Hell Prince Confusion

[Leviathan]

Well, you see I am a guy who is interested in occult and mythology. So there's one thing that I can't understand at all. The thing is about the Bibilical mention of the Princes of Hell.

Now, there are 7 princes of hell:

Lucifer - Pride

Mammon - Greed

Asmodeus - Lust

Satan - Wrath

Beelzebub (also called Baal) - Gluttony

Leviathan - Envy

Belphegor - Vanity and Sloth

Again, there are 4 "crown" prince of hell:

1. Satan

2. Lucifer

3. Belial

4. Leviathan

Not to mention that the names Astaroth, Azazel, etc kept popping up here and there.

Now, what is the difference between princes of and crowned princes of hell? Please can anyone with good knowledge on this topic answer this question. Also it will be helpful if you can give references to some books or give links to pages on the net where I can find answer to my question, thankyou.

[lemmingllama]

Ok, so basically these were never crowned as specific princes in the Bible. Really all the differences are that they wanted demons to look more interesting, so they fabricated some lists. Everywhere that you go, you will find different lists since each religious sect wanted to have their own list of demons. However, there is a slight difference between these as you might notice.

So the Princes of Hell are all parts of the Devil. Although some places have made them as lesser demons and all, they were originally just names for parts of the Devil, one name for each deadly sin.

However, the Crown Princes were just a list of the powerful demons that they mention in the Bible. Some Satanists wanted to have a more balanced structure so they chose those four to represent the North, South, East, and West. Each also has its own individual powers and domains. Try looking here for some good info on the crown princes and the biblical references for them. Really, its just another man made collection.

Personally, most mythologies have some kind of hierarchy in them and these are no exception. Really, the Princes of Hell are the ones that make more sense, with one for each layer of Hell if we look at Dante's Inferno or one for a layer plus one for Charon and one for the minor demons if we look at the nine layer hell. So these would be the top dogs of the demon world. Of course, there is a King of Hell, and that is the Devil. But really, theres so much for Christian mythology that it will give you a headache trying to figure it all out. Just read all you can and eventually you will find something that you think is best.

[Koby]

Well I'm a bit confused with the first post, because I was always told Satan = Lucifer. o.o

[lemmingllama]

Well I'm a bit confused with the first post, because I was always told Satan = Lucifer. o.o

They are all devil names. However, the mythology of them are a bit different. Satan is the opposite of God, he has always existed and always will exist. Basically his job is to tempt humanity. Whereas Lucifer used to be a good angel, and a powerful one at that. He had a falling out with God and tried to take over heaven with a third of all angels. The archangel Michael and the other heavenly legion went and beat him down, so they were all banished and are the sweet talking tempter devils that now exist today.

But really they are all the same person, since all devils are just incarnations of the Devil. So you can also use Beelzebub, Baal, and all those names as well.