Moloch in popular culture

see also Moloch (disambiguation)

The Canaanite god Moloch was the recipient of child sacrifice according to the account of the Hebrew Bible as well as Greco-Roman historiography on the god of Carthage. Moloch is depicted in John Milton's Paradise Lost as one of the greatest warriors of the rebel angels, vengeful and militant.

In the 19th century, "Moloch" came to be used allegorically, of any idol or cause requiring excessive sacrifice.^[1] Bertrand Russell in 1903 used Moloch to describe oppressive religion, and Winston Churchill in his 1948 history The Gathering Storm used Moloch as a metaphor for Adolf Hitler's cult of personality .

Historical fiction

Gustave Flaubert's Salammbô (1962), a semi-historical novel about Carthage depicts the practice of child sacrifice to Moloch.

In Giovanni Pastrone's silent epic film Cabiria (1913), substantially based on Flaubert, the heroine is saved from being sacrificed to the idol Molech.^[2]

Allegorical

In Allen Ginsberg's 1955 poem Howl, Moloch is used as a metaphor for the American city, thus aligning McCarthy-era America with the demon. The word is repeated many times throughout Part II of the poem, and begins (as an exclamation of "Moloch!") in all but the first and last five stanzas of the section.

Moloch (Молох) is a 1999 Russian biographical drama film directed by Alexander Sokurov. It portrays Adolf Hitler as a humanized figure, living life in an unassuming manner during an abrupt journey to the Bavarian Alps.

Eponymy

Books

• In the dystopian novel The Secret of the League (1907) by Ernest Bramah, Moloch is the name of a prototype flying-machine that goes off course and is eventually lost.
• Moloch is mentioned in Isaac Asimov's short story The Dead Past (1956).
• In Robert A. Heinlein's novel Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984) the main characters join a church pastored by "Reverend Dr. M. O. Loch."
• In Walter Moers's The 131⁄2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (1999) the great ship is called the Moloch.
• Moloch is one of the names given to Corky Laputa in Dean Koontz's novel The Face (2003).
• Moloch played an important role in Jeff Lindsey's novel Dexter in the Dark (2007).
• Moloch is a character in the Felix Castor novels written by Mike Carey (2007–).
• In Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant (2007), Moloch is the name of a vampire living in Ballymun.
• In Wayne Barlowe's novel, God's Demon (2007), Moloch appears as an infernal general to the ruling demonic legions, ruling under Beelzebub. His relationship with Hannibal particularly focuses on his demands for child sacrifice from his followers.
• In Dan Brown's novel, The Lost Symbol (2009), the principal villain's backstory reveals that he renamed himself Mal'akh after the angel Moloch in Paradise Lost. As well as naming himself after Mal'akh, the villain performs a black magic ritual to allow the angel to descend and possess him, as he gains extra powers after the ritual is complete.

Comics and anime

• Alan Moore's Watchmen features a retired underworld crime boss who once adopted the name Moloch the Mystic (real name Edgar William Jacobi) and wore the robes of a magician.
• Moloch von Zinzer is a supporting character in the webcomic Girl Genius.^[3]
• The cartoonist Paul Mavrides depicts a serious/comical Moloch in Anarchy Comics #1, in a piece entitled "Some Straight Talk about ANARCHY".^[4]
• In Marvel Comics, Moloch was the antagonist of Marvel Fanfare #52, in which a cult of "hill-people" attempt to sacrifice the Black Knight to him.
• In Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san, Moloch is the demon of violence, and is implied to be the strongest Demon summoned; however, in all of his incarnations, he is exorcized or killed before he can display any of his power. His appearance is that of a bull plushy.
• In "The Chapel of Moloch", Hellboy travels to Tavira, Portugal in order to investigate an ancient medieval chapel dedicated to Moloch. In the Hellboy comics, Moloch is also presented as a bull-headed creature.

Film and TV

• In Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis (1927), Moloch is a vision of a demonic machine. His face overlays machinery, and the hero, Freder, has a vision of workers being dragged by chains into the fires inside Moloch's mouth.
• "Moloch", an episode of the BBC television series Blake's 7 (1980).
• Moloch is a character in Stargate SG-1. In this portrayal he demands all female children be burnt alive at birth.
• Moloch the Corrupter is the name of a character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "I, Robot... You, Jane" (1997).
• Moloch is characterized as a "war machine" in the television series Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord (1997).
• Moloch (depicted as a horned demon) is the primary antagonist in the first 2 seasons of the 2013 TV series Sleepy Hollow.
• Moloch is a central character in the 2013 film Lord of Tears.
• In the 2008 film AM1200, the financial firm Sam Larson and Harry Jones work for is called Molech/Milcom.
• In the 2005 musical movie "Reefer Madness (2005 film)", Moloch is portrayed by Alan Cumming in the orgy scene. During this scene, the name Moloch is chanted just prior to the character being shown on screen.

Video games

• Moloch "the Bull" is one of the antagonists killed in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines.
• Moloch (Dungeons & Dragons), an archdevil in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game
• Moloch is a demon who was "rejected both in Heaven and Hell" in 1999 PC game Nocturne, who helps the main character in the last act.
• Moloch is the primary antagonist in the game NetHack.
• Moloch is featured as a summon-able character in the Game Boy Advance game Golden Sun: The Lost Age and its sequel Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the Nintendo DS.
• In the PC game Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy, Moloch is a unit on the Legion of the Damned faction.
• Moloch appears in the video game Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance as a three-eyed oni creature.
• Moloch is an Epic Creature character in the MMORTS game Lord of Ultima.
• The video game character "Molag Bal" in The Elder Scrolls series is based upon Moloch. The pseudo-deity "Malacath" is also known by the name "Mauloch".
• Moloch appears as a sometimes-recruitable demon in several games of the Megami Tensei franchise.
• One type of enemy Shivan warship in the game Freespace 2 is known as the Moloch-class corvette.
• Players fight a creature called "Winged Molok" in Diablo III
• Moloch is a boss in the iPad tower defense game Kingdom Rush: Frontiers.
• The Moloch Desert is a setting in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

Music

Bands

• The British sludge metal band Moloch took their name from the Moloch song by American Powerviolence band Man Is the Bastard.
• The Memphis blues rock band Moloch, formed in the 1968.

Songs & lyrics

• The American powerviolence band Man Is the Bastard made a song called "Moloch", using the words from the Ginsberg's Howl as lyrics.
• Appears in the song "Molochwalker" off the album Noctourniquet, performed by The Mars Volta.
• "Good Morning, Great Moloch" by Current 93
• Moloch is mentioned in the song "The Child Must Die" by the black metal band Watain.
• "Mr. Shiny Cadilackness" by Clutch
• Singer-songwriter Jude refers to Moloch in his song "You Mama You".
• Moloch is mentioned in the song "Feeding Moloch" by the Swedish melodic black metal band Naglfar.

See also

Moloch horridus is the scientific name of a kind of horned lizard also known as a Thorny Devil

References

1. Lives of Victorian political figures: Volume 2 Christine Kinealy, Michael De Nie, Carla King - 2007 "370, L 5: Moloch: in popular mythology, an idol who devours his followers' children, "
2. Architecture for the Screen: A Critical Study of Set Design - Page 115 Juan Antonio Ramírez - 2004 "The "Temple of Moloch," as recreated for Cabiria (1913), an influential Italian "super" production of the period. The horrific portal to the temple, a gigantic mouth with shark-like fangs, clearly establishes the voracious character of a merciless, pre-Christian god requiring endless human sacrifice."
3. http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120817
4. http://libcom.org/files/Anarchy-Comics-1.pdf