# Belphegor > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Belphegor > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Belphegor.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphegor > Source revision: 1350263954 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) One of the seven princes of Hell in demonology This article is about the demon. For the Austrian death/black metal band, see [Belphegor (band)](/source/Belphegor_(band)). For other uses, see [Belphegor (disambiguation)](/source/Belphegor_(disambiguation)). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Belphegor" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Depiction of the demon Belphégor, from J.A.S. Collin de Plancy, Dictionnaire Infernal, 1863 **Belphegor** (or **Baal Peor**, [Biblical Hebrew](/source/Biblical_Hebrew_language): בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר, romanized: *baʿal-pəʿōr*, [lit.](/source/Literal_translation) 'Lord of the Gap') is, in [Christianity](/source/Christianity), a [demon](/source/Demon) associated with one of the [seven deadly sins](/source/Seven_deadly_sins). According to religious tradition, he helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by proposing incredible inventions that will make them rich. According to some demonologists from the 17th century, his powers are strongest in April. [Peter Binsfeld](/source/Peter_Binsfeld) (ca. 1540–ca.1600), the [auxiliary bishop](/source/Auxiliary_bishop) of [Trier](/source/Trier) and a [witch hunter](/source/Witch_hunt), wrote that Belphegor tempts through laziness. According to Binsfeld's *Classification of Demons*, Belphegor is the main demon of [sloth](/source/Sloth_(deadly_sin)) in the Christian tradition. The anonymous author of the [Lollard](/source/Lollardy) work, *The Lanterne of Light*, however, believed Belphegor to embody [gluttony](/source/Gluttony) rather than sloth.[1] Belphegor derives from Baal-Peor, a [Baal](/source/Baal) worshipped at a [high place](/source/High_place) in the [Heresy at Peor](/source/Numbers_31), to whom the Israelites were associated in [Shittim](/source/Abila_(Peraea)) ([Numbers 25:3](/source/Numbers_31#Israelite–Moabite_fraternisation_at_Peor_(Numbers_25:1–9))) and who was associated with intemperance and orgies. He was worshiped in the form of a phallus. As a demon, he is described in Kabbalistic writings as "the one who quarrels", an enemy of the sixth [sefira](/source/Sefirot), [Tiferet](/source/Tiferet) "Beauty". In stories where he is invoked, he bestows wealth, power to make discoveries, and the ability to create fantastic inventions. His role as a demon was to sow dispute between people, and to lead them to evil through the distribution of wealth. *Belphegor* by [Jean Jacques Flipart](/source/Jean_Jacques_Flipart) The [palindromic prime](/source/Palindromic_prime) number 1000000000000066600000000000001 is known as [Belphegor's prime](/source/Belphegor's_prime), due to the superstitious significance of the numbers it contains. Belphegor's prime number consists of the number [666](/source/Number_of_the_beast), surrounded on both sides by [thirteen zeros](/source/Triskaidekaphobia) and finally one one. According to De Plancy's *[Dictionnaire Infernal](/source/Dictionnaire_Infernal)*, Belphegor was Hell's ambassador to France. As a result, his enemy is [Mary Magdalene](/source/Mary_Magdalene), one of the patron saints of [France](/source/France). ## Literature This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The novella *[Belfagor arcidiavolo](/source/Belfagor_arcidiavolo)* by Italian diplomat [Niccolò Machiavelli](/source/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli) was first published in 1549, and regales how the demon comes to earth to find a mate. Belphegor figures in *[Paradise Lost](/source/Paradise_Lost)* by [John Milton](/source/John_Milton).[2] Next Chemos, th’ obscene dread of Moab’s sons, From Aroar to Nebo, and the wild Of southmost Abarim; in Hesebon And Horonaim, Seon’s realm, beyond The flow’ry dale of Sibma clad with vines, And Eleale to th’ Asphaltic Pool. Peor his other name, when he enticed Israel in Sittim on their march from Nile To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe. Belphegor features in three narrative poems by [Jean de la Fontaine](/source/Jean_de_la_Fontaine), published in his 17th-century anthology *[Contes et nouvelles en vers](/source/Contes_et_nouvelles_en_vers)* (English: Tales and Novellas in Verse). Drawing from Machiavelli's *[Belfagor arcidiavolo](/source/Belfagor_arcidiavolo)*, this satirical poetic cycle includes the eponymously-titled *Belphegor*, followed by *La Clochette*, and *Le Glouton.* According to the 1818 *[Dictionnaire Infernal](/source/Dictionnaire_Infernal)* by [Collin de Plancy](/source/Jacques_Collin_de_Plancy), Belphegor was [Hell](/source/Hell)'s ambassador to [France](/source/France).[3] The same claim was repeated by [Victor Hugo](/source/Victor_Hugo) in *[Toilers of the Sea](/source/Toilers_of_the_Sea)*.[4] In the grimoire *[Key of Solomon](/source/Key_of_Solomon)*, Belphegor is listed near the end of the book as a Syrian idol that is now destroyed.[5] The novella by Machiavelli became the basis for the opera *[Belfagor](/source/Belfagor)* by [Ottorino Respighi](/source/Ottorino_Respighi), which premiered at [La Scala](/source/La_Scala) in [Milan](/source/Milan) in 1923. ## In popular culture This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) - The [PZL M-15 Belphegor](/source/PZL_M-15_Belphegor), a 1970s Polish utility aeroplane, was named after the demon, due to its strange looks, the noise of its jet engine, and its unsuitability for [crop dusting](/source/Crop_dusting), for which it had been specifically designed. - Belphegor appears as a supporting character in the TV show *[Supernatural](/source/Supernatural_(American_TV_series))*. In the show, Belphegor possesses the body of Jack, played by [Alexander Calvert](/source/Alexander_Calvert). - Belphegor is a recurring demon/persona in the *[Megami Tensei](/source/Megami_Tensei)* and *[Persona](/source/Persona_(series))* video game series. - The long-running German [dime novel](/source/Dime_novel) and [audio drama](/source/Audio_drama) series *[John Sinclair](/source/John_Sinclair_(German_fiction))* featured Belphégor as a recurring villain. Author [Jason Dark](/source/Jason_Dark) depicted Belphégor as an [archdemon](/source/Archdemon) mainly active in [Paris](/source/Paris) and a close ally of the [Grim Reaper](/source/Grim_Reaper). - In the [Oz book](/source/List_of_Oz_books) *[Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz](/source/Jack_Pumpkinhead_of_Oz)* (1929) by [Ruth Plumly Thompson](/source/Ruth_Plumly_Thompson), Baron [Belfaygor](/source/Belfaygor) of Bourne is a spoof of the [Prince Charming](/source/Prince_Charming) stock character, seeking to rescue his [damsel in distress](/source/Damsel_in_distress) from an enemy warlord. Purehearted but inept, Belfaygor requires assistance from other unlikely heroes, including the titular ["Pumpkinhead"](/source/Jack_Pumpkinhead). Despite his name, Belfaygor has no demonic attributes. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Morton W. Bloomfield, *The Seven Deadly Sins*, Michigan State College Press, 1952, pp. 214–215. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Milton, John (2003). Leonard, John (ed.). *Paradise Lost*. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Classics. Book 1, lines 406-414. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-14-042439-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-14-042439-3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Collin de Plancy, Jacques-Albin-Simon (1844). [*Dictionnaire infernal*](https://archive.org/details/dictionnaireinfe00coll_0) (in French). Paris. pp. [186](https://archive.org/details/dictionnaireinfe00coll_0/page/186). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Hugo, Victor (1888). [*Toilers of the Sea*](https://archive.org/details/worksofvictorhug08hugoiala/). Translated by Hapgood, Isabelle F. New York: Kelmscott Society. p. 17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** *The Key of Solomon*. Translated by Mathers, Samuel Liddell MacGregor. London: G. Redway. 1889. p. 112. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Belphegor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphegor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphegor?action=history)). 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