Asag

{{Short description|Demon from Sumerian mythology}}

{{Mesopotamian myth|expanded=5}}

In the Sumerian mythological poem Lugal-e, Asag or Azag (Sumerian:{{cuneiform|𒀉𒉺}} {{transliteration|sux|a₂-sag₃}} Akkadian: asakku{{Cite journal |last1=Bácksay |first1=András |last2=Niederreiter |first2=Zoltán |date=2022 |title='You Write (This Incantation) on a Cylindrical Amulet, Place (It) around His Neck and He Will Get Well!" Clay Cylindrical Amulets Inscribed with Incantations, Tools for Medical-Magical Rituals.' |journal=Le Journal des Médecines Cunéiformes |volume=40 |pages=20}}), is a monstrous demon, so hideous that his presence alone makes fish boil alive in the rivers. Azag is a personification of winter cold and sicknesses.{{sfn|Bane|2014|p=52|loc=Asag}}

This demon lives either in the Abyss{{which|date=February 2025}} or in the mountains and is accompanied by an army of rock demon offspring—born of his union with the mountains themselves.{{sfn|Bane|2014|p=52|loc=Asag}}

He was vanquished by the heroic Akkadian deity Ninurta, using Sharur, his enchanted talking mace, after seeking the counsel of his father, the god Enlil.{{Cite book |last1=Black |first1=J. A. |author2=Green, A., & Rickards, T. |year=2014 |title=Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary |location=Austin, TX |publisher=Univ. of Texas Press |pages=35–36}}