Akhkhazu

Akhkhazu

Lesserfolk-consensusAkkadianBabylonian (later attestation)Mesopotamia
Origin

The provided sources do not supply a cosmogonic birth narrative or origin myth for Akhkhazu. Sources present her as a named harmful spirit attested in Akkadian tradition and later adopted into Babylonian contexts; beyond this attestation, no foundational tale of her creation or lineage is quoted in the supplied materials.

Appearance

The supplied accounts give no consistent or detailed iconographic description. Sources identify Akhkhazu by epithets — notably 'the seizer' or 'the one that captures' — and discuss her gendering: although the term Akhkhazu has a grammatically male form in some texts, summaries and later descriptions treat the entity as female. No firm corporeal features, attire, or animal associations are provided in the excerpts available.

Abilities

Sources describe Akhkhazu as a disease-causing spirit: a 'female demon of jaundice' who 'brings fever and plagues' and as an active agent who seizes victims. Later summary notes characterize her as attacking nursing infants — abducting and devouring them while mothers slept — presenting her both as a cause of sickness (jaundice, fever, plague) and as a predator of vulnerable humans, particularly infants. The role emphasized in the sources is that of a personified agent producing sudden illness and loss rather than an abstract moral force.

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Community Record

Sources
  1. [1]
    Akhkhazu. Wikipedia: 'Akhkhazu, also known as Ahhazu, is a female demon of jaundice from the Akkadic mythology that was later adopted by Babylonian mythology. Her Sumerian name is Dimme-kur. She is also called "the seizer". She brings fever and plagues and is a member of a trio of female demons (Labasu, Labartu, Akhkhazu). Although the word "Akhkhazu" has a male gender, Akhkazu is often described as having a female nature.'wiki
  2. [2]
    Akhkhazu (composer's note summary). Composer’s edition summary: 'Akhkhazu is a female demon present in Mesopotamian mythology. It was especially evil and, therefore, very feared. It was also known as "the one that captures". It fed on nursing infants, which were abducted and devoured while their mothers slept.'other
folk-consensus