Astaroth  Astaroth (also Ashtaroth, Astarot and Asteroth), in demonology, is the Great Duke of Hell in the first hierarchy with Beelzebub and Lucifer; he is part of the evil trinity. He is a male figure most likely named after the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. The name "Astaroth" was ultimately derived from that of 2nd millennium BCE Phoenician goddess Astarte, an equivalent of the Babylonian Ishtar, and the earlier Sumerian Inanna. She is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the forms "Ashtoreth" (singular) and "Ashtaroth" (plural, in reference to multiple statues of her). This latter form was directly transliterated in the early Greek and Latin versions of the Bible, where it was less apparent that it had been a plural feminine in Hebrew. The pseudepigraphal work "Testament of Solomon", traditionally attributed to Solomon of the United Monarchy, but thought to date to the early centuries CE, mentions "Asteraoth" (in Greek) as an angel, who is opposed to the demon of power (cf. "1 Kings" 11:4–5). The name "Astaroth" as a male demon is first known from "The Book of Abramelin", purportedly written in Hebrew c. 1458, and recurred in most occult grimoires of the following centuries. Astaroth also features as an archdemon associated with the "qliphoth" (adverse forces) according to later Kabbalistic texts. Dutch demonologist Johann Weyer also described Astaroth in his "Pseudomonarchia Daemonum" (1577) thus: "Astaroth is a great and a strong duke, coming forth in the shape of a foul angel, sitting upon an infernal dragon, and carrying on his right hand a viper", who also claimed to rule 40 legions. Also, he had to be approached by the conjurer with a magical ring on account of his stinking breath. He is similarly referred to in the 17th-century work "The Lesser Key of Solomon". According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against man are stronger. According to Sebastien Michaelis, he is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness, self-doubt, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations.