owls
A little more support for a connection between the strigoi and Lilitu: the word for owl in Latin is strix, and mythologically owls were portrayed as flesh-devouring, blood-drinking night terrors. Although the Burney Relief (showing the bird-footed woman) can't conclusively be linked to the figure of Lilitu, she is still a flesh-eating night demon and harbinger of plagues and storms (like sirens and harpies, interestingly enough) who may be iconographically represented by owls. A word ('lil')that could mean either 'owl' or 'spirit' appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh, although any connection to Lilitu here is probably a phonetic coincidence. Lili, however, definitely is associate with witchcraft in Sumerian.
So, okay, maybe support is a strong word. A little more tentative connection, then. I really want to take a linguistics course, and I also really want to make some progress in teaching myself biblical Hebrew.
So, okay, maybe support is a strong word. A little more tentative connection, then. I really want to take a linguistics course, and I also really want to make some progress in teaching myself biblical Hebrew.