He appears as a spider with heads of an old man, a frog, and a cat--in short, like Baal. This appears to be derived from a similar identification in Jeff Rovin' The Fantasy Encyclopedia.
- Astaroth is the name of the prince of demons and enemy Kushulai'n in Omikron: The Nomad Soul.
- Lorenzo Neal is known, in some areas, as the Astroth of football, specifically because of his ruthlessness and raw brute power.
- There is an Astaroth Rising "tarot deck".
- The imageboard character Astaroth, Asutarotto in Japanese (アスタロット?), is originally from the card game and snack food Shinra-Bansho and is a purple-skinned female version who likes offensive and weird T-shirts more than her impractical demon outfit.
