Lilith: The Original
Lilith emerges as the original vampire. Born half demon / half human, Lilith embodies that wild, sexual creature inside every woman. Lilith is originally the first wife of Adam, created out of the same clay as he. When Adam asked to lay with her, (i.e. screw) he suggested he be on top, so that he might be closer to God. Lilith refused, proclaiming that she was just as worthy of being close to God. Adam complained (just like a man), and Lilith was cast from Paradise.
Lather theologists say that when Cain was expelled from Adam's kingdom for having slain Abel, Lilith was the beast to pick him up and nurse his wounds. She supposedly showed him the ways of "blood" and how to live an eternal life feeding off the living.
Here is what Carlisle has to say about her:
"Later theologists would describe her as the actual serpent who tempted Eve, half human and half snake. It was the Victorians who idolized her and turned her from a blood drinking demon to a broken, desperate woman. It was not until I read Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Lilith" that I felt like I might accept the story.
Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told
(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)
That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,
And her enchanted hair was the first gold.
And still she sits, young while the earth is old,
And, subtly of herself contemplative,
Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,
Till heart and body and life are in its hold.
The rose and poppy are her flower; for where
Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent
And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?
Lo! As that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went
Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent
And round his heart one strangling golden hair.
If we be not demons of the night, what can we then call ourselves? Aye, there is a small addition to the story. The time thread of Cain intercepts hers at this point. After killing his brother and fleeing from his parents, he turns angrily to the skies and curses his maker. Lord condemns him to wandering and proclaims that any who see him shall slay him. Lilith oversees the encounter and rescues Cain from his punishment. She turns him to the ways of blood and together, they create a legion of the night.
Later myths place Inanna along side Lilith, sometimes as equals and sometimes as counterparts. They are best known together, as a unit, rather than separate women. As the “hand of Inanna”, Lilith was notorious for bringing men from the street and fields of war to Inanna’s temple for holy sexual rites, in which the intention was to civilize the disorderly people. The sacred sexual customs were, in fact, considered the greatest gift of Inanna. Regardless of how sacred the rites were intended to be, the men were never seen again.
Lilith is also present within every male and female, a primal, instinctive feminine sexuality. Lilith’s type is the free and unrestrained, animating, pulsating, transforming sexuality that evokes the animalistic nature in mankind. She is that part for which the masculine both fears and longs for -- the woman who runs with the wolves! Lilith is the woman who refuses to nurture men, and thereby threatens their survival. Her place is beside her queen and her mother, Inanna."
Here are some historical depictions of Lilith:
Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Portrait to go with his Poem:
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When thinking of the face of Lilith, I instantly tried to match her with someone who looked like Keira Knightley. (for more info as to why, read DWTD.) My mind immediately went to Natalie Portman. She's beautiful, she looks the part, but there was just something not right about the pairing.
Natalie Portman seemed too innocent. She's the secuded, not the seducer.
Thanks be to God for House. Olivia Wilde came my way one day. Not only could her and Keira Knightley pass as sisters, but Olivia Wilde can capture that wild, pulsating, animalistic nature that Lilith embodies.
