Moloch

Moloch or Chemosh, is a demon in the series.
==History==
Moloch, or Molech, refers to a particular kind of sacrifice or possibly a god associated with fire, known first and foremost from the Bible. According to Leviticus, children were burned as an offering to Moloch. While Christian and Jewish tradition present Moloch as a demonic idol, an influential theory first formed in the the 1930s interprets the name as a term for a form of sacrifice analogous to the Punic mlk.https://www.academia.edu/7656412 According to the Romans, child offerings were one of the main forms of worship of the "african Saturn" (Baal Hammon), the tutelary god of Carthage, leading to the assumption that mlk known from insctiptions from Punic sites is the rite of child sacrifice.
In the middle ages, the idea of Moloch as a bull-headed monster developed, possibly under the influence of the myth of the Minotaur.https://www.jstor.org/stable/3268041?seq=1 Moloch understood as a demonic entity absorbed elements of Roman texts about Baal Hammon, leading to the incorrect assumption that Moloch is a title of the main biblical Baal (Hadad), an unrelated deity. While the extent of Carthaginian child sacrifice (or, according to some, the very historicity of it) is debated, it is generally agreed that it was not a feature of Mesopotamian religionhttps://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10937-moloch-molech - an early 1900s source already noting that "there is no evidence sacrifice of firstborns was a feature of the worship of Babylonian deities", and extensive offering lists from Hadad's major cult center, Ugarit, indicate only the sacrifice of animals and wares.https://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1764-0733_2000_act_2_1_2810?q=ugarit 
Scholars who reject the interpretation of Moloch as a term for sacrifice instead associate this name with various little known deities of the ancient Canaan and Mesopotamia, including the Ammonite lead god Milcom; Malik, a god or a divine title from Ebla, Mari and Nineveh; or mlkm from Ugaritic god lists, possibly an underworld deity. However, none of these figures are associated with human sacrifice, let alone with the specific form of it associated with Moloch.
Due to a passage from the Book of Kings, according to which the Moabite King Mesha sacrificed his own son to Chemosh to achieve victory over Israel, Moloch and Chemosh were sometimes treated as interchangeable in old scholarship.https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4296-chemosh
Chemosh was an ancient deity first attested in texts from the bronze age city of Ebla. He was also possibly associated with Carchemish (before the rise of Kubaba as the most important tutelary deity of the area), as indicated by the city's name. A few references in Ugaritic texts might imply that he was originally an underworld deity similar to Nergal.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&lpg=PA600&pg=PA600&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=chemosh&f=false In later times, he became the national deity of the Moabites, as evidenced by the and by a large number of theophoric names recorded in Assyrian sources. The Moabites also conflated him with the Arabian Ashtar to strenghten his role as a god who, according to their beliefs, brought them victory in wars. In the past, this was erroneously understood as an implied connection between Moloch and Ishtar or Astarte.
In the Bible, Chemosh is mentioned in the compound "people of Chemosh," referring to Moabites. A single passage from the Book of Judges calls him the god of the Ammonites instead, contrary to other biblical accounts. Deuteronomy lists Chemosh as one of the forbidden foreign idols embraced by some Israelites. In this context, he's grouped with Astarte and Milcom, representing Sidonians (Phoenicians) and Ammonites, respectively. As an idol he's also called "the abomination of Moab." 
In the Book of Numbers, under Moabite influence, the Israelites started worshiping an otherwise unknown Moabite god referred to as "Baal Peor" (an inspiration for the name of the demon Belphegor) who was identified as one and the same as Chemosh in John Milton's Paradise Lost and in some later scholarly sources.https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4296-chemosh However, modern Bible researchers treat Baal Peor as a distinct deity.https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=peor&f=false
==Appearances==
*Megami Tensei II: Tyrant Race, Boss
*Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei: Tyrant Race, Boss
*Shin Megami Tensei II: Tyrant Race
*Shin Megami Tensei NINE: Tyrant Race, Boss
*Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE: Tyrant Race
*Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Tyrant Race, Boss
*Shin Megami Tensei V: Tyrant Race
*Majin Tensei: Tyrant Race, Boss
*Ronde: Boss
*Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Vile Race, as Chemosh
*Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS): Tyrant Race
*Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku: Vile Race
*Persona 5 / Royal: Hanged Man Arcana
*Persona 5: The Phantom X
*Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: Hanged Man Arcana
*Devil Children White Book: Akuma Race
*Shin Megami Tensei Trading Card: Card Summoner: Vile Race
*Devil Survivor 2 / Record Breaker: Tyrant Race
*Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2: Tyrant Race
==Profile==
===Megami Tensei II===
Moloch rules over the Lands of Rage. He drops the Orb of Doubt, allowing the protagonist to travel to the Forest of Confusion.
===Shin Megami Tensei II===
Moloch is mentioned in dialogue and his tail drills through Tokyo Millennium. He can be seen at the abyss, as a huge golden statue, but it is impossible to speak to him.
===Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE===
Moloch can only be acquired through a triple fusion of Coatlicue, Artemis and Orobas. He appears as a miniboss in Ikebukuro's Zoushigiya Cemetary and as a mob within Ueno's Mirage instance.
===Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey===
In Strange Journey, Moloch is the true form of Morax, encountered in Sector Fornax, explaining why Morax is of the Tyrant race rather than Fallen. Moloch appears as a boss and is available through special fusion after defeating him, using Morax and Ose as ingredients in the fusion.
===Shin Megami Tensei V===
===Majin Tensei===
Moloch is the boss of Scenario 16.
=== Ronde ===
Moloch comes to life from a crystal statue in the museum and kidnaps Satoshi. He then installs Satoshi as his King of Demons, trying to make him reincarnate into Ahriman for his own purposes. However, Nimrod appears by orders of Aeacus and forces him to reincarnate.
===Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner===
Moloch is the name of a band whose reunion concert the protagonist buys tickets to early on in the game. The ghost of Mikiya, the keyboardist of the group, is fought in Toa TV Station's power room along with Julia and Speedy. After Orgone Ghost's defeat, a woman in Yaraiginza mentions that the reunion concert had to be canceled. The demon is instead name Chemosh.
===Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers===
Moloch is a demon exclusive to the 3DS remake, available after Nemechi evolves into the cat form (female growth path), and costs 150 D-Souls. He is the lowest level Tyrant race available in the remake.
===Persona 5===
Moloch is the seventh Persona of the Hanged Man Arcana and can be found regularly as a Shadow in the Depths of Mementos, with the title "Sacrificial Pyrekeeper." He is one of three sources of the Ghastly Wail and Nuke Amp skills and the only source of the Drain Fire skill. When itemized through Electric Chair execution in the Velvet Room, Moloch yields a Nuke Amp Skill Card.
Upon escaping the casino at the start of the game, the protagonist confronts a Shadow manifesting as Moloch. Upon going towards the events that lead to his capture, the scene will be repeated. Unlike the previous time where only Arsène can be used, the protagonist can use his own Personas to defeat Moloch. If the protagonist already has Arsène, the dialogue will be altered.
When encountered as a Shadow in the Depths of Mementos, Moloch will actively attempt to inflict Fear on the party with Evil Smile before casting Psiodyne for Technical damage, occasionally using Ghastly Wail to outright kill the afflicted party members.
====Royal====
Moloch now drains Fire attacks instead of repelling them and cannot learn Psiodyne or Nuke Amp via level up anymore, with Maragidyne and Fire Amp taking their place. When itemized through Electric Chair execution, Moloch will now yield the Inferno Ring accessory, allowing the wearer to use Agidyne. During a fusion alarm, Moloch will yield the Spiral Inferno Ring accessory instead, allowing the wearer to use Maragidyne.
===Devil Children White Book===
Moloch is an agent of the angels who is watching over Earth Expanse while Isis is away. He attempts to guide Takaharu Ougi to becoming a Angel Child who will lead the world to a new future. Viewing Masaki Kuzuha as a threat, he attempts to kill him only to die at at the Devil Child's hands instead.
==Stats==
===Megami Tensei II===
===Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei===
====Megami Tensei II====
===Shin Megami Tensei NINE===
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Boss=
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Summonable ally=
</tabber>
===Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey===
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Boss=
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Summonable Ally=
</tabber>
===Shin Megami Tensei V===
===Majin Tensei===
===Ronde===
===Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner===
===Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers===
===Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku===
===Persona 5 / Royal===
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Persona 5=
|-|
Persona 5 Royal=
</tabber>
===Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth===
===Devil Children White Book===
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Summonable Ally=
</tabber>
===Devil Survivor 2===
===Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2===
==Gallery==
Medusa,_Mezuki,_Mephistophele,_Momunofu,_Morrigan,_Merrow,_Moloch,_and_a_Mutant._Artwork_for_Megami_Tensei_II..jpg|Moloch in Megami Tensei II
Chemosh.jpg|Moloch as Chemosh in Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
moloch.JPG|Artwork from Devil Children White Book
Moloch.jpg|Moloch's model in Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
Moloch Devil Survivor 2 (Top Screen).png|Moloch in Devil Survivor 2
Chemosh Card.GIF|Chemosh in Card Summoner
Moloch Ronde Portrait.png|In-game Ronde portrait
Moloch_P5R.jpg|Moloch in Persona 5 Royal
Moloch (P O.A.).png|Moloch in Persona O.A.
Agidyne_P5.gif|Moloch using Agidyne in Persona 5
モロク - 真・女神転生V 日めくり悪魔 Vol.025|Moloch in SMTV Daily Demon #025
==In Other Languages==
Language	Name
English 	MolochChemosh
Japanese	モーロック (Mourokku)モロク (Moroku)ケモシ (Kemoshi)
French 	Moloch
Italian 	Moloch
German 	Moloch
Spanish 	Moloch
==References==
Category:Abrahamic Mythology
Category:Canaanite Mythology
Category:Semitic Mythology
Category:Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE Demons
Category:Chaos Demons in Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
Category:Majin Tensei Demons
Category:Card Summoner Demons
Category:Persona Q2 Personas
Category:Shin Megami Tensei NINE Demons
Category:Shin Megami Tensei V Demons
Category:Chaos Demons in Shin Megami Tensei V
Category:Persona 5: The Phantom X Personas