Woman's Lore

4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi

Sarah Clegg

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English

Head of Zeus
30 May 2023

History; History: earliest times to present day; Social & cultural history; Religion & beliefs; Feminism & feminist theory; Folklore, myths & legends

The history of a demonic tradition that was stolen from women – and then won back again.

'Remarkable work... Extraordinary, meticulous detail' Literary Review

'Deftly fuses scholarly rigour, control of literary and archaeological sources' BBC History Magazine

Creatures like Lilith, the seductive first wife of Adam, and mermaids, who lured sailors to their death, are familiar figures in the genre of monstrous temptresses who use their charms to entice men to their doom.

But if we go back 4,000 years, the roots of these demons lie in horrific creatures like Lamashtu, a lion-headed Mesopotamian demon who strangled infants and murdered pregnant women, and Gello, a virgin ghost of ancient Greece who killed expectant mothers and babies out of jealousy. Far from enticing men into danger and destruction, these monsters were part of women’s ritual practices surrounding childbirth and pregnancy. So how did their mythology evolve into one focused on the seduction of men?

Sarah Clegg takes us on an absorbing and witty journey from ancient Mesopotamia to the present day, encountering a multitude of serpentine succubi, a child-eating wolf-monster of ancient Greece, the Queen of Sheba and a host of vampires. Clegg shows how these demons were appropriated by male-centred societies, before they were eventually recast as symbols of women’s liberation, offering new insights into attitudes towards womanhood, sexuality and women’s rights.

By: Sarah Clegg
Imprint: Head of Zeus
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: UK Airports
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
ISBN: 9781804549650
ISBN 10: 1804549657
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 30 May 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sarah Clegg has a PhD in the ancient history of Mesopotamia from Cambridge University, and reads Sumerian, Akkadian, Arabic, Greek and Latin. Her fascination with Lamashtu began with her BA thesis at Oxford and she has been researching these monsters and their demonic tradition as a passion project ever since. Clegg was selected as one of the 2020/21 cohort of the London Library Emerging Writers Programme. She lives in London and works in heritage publishing.