Who Was Lilith? The Semen-Stealing First Wife Of Adam
A history of Lilith, the mythological woman from 4,000 years ago.
Lilith's story goes back 4,000 years, and she's still making an impact today.
She takes on different forms, depending on where you're looking, but a popular one was that she was the first wife of Adam, long before Eve, and was expelled from the Garden of Eden to go and live as a promiscuous, baby-killing, semen-stealing demon. As you do.
In short, she embodies a lot of male anxieties about sex and women.
What are her true origins? What's with all the semen-stealing? And what's her connection to mermaids?
Joining Kate today is historian Sarah Klegg, author of Woman's Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi, to help us get to know this fascinating woman better.
This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.
All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
