Is Mammon a deity, a demon, or just a synonym for money?

Wealth & Business · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The word Mammon appears in the New Testament as something you cannot serve alongside God. Yet its identity is fluid: it has been cast as a Syrian god of riches, a prince of Hell, and a metaphor for 19th-century corporate greed. Is it an entity or an attitude?

Etymologically, Mammon originates from the Aramaic māmōnā, an emphatic form of māmōn meaning 'wealth' or 'profit.' While some scholars suggest it may have been a loanword from Mishnaic Hebrew for money, others point to its presence in Canaanite languages and Punic. In the New Testament, the Greek translation refers to wealth generally, though specific spellings like μαμμωνᾷ appear in the Sermon on the Mount and the Parable of the Unjust Steward. The term was adopted into modern Hebrew to denote wealth. Some theories suggest the Aramaic form might have meant 'that in which one trusts.' The Greek spelling μαμμωνᾷ is notably absent from some standard linguistic listings.

The personification of Mammon as a malevolent force gained momentum in the Middle Ages. It was often included among the seven princes of Hell or identified with Beelzebub. Figures like John Chrysostom and Jerome associated it with the enslaving power of greed, while Thomas Aquinas used it metaphorically to describe avarice being carried from Hell by a wolf to inflame the human heart. This imagery was further cemented in literature, such as Milton's Paradise Lost and Spenser's The Faerie Queene. The Lollard manuscript Lanterne of Light linked it to greed as early as 1409. Some medieval writers viewed Mammon as a deity rather than a fallen spirit. Parallels were drawn between this figure and Dis Pater of Rome as well as Plutus from Greece.

Mammon's role transitioned into sociology during recent historical periods, moving away from theology. By 1843, Thomas Carlyle used 'the Gospel of Mammonism' to describe the worship of money in Victorian England. Later, between 1880 and 1925, American progressives used the term specifically to attack the predatory wealth of Wall Street banking institutions. Today, while it remains a literary trope for greed, it persists as a colloquial, often contemptuous synonym for material wealth in languages like German, Finnish, and Polish. In Slovak, the term mamonár specifically identifies a greedy individual. The Finnish and Estonian languages use it as a standard synonym for material riches. It serves as a recurring name for villains in modern games and films.

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