Abaddon (demi-god)

Abaddon, also Apollyon, is the Keyholder of the Abyss and the guardian of Tartarus and entrusted with dominion over the depths of the underworld. An angel of God, he stands as a liminal figure, with one foot upon the threshold of the illuminated lands of Gehenna and the other cast in the darkness of the void below. His role is one of judgment and destruction, as well as confinement, ensuring that the horrors within the Abyss do not spill freely into creation — but there are reasons to believe that the being has been made fiendish by this eternal task, so that in many legends he has been described as more demonic than angelic.

The name Abaddon originates in Hebrew scripture, where it is associated with destruction and the depths of the grave. In Christian eschatology, he appears in the Book of Revelation as the angel of the bottomless pit, the leader of an army of divine locusts unleashed upon the world in the last days. He is often depicted as an agent of divine wrath, serving not as an adversary of heaven but as an executor of its will.

Although some have attempted to link Abaddon with the Greek god Apollo, this is a mistaken association. While both names bear phonetic similarities, Apollo is a deity of light, prophecy and healing, whereas Abaddon is an entity of judgment and destruction. The connection may stem from an interpretive tradition that sought to equate figures across different religious paradigms, but in essence, Abaddon remains a unique force, neither wholly of light nor darkness, existing as a boundary between realms and a keeper of the divine order.

Biblical Reference

Abaddon appears in Revelation 9:11 as the angel of the bottomless pit, also called Apollyon in Greek, meaning "Destroyer." He leads a horde of locust-like creatures unleashed during the fifth trumpet judgment, described as having the power to torment those who do not bear the seal of God. These locusts are depicted with crowns, human-like faces, the hair of women, teeth like lions, breastplates of iron and the wings of chariots. Their role is to afflict, not kill, for five months. Abaddon's presence in this passage frames him as an agent of divine wrath, not an adversary of God, but an executor of judgment upon the unrighteous.

See also,
Demi-gods (sage study)
Mythology