Asmode'us

Asmode'us, or ASMO'DEUS (Heb. Aschmedai, 'the destroyer'), a demon mentioned in the later Jewish writings. In the Book of Tobit, he is described as loving Sara, daughter of Raguel, and as having, in the form of a succubus, destroyed in succession her seven husbands; hence, in modern times, he is jocularly spoken of as the destroying demon of matrimonial happiness. In the Talmud, Asmodeus is described as the prince of demons, and is said to have driven Solomon from his kingdom. His real origin may perhaps be traced to the Æshma daeva, one of the evil demons of the ancient Persian religion. Le Sage has given him a permanent place in literature by his novel, Le Diable Boiteux.