History Main / MesopotamianMonstrosity

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The goddess Tiamat is portrayed as a five-headed dragon and is one of the main members of the universe's pantheon of gods. Pazuzu and Dagon are also present as powerful Demon Princes who control their own layers of the Abyss.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', most of the gods of the Western Continent are named after Mesopotamian deities; examples include Tiamat and Nergal. The few we know about are GodsOfEvil, and it's implied that the whole pantheon might tend this way, since the whole continent is a WretchedHive mostly ruled by an EvilOverlord. The whole continent is also ArabianNightsDays-themed, so it fits the setting.

** In ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'' Annual #9 (2000) and the sequel miniseries ''Comicbook/{{JLA}}: Gatekeeper'' (2001), they're said to be an offshoot of the Oans, who themselves split into evil and good factions, with the evil faction, Nergal, Ereskigal and Pazuzu, becoming monstrous and demonic.

* The eight novel in ''Literature/TheExpanse'' series, ''Tiamat's Wrath'', is titled after the Babylonian goddess of primordial chaos, alluding to eldritch beings who have [[PrecursorKillers killed the Ringbuilders]] in the distant past[[note]]"Distant" as in long before ''multicellular life'' even arose on Earth.[[/note]] [[spoiler:and now have set sight on humans after [[TheEmperor Winston Duarte's]] [[BullyingADragon ill-advised attack on them]]]].

** The demon Nergal, a recurring antagonist, has the name of a Mesopotamian deity. It’s implied that he passed himself off as a god, back in the day.

* ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'': Gozer is an interdimensional being who was worshiped by the Sumerians as a god when it and its minions first appeared on Earth.
** The Ghostbusters [[VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame 2009 video game]] and [[ComicBook/GhostbustersIDWComics IDW comics series]] reveal that Gozer has a long-standing rivalry with its sister, Tiamat, who was the one who originally banished Gozer from Earth centuries ago.

* Myth/{{Lilith}}: It has been suggested that the Jewish/Christian myth of Lilith (who, it's worth noting, isn't in the Bible — or not explicitly at least; the “screech owls” mentioned in Isaiah 34:15 are referred to by the Hebrew word “Lilithl,” suggesting that these may be owl demons) originated in the demonic ''lilitu'' of Mesopotamian legend. If so (and this isn’t certain), this is an unusual medieval instance of the trope.

In a pinch, an ancient supernatural menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, especially [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that Literature/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that this trope (like the NephariousPharaoh) can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy. Indeed, various deities from these cultures [[{{Demonization}} made their way into Abrahamic demonology]].

In a pinch, an ancient supernatural menace can also come from somewhere else in UsefulNotes/TheMiddleEast, especially [[Myth/CanaaniteMythology the Levant]] (which drew some cultural influence from Mesopotamia, as well as from UsefulNotes/AncientEgypt and the Hittites). It helps that Literature/TheBible mentions both Mesopotamian and Levantine kingdoms among the various foes of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} and Judah, meaning that this trope (like the NephariousPharaoh) can overlap with BiblicalBadGuy.

* The GreaterScopeVillain of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' is the Calormene TopGod Tash, whose appearance is modeled partly on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apkallu apkallu]], specifically on the bird-headed variety known to nineteenth-century Assyriologists as "Nisrochs" after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisroch an Assyrian god]] mentioned in Literature/TheBible.[[note]]"Nisroch" is often thought to be a misspelling of Nimrod, a king in the Literature/BookOfGenesis who in turn is often thought to be based partly on the Mesopotamian god Ninurta. The Literature/BooksOfKings and Literature/BookOfIsaiah pinpoint Nisroch's temple as the site of the Assyrian king Sennacherib's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sennacherib#Conspiracy,_murder_and_succession assassination]] in Nineveh. So when archaeologists discovered a nearby temple to Ninurta which might've been the one in question, they applied the term "Nisrochs" to the apkallu depicted in carvings there.[[/note]] The author Creator/CSLewis also applied a tweaked version of the name "Nisroch" to [[TheEmpire Calormen]]'s GodEmperor, the Tisroc ([[PhraseCatcher may he live forever]]). Lewis apparently got the idea from ''The Story of the Amulet'' (Creator/ENesbit's second sequel to ''Literature/FiveChildrenAndIt''), in which a Nisroch appears.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Necronomicon Simon Necronomicon]]'' is a literary hoax which pretends to be the real life version of the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Necronomicon]]. Parts of it consist of rituals claimed to be based on Mesopotamian magic, and claims some Mesopotamian gods are actually the Great Old Ones.

[[folder:Myth]]

* In ''Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth'' by Creator/HPLovecraft, the deity worshiped by the monstrous FishPeople is referred to as "Dagon" by the local human cultists ("the Esoteric Order of Dagon"). Dagon is a Myth/{{Canaanite|Mythology}} deity sometimes interpreted as being a merman or otherwise related to fish. Various other writers working on the Franchise/CthulhuMythos have expanded on this reference.\\\
The Cthulhu Mythos scholar Robert M. Price postulates that this Dagon is Cthulhu itself, which is referred under a biblical name by the Esoteric Order of Dagon's leader because worshipping "Dagon" (a name most Americans from the [=1920s=] would recognize, as it's a pagan god mentioned in the Bible) would make the cultists more comfortable than worshipping an alien deity with an unprononceable name.

* The eight novel in ''Literature/TheExpanse'' series, ''Tiamat's Wrath'', is titled after the Babylonian goddess of primordial chaos, alluding to eldritch beings who have [[PrecursorKillers killed the Ringbuilders]] in the distant past[[note]]"Distant" as in long before ''multicellural life'' even arose on Earth.[[/note]] [[spoiler:and now have set sight on humans after [[TheEmperor Winston Duarte's]] [[BullyingADragon ill-advised attack on them]]]].
* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Necronomicon Simon Necronomicon]]'' is a literary hoax which pretends to be the real life version of the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Necronomicon]]. Parts of its content consists in rituals claiming to be based on Mesopotamian magic, and claims some Mesopotamian gods are actually the Great Old Ones.

The Mesopotamian cities and nations (including Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, and various others) are one of the oldest known major civilizations in human history, and had a [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology mythology]] as grand as any other, including the oldest of all surviving heroic epics, ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh''. However, unlike with many other ancient civilizations, knowledge about Mesopotamia's culture almost completely died out until its rediscovery by archaeologists the mid-19th century. This gap led to the many centuries of Mesopotamian mythology having far less cultural impact than its later successors, such as Myth/{{Classical|Mythology}} and Myth/EgyptianMythology.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': Several Goa'uld used Mesopotamian deities as their GodGuise. In one episode, an alien captures Daniel Jackson, convinced that Daniel knows something about his mate. After some risky memory probing, Daniel finally recalls reading that she was a minor Babylonian hero who died fighting the Goa'uld.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In one episode, an alien captures Daniel Jackson, convinced that Daniel knows something about his mate. After some risky memory probing, Daniel finally recalls reading that she was a minor Babylonian hero who died fighting the Goa'uld. Several Goa'uld themselves have used Mesopotamian deities as their GodGuise.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In one episode, an alien captures Daniel Jackson, convinced that Daniel knows something about his mate. After some risky memory probing, Daniel finally recalls reading that she was a minor Babylonian hero who died fighting the Goa'uld.

* ''TabletopGame/TheMadnessDossier'': The monstrous, mind-controlling "Anunnakku", the antagonists in this horror setting for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', appear to be lodged in the human racial memory as the [[Characters/MesopotamianMythology gods]] and monsters of Sumeria, and "monstrosity" is the word. The book draws a lot of terminology from Sumerian archaeology.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', most of the gods of the Western Continent are named after Mesopotamian deities; examples include Tiamat and Nergal. The few we know about are GodsOfEvil, and it's implied that the whole pantheon might tend this way, since the whole continent is a WretchedHive ruled by an EvilOverlord. The whole continent is also ArabianNightsDays-themed, so it fits the setting.

* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' opens with a LogoJoke for Creator/LegendaryPictures, showing their logo flanked by Mesopotamian-style carvings of a few of the {{kaiju}} characters. This foreshadows one of the movie's main themes: that ancient peoples were able to exist harmoniously with the "Titans". When we finally learn about the origins of [[DraconicAbomination King Ghidorah]], it's accompanied by a barrage of ancient art, much of it Mesopotamian, suggesting that Ghidorah may have been the inspiration for mythical dragons like Tiamat. Finally, when we go to the [[spoiler: UnderwaterRuins of an ancient Godzilla-worshipping civilization]], the architecture has a definite Mesopotamian influence, with lamassu statues aplenty.

* ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'': The goddess Ishtar originates from Myth/MesopotamianMythology. While [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon not physically monstrous]], the vileness of her actions speak for themselves. She's a SerialRapist who has her familia members beaten into submission and then rapes them [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil physically]] and [[MindRape mentally]] to make them more compliant. She also encourages a culture of forced prostitution where she will have potential "customers" roped into accepting the familia's services with their consent being an afterthought at best. She also performs HumanSacrifice rituals involving members of her own familia to enhance her power. All to wage a war against Freya and her familia for [[EvilIsPetty rather petty reasons]].

The Cthulhu Mythos scholar Robert M. Price postulates that this Dagon is Cthulhu itself, which is referred under a biblical name by the Esoteric Order of Dagon's leader because worshipping "Dagon" (a name most Americans from the [=1920s=] would recognize, as it's a pagan god mentioned in the Bible) would make the cultist more comfortable than worshipping an alien deity with an unprononceable name.

* In ''Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth'' by Creator/HPLovecraft, the deity worshiped by the monstrous FishPeople is referred to by the name of Dagon, a Myth/{{Canaanite|Mythology}} deity sometimes interpreted as being a merman or otherwise related to fish. Various other writers working on the Franchise/CthulhuMythos have expanded on this reference.

* ''Simon Necronomicon'' is a literary hoax which pretends to be the real life version of the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Necronomicon]]. Parts of its content consists in rituals based on Mesopotamian magic and claims some Mesopotamian gods are actually the Great Old Ones.

* ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'': The goddess Ishtar originates from Myth/MesopotamianMythology. While [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon not physically monstrous]], the vileness of her actions speak for themselves. She's a SerialRapist who has her familia members beaten into submission and then rapes them [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil physically]] and [[MindRape mentally]] to make them more compliant. She also encourages a culture of forced prostitution where she will have potential "customers" roped into accepting the familia's services.

** In ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'' Annual #9 (2000) and the sequel miniseries ''Comicbook/{{JLA}}: Gatekeeper'' (2001), they're said to be an offshoot of the Oans, who themselves split into evil and good factions, with the evil faction, Nergal, Ereskigal and Pazuzu becoming monstrous and demonic.

** In a 1981 ''ComicBook/MadameXanadu'' comic, the protagonist prevents the manifestation on Earth of a couple of demonic beings calling themselves “Ishtar” And “Tammuz”, implying that these were once Mesopotamian deities.

* Myth/{{Lilith}}: It has been suggested that the Jewish/Christian myth of Lilith (who, it's worth noting, isn't in the Bible, well, not explicitly anyways, the screech owls mentioned in Isaiah 34:15 from the Hebrew word Lilith, implying these are owl demons) originated in the demonic ''lilitu'' of Mesopotamian legend. If so (and this isn’t certain), this is an unusual medieval instance of the trope.

* Myth/{{Lilith}}: It has been suggested that the Jewish/Christian myth of Lilith (who, it's worth noting, isn't in the Bible) originated in the demonic ''lilitu'' of Mesopotamian legend. If so (and this isn’t certain), this is an unusual medieval instance of the trope.