Heket – also Heqet, Hepat. Egyptian Goddess of Midwives. Heket is portrayed as a frog sitting on a
lotus, or was a woman with a frog’s head.
She is the force of life and fertility, and the Goddess of the last
stages of birth, breathing life into the child’s body. She is the patroness of midwives and nurses,
and Her amulet is worn by women in labor to protect them from pain and
death.
A creation of the first millennium BC Assyrians, Pazuzu is the spirit of plague, cold, and evil winds. He was generally shunned, but could also be called upon to scare off the female demon Lamashtu from small children. (The tablet from the left, from the Louvre, shows Pazuzu overlooking Lamashtu in what is likely a protective manner.) Recognition of Pazuzu seems to have died out in the Christian era – at least until The Exorcist made his curious locust-winged, scorpion-tailed, beaked, clawed appearance a cultural icon.
Part of my choice of Pazuzu was prompted by his position outside of traditional monotheism, save for his appearances in media. So, what’s the verdict?
We do have some omissions. de Plancy leaves him out, which is not surprising given how recently knowledge of Pazuzu came to us. Gettings omits him as well. Neither Belanger nor Davidson includes them in their works, although the introductions indicate that he doesn’t fall under the criteria set by either author.
