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An incubus is a demon in male form who, according to mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon women in order to engage in sexual activity with them. Its female counterpart is the ''succubus''. Superstitious folk have for many centuries told salacious tales of incubi and succubi, and Genesis 6 is a passage used to support the credibility of such stories. These terms remain current among heavy metal bands and occult groups today. Some traditions hold that repeated sexual activity with an incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health, or even death.〔Stephens, Walter (2002), ''Demon Lovers'', p. 23, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-77261-6〕 ==Etymological, ancient and religious descriptions== The word ''incubus'' is derived from Late Latin ''incubo'' (a nightmare induced by such a demon); from ''incub(āre)'' (to lie upon).〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Reference.com )〕 One of the earliest mentions of an incubus comes from Mesopotamia on the Sumerian King List, ca. 2400 BC, where the hero Gilgamesh's father is listed as Lilu.〔Raphael Patai, p. 221, The Hebrew Goddess: Third Enlarged Edition, ISBN 978-0-8143-2271-0〕 It is said that Lilu disturbs and seduces women in their sleep, while Lilitu, a female demon, appears to men in their erotic dreams.〔Siegmund Hurwitz, Lilith: The First Eve ISBN 978-3-85630-522-2〕 Two other corresponding demons appear as well: Ardat lili, who visits men by night and begets ghostly children from them, and Irdu lili, who is known as a male counterpart to Ardat lili and visits women by night and begets from them. These demons were originally storm demons, but they eventually became regarded as night demons because of mistaken etymology.〔Raphael Patai, p. 221 & 222, The Hebrew Goddess: Third Enlarged Edition, ISBN 978-0-8143-2271-0〕 Incubi were thought to be demons who had sexual relations with women, sometimes producing a child by the woman. Succubi, by contrast, were demons thought to have intercourse with men. Debate about the demons began early in the Christian tradition. St. Augustine touched on the topic in ''De Civitate Dei'' ("The City of God"). There were too many attacks by incubi to deny them. He stated, "There is also a very general rumor. Many have verified it by their own experience and trustworthy persons have corroborated the experience others told, that sylvans and fauns, commonly called incubi, have often made wicked assaults upon women."〔Augustine (410), ''The City of God'' 15.23,('The City of God' )〕 Questions about the reproductive capabilities of the demons continued. Eight hundred years later, Thomas Aquinas lent himself to the ongoing discussion, stating, "Still, if some are occasionally begotten from demons, it is not from the seed of such demons, nor from their assumed bodies, but from the seed of men, taken for the purpose; as when the demon assumes first the form of a woman, and afterwards of a man; just so they take the seed of other things for other generating purposes."〔Aquinus, Thomas (1265–1274), "Summa Theologica", ("Summa Theologica" )〕 It became generally accepted that incubi and succubi were the same demon, able to switch between male and female forms.〔Carus, Paul (1900), ''The History of The Devil and The Idea of Evil From The Earliest Times to The Present Day'', ("The Devil's Prime," ) at (sacred-texts.com )〕 A succubus would be able to sleep with a man and collect his sperm, and then transform into an incubus and use that seed on women. Even though sperm and egg came from humans originally, the spirits' offspring were often thought of as supernatural.〔Lewis, James R., Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy, Sisung Kelle S. (Editor) (1996), ''Angels A to Z'', Entry: Incubi and Succubi, pp. 218, 219, Visible Ink Press, ISBN 0-7876-0652-9〕 Some sources indicate that it may be identified by its unnaturally large or cold penis.〔Russel, Jeffrey Burton (1972), ''Witchcraft in The Middle Ages'', pp. 239, 235 Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, ISBN 0-8014-0697-8〕 Though many tales claim that the incubus is bisexual,〔Russsel, Jeffrey Burton (1972), ''Witchcraft in The Middle Ages'', p. 145, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, ISBN 0-8014-0697-8〕 others indicate that it is strictly heterosexual and finds attacking a male victim either unpleasant or detrimental.〔Stephens, Walter (2002), ''Demon Lovers'', pp. 54, 55, 332, 333, The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-77261-6〕 Incubi are sometimes said to be able to conceive children. The half-human offspring of such a union is sometimes referred to as a cambion. An incubus may pursue sexual relations with a woman in order to father a child, as in the legend of Merlin.〔Merlin's father was said to be an incubus in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and many later tales. See Lacy, Norris J. (1991). "Merlin". In Norris J. Lacy, ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', p. 322. (New York: Garland, 1991). ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.〕 According to the ''Malleus Maleficarum'', exorcism is one of the five ways to overcome the attacks of incubi, the others being Sacramental Confession, the Sign of the Cross (or recital of the Angelic Salutation), moving the afflicted to another location, and by excommunication of the attacking entity, "which is perhaps the same as exorcism."〔Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James (1486), Summers, Montague (translator – 1928), ''The Malleus Maleficarum'', Part 2, (Chapter 1 ), "The Remedies prescribed by the Holy Church against Incubus and Succubus Devils," at (sacred-texts.com )〕 On the other hand, the Franciscan friar Ludovico Maria Sinistrari stated that incubi "do not obey exorcists, have no dread of exorcisms, show no reverence for holy things, at the approach of which they are not in the least overawed."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Incubus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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