Astaroth: Giant axe-wielding warrior, or vicious demon?

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Astaroth

Left to Right: Astaroth (Soul Calibur), Astaroth as depictedin the Ars Goetia, Astaroth's Seal in the Ars Goetia

Fighting games almost always have a huge, hulking goliath or two in their roster. Gamers can count on these beasts to pack an incredible wallop, though they’ll usually also lack in swiftness, causing them to lumber across the arena. One of the most popular of these fighters is Astaroth from the Soul Calibur series. Sporting a huge mace, or axe, he unleashes his repertoire of bone crushing attacks on opponents.

In the game he was a golem created by the followers of a mysterious, dark religion. However, there is an Astaroth in the pages of occult mythology. As one of the most powerful demons of Hell, Astaroth is mentioned in the Ars Goetia (“The Howling Arts” / “The Art of Witchcraft”). Often referred to simply as The Goetia, the book is the first part in a larger grimoire compiled in the 17^th Century titled Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, or The Lesser Keys of Solomon. The purpose of this work was to explain how King Solomon was able to safely summon 72 different demons, and contain them in a bronze vessel covered in magical symbols, calling upon the creatures to do his bidding as he saw fit. The tome also served as a manual with

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instructions on the correct incantations, symbols, and so forth for one to make their own vessel and summon the demons himself.

The 72 demons listed in the Ars Goetia were also placed into a hierarchy. Astaroth ranked 29^th of the seventy-two, and was considered a Grand Duke. He was depicted as a nude man with a pair of dragon wings, as well as a smaller pair of feathered wings. He could be seen riding a hound, while wearing a crown and holding a viper in one hand.

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A number of sources have slowly pieced together more and more information over the centuries, as demonologists have continued to provide increasingly detailed information about Astaroth. Francis Barrett called the demon the Prince of accusers and inquisitors in The Magus (1801), Johan Weyer’s Hierarchy of Hell calls Astaroth the prince and treasurer of Hell, while Sebastien Michaelis associated the demon with sloth and vanity. Astaroth is also said to excel in the Liberal Sciences, and mathematics, and can tell of events past and future. The demon also commanded forty infernal legions of Hell.

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