Golem

Golem

A Prague reproduction of the Golem
Grouping	Monster
Similar entities	Frankenstein's monster, Robot, Automaton
Folklore	Jewish folklore
First attested	Talmud
Other name(s)	Gōlem (גּוֹלֶם)
Country	Czechia
Region	Prague
Habitat	Typically resides in attics or temples
Details	Protector of the Jewish community, created from clay or mud, animated through mystical rituals.

A golem (/ˈɡoʊləm/ GOH-ləm; Hebrew: ‎גּוֹלֶם, romanized: gōlem) is an animated anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century rabbi of Prague. According to Moment magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair."^[1]

In modern popular culture, the word became generalized, and any crude anthropomorphic creature devised by a sorcerer may be named "golem". There may be iron golems, such as Iron Invader or stone golems, e.g., in Blood & Magic.