Editing Alal (section)

{{Short description|One of the names of a Moon goddess}}
{{Unreferenced|date=February 2025}}
In [[Mesopotamian myths]], the '''alal''' was a kind of [[demon]] that, to tempt men, came out of the Underworld and took various forms, temptations that the inhabitants of Babylonia were able to reject by means of amulets.

The Chaldean-Assyrian art represents these spirits in the form of horrible [[monster]]s, as in the [[bas-relief]]s of the Palace of [[Ashurbanipal]] in [[Nineveh]] (now [[Iraq]]), today in the [[British Museum]]) and in small bronzes and clay tablets cooked in the shape of a [[cylinder]], [[cone (geometry)|cone]], or stamp.

Generally these demons are seen as [[theriocephaly|theriocephalous]], with a human body and the head of a [[lion]] with open jaws, the ears of a dog and mane of a [[horse]]. The feet are frequently replaced by bird claws of prey.