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Beelzebub

Beelzebub known as "Lord of the Flies" was considered chief among demons in Hebraic belief. The title "Lord of the Flies" for this particular may correspond to the Hebrew Baalzebel, "lord of filth." The English version of "bub" was influenced by passage in 2 Kings 1:6. The Pharisees accused Christ of invoking Beelzebub's name when exorcising other demons. Originally Beelzebub was the god of the Philistine city of Ekron to whom King Ahazah sent an oracle which greatly disturbed Elijah.

Beelzebub was said to reign highest of the demons at the Black Mass. He also supposedly reigned over the witches' sabbaths in which the participants denied Christ, danced, and copulated with in and other demons during wild orgies. Some said he appeared in the form of a fly, but he apparently had other manifestations. He also is proclaimed to have been involved in the possession of the nuns in Louviers, France during the seventeenth century. A.G.H.

Sources:

Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, p.283 Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts, A Perigee Book, New York. Berkley Publishing Group. 1967.p. 261
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen.The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. New York: Facts On File.1989. p. 95