Incubus succubus
Incubi were sometimes said to be able to conceive children. There are also numerous stories involving the attempted exorcism of incubi or succubi who have taken refuge in, respectively, the bodies of men or women. Though many tales claim that the incubus is bisexual, others indicate that it is strictly heterosexual and finds attacking a male victim either unpleasant or detrimental. Their offspring were thought to be supernatural in many cases, even if the actual genetic material originally came from humans. A succubus would be able to sleep with a man and collect his sperm, and then transform into an incubus and use that seed on women. Īccording to some sources, incubi and succubi were said not to be different genders but the same demons able to change their sex. These demons were originally storm demons, but they eventually became regarded as night demons due to mistaken etymology. Two other corresponding demons appear as well, Ardat lili, who visits men by night and begets ghostly children from them, and Irdu lili, who is known as a male counterpart to Ardat lili and visits women by night and begets from them. It is said that Lilu disturbs and seduces women in their sleep, while a similar demon, Lilitu, appears to men in their erotic dreams. 2400, where the hero, Gilgamesh's father, is listed as Lilu (Lila). One of the earliest mentions of an incubus comes from Mesopotamia on the Sumerians king's list, c. The victims and, in some cases the local clergy, may have found it easier to explain the attack as supernatural rather than confront the idea that the attack came from someone in a position of trust. A friend or relative may have assaulted the victim in her sleep. Rapists may have attributed the rapes of sleeping women to demons in order to escape punishment.
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Purported victims of incubi could have been the victims of sexual assault by a real person. Also, nocturnal arousal, orgasm, or nocturnal emission could be explained by the idea of creatures causing an otherwise guilt-producing and self-conscious behavior. Victims may have been experiencing waking dreams or sleep paralysis. They involve the Medieval preoccupation with sin, especially the sexual sins of women. Origins of incubi legendsĪ number of mundane explanations have been offered for the origin of the incubus legends. The word "Incubus" is derived from the Latin preposition in, which in this case means "on top of," and cubo, which is Latin for, "I lie." The word incubo translates into "I lie on top".