Digimon and Mythology: the Seven Great Demon Lords
Of all the many Digimon groups, none are more notorious than the Seven Great Demon Lords. Among the most powerful of all Digimon, they are the epitome of evil in the Digital World, each one representing one of the seven deadly sins. As long as that sin exists in Digimon, the corresponding Demon Lord will exist. It's even stated that they are transdimensional, each one existing in many parallel worlds throughout the multiverse. The power of the associated sin is divided between each version of the Demon Lord in every universe where they exist. Kill one in one universe, and its power will be divided amongst its counterparts in other universes. This means even killing a Demon Lord is a crime, for though you've helped your universe, every other one will now be worse off for it. The Demon Lords are composed of fallen angel Digimon that rebelled against the Digital World's god in ancient times. Their rebellion failed and they were consigned to the Dark Area, the graveyard of deleted data that serves as the Digital World's hell. Now, each works to fulfill its own agenda while staying out of each other's plans. It is possible that, were they to unite in common cause, their attempted destruction of the Digital World would succeed this time.
Each Demon Lord has a crest associated with them and their sin. These crests contain quite a bit of information about their real-life inspirations. Each crest is a concentric circle. Between the two circles is a series of text reading LEVEL:666 SYSTEM:___ CODE:___. CODE (which is listed twice) lists the Demon lord's sin and SYSTEM lists the demon associated with that sin in Christian demonology. In the inner circle at the top is the symbol used in pre-scientific astrology for one of the seven classical planets (which included the sun and moon as planets). In the middle, taking up most of the crest is the sigil of one of the seven olympian spirits, which I will discuss below. At the bottom is text PURGATORY LEVEL:___, which goes from 1 to 7 and correspond to the level of purgatory associated with that sin in the Purgatorio chapter of Dante's Divine Comedy. Each crest is the color of one of the seven colors of the visual light spectrum. Each Demon Lord also has a sword with a unique design that includes their crest, but these swords don't appear is as much media as the crests.
The olympian spirits mentioned above were featured in several renaissance-era occult traditions that mixed together Christian theology with a variety of new ideas. The spirits were said to rule the 196 provinces of heaven, ruled the natural world in secession, and each was associated with one of the classical planets and the teaching of some kind of knowledge. They are often associated with (though are not) archangels. Each also had a seal. The crests of the Demon Lords each bear the seal of one of the olympian spirits and the symbol of their associated planet.
So the Demon Lords are fallen angels, but what is a fallen angel? The common modern idea of a fallen angel is an angel that sided with the devil when he rebelled against god and was cast into hell, where they now seek to spread evil and may be synonymous with demons. This is the idea that Digimon runs with. This idea has not always been the consensus. The origin of the idea of a fallen angel appears to occur in ancient Jewish texts which are now considered apocryphal by most modern Jews and Christians. These books describe angels called watchers who go to earth and fall for human women, whom they mate with and are then rejected by god. Throughout the history of Judaism, the idea of fallen angels being evil beings (and whether or not they even exist) has come in and out of fashion. It appears to have been in fashion when Christianity branched off, since the devil is described as a fallen angel in canonical texts. The text never actually equated fallen angels and demons, but that has become the general consensus since them. There are a surprising amount of very Christian beliefs that are actually not stated in the Bible (cough trinity cough).
The leader of the Seven Great Demon Lords (in that he's the only one who can get them all to work together) and most powerful member is Lucemon Falldown Mode, Demon Lord of pride. As the name suggests, he is based on Lucifer, the original name of the most common version of the devil myth in Christianity. He started out as Lucemon, the first angel Digimon who lived in the early Digital World, a chaotic place, and brought order and harmony. Lucemon was a good and loving being that, despite bing of the low Child/Rookie level, was so powerful that the Ultimate/Mega level Three Great Angels possess its power divided amongst themselves. For reasons never fully stated, Lucemon rebelled against the Digital World's god and became Lucemon Falldown Mode. Normally, a mode change is the Digimon changing itself without actually evolving, but Lucemon treats mode changes as evolutions instead. It skipped a level to become a Perfect/Ultimate level as FM. This is a level below the other Demon Lords, but it is still the most powerful of the group. Lucemon FM is a contradictory being, possessing both angelic and demonic qualities, as evidenced by it having angel wings on one side of its body and bat wings on the other. It is trapped between its original loving self and a demonic desire to destroy that causes it to have the ultimate goal of destroying the world to create a new one.
Lucemon can further evolve to Lucemon Satan Mode. In this form, he loses all human features to instead become a gigantic, demonic dragon. It is based on the dragon of the book of revelation. While that dragon had seven horns, Lucemon SM does not. Instead, it has the crests of all the Demon Lords on its wings, a reference to said dragon wearing seven crowns. It carries a globe of shadows called Gehenna that absorbs all attacks, making it impossible to actually harm Lucemon SM. Genenna is the name of a valley in Jerusalem whose name as become associated with a place of divine punishment in Judaism. Despite its power, Lucemon Satan Mode is actually just the shadow of the true form of Lucemon, who resides within the Gehenna globe. This true form, the epitome of Lucemon's evil is Lucemon Larva, which takes the from of an utterly pathetic little worm that can barely do anything. The ultimate evil of the Digital World being a pathetic little bug is definitely some sort of statement on behalf of the Digimon creative team. All the Demon Lords have an x-antibody variant. Lucemon X loses the symbolism of being half angel and half demon and explicitly said to have become omnipotent. Yeah, in the x-antibody setting, evil wins. And people say x-antibody Digimon aren't edgelordy as hell. All the Demon Lord x-antibody forms incorporate their crest into their designs, which is a nice touch.
Ok, so Lucemon is the devil, but who exactly is the devil? Well in the oldest Jewish texts, Satan is not a person, but a title meaning "opposer" or "adversary". The satan was a title given to someone acting an an adversary on God's behalf and certainly was no an enemy of God. The idea of the satan being an individual being was God's enemy is one of many features the ancient Hebrews adopted from Zoroastrianism after the Persians conquered Israel out from under the Babylonians. Zoroastrianism features the idea of the world being caught in a struggle between the good god Ahura Mazda and the evil god Ahriman, a struggle where good will eventually win. The Hebrews folded these ideas into their own religion by making their version of Ahriman a fallen angel and attaching the already existing satan title to him. The name Lucifer being attached to the devil comes from Isaiah 14 (which if you read in context is actually condemning the king of Babylon, not talking about the devil) which refers to astrology, referencing the morning star, another name for Venus. Lucifer is the Latin name for Venus as it appears in the morning and was used when the Bible got translated into other languages. Venus being connected to fallen figures also predates Judaism. Both the Sumerians and the Canaanites had gods associated with Venus (Inanna and Attar, respectively) who descended to the underworld. Lucemon's crest is red and references the olympian spirit Och, who was associated with the sun and was a healer.
Leviamon is the Demon Lord of envy, based on leviathan. It is a colossal red crocodile that slumbers in the depth of the ocean and is so large that it could swallow the Digital World in one bite. When it does wake up, its envy of anything it perceives as greater then it lead it to hatred and violence. Even angelic and other demonic Digimon flee before its power. Lucemon provides the foundation for evil to exist in the Digital World and it is said to have no limits. Leviamon X gains the ability to fly and some of the ugliest art in the franchise. Its crest is light blue (which stands in for indigo in the rainbow) and references the olympian spirit Ophiel, a teacher of art that is associated with Mercury.
The leviathan is a sea monster appearing the the Hebrew bible. While it is described as a fire-breathing monster, multiple scholars believe that the description given in the book of Job is a highly exaggeration and fantastical description of a Nile crocodile, which would have been one of the most terrifying creatures known to people in the middle east and makes Leviamon's depiction very fitting. Leviathan is often used as a symbolic representation of an obstacle to overcome. According to some literature, at the end of the world it and its counterpart behemoth will be killed and the righteous will eat them. Scholars of comparative religion note the similarity of leviathan to monsters in other nearby cultures, such as the Canaanite Lotan and Sumerian Tiamat. Many of these cultures have creation myths that portray the pre-creation chaos as a sea monster that must be killed for the creation of the world to begin. Said scholars suggest that leviathan comes from a pre-Jewish version of this motif.
Demon is the Demon Lord of wrath. He is the only Demon Lord that got a substantial name change in English, or rather he got two. While the dub of Digimon Adventure 02 uses Daemon, most English media uses the name Creepymon. In a fandom that argues over every name change, you will not find any fans sticking up for Creepymon. Tt's probably the most despised name change in the franchise because of how silly it sounds for such an intimidating and evil Digimon. Because Demon is the lord of wrath, you might think he's a mindless rage monster. This would be a mistake, Demon is actually a brilliant schemer who is plotting to find a way to evolve beyond the Ultimate/Mega level and take over the Digital World. All the Demon Lords are fallen angel Digimon and Daemon is a fallen Seraphimon, the most powerful of the angels. It hates the Digital World's god and seeks revenge for its banishment to the Dark Area. In the mange V-Tamer 01, Demon succeeds at evolving beyond the Ultimate/Mega level, becoming Demon Super Ultimate. Demon X can go beyond even that through the power of being really, REALLY angry. Demon's crest is orange and references the olympian spirit Bethor, who had many treasures and was associated with Jupiter.
Demon has been confirmed to be based on a cacodaemon. In Greek, the word "daemon" or "daimon" was a generic term for any spirit with no moral implication. Cacodaemons were daemons who were evil. It was after the translation of the old testament to Greek that the word "daemon" came to be associated with evil. Demon also takes design influences from more monstrous depictions of the devil. It was designed before the Demon Lords as a group were introduced and retroactively included in the group, which is why it doesn't have the same depth of references as the rest and its name is so much more generic.
The Demon Lord of sloth is Belphemon Rage mode. While only its Rage Mode is considered a Demon Lord, Belphemon spends most of its time in Sleep Mode. Belphemon was so powerful and destructive that the Digital World's system forcibly placed it in a sleep mode. While in Sleep Mode, Belphemon can't attack, but its snores are so powerful that other Digimon can be killed just by being near it. Belphemon awaked once every thousand yers (though it can also be awaked early), transforming into Rage Mode. Rage mode is the mindless rage monster that you'd Demon would be, rampaging and killing everything around itself until it is forced back to sleep. Belphemon X is even more destructive, but smarter and capable of leading armies of demonic Digimon. Belphemon's crest is dark blue and references the olympian spirit Phaleg, who was a mighty warrior and associated with Mars.
Belphemon's namesake is Belphegor, the demon associated with sloth in Christian demonology. He is said to tempt people into being lazy. Visually, Belphemon is based on Baphomet, a goat-headed demon that has become a popular symbol in multiple occult belief systems. While sometimes believed to be part of Christian demonology, Baphomet was most likely completely made up to slander the Knights Templar by telling people it was a god they worshipped.
The Demon Lord of greed is Barbamon. It is the most cunning of the seven and the foremost schemer. It is able to manipulate the extremely powerful Deathmon (who usually tries to remain neutral) into doing its bidding. While Barbamon preferes to manupulate others into doing its dirty work, it is fully capable of fighting by unleshing the flames of the Dark Area. Barbamon is driven by greed and would happily kill another Digimon just to get a new bauble. Not that he needs it or anything, he just wants it. Barbamon X merges his staff with his had to become an even more powerful sorcerer. Barbamon's crest is violet and references the olympic spirit Aratron, an alchemist associated with Saturn. To address the Elephantmon in the room, Yes, Barbamon is a greedy old man with a long nose. Yes, he looks like a Jewish stereotype. I don't know if those stereotypes are well known in Japan of if they have the same kind of negative connotations they do in the west. Japanese media occasionally uses negative stereotypes like this (for example, many anime and manga series have been criticized for using stereotypical depictions of black people) because they just don't have the same negative connotations there. Either way, it does make me uncomfortable.
Barbamon's namesake is Barbatos, a demon listed in the Lesser Key of Solomon who can understand the language of animals and reveal hidden treasures. The demon in Christian demonology normally associated with greed is Mammon. Digimon had to change it because there was already a Mammon (Mammothmon in english). Barbatos does still have the association with treasure that fits greed. visually, he is based on a wicked wizard.
If you ask Digimon fans what their favorite Demon Lord is, most will reply Beelzebumon, largely due to his role in Digimon Tamers, though him being a badass biker sertainly helps. The english dub shortened his name to Beelzemon, which I prefer. It rolls off the tongue easier. Beelzemon is the Demon Lord of gluttony, which is depicted here as an obsessive desire for more power, usually obtained by killing other Digimon and devouring their data. While cruel and merciless, Beelzemon does have a sense of pride and won't attack those who can't defend themselves. It also dislikes other Digimon who do bully the weak. It rides a motorcycle named Behemoth and dual-wields shotguns names Berenjena. Yes, that is the Spanish word for "eggplant", Digimon gives really random names sometimes. It was later established that the Berenjena were bult by the ultimate smith Vulcanusmon, who gives all his creations Spanish food names for whatever reason. Beelzemon can change into a more powerful form: Beelzemon Blast Mode, where he grows wings and swaps out one Berenjena for an arm-mounted ray gun named "Blaster". Leave the names to Volcanusmon, buddy. You're not very good at this. Despite becoming even more powerful, Beelzemon BM is calmer and less violent, possibly even on the path to redemption. Beelzemon Blast Mode is no longer a member of the Demon Lords. Beelzemon X gains the ability to summon El Evangelio, the sentient flames of the Dark Area that attack and punish sinners. While the flames try to attack Beelzemon X, he is so powerful he can forcibly subdue them and use them as his bullets. Beelzemon's crest is yellow and references the olympian spirit Hagith, who was extremely beautiful and associated with Venus.
Beelzemon's name comes from Beelzebub, a demon in Jewish and Christian demonology. The name comes from ba'al zebub, which means "lord of the flies". Beelzebub is associated with gluttony in Christian demonology, possibly due to flies feeding on feces. If it eats poop it must be gluttonous. One hypothesis about the origin of the character is that he started as a Philistine god names ba'al zebul, which means "lord of the heavenly dwelling". The Hebrews literally demonized the character and corrupted his name into ba'al zebul.
Last but not least is Lilithmon, Demon Lord of lust. She was given the name Laylamon in the English dub of Xros Wars, but otherwise retains her original name in English. She is a master manipulator that bewitches Digimon into falling toward evil and following her every whim. She is known as the dark goddess as she is kind and generous to evil Digimon, but cruel to and outraged by virtuous one. She perfers to fight by using summoning circles to conjure forth monsters, but it capable of fighting on her own. Her breath is corrosive and the claw on her right arm, the Nazar Nail, will corrode anything it scratches into nothing. Her most notable anime appearance was in Xros Wars where this incrdibly powerful mailator and Demon Lord was demoted into the sexy , incompetent, comic relief minion. One of many reasons I don't like Xros Wars. Fortunately, she got an appearance as a monster of the week in Ghost Game, where she was portrayed as much truer to what she should be. Lillithmon X can now turn ofter Digimon into her puppets and will drain them of their life as they work tirelessly following her will. It's worth noting that there's an unwritten rule of Digimon design that if a Digimon looks like a person in a costume, they will have a helmet or mask or something else that keeps you from seeing their full face. Lucemon and Lilithmon are the only exceptions to this rule. Her crest is green and references the olympian spirit Phul, a healer associated with the moon.
Lilithmon's namesake is Lilith, a figure in Hebrew and Mesopotamian mythology. In Jewish folklore (not official sources, she is considered non-canonical by most Jewish authorities), she is the first wife of Adam, who was banished from the garden of eden for wanting to be treated as an equal to Adam instead of being subservient. After being banished from the garden, she became the first succubus and birthed many demons. A woman wanting to be treated as an equal probably would have been weird to a society as misogynistic as most of those in the ancient world. Lilith may have been an attempt to explain one of the contradictions between the genesis 1 and genesis 2 versions of the creation myth. In genesis 1, men and women (unnamed) are created together while in genesis 2, Adam is created before Eve. Lilith was likely used to explain this discrepancy. She was the unnamed woman created alongside Adam and Eve came later. Lilith likely also comes from older Mesopotamian mythology, which contains a race of feminine nocturnal bird demons called the lilitu. A figure that may be a proto-Lilith appears in the stories of Gilgamesh, where she lives in a magic tree. The demon associated with lust in Christian demonology is Asmodeus. Kind of gives the D&D Asmodeus's ruby rod a new meaning doesn't it? The name of the Nazar Nail comes form the nazar, an eye shaped amulet believed to ward off the evil eye. That doesn't have anything to do with a claw that dissolves thing, but, again, Digimon just gives weird names sometimes.
While the Demon Lords are fearsome on their own, when they come together, they create something immeasurably worse. This is Ogudumon, the super demon lord and fusion of all seven. It is the embodiment of all the sins of the Digital World, which makes it the ultimate evil, but also gives it to ability to atone for all sin. Because all sin exists within it, it can counteract any form of malice or evil from others. Because of this, only a being with no malice in their heart can harm Ogudumon. Ogudumon is a very weird creature, looking like some demonic starfish with seven legs. Each leg has an eye and it also has a head with its own eye. Each leg is impaled with a sword associated with one of the Demon Lords and bears that Demon Lord's crest. Ogudumon X tunrs the legs into tentacles with the powers of all the Demon Lords and its mere presence is destroying the world. Again, x-antibody is the edgelord's Digimon. Like Lucemon Satan mode, Ogudumon is based on the dragon of the book of revelation, but instead of having seven heads, it has (or rather, is) seven legs. Yeah, it's a weird one. Its name comes from the ogdoad, the Greek name for a group of 8 Egyptian gods who were considered to be in balance with each other.
