Mammon

"Greed is known by many things. It is also known as avarice, cupidity, or covetousness! It is the inordinate desire to possess wealth, goods, or objects of abstract value with the intention to keep it for one's self. It is applied to a markedly high desire for and pursuit of wealth, status, and power. And does it harm you? No! It gives you power! It gives you strength! Far beyond that of any mortal could ever hope to comprehend! With power you are untouchable."

- Mammon.

Mammon is a powerful fallen angel, now demon, that personifies the sin of Greed and is the demon lord of avarice, richness, abundance, prosperity, wealth and injustice, most often personified as a deity. He is the demon that forged Hellboy's Right Hand of Doom and gave knowledge to mortals on the creation of Homunculi.

Overview
Mammon is a high ranking demon in Hell and is also one of the seven princes of hell, each representing the Seven Deadly Sins with him representing the sin of Greed. Later demonological writings such as De Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal attributes Mammon as hell's ambassador to England. For Thomas Carlyle in Past and Present, the "Gospel of Mammonism" became simply a metaphoric personification for the materialist spirit of the nineteenth century.

Mammon is credited as the creator of alchemy, specifically credited as the one who bestowed knowledge to humans on what the proper alchemical compounds are needed to create gold. Mammon's bestowal of such forbidden information also led to the creation of the homunculi, humanoid entities of great power and strength, which in turn makes him the indirect creator of such creatures.

He first showed the power of alchemy in Egypt in 300 B.C., to a metallurgist 'sorcerer' named Ronny along with his disciples, who were also at the time members of the recently formed Illuminati. With Mammon's guidance, he creates a "complete homunculus," using his and their blood as a medium. This complete, omniscient homunculus (shaped in the likeness of Ronny) observes this Ronny and others out of curiosity and slight envy. It then decides to move about its own accord while being under the discreet guidance of Mammon.

Perhaps Mammon's two greatest achievements are the constructions of the Right Hand of Doom and the Twin Blade, both of which have unspeakably devastating properties hidden within them. The Right Hand of Doom acts as the key that will unlock the gateway where the Old Ones are being kept at bay from God's creation. And the Twin Blade was made to be capable of killing almost anything.

Appearance
In his appearance, Mammon appears as a wolf-like demon of wealth, especially given that wolves would be associated with greed in the Middle Ages. Mammon's skin appeared to be entirely made of a golden material but with several black scorched marks. He had single curved spikes jutting out of his elbows, two other spikes out of his shoulder blades, and finally his knees. His feet resembled those of some kind of eagle or dragon, and his hands resembled the claws of a dragon, his tail was also that of a dragon's. His head on the other hand resembles that of a wolf with no visible lips thus allowing his fierce dagger sharp teeth to be visible. He had bright golden amber eyes with a black sclera. When unfolding his wings they are also of a gold color though the tips of his secondary feathers are a faded black with the greater secondary coverts being a scortched black.

When appearing on the various fashion magazines, he appeared as "a stereotypical, privileged young lord". His hair is described to be made out of pure color while his eyes shift color constantly between the colors of banknotes, with the most notable one being the "dollar-green". His skin is the same as a priceless ivory statue, so pale that it makes the color white seems darker in comparison. He also leave behind him a trail of black oil, which Wright claims to worth a thousand times more than any oil human could possibly mine on Earth. Mammon is often pictured with many eyes with which he is meant to use to search for gold.

In Mammon's female form, she is a voluptuous young woman with the largest breast size among all the demon lords, along with waist-length blonde hair with two huge curled horns pointing downwards, from the back and top and center of her head adorned with an ornate hairband. She has a pair of red and black wings sprouting from the small of her back, which acts like a half-skirt, along with her actual half-skirt which looks like her wings, to cover her butt, and she can retract her wings to hide them. She wears an ornate black sleeveless top with a neckguard and a large breast window, and a black thong panty with a heart logo. On her arms, she wears ornate fingerless opera gloves, and on her legs, she wears ornate thigh-high flat-heeled boots. Like other demons, she also has a heart/spade-tipped tail, which she can also retract to hide it, but she almost never shows it for some reason. She speaks in a Ukrainian/Russian accent. The reason for this is unknown, but one could theorize that it relates to the often expensive tastes of Eastern European culture, especially in Russia.

Personality
He mixes potions and elixirs, then sells them at high prices. For trading partners, he doesn’t discriminate between demons, humans or angels, as he ruins them all anyways.

Powers and Abilities
From his manipulation of medicines, it seems he has knowledge in alchemy. Mammon also possesses knowledge on corrosive chemicals, and combined with his knowledge of alchemy, it proves he is intelligent and has a science-centered mind, though still beneath Beelzebub and Belphegor. Many of his attacks involve throwing hidden chemicals.

In Mammon's female form, she has breast milk that she mixes in most of her medicines which can cause hypnotic and illusionary, hallucinogenic properties. When consumed, the mind quickly falls prey to a distorted field of vision that is usually related to the person's desire.

Rebellion
During his time in Heaven, he was depicted as forever looking downward at Heaven's golden pavement rather than God himself. In fact, some believe that Mammon's obsession with gold was to the point where he did not even care about Lucifer's rebellion but due to the fact that he cared more about material wealth than God he was cast out by the true archangel Gabriel.

Fall from Grace
After the rebellion in Heaven, Mammon was banished to Hell where he is the one who finds underground precious metal that his demonic companions use to build their capital city, Pandemonium by Lucifer's order. Mammon counsels the devils to be happy with what they have got, and to create a home for themselves in Hell.

He also convinced Lucifer that they should use the wealth of Hell to control the Abrahamic underworld. He is also believed to run Hell's banks and all of its treasury.

Treasurer of Hell
At some point during further construction, Mammon and Mulciber discovered the substance known as Necroplasm during their cultivation of the Abyss and transforming it into the kingdom of Hell. Upon this discovery, they would take this substance, cultivate, and later mass produce it for other beneficial means; it is mainly exclusive to the Eighth Circle of Hell within the Malebolge. The production of necroplasm gave way to the creation of Basileus and the Hellspawn.

Mammon also crafted the enigmatic Right Hand of Doom alongside Belphegor, and both he and Azazel believe that with this object, which is the key to the Outerverse, they can unleash and maybe even control the Outer God known as Yog-Sothoth, using the ancient deity in their war against God and Heaven. The Right Hand of Doom would not be used until thousands of years later where Mammon, alongside Father Dagon and Astaroth, were to look after Azazel's son, Anung un Rama. The two demons witnessed the birth of the Cambion in Hell, and then cut off his right hand to graft the Right Hand of Doom onto him.

Much later on, Mammon, with the aid of Mulciber, created the legendary Twin Blade, which was made from the bones of a fallen angel, salt that was crystalized from the tears of Michael, then melted down with the ichor of a god into Damascus Steel. The Twin Blade is capable of killing almost anything. It is unknown why Mammon created such a weapon although it is believed that Mammon was aware of Satan's true intention of destroying creation to start over and feared that he would be among those that would not be spared from his mission. Thus, Mammon would oversee the creation of the Twin Blade in a bid to kill Satan simply for self-preservation.

Modern Times
Mammon once found a woman filled with greed, partially founded by the actions of her unnamed husband, who saddled her with 500,000 children and a load of debts on her shoulders. Due to his, Mammon made a contract to her which gave her millions in wealth to feed her for the next 15 years, at the end of it which requires her to pay half the amount he gave to her.

When he returned, she was unable to pay back the price making Mammon punish her for her failure, he did this by absorbing her soul into his own, taking all her memories and thoughts in the process. However, in consequence of him absorbing her soul, some parts of her personality started to affect him which mentally force to have to need to care for "his" children in the process. He did this by turning them all to demons and having his servants deal with them.

In 2010, Mammon was summoned by Lilith in an effort to convince all the Princes to work together to accomplish their ultimate goal.

Rumors
Mammon is rumored to be the father of the Greek god of wealth, Plutus. He appeared before the goddess Demeter in the form of a "golden winged man" with scorches on his body that looked as though boiling liquid was poured on him. While the details of this tale is scarce, the few that know of it all say that Mammon seduced the goddess with the false promise of relieving her misery. Their sexual encounter led to the birth of Plutus. Hypnos regards it as more of a "sordid" tale where Demeter was at her lowest point and Mammon took advantage of it. Why Mammon wanted to lay with the goddess was unknown.

Myths and Legends
In his appearance, Mammon is somewhat similar to the gods Plutus and Dis Pater; especially when Plutus appears as a wolf-like demon of wealth, wolves being associated with greed in the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas metaphorically described the sin of Greed as 'Mammon being carried up from Hell by a wolf, coming to inflame the human heart with Greed'.

In some interpretations, Mammon was not really a demon but another name for dishonest wealth. Later, Mammon become viewed as an actual demon and is also one of the Seven Princes of Hell, each representing the Seven Deadly Sins. Mammon represents Greed and is known as the Treasurer of Hell, and was said to have dealings with the Greek deity Zeus. Gregory of Nyssa also asserted that Mammon was another name for Beelzebub. In the 4th century Cyprian and Jerome relate Mammon to greed and greed as an evil master that enslaves, and John Chrysostom even personifies Mammon as greed.

In some sources, Mammon was originally a term derived from the Christian Bible used to describe material wealth or greed, most often personified as a deity. In the Bible, Mammon is personified in Luke 16:13, and Matthew 6:24, the latter verse repeating the former. In some translations, Luke 16:9 and Luke 16:11 also personify mammon; but in others, it is translated as "dishonest wealth" or some other equivalent. In some Spanish versions, it is referred to as "Mamón," but in others, it is "Dinero" (Spanish for "money").

In the Middle Ages, it was personified as an evil deity or demon supposedly (but incorrectly) derived from the Egyptian god Amun Ra. Many illustrations portrayed him as a hawk-headed humanoid, similar to the god Ra, and sometimes with two heads, the two-headed eagle being a heraldic symbol of its own, associated with various empires such as the Byzantines and the Romans. He appears in Milton's Paradise Lost as a fallen angel, and in the famous demonology book Dictionnaire Infernal, represented as a small man clutching bags of money, and described as "Hell's ambassador to England".

Albert Barnes in his Notes on the New Testament states that Mammon was a Syriac word for an idol worshipped as the god of riches, similar to Plutus among the Greeks, but he cited no authority for the statement. No trace, however, of any Syriac god of such a name exists, and the common literary identification of the name with a god of covetousness or avarice likely stems from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, where Mammon oversees a cave of worldly wealth. Milton's Paradise Lost describes a fallen angel who values earthly treasure over all other things. Later occultist writings such as Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal describe Mammon as Hell's ambassador to England. For Thomas Carlyle in Past and Present, the "Gospel of Mammonism" became simply a metaphoric personification for the materialist spirit of the 19th century.

Under the influence of the Social Gospel movement American populists, progressives and "muck-rakers" during the generation of 1880-1925 used "Mammon" with specific reference to the consolidated wealth and power of the banking and corporate institutions headquartered on Wall Street and their predatory activities nationwide.

Quotes

 * "My name is Mammon! All the world is mine!" - Mammon.


 * "I’m going to make you pay me back quite a bit of money." - Mammon.


 * "Mammon is the Prince of Greed and is the owner of Hell's banks. He is known as the Lord of Fools, for those who are blinded by greed are nothing more than foolish puppets under his control, no matter how hard they try to resist. He's also posed for Hell's fashion magazines several times and gives out tips for a body as sculpted like his. I tried it several times. They all failed for me but worked for other demons. There's just something hard to swallow when your entire diet consist of pure gold and blood of the innocent you know?" - Matt Wright.


 * "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon." - Jesus Christ talking about Mammon and the greed he causes to men.


 * "His sole name is used to describe greed, avarice, and unjust worldly gain. A false god of excessive materialism, lust for wealth and unholy richness. He is the demon of Greed." - A note about Mammon.


 * "Ye~s, this medicine will make you healthy~. I'll leave you a bottle at one million yen." - Mammon in his female form.

Trivia

 * Mammon in Hebrew (ממון) means "money". The word was adopted to modern Hebrew to mean wealth.
 * In Aramaic, the name Māmōnā (מָמוֹנָא) means "profit, wealth".
 * In German, the word "Mammon" is a colloquial and contemptuous term for "money". Usually as a phrase in combination with the adjective "schnöde" ("der schnöde Mammon" = the contemptible mammon).
 * He strongly believes himself to be the most sizable of the Princes of Hell and is willing to argue the matter.
 * He likes cat more than any other animal, enough so that all the cats that were killed in the witch hunts were adopted by him.
 * Crows and magpipes are said to be sacred to him.
 * His diet consists of blood and gold.
 * It's rumored that he's afraid of the word "debt".
 * His personal palace in Pandemonium is rumored the worth 1/3 of Hell's treasury.
 * Capitalism is rumored to be a creation of Mammon and that all capitalists ended up in his domain in Hell.
 * While the first is unproven, over 75% of capitalists do ended up in the Circle of Greed, leading to many to believe there might be some truth in the rumors.
 * Demeter, Artemis, and Athena claims Mammon has his "disgusting fingers" in every bank on Earth.
 * The Greek God of Wealth Plutus' name was taken from the demon to use for his own agenda.

Image Sources

 * (MAMMON web Demon Design Travis Lacey.jpg) Mammon by Travis Lacey
 * (Mammon.png) Mammon by ???
 * (Ill dict infernal p0455 mammon.jpg) Mammon by Louis Le Breton
 * (The worship of Mammon.jpg) The worship of Mammon by Evelyn De Morgan
 * (Mammon-George-Frederick-Watts-1884-1885-Tate-London.jpg) Mammon by George Frederic Watts
 * (CJ Mammon 01.jpg) Shadowhunters' Mammon by Cassandra Jean
 * (Mammon by auroraarchangel369 dec8bso-fullview.jpg) Mammon by AuroraArchangel369
 * (Exellero-220311.jpg) --- by exellero
 * (Mammon the demon of greed by victormoda ddt7li1-fullview.jpg) Mammon, the Demon of Greed by VictorModa
 * (Mammon by blazenmonk d5uzrx7-fullview.jpg) Mammon by BlazenMonk
 * (7 princes of hell mammon by darksilvania-d3ihm90.jpg) 7 princes of Hell: Mammon by Darksilvania
 * (Mammon demon prince of greed by atmaflare da4zyl3-fullview.jpg) Mammon, Demon prince of greed by AtmaFlare
 * (Mammon of greed by omenomicon dbqh9x2-fullview.jpg) Mammon of Greed by Omenomicon
 * (Mammon by Blazbaros.png) Mammon by Blazbaros
 * (Mammon shinkai no valkyrie drawn by akkijin 4f3aa77f4b24d38186c836b3f000974c.jpg) Mammon SR from Valkyrie Crusade
 * (Mammon shinkai no valkyrie drawn by akkijin 50608cda1583afa99531a755f9356835.jpg) Mammon HSR from Valkyrie Crusade
 * (Sin nanatsu mammon by yukitouaikawa1995 dcf7lfq-fullview.jpg) Sin Nanatsu:Mammon by yukitouaikawa1995
 * (Sins Mammon.jpg) Illustration of Mammon by Nitroplus
 * (Mammon pose.jpg) Anime Illustration of Mammon by Nitroplus
 * (Mammon Nurse.jpg) Mammon by Nitroplus
 * (Mammon Monk.jpg) Mammon by Nitroplus
 * (Mammon Gold.jpg) Mammon in Greed by Nitroplus
 * (Belphegor and Mammon.jpg)
 * (Tumblr inline pau3qyDW731qf0c4d 500.jpg) Megami Tensei Rendition of Mammon by Albert the Impact
 * (MammonDC.jpg) Mammon's Artwork from Devil Children Red/Black Book