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Demonology: Demon Names: Mammon

Demons List: Mammon

Mammon (Wikipedia)

Mammon is used in the New Testament to describe material wealth or greed.

1909 painting The Worship of Mammon by Evelyn De Morgan.

Definition

Webster defines 'mammon' as: 1) the false god of riches and avarice. 2) riches regarded as an object of worship and greedy pursuit; wealth as an evil, more or less personified. Winston defines it to mean: 1) wealth, worldly gain; 2) greed for riches; cupidity. Oxford defines: god of wealth, regarded as evil or immoral; 'those who worship mammon' = greedy people who value money too highly.

The word is used in contemporary language with the same meaning in at least Finnish (mammona), Danish (mammon), Dutch ("mammon"), Hebrew (mamon), Norwegian (mammon) , Polish (mamona), Czech (mamon), Slovak (mamona), Swedish (mammon), German (Mammon) and Afrikaans (Mammon).

Etymology

Mammon is a term that was used to describe riches, avarice, and worldly gain in Biblical literature. It was personified as a false god in the New Testament. The term is often used to refer to excessive materialism or greed as a negative influence. Adjectival forms are mammonish and mammonistic

Etymologically, the word is assumed to derive from Late Latin 'mammon', from Greek 'μαμμÏνάÏ', Syrian 'mámóna' (riches), Aramaic 'mamon' (riches), probably from Mishnaic Hebrew '×××× (mmôn)'.

The Greek word for "Mammon", mamonas, occurs in the Sermon on the Mount (during the discourse on ostentation) and in the parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:9-13). The Authorised Version keeps the Syriac word. John Wycliffe uses "richessis".

Personifications

Mammon from Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal

In the Bible, Mammon is personified in Luke 16:13, and Matthew 6:24, the latter verse repeating Luke 16:13. In some translations, Luke 16:9 and Luke 16:11 also personify mammon; but in others, it is translated as 'dishonest wealth' or equivalent. In some Spanish versions, it is said as "Mamón", but in others, as "Dinero" (Spanish for "money").

Early mentions of Mammon appear to stem from the personification in the Gospels, e.g. Didascalia, "Do solo Mammona cogitant, quorum Deus est sacculus"; and Saint Augustine, "Lucrum Punice Mammon dicitur" (Serm. on Mt., ii). Gregory of Nyssa also asserted that Mammon was another name for Beelzebub.

During the Middle Ages, Mammon was commonly personified as the demon of avarice, richness and injustice. Thus Peter Lombard (II, dist. 6) says, "Riches are called by the name of a devil, namely Mammon, for Mammon is the name of a devil, by which name riches are called according to the Syrian tongue." Piers Plowman also regards Mammon as a deity. Nicholas de Lyra (commenting on the passage in Luke) says: "Mammon est nomen daemonis" (Mammon is the name of a demon).

No trace, however, of any Syriac god of such a name exists, and the common literary identification of the name with a god of covetousness or avarice likely stems from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, where Mammon oversees a cave of worldly wealth. Milton's Paradise Lost describes a fallen angel who values earthly treasure over all other things. Later occultist writings such as De Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal describe Mammon as Hell's ambassador to England. For Thomas Carlyle in Past and Present, the 'Gospel of Mammonism' became simply a metaphoric personification for the materialist spirit of the nineteenth century.

Mammon is somewhat similar to the Greek god Plutus, and the Roman Dis Pater, in his description, and it is likely that he was at some point based on them; especially since Plutus appears in The Divine Comedy as a wolf-like demon of wealth, wolves being associated with greed in the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas metaphorically described the sin of Avarice as "Mammon being carried up from Hell by a wolf, coming to inflame the human heart with Greed".

Fiction

Chrono Trigger - In the video game, a Mammon Machine is created by Queen Zeal, symbolizing immortality, greed and power. It is destroyed by the red knife later known as the Masamune.

Ragnarok Online - In this MMORPG, the character class called "Merchant" is able to learn an ability called Mammonite, which is an attack whose power is based on the amount of money you utilize when doing it.

Constantine - Mammon is the name of Satan's son, a key villain in the story. His goal is to conquer the Earth.

Mozilla Firefox - In the The Book of Mozilla easter egg found on the Mozilla Firefox browser, the term Mammon is used to refer metaphorically to Microsoft Internet Explorer

Spawn-In the comic book Spawn Mammon is depicted as a handsome gentleman, suave and sophisticated. This demon is often seen making attractive deals with humans for their souls and is thought to be quite persuasive.

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Notes

Hell Horror takes no responsibility for any views expressed about these spirits/gods and casts no judgement about any one's specific religion/beliefs. This page is meant strictly as reference material.