Belphegor

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This article is about the demon. For the Austrian band, see Belphegor (band). For other uses, see Belphegor (disambiguation).
Belphegor
Sloth
Belphegor.jpg
Belphegor illustration from the Dictionnaire Infernal.
DayMarch 11
Personal information
SiblingsLucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Lilith
Belphegor by Jean Jacques Flipart

In demonology, Belphegor (or Beelphegor, Hebrew: בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר‎ Báʿal-pəʿór - Lord of the Gap) is a demon, and one of the seven princes of Hell, who helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich.

Bishop and witch-hunter Peter Binsfeld believed that Belphegor tempts by means of laziness.[1] Also, according to Peter Binsfeld's Binsfeld's Classification of Demons, Belphegor is the chief demon of the deadly sin known as Sloth in Christian tradition.[2]

History[]

According to Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal, Belphegor was Hell's ambassador to France. Consequently, his adversary is Mary Magdalene, one of the patron saints of France.[citation needed]

Belphegor also figures in John Milton's Paradise Lost and in Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea.[citation needed] Belfagor arcidiavolo by the Italian diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli was first published in 1549 and regales how the demon comes to earth to find a mate. This story became the initial source material for Ottorino Respighi's opera Belfagor which premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1923.

In popular culture[]

  • The PZL M-15 Belphegor, a 1970s Polish utility airplane, was named after the demon, due to its strange look and the noise of its jet engine
  • Belphegor appears as a young human male in the final season of the TV show Supernatural played by Alexander Calvert.
  • Belphegor is a recurring demon/persona in the Megami Tensei and video game series
  • Belphegor is the youngest demon brother in the otome game Obey Me. He appears as the avatar of sloth and the twin brother of Beelzebub.
  • Belphegor is a blackened death metal band.
  • Belphegor is the Storm Officer of the Varia in the Anime and Manga series, Hatekyo Hitman Reborn. He is also known as 'Prince the Ripper'. [3]

References[]

  1. ^ Wendy Doniger (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 287. ISBN 0-87779-044-2. Belphegor Demon.
  2. ^ Rosemary Guiley (2009). Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology. Facts on File. pp. 28–29.
  3. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Reborn!_antagonists#The_Varia
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