demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or occultism. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may be n ...

, Marchosias is a great and mighty

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

, commanding thirty legions of

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s. In the

Ars Goetia ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', also known by its Latin title ''Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis'' or simply the ''Lemegeton'', is an anonymously authored grimoire on sorcery, mysticism and magic. It was compiled in the mid-17th century from mate ...

, the first book of ''

The Lesser Key of Solomon ''The Lesser Key of Solomon'', also known by its Latin title ''Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis'' or simply the ''Lemegeton'', is an anonymously authored grimoire on Goetia, sorcery, mysticism and Magic (supernatural), magic. It was compiled in th ...

'' (17th century), he is depicted as a wolf with

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

wings and a serpent's tail, spewing fire from his mouth. At the request of the magician, he may take the form of a man. He is a strong fighter, gives true answers to all questions, and is very faithful to the magician in following his commands. Before his

fall Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

, he belonged to the angelic order of

Dominations ''DomiNations'' is a 2015 freemium mobile massively multiplayer strategy video game developed and published by Big Huge Games. The game was released on April 1, 2015. Gameplay ''DomiNations'' is a massively multiplayer online game. Players bui ...

(or Dominions), and when he was bound by

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

, he told him that after 1,200 years, he hoped to return to

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

("unto the Seventh Throne"). In the ''

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum The ''Pseudomonarchia Daemonum'' () first appears as an appendix to ''De praestigiis daemonum'' (1577) by Johann Weyer.Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (Liber officiorum spirituum); Johann Weyer, ed. Joseph Peterson; 2000. Available online aEsoteric Arc ...

'' (1577) of

Johann Weyer Johannes Wier ( or '; 1515 – 24 February 1588) was a Dutch physician who was among the first to publish a thorough treatise against the trials and persecution of people accused of witchcraft. His most influential work is ('On th ...

, the demon is called Marchocias, and his description is much the same as that given in the Goetia except that his gender when appearing as a wolf is female ("a cruel she-wolf") and spewing forth "I cannot tell what" from his mouth. He likewise hopes to eventually return to the Seventh Throne, but is "deceived in that hope."

Collin de Plancy Jacques Albin Simon Collin de Plancy (28 January 1793 in Plancy-l'Abbaye – 1881 in Paris) was a French occultist, demonologist and writer. He published several works on occultism and demonology. Biography He was born Jacques Albin Simon Colli ...

in his ''

Dictionnaire Infernal The ''Dictionnaire Infernal'' () is a book on demonology, describing demons organised in hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book; perhaps the most famous is th ...

'' (1818) draws on both sources for his description of Marchosias in his catalogue of demons. The name Marchosias comes from the

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

''marchio'', "marquis".

In popular culture

James Blish James Benjamin “Jimmy” Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case ...

's apocalyptic novel ''

Black Easter ''Black Easter'' is a fantasy novel by American writer James Blish, in which an arms dealer hires a black magician to unleash all the demons of Hell on Earth for a single day. The novel initially depicts the assassination of a Governor of Cal ...

'', black magician Theron Ware demonstrates his powers to sceptical arms-dealer Baines by performing a "sending" of Marchosias to cause the suicide by poison of an eminent physicist. The

goetic (, ) is a type of European sorcery, often referred to as witchcraft, that has been transmitted through grimoires—books containing instructions for performing magical practices. The term "goetia" finds its origins in the Greek word "goes", ...

ceremony of evocation is described with a vividness and a meticulous attention to detail unusual in a work of fiction. Marchosias appears in the ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, ...

'' season 5 episode " Ship Broken", where he is a

hellhound A hellhound is a mythological hound that embodies a guardian or a servant of hell, the devil, or the underworld. Hellhounds occur in mythologies around the world, with the best-known examples being Cerberus from Greek mythology, Garmr from Nor ...

that was previously the dog of famed serial killer

Son of Sam David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco; June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer and former United States Army, U.S. Army soldier who committed a series of stabbings and ...

. In ''Wolf's Curse'' by

Kelley Armstrong Kelley Armstrong (born 14 December 1968)Bio for school projects werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

. This is said by a werewolf to be one of many legends as to their creation and that he doesn't know or care if the demon is actually Marochosias. The ASW-G-35

Gundam is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ...

Marchosias & The Asw-G-05

Marbas (ガンダムマルコシアス) (ガンダムナルバス) is a mobile suit from the '' Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Urdr-Hunt''

mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...

and is one of the 72 Gundam Frames created during the ''Calamity War''. The Marchosias Team is a team of aces from the Principality of Zeon in the '' Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Missing Link''

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, formed from characters who are unfit for service in the regular forces. In ''

Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is a 2020 action role-playing game produced by MiHoYo, MiHoYo/HoYoverse. The game features an anime-style open world environment and an action-based Role-playing battle systems, battle system using Classical element, element ...

'', it is revealed that Marchosius (), now Guoba (), was the God of the Stove and Patron God of the Soil. Following a series of calamities, he used up his power to vitalize the land, greatly reducing his physical size and intelligence. In ''

Myriad Colors Phantom World is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Sōichirō Hatano and illustrated by Shirabi. The series, set in the future Kamigyo ward, an accidental release of an unstable virus caused an epidemic that alters the human brain, leading ...

'', Marchosias is a phantom that the main character summons to combat other phantoms.

Sources

Goetic demons Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology {{occult-stub

In popular culture

See also

Sources