Golem
A
golem (sometimes pronounced
Goilem), in medieval folklore and from
Jewish mythology is an animated being crafted from clay or stone. The name appears to derive from the word
gelem, which means 'raw material'.
The Golem is inscribed with magic or religious words that keep it animated. Writing the name of God on its forehead, (or on a clay tablet under its tongue) or writing the word
Emet ('truth' in the Hebrew language) on its forehead are examples of such words. By erasing the first letter in 'Emet' to form 'Met' ('death' in Hebrew) the golem can be destroyed.
The existence of a golem is a mixed blessing. Although not overly intelligent, a golem can be made to perform simple tasks over and over. The problem is one of control or getting it to stop.
Golems are used primarily in
metaphor either as brainless lunks or as entities serving man under controlled conditions but enemies in others. Similarly, it is a Yiddish slang insult for someone who is clumsy or slow.
The most famous tale involves the golem created by the
16th century rabbi Judah Low ben Bezalel of
Prague, and was the basis for
Gustav Meyrink's
1915 novel
Der Golem, as well as classic set of
expressionistic silent movies, Paul Wegener's Golem series, of which especially
Golem: How He Came Into the World (also released as
The Golem, 1920, USA 1921) is famous.
The word
golem is used in the
Bible (
Psalms 139:16) and in
Talmudic literature to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance.
The Golem is considered by some to be an early
android.
Some modern references to The Golem
- Feet of Clay, a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett features golems. One specific golem named Dorfl is adopted into regular chronology and appears in later works.\n*The play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek features a modern version of the old legend.\n*Golems have been heavily referenced by role-playing games, and have expanded the definition from clay and stone, to iron, wood, rope, straw, and flesh amongst other substances.\n*A famous story about a type of golem is Avram Davidson's "The Golem".\n*Trevor Pinch and Harry Collins published a critical science book called "The Golem: what you should know about science" and later one called "The Golem at large: what you should know about technology".\n*An episode of "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest", a popular animated series, centres on a rock Golem that goes on a rampage in Prague.\n*An episode of "Gargoyles", a popular animated series, centers on a clay Golem that becomes possessed by a madman.\n*Golems feature prominently in China Miéville's novel Iron Council.\n*The Golem of Prague is an important element in the plot of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon.\n*The Dutch author Harry Mulisch incorporated the Golem legend in his De Procedure ("The Procedure").\n* Golem has been chosen as the name of an ambitious project on robot evolution at Brandeis University.\n* A recently released anime, RahXephon, features remotely controlled giant fighting creatures made of clay and referred to as Dolems. It's generally assumed that Dolem is Engrish for Golem.\n* Another contemporary anime, InuYasha, features frequent golem use by the character Naraku.\n*The DC Comics series The Monolith features a golem created to fight crime in Brooklyn.\n*Science fiction author Philip K. Dick's novel "The Cosmic Puppets" featues golems animated by mysterious children in isolated Millgate, Virginia.
A common mis-association
\nGollum is additionally the name of a deformed, wretched creature in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth; the name however is derived not from Golem, but rather from the throaty sound the character makes, beginning with a glottal stop (a throaty, almost swallowed "g").
External links
\n* http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/golem/backgroundgolem.html\n* http://www.jewishmag.com/26mag/golem/golem.htm\n* HREF="http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~jewsoc/prague.html" class="external">The Golem of Prague: Miracles of the Maharal\n*Background on the Golem Legends
Category:Jewish mythology
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