Incantations Incantations dealing with
ardat-lilî were already known in the
Old Babylonian period. The standard texts are bilingual, with Sumerian and Akkadian versions of the same formula listed side by side. One of the early examples places one or more ardat-lilî in the entourage of
Erra.
Ardat-lilî is also mentioned in incantations from the series
Udug Hul. Markham J. Geller notes there is a degree of textual overlap between this corpus and independent
ardat-lilî incantations.
Ardat-lilî appears for example in a formula meant to prevent various demons from approaching their victims on tablet 6. However, on tablet 5 an
ardat-lilî is herself described as a victim of another demon and is placed under the protection of
Ishtar (contrast with a different
ardat-lilî who is described as having been “mistreated by the ‘hand’ of
Ishtar”). The incantation is instead aimed against the
utukku and
alû.
Ardat-lilî appears alongside
lilû and
lilītu in an incantation targeting
mimma lemnu, "any evil", a personification of a formula referring to any possible cause of harm which has befallen a person. Specific well known demons and illnesses are singled out as possible sources, but the cause ultimately remains undefined. The formula was originally written in the seventh century by Nabû-kabti-aḫḫēšu, an exorcist from the
temple of
Ashur in
Assur. Later copies have been discovered during excavations of
Uruk and
Babylon as well. References to
ardat-lilî have also been identified in medical incantations. An illness called the "
hand of ardat-lilî" (
qāt ardat lilî) is known from multiple sources. In the
Assur Medical Catalogue, it is described as the cause of
la’bu, which has been variously interpreted as a
skin disease, a type of
fever, psychiatric and neurological disorders, or as a reference to an unidentified bodily fluid.
Other genres of texts An
astrological text from
Sultantepe indicates that the twelfth day of the month was believed to be particularly suitable for performing rituals meant to ward off
ardat-lilî. Under the Sumerian term
kisikillila,
ardat-lilî appears in the composition
Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld. It belonged to the curriculum of Old Babylonian
scribal schools, and as a result is well documented in the archeological record, with seventy four copies recovered as of 2014.
Kisikillila is described as one of the three beings Gilgamesh has to drive away from the
ḫalub tree planted by
Inanna. While part of the narrative was later translated into Akkadian and incorporated into the
Epic of Gilgamesh, the section dealing with the
ḫalub tree was not, possibly due to thematically overlapping with the myth of the
cedar forest.
Disputed or disproved examples In the past identification of the figure depicted on the
Burney Relief as an ardat-lilî or lilītu has been proposed, but today it is considered implausible as it is unlikely a figure perceived negatively would be represented as a cultic image. In ancient Mesopotamia demons were not an object of cult, and it was believed they are incapable of heeding prayers of humans the way gods were supposed to. With the exception of first millennium BCE exorcist rituals which required the preparation of figures of demons such as
Lamashtu,
utukku or
rābiṣu, there is no evidence that demons known from exorcistic literature were depicted in
Mesopotamian art. Such figures would generally be destroyed as a part of the ceremony. While it has been suggested that a passage in the Old Babylonian hymn to Ishtar preserved on the tablet AO 6035 might refer to the eponymous deity as the mistress of
ardat-lilî or another similarly named demon, Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman conclude that the word
līlu, "evening", is meant instead. ==Notes==