Adramelech

"I am Adramelech, loyal servant and sworn knight of my Lord Lucifer. And what of your title? They pale in comparison to mine."

- Adramelech.

Adramelech, formerly known as Adrael, is the Grand Chancellor of Hell and is a powerful demon in Judeo-Christian traditions.

Overview
Adramelech is a fallen angel turned demon that was once vanquished by the True Archangels Uriel and Raphael during the War in Heaven. He also was falsely worshipped as a sun along with his sibling Anamelech who was worshipped as a moon god. The center of their worship was the town of Sepharvaim and was brought by the Sepharvite colonists into Samaria. Both feared for his power and mocked for his clothing tastes out of step with those of the other superior demons, he is of a rather capricious and vain character, but becomes very small in the presence of Satan.

After his fall from Heaven, Adramelech became the president of the senate of demons. He is also the Grand Chancellor of Hell within the Stygian Council of Pandemonium along with acting as the supervisor of Satan and Lucifer's wardrobe, as well as the eighth of the ten evil Sephiroth. He is also the chancellor of the Order of the Fly, founded by Beelzebub and the president of the high council of devils.

As apart of Dracula's Army, Adramelech appears as a gigantic demon embedded on the wall of the highest chamber of the Chapel Tower. Only his head and hands are visible, and due to their position it could be assumed the rest of his body to be anthropomorphic as well.

Appearance
Adramelech is generally depicted with a human torso and head, and the rest of his body having the appearance of a mule or peacock. He often appeared in animal forms such as that of a peacock, mule, horse, or lion.

In Castlevania and similar locations, he appears as a large, green and thick-furred creature featuring the head of a ram and humanoid clawed hands. His eyes and other parts of his body are covered by what appear to be black leather stripes with buckles, items usually associated with sadomasochism.

Powers and Abilities
Adramelech can levitate, shoot ice lightnings, project light rays with his peacock tail, and even teleport himself in clouds of smoke.

Adramelech can make the area beneath him to constantly spawning purple bubbles which are harmful to the touch. These can be burst by a single hit from any attack. Adramelech can conjure about eight blue fireballs around his head that will then be launched one by one at his opponent's current position. He can also conjure floating skulls which will swoop down from one side of the room to the other. These can be avoided by crouching under the hand that conjures them.

Fall from Grace
Adramelech was an angel that resided in Heaven until he joined Lucifer's cause to usurp God. During the rebellion, he fought and was vanquished by the true archangels Uriel and Raphael in the War in Heaven. Given his role as the supervisor for Satan's wardrobe it is likely that he had a similar job description within Hell where he tailored and designed the outfits for the angels.

Chancellor of Hell
After his fall from Heaven and the establishment of the infernal kingdom within Hell, Adramelech was was appointed as the chancellor of the Order of the Fly, founded by Beelzebub and president of the high council of devils.

Circle of the Moon
When defeated by Nathan Graves, his head fell off and reveal a purple-like liquid coming out from his neck. When reentering the room, his entire body will have disappeared, leaving no signs of it ever having been there. A pressure plate can be found in the next room, which once stepped upon will destroy all the previously impassable green iron maidens scattered throughout Carmilla's castle.

Myths and Legends
"Chancellor of Hell and supervisor of Lucifer's wardrobe. Has the body of a mule and the plumage of a peacock. Worshipped by the Assyrians, who sometimes offered children to him as a sacrifice."

- The Demonic Compendium.

He’s considered the Grand Chancellor of the infernal empire of Hell. According to the Dictionnaire Infernal, he became the President of Devils' general council (the Senate of the Demons), as well as the eighth of the ten evil demons of the Sefirot of the Tree of Life. He works under the command of Samael.

A poet's description of Adramelech can be found in Robert Silverberg's short story "Basileus." Adramelech is described as "The enemy of God, greater in ambition, guile and mischief than Satan. A fiend more curst — a deeper hypocrite."

Like other pagan gods, Adramelech is considered a demon in Judeo-Christian tradition. Adramelech has been linked to the jinni Asmadai, mentioned in Milton’s Paradise Lost as one of the potent thrones. Milton also referred to Adramelech as an Assyrian idol and as a jinni defeated by Uriel and Raphael. In addition, he appears in The History of Magic, pictured as a horse, and has been equated with the Babylonian god Anu, and with the Ammonite Moloch.

The name appears in Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews (book 16, chapter 8) as Andromachos and in Greek sources as Adramelos and Ardumuzan. The name is also used for a son of Sennacherib in 2 Kings (19:37), who with Sharezer, his brother, murdered his father in the temple of the god Nisroch after they learned their father planned to sacrifice them to the god.

Infernal Lords
Marquis Adramelech is a Higher Demon and an important figure in the Court of Pandemonium. He was formerly the Second-in-Command of Thrones under Duke Astaroth’s leadership, and followed his Chief during the Great Heavenly War against God, hoping to overpower him in the process, although unsuccessfully. After the Fall, he retained his powers as a former Astral Angel, becoming the Demon of the Sun: not only does he have power over the Secondary Element Light, but also on the astrological influence of his Planet. He shares these traits with his opposite yet complementary twin sister, Marquise Anamelech, the Demon of the Moon.

Having kept his former plot a secret, he’s still rather close to the oblivious Duke Astaroth, but his friendship with Duke Beelzebub is more notable, as he’s also part of the latter’s Order of the Great Fly. Another good comrade is Marquise Decarabia, who can boost her powers thanks to Marquis Adramelech’s. He also enjoys the company of Demons of the Arts, most notably that of Theatre, Count Kobal. Ambitious and arrogant, yet cultured and sophisticated, he aimed to the First Level as the Satan of Pride, but was overcome by the more cunning Duke ?????? in the struggle for the position. Nevertheless, thanks to his mighty powers and his relation with the two aforementioned Satans, he made it to the Second Level anyways, being part of Emperor Lucifer’s entourage as the supervisor of his wardrobe. He’s also the Great Chancellor of the Court and it’s a spell of his that keeps Hell illuminated.

He has a slight dislike for Marquis Andrealphus, mainly because the latter can overpower his astrological influence, although he covers this as overprotectiveness for his sister, and has an ever greater dislike for the sombre Count Mammon and the ostracised Viscount Legion than other Courtiers do. The reason he is most rumoured about at Court, though, is his being notably at odds with Duke ??????, as they both like being in the spotlight, with Marquis Adramelech being envious of his title of Demon of Pride and Duke ?????? taking advantage of his higher rank to constantly tease him.

Historical Origins
Adrammelech was an ancient Semitic god mentioned briefly by name in the Book of Kings, where he is described as a god of "Sepharvaim". Sepharvaim is commonly, but not certainly, identified with the twin cities of Sippar Yahrurum and Sippar Amnanum on the banks of the Euphrates, north of Babylon,, where children was burned as a sacrificial offering to him. The name probably translates to "Magnificent king."

An unrelated person with the name of Adrammelech is described in Hebrew writings as a son and murderer of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. He was known in the Akkadian language as Arda-Mulissu, and was the rebellious son of Sennacherib.

Quotes

 * "I am Adramelech, loyal servant and sworn knight of the Demon Lord Lucifer." - Adramelech.


 * "You know, when I heard that, I thought there was a clown nearby. Turn out I was wrong. You're the whole circus instead." - Lucifuge Rofocale to Adramelech.


 * "Damn Adramelech! Damn that bastard to Oblivion! How dare that feather-stuffed bastard dare to touch His Excellency with his filthy hand! He shouldn't be standing there! That place belonged to ME! I should be the one over there! I should be the one holding the prize! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! Lucifer's side belongs to me, GODDAMMIT!!!" - Lucifuge Rofocale.


 * "The enemy of God, greater in malice, ambition, and mischief than Satan, a fiend more curst, a deeper hypocrite." - The Messiah, written by the German poet Klopstock.


 * "Adramelech is formerly one of Gabriel's servants, alongside his supposed-twin, Melek Taus - the Peacock of Paradise. Then, the war in heaven happened, and everything and anything was splitting into sides and factions, each with their own schemes. Adramelech sided with Lucifer, mainly because of his obsessive admiration of Lucifer - not surprising, considering that nearly 80% of why they even pledged loyalty to him in the first place - but because of something happened between him and Melek Taus. No one sure what it is, though in the grapevine, it is said that it has something to do with the Meshafa Rash..." - Matt Wright.


 * "One of many demons named in Collin de Plancy’s extensive Dictionnaire Infernal, published and republished throughout the nineteenth century. The name of this demon is actually the name of a Samaritan sun god whose name was also sometimes rendered Adramelech. As such, he is one of the many foreign deities mentioned in the Old Testament that have been demonized with the passage of time. The early- nineteenth-century French writer, Charles Berbiguier, describes Adramelek as the Lord High Chancellor of Hell. In his book Les Farfadets, Berbiguier further asserts that Adramelek has been awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Fly, a supposedly demonic knightly order founded by Beelzebub. A. E. Waite, writing in his classic Book of Black Magic, repeats Berbiguier’s attributions, although he incorrectly links them to the sixteenth-century scholar Johannes Wierus. Agrippa identifies him as an ancient king demonized over time." - The Dictionary of Demons, written by Michelle Belanger.

Trivia

 * Like Moloch, Adramelech is a demon in form of sun god.
 * The "melech" from his name means "King" in Hebrew.
 * The meaning of Adramelech is possibly "Magnificent King", likewise Anamelech possibly means "Anu is King."

Image Sources

 * (William-scarratt-adramelech-4.jpg) Adramelech by William Scarratt
 * (Adramelech.jpg/Adramelech Occult.jpg) Adramelech from Dictionnaire Infernal
 * (Adramelech Smilingdemon.jpg) Adramelech by smilingdemon/Sylvain Dousset
 * (Adramelech for freyad dryden by genrechowderstudios d8uee8j-fullview.jpg) Adramelech for Freyad-Dryden by GenreChowderStudios
 * (Fabulous p e a c o c k by rosiana d1pxl2q-fullview.jpg) .:+Fabulous P E A C O C K +:. by Rosiana
 * (Demon of fire by b1gqu1nnbfg d5qch1x-fullview.jpg) Demon of Fire by B1gQu1nnBFG
 * (Adramelech by GothicNarcissus.jpg) Adramelech by GothicNarcissus
 * (Adramelech SMTIVF.png) Adramelech from Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
 * (Adramelech concept SMT4A.jpg) Adramelech concept art from Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
 * (Adramelech Castlevania.gif) Adramelech from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
 * (Adramelech Castlevania1.gif) Adramelech from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon