| Lilin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Illustration of the The Attic Shoppe's Lilin Board[1] | |||
| Naming | |||
| Others | Līlīṯu[2] Lilim Lilit Night spirits Night creatures Night monsters Night hags | ||
| Original | לילין (Hebrew) | ||
| Romanization | Lilin | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Humanoid | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Aggressivity | Extreme | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Sumer, c. 4000 BC[3] | ||
| Habitat | Desert | ||
| Related species | Succubus Shedim Lilu | ||
| Status | Legendary | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Real | ||
In demonology, Lilin are hostile spirits that attack men. The term is often confused with Lilim in popular culture.[Note 1]
In Jewish mythology lilin is a term for night spirits. In Targum Sheni Esther 1:3 King Solomon, who commanded all spirits, had the lilin dance before him. The beings Lilith and Lilim are both considered to be lilin. Lilim is also considered by older Jewish tradition to be Cain's wife. In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, Lilin come from the desert.
Lilin in popular culture
In Neon Genesis Evangelion, Lilin (リリン Ririn) is the denomination used by the angel Kaworu Nagisa to the branch of humanity to which traditional human beings[Note 2] belong. In the series, Mankind is the designated 18th angel, and are a variation of humanity that arose from Lilith and possesses the Fruit of Knowledge, contrasted with Adam’s children, angels, who possess the Fruit of Life. The billions of individual humans are treated as a single "angel", described as "a colony of flawed and separate entities". Upon losing their A.T. Fields all at once, living lilin would be united into a single existence of shared consciousness.
In the role-playing game In Nomine, Lilim the Tempters are the fifth band of demons, who can only be created by the human "Princess of Freedom" Lilith. The rule that Lilim live by is the principle of the willing exchange. It's everyone for themselves.
In Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Lilim are the children of Lilith, and act as one of several lady bats found in the game.