ColossiansOne

Three and a half thousand years

When each text was written, and when each name first appears.

Laid out in order, the record makes an argument that is hard to make any other way. The book most people associate with a given demon is routinely two thousand years younger than the tablet that first names the figure — and in between, the name usually belonged to somebody’s god.

The shape of it

How many figures are first attested across each era, and how many texts survive from it. The names arrive early and the books that catalogue them arrive late, which is the argument of this page in one picture.

Each column is an era, widened to give the crowded centuries room. Bar height is how many names are first attested in that slice. Every text is named in the list below rather than crammed onto the bar.

121 dated texts · 328 figures with a datable first attestation

Before 1000 BCE

Ugaritic tablets and the older Mesopotamian material. Nothing here is reacting to the Abrahamic tradition, because it does not exist yet.

Texts written in this period (19)

  1. 2350 BCE
    The Pyramid Texts

    c. 2350–2100 BCE · Egyptian

  2. 2100 BCE
    Lugal-e (Ninurta and the Asag)

    c. 2100 BCE · Mesopotamian

  3. 2100 BCE
    The Coffin Texts

    c. 2100–1800 BCE · Egyptian

  4. 2000 BCE
    The Sumerian King List

    c. 2000 BCE · Mesopotamian

  5. 1900 BCE
    The Descent of Inanna to the Netherworld

    c. 1900 BCE, from older material · Mesopotamian

  6. 1750 BCE
    The Code of Hammurabi

    c. 1750 BCE · Mesopotamian

  7. 1700 BCE
    The Atrahasis Epic

    c. 1700 BCE · Mesopotamian

  8. 1550 BCE
    The Egyptian Book of the Dead

    c. 1550 BCE onward · Egyptian

  9. 1500 BCE
    Egyptian Amulets & Domestic Objects

    c. 2000 BCE onward · Egyptian

  10. 1400 BCE
    Rigveda

    c. 1500-1200 BCE · Vedic & Hindu

  11. 1320 BCE
    The Book of the Heavenly Cow

    c. 1320 BCE · Egyptian

  12. 1300 BCE
    The Baal Cycle (Ugaritic Tablets)

    c. 1400-1200 BCE · Canaanite & Ugaritic

  13. 1200 BCE
    The Myth of Anzu

    c. 1500-1000 BCE · Mesopotamian

  14. 1200 BCE
    Egyptian Hymns, Stelae & Temple Inscriptions

    c. 2000 BCE - 300 BCE · Egyptian

  15. 1200 BCE
    The Epic of Gilgamesh

    c. 1200 BCE, from older Sumerian material · Mesopotamian

  16. 1200 BCE
    Udug-hul (Evil Utukku)

    c. 1800–600 BCE · Mesopotamian

  17. 1160 BCE
    The Contendings of Horus and Set

    c. 1160 BCE · Egyptian

  18. 1100 BCE
    Enuma Elish

    c. 1100 BCE · Mesopotamian

  19. 1100 BCE
    The Lamashtu Series

    c. 1800–600 BCE · Mesopotamian

Names first attested in this period (81)

MinSetAnubisHorusNeithWepwawetApisWadjetThothRaOsirisIsisMa'atAtumShuTefnutGebNutNephthysNunPtahHathorBastetSobekKhnumSerqetHeqetKhepriDagonIshtarEnkiEnlilShamashSekhmetHekaAkerGilgameshEnkiduNinurtaThe AsagNergalApepEreshkigalAnzuAmunTaweretBesKhonsuMutHapiRenenutetThe GalluLamashtuThe UtukkuThe EtemmuThe Ardat LiliAmmitThe Forty-Two AssessorsThe Four Sons of HorusBaal HadadAstarteMotLotanThe AsurasIndraVritraYamaElAnatYamReshephAgniVarunaRudraAtenAstarothAsherahOg of BashanThe RephaimTiamatMarduk

1000 – 1 BCE

The Hebrew Bible's strata, the Avesta, the earlier apocrypha. The period in which most of the demon-names on this site are still gods.

Texts written in this period (24)

  1. 1000 BCE
    The Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld

    c. 1000 BCE, from older Sumerian material · Mesopotamian

  2. 1000 BCE
    Nergal and Ereshkigal

    c. 1300–800 BCE · Mesopotamian

  3. 1000 BCE
    The Atharvaveda

    c. 1000 BCE · Vedic & Hindu

  4. 900 BCE
    Akkadian Incantation Series & Amulet Inscriptions

    c. 1800-600 BCE · Mesopotamian

  5. 840 BCE
    The Mesha Stele (the Moabite Stone)

    c. 840 BCE · Canaanite & Ugaritic

  6. 800 BCE
    Erra and Ishum

    c. 800 BCE · Mesopotamian

  7. 750 BCE
    The Iliad

    c. 750 BCE · Greek

  8. 700 BCE
    The Avesta

    c. 1000-400 BCE · Zoroastrian

  9. 700 BCE
    Theogony & Works and Days

    c. 700 BCE · Greek

  10. 700 BCE
    The Shabaka Stone (Memphite Theology)

    c. 700 BCE, copying older material · Egyptian

  11. 700 BCE
    The Shatapatha Brahmana

    c. 800–600 BCE · Vedic & Hindu

  12. 600 BCE
    The Homeric Hymns

    c. 700–500 BCE · Greek

  13. 458 BCE
    The Oresteia

    458 BCE · Greek

  14. 430 BCE
    The Histories, Book II

    c. 430 BCE · Greek

  15. 400 BCE
    Hebrew Bible & Deuterocanon

    c. 900–100 BCE · Jewish

  16. 300 BCE
    Ramayana

    c. 500-100 BCE · Vedic & Hindu

  17. 290 BCE
    The Babyloniaca of Berossus

    c. 290 BCE · Mesopotamian

  18. 200 BCE
    1 Enoch (The Book of Enoch)

    c. 300–100 BCE · Enochian

  19. 200 BCE
    The Book of Tobit

    c. 225–175 BCE · Jewish

  20. 200 BCE
    Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas)

    4th c. BCE - 2nd c. CE · Chinese

  21. 139 BCE
    The Huainanzi

    c. 139 BCE · Chinese

  22. 100 BCE
    The Pali Canon

    c. 100 BCE, from oral tradition · Buddhist

  23. 100 BCE
    The Mahabharata

    c. 400 BCE – 400 CE · Vedic & Hindu

  24. 19 BCE
    The Aeneid

    c. 19 BCE · Roman

Names first attested in this period (116)

Ahura MazdaAngra MainyuAeshmaMithraSraoshaThe Amesha SpentasZahhakGoliathThe Sons of RaphaTammuzLamassuSheolThe Sons of GodJezebelChemoshPazuzuAsmodayHadesTyphonHermesHecateThe DaimonesZeusPoseidonAthenaAresArtemisApolloPersephoneThe ErinyesCharonTartarusThe GigantesGehennaNimrodThe NephilimThe AnakimJupiterMarsJanusSaturnAlastorMichaelGabrielSeraphimCherubimPrincipalitiesChayot ha-KodeshLuciferSatanBeelzebubAzazelLilithLeviathanBelphegorMolochAbaddonBaelBelialPlutoRavanaKaliAdramelechBaalberithBehemothRimmonThe Ahab SpiritThe Leviathan SpiritThe Lying SpiritThe Familiar SpiritThe Absalom SpiritThe Korah SpiritThe Queen of HeavenThe Spirits of AfflictionNehushtanGonggongXiwangmuRaphaelUrielSemjazaYanluo WangNüwaSarielRaguelRemielThe Seven Who StandAraqielKokabielBaraqielPenemueGadreelKasdejaArakibaRameelTamielDanelEzeqeelBatarelAnanelZaqielSamsapeelSatarelTurelJomjaelArmarosMaraThe PretaLughNuadaThe FomoireBrigidIzanamiIzanagiTsukuyomiThe YakkhaThe Naga

1 – 599 CE

Patristic writing, the Talmud, the Testament of Solomon. The demonisation happens here, and it happens by inheriting names rather than inventing them.

Texts written in this period (16)

  1. 8 CE
    Fasti

    c. 8 CE · Roman

  2. 8 CE
    The Metamorphoses

    c. 8 CE · Roman

  3. 80 CE
    New Testament

    c. 50–110 CE · Christian

  4. 93 CE
    Antiquities of the Jews

    c. 93 CE · Jewish

  5. 100 CE
    2 Esdras (4 Ezra)

    c. 100 CE, with 2nd-c. additions · Jewish

  6. 100 CE
    On Isis and Osiris (De Iside et Osiride)

    c. 100 CE · Egyptian

  7. 250 CE
    The Lalitavistara Sutra

    c. 200–300 CE, from older material · Buddhist

  8. 300 CE
    The Testament of Solomon

    c. 100–400 CE · Solomonic

  9. 300 CE
    Greek Magical Papyri IV.3007-86: the Spell of Pibechis

    c. 300 CE (papyrus); older material · Greek

  10. 381 CE
    The Nicene Creed (Symbolum Nicaeno-Constantinopolitanum)

    325; revised 381 · Christian

  11. 400 CE
    Euchologion: the Exorcisms of St Basil and St John Chrysostom

    attributed 4th c.; text as transmitted · Christian

  12. 420 CE
    The City of God

    413–426 CE · Christian

  13. 451 CE
    The Definition of Chalcedon

    451 · Christian

  14. 500 CE
    De Coelesti Hierarchia (The Celestial Hierarchy)

    c. 500 CE · Christian

  15. 500 CE
    Devi Mahatmya

    c. 400-600 CE · Vedic & Hindu

  16. 590 CE
    Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 34

    c. 590 CE · Christian

Names first attested in this period (14)

ThronesDominionsPowersMammonThe Python SpiritThe Jezebel SpiritLegionThe Spirit of InfirmityThe Spirit of AntichristThe Prince of the Power of the AirThe IncubusVirtuesArchangelsAngels

600 – 1499 CE

Medieval angelology and the earlier grimoires. Systems get built: choirs, orders, courts, numbered lists.

Texts written in this period (22)

  1. 650 CE
    Qur'an & Hadith

    7th c. CE onward · Islamic

  2. 700 CE
    The Sutra of the Great Vows of Ksitigarbha

    c. 700 CE · Buddhist

  3. 712 CE
    Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters)

    712 CE · Shinto & Japanese

  4. 720 CE
    Nihongi (Nihon Shoki)

    720 CE · Shinto & Japanese

  5. 850 CE
    Bundahishn

    9th c. CE, from older material · Zoroastrian

  6. 900 CE
    The Scripture of the Ten Kings

    9th-10th c. CE · Chinese

  7. 1050 CE
    Lebor Gabála Érenn & the Mythological Cycle

    11th c., from older oral material · Celtic

  8. 1050 CE
    Cath Maige Tuired (The Second Battle of Moytura)

    c. 11th c., from older material · Celtic

  9. 1075 CE
    Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum

    c. 1075 · Norse

  10. 1100 CE
    Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley)

    c. 1100, from older material · Celtic

  11. 1113 CE
    The Primary Chronicle & Slavic Folk Record

    c. 1113, describing earlier practice · Slavic

  12. 1170 CE
    Chronica Slavorum

    c. 1170 · Slavic

  13. 1180 CE
    Mishneh Torah, Yesodei ha-Torah

    c. 1180 · Jewish

  14. 1185 CE
    The Tale of Igor's Campaign

    c. 1185 · Slavic

  15. 1200 CE
    Gesta Danorum

    c. 1200 · Norse

  16. 1220 CE
    The Prose Edda

    c. 1220 · Norse

  17. 1270 CE
    The Poetic Edda

    13th c., from older oral material · Norse

  18. 1270 CE
    Patristic & Medieval Angelology

    6th-13th c. · Christian

  19. 1270 CE
    Summa Theologiae, Treatise on the Angels

    c. 1265-1274 · Christian

  20. 1280 CE
    The Zohar & Kabbalistic Literature

    c. 1280 · Jewish

  21. 1300 CE
    The Novgorod First Chronicle

    13th-14th c., from earlier annals · Slavic

  22. 1487 CE
    Malleus Maleficarum

    1487 · Folk & Demonological

Names first attested in this period (34)

IsrafilAzraelIblisHarut and MarutMunkar and NakirKiraman KatibinThe IfritThe GhulThe QarinThe Ten KingsAmaterasuSusanooYamata-no-OrochiDazhbogStribogThe MorríganThe DagdaBalorPerunVelesChernobogMetatronRazielSamaelLokiHelOdinThorFenrirJormungandrFreyjaJophielTlalocHuitzilopochtli

1500 CE onward

Weyer, the Lesser Key, the Dictionnaire Infernal. Enormously influential, almost entirely derivative, and the layer most people actually read.

Texts written in this period (40)

  1. 1506 CE
    Manuale ad Usum Percelebris Ecclesiae Sarisburiensis

    medieval use; printed 1506 · Christian

  2. 1527 CE
    The Schleitheim Confession (Brotherly Union)

    1527 · Christian

  3. 1530 CE
    The Augsburg Confession

    1530 · Christian

  4. 1533 CE
    Renaissance & Early-Modern Occult Angelology

    16th-19th c. · Folk & Demonological

  5. 1550 CE
    Popol Vuh

    16th c., from older material · Mesoamerican

  6. 1550 CE
    The Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis)

    15th-16th c. · Solomonic

  7. 1563 CE
    The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent

    1545–1563 · Christian

  8. 1563 CE
    The Heidelberg Catechism

    1563 · Christian

  9. 1570 CE
    Etz Chaim & Lurianic Kabbalah

    16th c. · Jewish

  10. 1570 CE
    Annals of Cuauhtitlan and the Legend of the Suns

    c. 1570, from pre-conquest material · Mesoamerican

  11. 1571 CE
    The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion

    1563; final form 1571 · Christian

  12. 1577 CE
    Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

    1577 · Folk & Demonological

  13. 1577 CE
    Florentine Codex

    1545-1590 · Mesoamerican

  14. 1581 CE
    Historia de las Indias de Nueva España

    c. 1581 · Mesoamerican

  15. 1589 CE
    Tractatus de Confessionibus Maleficorum et Sagarum

    1589 · Folk & Demonological

  16. 1592 CE
    Journey to the West

    c. 1592 · Chinese

  17. 1613 CE
    The Admirable History of the Possession and Conversion of a Penitent Woman

    1613 · Folk & Demonological

  18. 1614 CE
    Rituale Romanum, Titulus X: De exorcizandis obsessis a daemonio

    1614 · Christian

  19. 1619 CE
    The Canons of the Synod of Dort

    1618–1619 · Christian

  20. 1646 CE
    The Westminster Confession of Faith

    1646 · Christian

  21. 1650 CE
    The Lesser Key of Solomon, Book II: Ars Theurgia Goetia

    17th c. · Solomonic

  22. 1650 CE
    The Lesser Key of Solomon, Book III: Ars Paulina

    17th c. · Solomonic

  23. 1650 CE
    The Lesser Key of Solomon, Book IV: Ars Almadel

    17th c. · Solomonic

  24. 1662 CE
    The Book of Common Prayer

    1662 · Christian

  25. 1667 CE
    Paradise Lost

    1667 · Christian

  26. 1672 CE
    The Confession of Dositheus (Acts of the Synod of Jerusalem)

    1672 · Christian

  27. 1801 CE
    The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer

    1801 · Folk & Demonological

  28. 1863 CE
    Dictionnaire Infernal

    1818; illustrated ed. 1863 · Folk & Demonological

  29. 1897 CE
    The History of the Yorubas

    Written 1897, published 1921 · Yoruba & Diaspora

  30. 1900 CE
    The Odu Ifá

    Oral tradition, first transcribed 19th-20th c. · Yoruba & Diaspora

  31. 1904 CE
    The Lesser Key of Solomon, Book I: Ars Goetia

    17th c.; ed. 1904 · Solomonic

  32. 1906 CE
    The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles)

    1906–1908 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

  33. 1913 CE
    The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)

    1913 · Christian

  34. 1973 CE
    Pigs in the Parlor: A Practical Guide to Deliverance

    1973 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

  35. 1989 CE
    The Three Battlegrounds

    1989 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

  36. 1991 CE
    Territorial Spirits & Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare

    1989-1996 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

  37. 1998 CE
    They Shall Expel Demons

    1998 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

  38. 1999 CE
    De exorcismis et supplicationibus quibusdam

    1999; emended 2004 · Christian

  39. 2002 CE
    Unmasking the Jezebel Spirit

    2002 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

  40. 2014 CE
    Operating in the Courts of Heaven

    2014; revised 2016 · Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare

Names first attested in this period (83)

OlodumareObatalaOyaOrunmilaCamaelQuetzalcoatlTezcatlipocaMictlantecuhtliThe Lords of XibalbaThe QliphothAgaresVassagoSamiginaMarbasValeforAmonBarbatosPaimonBuerGusionSitriBelethLerajeEligosZeparBotisBathinSallosPursonMaraxIposAimNaberiusGlasya-LabolasBuneRonoveBerithForneusForasGaapFurfurMarchosiasStolasPhenexHalphasMalphasRaumFocalorVeparSabnockShaxVineBifronsUvallHaagentiCrocellFurcasBalamAllocerCamioMurmurOrobasGremoryOseAmyOriaxVapulaZaganVolacAndrasHauresAndrealphusCimejesAmdusiasDecarabiaSeereDantalionAndromaliusXaphanEshuOgunShangoThe Religious Spirit

“First attested” means the earliest surviving text in this corpus that names the figure. It is a lower bound, not an origin: a name known from three tablets was probably written on a hundred more that did not survive. How that bound is weighted into the attestation score is set out on the methodology page.