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In Sumerian and Akkadian mythology, Pazuzu was the king of the demons of wind, and son of the god Hanbi. For the Sumerians he also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms.
Original Pazuzu mythology
Pazuzu is often depicted with the body of a man but with the head of a lion or dog, talons instead of feet, two pairs of wings, the tail of a scorpion and a serpentine penis. He is also depicted with the right hand upward, and the left hand downward; the position of the hands means life and death, or creation and destruction.
Although Pazuzu was a malevolent force, his image was used on amulets to ward off his enemy Lamashtu, a female demon that preyed on newborn babies and their mothers. The amulet was either placed on the mother or child or larger ones were placed above them on a wall.
Pazuzu in popular culture
Movies
At the beginning of the book and film The Exorcist (1973), when Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) is at the site of an archaelogical dig in Northern Iraq, the figure that threatens him - seemingly an illusion - is Pazuzu, who he had battled many years earlier. Later, when he is appointed to perform the exorcism on Regan (Linda Blair), he suspects it is Pazuzu that possesses her.
A prequel, The Exorcist: The Beginning 2004, deals with Father Merrin's earlier battle with Pazuzu in 1940s Africa, with Stellan Skarsgård as Merrin.
Television
Pazuzu appeared in the Futurama episode "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles," as a gargoyle created by Professor Farnsworth at the beginning of the episode. Pazuzu escaped, causing the Professor to go in search of him but returned to save him at the conclusion, earning his freedom. No reason was given why Pazuzu would need to earn his freedom.
Pazuzu also appeared in the Japanese manga Berserk. Pazuzu was a knight who was promptly killed by the lead character in the series, Guts.
Music
A pentagram dedicated to Pazuzu is on the cover of Celtic Frost's EP "Morbid Tales" (1984).
Pazuzu is mentioned in the song "Lord of All Fevers and Plagues" by Morbid Angel, on their album "Altars of Madness" (1989). He is also mentioned in the last stanza of "Pestilence and Iniquity," on Nile's "Amongst the Catacombs of Nephen-ka" (2002).
He is referenced in the title of the song "Pazuzu (black rain)" from the "Zoon" album by the "Nefilim".
And also in the Cradle of Filth's live album "Live Bait for the Dead" plastic sleeve.
He gives his name to a black metal band called Pazuzu, formerly in Austria, now relocated to Canada.
Games
Pazuzu appeared in Squaresoft's Super Nintendo video game Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (1992). He was the fourth of the elemental bosses residing in a tall tower in the realm of wind. He appeared much like the ancient Sumerian description, but without the serpentine penis. He also appears as a boss in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
In the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu, Pazuzu is a character based on the Sumerian demon.
Pazuzu also appears in the text-based MUD Achaea, in which he plays the role of a demon prince, Demonprince Lord Taug, who entices a god into starting the War of Humanity.
Pazuzu was included in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, first edition, Monster Manual II, in the section on demons. There he is called "Demon Prince of the Lower Arial Kingdom" and is described as a playful and capricious demon prince, more concerned with causing mischief and destruction than acquiring power. Thus putting him outside the typical intra-demonic struggles between Orcus, Demogorgon, Gazart, Lolth, etc.
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