Lilith

In the Abrahamic religious/mythologic tradition, Lilith was the first lover of Adam, the first man. She was ejected from Eden for refusing to obey Adam, after which she was replaced with Eve.

In Judaic, Christian, and Islamic traditions, post-Eden Lilith is said to have given birth to various spirits, evil or malicious -- demons in the Christian tradition, djinn in the Arabic-Islamic tradition.

The idea of Lilith fed the medieval European folktales of the succubus, a female demon who seduced men in their sleep, sapping them of their vital energies (nocturnal emissions).

In Jewish folklore, Lilith has been identified with the Sumerian and Babylonian wind demons and child-slaying demons.

Lilith is associated with wolves and owls.

The myth has been evoked repeatedly in SF. Among the most notable examples are Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, which was reissued as Lilith's Brood.

Bibliography

• Isaiah 34:14 (circa 900 BCE)