A golem (sometimes pronounced goilem), in medieval folklore and from Jewish mythology is an animated being crafted from inanimate material. The name appears to derive from the word gelem, which means 'raw material'. Jewish mythology is the body of mythology of the Jewish people and Judaism as understood by some people. ...

History

The word golem is also used in the Bible (Psalms 139:16) and in Talmudic literature to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance. Similarly, Golems are used today 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 Bible (From Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, plural of βιβλιον, biblion, book, originally a diminutive of βιβλος, biblos, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos, meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported this writing material), is a word applied to sacred scriptures. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope where a comparison is made between two seemingly unrelated subjects. ... Yiddish (Yid. ...

The earliest stories of golems date to early Judaism. They were a creation of those who were very holy and close to God. A very holy person was one who strove to approach God, and in that pursuit would gain some of God's wisdom and power. One of these powers was the creation of life. No matter how holy a person got, however, the being they created would be but a shadow of one created by God. Like Adam, the golem is created from mud. Early on the notion developed that the main disability of the golem was its inability to speak. Having a golem servant was seen as the ultimate symbol of wisdom and holiness, and there are many tales of golems connected to prominent rabbis throughout the Middle Ages. The term God is ordinarily used to designate a singular, universal Supreme Being. ... This article is about the biblical Adam and Eve. ... In computer gaming, a MUD (multi-user dungeon, dimension, or sometimes domain) is a multi-player computer role-playing game typically running on a bulletin board system or Internet server. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Other attributes of the golem were gradually added over time. In many tales 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. At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ...

The most famous golem narrative involves the 16th century rabbi Judah Low ben Bezalel (Maharal) of Prague. He is reported to have created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto from Anti-Semitic attacks. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... See Semicha for article about ordination of rabbis. ... Judah Low ben Bezalel (1525 — 1609) was a Jewish scholar and rabbi, most of his life in Prague. ... Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... A ghetto is an area where people from a specific ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ... Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards Jews (not: Semites - see the Misnomer section further on). ...

The existence of a golem is in most stories portrayed as 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, bearing a resemblance to the story of the broomstick in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. The Sorcerers Apprentice is the English name of both an 1897 symphonic poem by Paul Dukas (Lapprenti sorcier in French), and of a 1797 ballad by Goethe (Der Zauberlehrling in German), which inspired the musical work. ...

In the late nineteenth century the golem was adopted by mainstream European society. Most notably Gustav Meyrink's 1915 novel Der Golem based on the tales of the golem created by the Judah Low ben Bezalel (Maharal). This book inspired a 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. Another famous treatment from the same era is H. Leivick's 1921 Yiddish-language "dramatic poem in eight sections" The Golem. Gustav Meyrink (January 19, 1868 - December 4, 1932) was an Austrian author, storyteller, dramatist, translator, banker and Buddhist. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Golem is a novel written by Gustav Meyrink in 1914. ... Judah Low ben Bezalel (1525 — 1609) was a Jewish scholar and rabbi, most of his life in Prague. ... Expressionism in filmmaking developed in Germany (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... H. Leivick (pen name of Leivick Halper, December 1888–December 23, 1962) was a Yiddish language writer, known for his 1921 dramatic poem in eight scenes The Golem. ... The Golem (original Yiddish title Der Golem) is a 1921 dramatic poem in eight scenes by H. Leivick. ...

These tales saw a dramatic change, and some would argue a Christianization, of the golem. Christianity, far more than Judaism, has long had a deep concern with humanity getting too close to God. The golem thus became a creation of overambitious and overreaching mystics, who would inevitably be punished for their blasphemy, very similar to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the alchemical homunculus. The Golem has also been considered by some to be an early android, further divorcing it from its roots. Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley née Godwin (August 30, 1797–February 1, 1851) was an English writer who is, perhaps, equally-famously remembered as the wife of Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and as the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is a novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. ... The Alchemist. ... Hartsoekers homunculus The concept of a homunculus (Latin for little man, sometimes spelled homonculus) is often used to illustrate the functioning of a system. ... An android is an artificially created being that resembles a human being. ...

Popular culture

Probably as a result of the popularity of Meyrink's work, the golem concept has found its way into various elements of popular culture. Examples include:

• The science-fiction novel Kiln People by David Brin features short-lived duplicates of people created from mud.
• The Discworld novel Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett also features golems in a prominent role, handling in a satirical way many of the cliches of the golem genre.
• Pete Hamill's novel Snow in August revolves around the Maharal's Golem, which might or might not have come to life in the last chapter of the book.

Kiln People is a 2002 science-fiction novel by David Brin. ... Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is a well known American author of science fiction. ... The Discworld is a series of over 30 novels by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld. ... Feet of Clay is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett which parodies detective novels. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE (known to some fans as Pterry) is an English fantasy author (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Bucks), best known for his Discworld series. ... Pete Hamill (born 1935) is a prominent American journalist and novelist. ...

Golems in role-playing games

The concept of golems and similar automata and simulacra is a popular one, and throughout the history of the hobby of roleplaying games, it has given birth to a vast array of variations upon the theme.

The concept of golems was one of the mythological sources adopted into the game of Dungeons & Dragons during its creation, and it has been a popular one throughout the game's history. To differentiate them from the golems of legend, golems in D&D (and other games following the pattern, such as Nethack) come in different flavors depending on the material of their construction. These include The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... NetHack is a roguelike computer game. ...

• Clay golems (most like the original, and prone to berserk rages)
• Flesh golems (stiched-together abominations reminiscent of Frankenstein's creature)
• Iron golems (great metal statues that can expel toxic fumes)
• Stone golems (animate statues impervious to non-magical attack)

The whimsical computer game Nethack also includes such creatures as scroll golems (large piles of paper that inflict papercuts on adversaries) and gold golems (large animate conglomerations of gold coins). NetHack is a roguelike computer game. ...

Many other role-playing games that include golems fall into the "mon" genre of video games, many of which include monsters named "golem". These golems are usually animated rock or earth in a vaguely anthropomorphic shape. A Mon is a rough term for various sorts of fictional creatures in anime and manga modeled after real or imaginary beings, usually variations of beasts. ... Computer and video games A screenshot of Tetris for the Nintendo Game Boy A console game (better known as a video game) is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment, which consists of a moveable image displayed on a screen that is usually controlled and manipulated using a handheld... Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification or prosopopeia, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. ...

A common mis-association

Gollum is additionally the name of a 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. He is a "natural" (although deformed) being of Middle-earth. Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ... A map of the Northwestern part of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda. ...

External links

• Background on the Golem Legends (http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/golem/backgroundgolem.html)
• Rava's Golem (http://www.sff.net/people/d.honigsberg/ravasman.htp) (essay in the Summer '96 issue of the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts)
• The Golem (http://www.jewishmag.com/26mag/golem/golem.htm)
• The Golem of Prague: Miracles of the Maharal (http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~jewsoc/prague.html) (link may be broken)
• The Golem in Literature, Film, and Stage (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6960/golem.htm)
• The Golem Group (http://www.golemgroup.com/) (robot builders)