Bael is a spirit in European demonology first attested as Beal, the 7th spirit in the Livre des esperitz, where he is said to be a great king subject to the east with six legions under his command. He can make people invisible, and he gives his grace to all things.[1]
Bael is elaborated upon as Baël, the 1st spirit in Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, which draws from earlier sources. Baël is said to be a king of the power of the east. He has three heads: that of a toad, that of a man, and that of a cat. He speaks in a hoarse voice and can make people invisible and wise. He has 66 legions under his command.[2]
In the Ars Goetia section of The Lesser Key of Solomon, which is heavily based on the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Bael is said to be the 1st spirit summoned by King Solomon of Israel. He is revised to rule over the east rather than being subject to it, and his description of having three heads is adjusted to appearing in multiple different forms: a cat, a toad, a man, or all three of these at once.[3]
Bael's name is most likely derived from the Canaanite deity Baal.
Design
The illustration in Dictionnaire Infernal of which Bael's Shin Megami Tensei design is based on
In Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II, Bael is a pink humanoid with tentacles in place of eyes riding atop a skeletal creature with two horned skulls for heads, four large, human-like arms for legs, and a large, human-like torso.
In Shin Megami Tensei, Bael is a spider with the heads of a man, a cat, and a toad. The human head wears a golden crown.
In Shin Megami Tensei II, Bael is depicted as a naked male humanoid with a silver crown and armbands, accompanied by a black cat perched on his shoulder and a large toad that serves as a mount. In his artwork, the armbands have spiders on them.
In Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation, Bael is depicted as a man with a spider-like torso with a frog head in his torso. On his head he has a crown with thorns and his main body and frog torso is of color red, while the spider-like body is purple. On his attack sprite from the PC-98 version Bael moves his arm forward looking down, and the frog's head opens its mouth showcasing a cat as tongue, while in the Windows version Bael only moves his arm foward looking up, and his hand shines.
Many of the details of Bael's designs are likely derived from Louis Le Breton's illustration of Bael in Jacques Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal, with his Shin Megami Tensei design bearing the closest resemblance.
Origin: Babylonia A king of Hell, ruling over 66 demon legions. He is one of the 72 demons of the Goetia and presides over all kinds of knowledge. It's said he is able to satisfy all sexual desires. He appears with a spider's body and the heads of a cat, human, and toad. Though there are times at which he appears as a mix of these species. He is an especially powerful king in the Goetia, and "leads the eastern army."
Bael's true identity is that of Baal, he orchestrated all the events in the game such as the invasion to Hatsudai Shelter and other shelters, in order to look for the current reincarnation of Ishtar. But Ishtar's current reincarnation went against Bael's wishes, so it's possible that Bael decided to kill her in order to revive her as subservient wife, free of the reincarnated hosts memories and feelings. [4]
↑"Demonological who's who of the 16th century and their medieval ancestors", Jean-Patrice Boudet. Médiévales, 44, pp. 117-140. Published Spring 2003 by Presses Universitaires de Vincennes. French. https://doi.org/10.4000/medievales.1019
↑The Lesser Key of Solomon: Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (2001), Joseph H. Peterson (editor). Published by Weiser Books. p. 228. ISBN-13: 978-1-57863-220-6.
↑The Lesser Key of Solomon: Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis (2001), Joseph H. Peterson (editor). Published by Weiser Books. p. 7. ISBN-13: 978-1-57863-220-6.
↑"捜査官: 何故バエルは、ひと度、イシュタルを殺したのか…………? この疑問について、我々は独自に捜査を行ないました。その結果... 転生したイシュタルは、バエルの意にそぐわぬ心を持っていた様です。ここからは推論ですが･･････ 死によってそうした心を清算し、バエルの従順な妻として、復活させようと目論んでいるのではないかと、考えられます。" Translation: "We have investigated the reason as to why Bael has murdered Ishtar. It appears that... the will of the reincarnated Ishtar went against Bael's wishes. This is merely my conjecture, but it's possible Bael has done that to clean the slate and resurrect Ishtar as his subservient wife." Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation (PC98). Developed by ATLUS. Published by ASCII. Japanese. Translation by Gabriulio.
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
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English
Japanese
Artwork from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Artwork from the Super Famicom version of Shin Megami Tensei
Artwork from Shin Megami Tensei II
Artwork by Katsumi Aizaki for Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Dust jacket artwork for Megami Tensei Jūnenshi, titled "Apocrypha"
Cover artwork of Kazuma Kaneko Works I, featuring Bael amongst other demons, titled "Advancing Army"
Sprite from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Animated sprite from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Sprite from Kyūyaku Megami Tensei
Animated sprite from Kyūyaku Megami Tensei
Sprite from the Super Famicom version of Shin Megami Tensei
Sprite from the Mega-CD version of Shin Megami Tensei
Sprite from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei
Sprite from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
Sprite from the PC-98 version of Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Attack sprite from the PC-98 version of Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Hurt sprite from the PC-98 version of Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Sprite from the Windows version of Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Attack sprite from the Windows version of Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Hurt sprite from the Windows version of Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation
Sprite from Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis
