The history of a demonic tradition that was stolen from women - and then wonback again.'The harpy', 'the siren', 'the temptress' - these are familiar female archetypes used tonegatively de??ne women, yet the root of these ??gures can be traced back 4, 000 years. Intheir earliest incarnations, they were in fact demons worshipped and feared by women:Lamashtu, the horri??c talon-footed, serpentine monster, who strangled infants andmurdered pregnant women, and Lilitu, the ghost of a girl who had died a virgin and sokilled expectant mothers and their babies out of jealousy.This history of a demonic tradition from ancient Mesopotamia to the present day - fromLamashtu and Lilitu, to Lamia and Lilith, and mermaids and vampires - shows how thesedemons were co-opted by a male-centred society, before being recast again as symbolsof women's liberation. We also learn what this evolution can tell us about the experienceof women and womanhood: the danger of childbirth, changing attitudes towardssexuality and the movement for women's rights.