Demon (other)

A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including
fiction, comics, film, television, and video games. Belief in demons probably goes back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and the horrific.. In ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic religions, including early Judaism and ancient-medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity that may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. Large portions of Jewish demonology, a key influence on Christianity and Islam, originated from a later form of Zoroastrianism, and was transferred to Judaism during the Persian era.

Demons may or may not be considered to be devils: minions of the Devil. In many traditions, demons are independent operators, with different demons causing different types of evils (destructive natural phenomena, specific diseases, etc.) in general, while devils appear more often as demons within a theologial framework; demons opposing the Divine principle. As lesser spirits doing the Devil's work, they have additional duties— causing humans to have sinful thoughts and tempting humans to commit sinful actions.

The original Ancient Greek word ' () did not carry negative connotations, as it denotes a spirit or divine power. The Greek conception of a ' notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. In Christianity, morally ambivalent ' were replaced by demons, forces of evil only striving for corruption. Such demons are not the Greek intermediary spirits, but hostile entities, already known in Iranian beliefs. In Western esotericism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah, and Christian demonology, a demon is believed to be a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.

Belief in demons remains an important part of many modern religions and occult traditions. Demons are still feared largely due to their alleged power to possess living creatures. In contemporary Western esoteric traditions, demons may be used as metaphors for inner psychological processes ("inner demons").

Etymology

The Ancient Greek word (') denotes a spirit or divine power, much like the Latin ' or '. most likely came from the Greek verb ' ( or ). The Greek conception of a notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. The original Greek word ' does not carry the negative connotation initially understood by implementation of the Koine ('' daimonion''), and later ascribed to any cognate words sharing the root.

The Greek terms do not have any connotations of evil or malevolence. By the early centuries of the Roman Empire, cult statues were seen, by Pagans and their Christian neighbors alike, as inhabited by the numinous presence of the Greco-Roman gods: "Like pagans, Christians still sensed and saw the gods and their power, and as something, they had to assume, lay behind it, by an easy traditional shift of opinion they turned these pagan ''daimones'' into malevolent 'demons', the troupe of Satan. Far into the Byzantine period, Christians eyed their cities' old pagan statuary as a seat of the demons' presence. It was no longer beautiful, it was "infested." The term had first acquired its negative connotations in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the New Testament.

The English use of ''demon'' as synonym for devils goes back at least as far as about 825. The German word ('), however, is different from devil (') and demons as evil spirits, and akin to the original meaning of '. The Western Modern era conception of demons, as in the ''Ars Goetia'', derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late Antiquity.

History

From an anthropological perspective, demons result from human fear of the unknown.Hutter, M., Görg, M., Kollmann, B., Haustein, J., Koch, G., Streib, H., Veltri, G., Dan, J., & Krawietz, B. (2011). Demons and Spirits. In Religion Past and Present Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_03364 Forces of nature and foreigners may be portrayed as demons if they are perceived as hostile or dangerous; an evil demon might be a projection onto unknown entities perceived as potentially dangerous. Thus, unkown causes of death or illness are anthropomorphized into rational agents with evil intentions and then giving raise to the notion of a demon. Likewise, people outside one's own social group may be blamed for accidents and unexplained causes of harm, leading to a demonization of said people. Then, the imagined cause of said evil is integrated into one's prevailing belief-system.

Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptian language lacks a term for the modern English ''demon'',. since both deities and lesser spirits can act as intermediaries to deliver messages to humans By that, both share some resemblance to the Greek . However, magical writings indicate that ancient Egyptians acknowledged the existence of malevolent demons by highlighting the demon names with red ink. Demons in this culture appeared to be subordinative and related to a specific deity, yet they may have occasionally acted independently of the divine will. The existence of demons can be related to the realm of chaos, beyond the created world. The role of demons in relation to the human world remains ambivalent and largely depends on context.

Ancient Egyptian demons can be divided into two classes: "guardians" and "wanderers". "Guardians" are tied to a specific place; their demonic activity is topographically defined and their function can be benevolent towards those who have the secret knowledge to face them. Demons protecting the underworld may prevent human souls from entering paradise. Only by knowing the right charms is the deceased able to enter the ''Halls of Osiris''. Here, the aggressive nature of the guardian demons is motivated by the need to protect their abodes and not by their evil essence. Accordingly, demons guarded sacred places or the gates to the netherworld. During the Ptolemaic and Roman period, the guardians shifted towards the role of genius loci and they were the focus of local and private cults.

The "wanderers" are associated with possession, mental illness, death and plagues. Many of them serve as executioners for the major deities, such as Ra or Osiris, when ordered to punish humans on earth or in the netherworld. Wanderers can also be agents of chaos, arising from the world beyond creation to bring about misfortune and suffering without any divine instructions, led only by evil motivations. The influences of the wanderers can be warded off and kept at the borders of the human world by the use of magic, but they can never be destroyed. A sub-category of "wanderers" are nightmare demons, which were believed to cause nightmares by entering a human body.

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian demonology had a strong influence on later Hebrew and Christian concepts of demons,Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 92 with ''shedu'' from Chaldean mythology being an example.. The demons of Mesopotamia were generally hostile spirits of lesser power than a deity. Since both nature and culture were in constant change, neither were considered part of a divine cosmos.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 88 According to the Babylonian creation epic ''Enūma Eliš'', both gods and demons are the children of Tiamat, the goddess of primordial chaos. The demons were engendered by Tiamat as an act of revenge in reaction to the gods slaying her primordial partner Abzu. In the Babylonian tale of the Great Flood, since the gods promised to never flood humanity again, the demoness Lamaštu was installed instead and given the task of killing humans in order to avoid excessive multiplication.Maul, S. (., Jansen-Winkeln, K. (., Niehr, H. (., Macuch, M. (., & Johnston, S. I. (. (2006). Demons. In Brill's New Pauly Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e309270

Some demons were the evil spirits of those who died in misery, while other demons were nature demons causing harm by carrying plagues and nightmares, and causing headaches and storms. People could protect themselves from demons by wearing amulets, using magic, or seeking refuge amongst another demon or deity. On an ontological level, in early Semitic history, deities and demons often shed into another, as the distinction was of no importance for the believer.

The underworld was home to many demonic beings, sometimes referred to as the "offspring of ''arali''". These demons ascend from the underworld and terrorize mortals. One class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld were known as '' galla''; their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur. They are frequently referenced in magical texts, and some texts describe them as being seven in number. Several extant poems describe the ''galla'' dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld. Like many other Mesopotamian demons ''galla'' could also fulfill a protective role. In a hymn from King Gudea of Lagash ( 2144 – 2124 BCE), a minor god named Ig-alima is described as "the great ''galla'' of Girsu".

Ancient Zoroastrianism

The Zoroastrian concept of demons (''Daeva'', later ') had strong influence on the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity and Islam. By elevating Ahura Mazda to the one supreme God, the founder Zoroaster relegated the daevas to demons.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 104 Emphasizing free-will, Zoroaster taught that demons became evil by their own volition in rejecting truth over falsehood. At a later stage, Mazdaism makes Ahriman, the principle of Evil (i.e. the Devil), the creator of demons and leader of daevas.

The battle between the hosts of deities against evil demons ( and ) are described in the Bundahishn. Humankind lives in a world between the good powers of God (Ahura Mazda) and the Devil (Ahriman) and suffers corruption through defection of humankind. Therefore, Zorastrianism proposes a threefold nature for humans: divine, animalistic, and demonic.Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The devil: Perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity. Cornell University Press, 1987. p. 115 As such, humans are obligated to keep fighting the demonic traits. After death, people must cross the Chinvat Bridge to enter paradise. However, those who have chosen evil in their life will fall into the pit of hell. In hell, the damned are tormented by the demons.

In the Younger Avesta, demons (daēuua) cause deseases and death. By abiding to ritual purification and recitation of sacred prayers, demons can be warded off and kept at bay.

Apocalyptic period and early Christianity

The concept of demons as servants of the Devil entered the Christian tradition via Post-exilic Judaism. Inspired by Zoroastrian dualistic cosmology, the non-Jewish deities were demonized, as evident from intertestamental writings. The apocalyptic literature then builds the foundation for the authors of the Gospels in first-century Palestine.

In antiquity, belief in demonic agents of misfortune were widespread. The early Christian community took it for granted that people outside the Judeo-Christian community were worshipping demons. Conversion to Christianity meant renunciation of the demons by the bearers of the Holy Spirit.

By the end of the sixth century, the Mediterranean Christian society widely considered themselves to be unequivocally Christian, with an exception to Jews, the last record of worshipping another pre-Christian deity being in 570s.

Medieval Christian Europe

Magical rites, charms, and beliefs in spiritual entities were prominent in pre-Christian Europe. While the Church officially declared such beliefs as ''false'',Scribner, Robert W. "The Reformation, popular magic, and the" Disenchantment of the World"." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 23.3 (1993): 481. the persistance of such beliefs among the wider populations led Christian monks to assimilate Christian with non-Christian rites. In order to do so, non-Christian symbols and pagan deities have been substituted with Jesus Christ. To sanction the invocation of non-Christian supernatural powers, Christian missionaries, such as John Cassian in the fifth century, declared the pagan gods to be demons, servants of Lucifer, who bring disorder to the world. Many pagan nature spirits like dwarfs and elves thus became seen as demons, servants of the supreme Devil. A difference was made between monsters and demons. The monsters, regarded as distorted humans, probably without souls, were created so that people might be grateful to God that they did not suffer in such a state; they ranked above demons in existence and still claimed a small degree of beauty and goodness as they had not turned away from God.

In Medieval Christianity, demons and spirits were generally considered to be fallen angels. Morally ambivalent nature spirits, such as fairies from Irish and Scandinavian folktales were often explained as angels who remained neutral during the war of heaven.Wilde, J. F. E. (1888). Ancient Legends, mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland: With Sketches of the Irish Past. To which is Appended a Chaper on "The Ancient Race of Ireland". USA: Ticknor and Company. p. 89 They became spirits of the place they fell into when banished to earth. Although considered neutral spirits earlier, later Protestant thinkers increasingly associated them with Satan and considered them to be demons.

Islamic culture in the Middle Ages

In Islamic culture, demons () share many anthropomorphic attributes with the Arabian jinn. Like the jinn from Islamic traditions, they can enter sexual relationships with humans and sire offspring. Nonetheless, demons differ from jinn as they are perceived as malign creatures.The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful: The Survival of Ancient Iranian Ethical Concepts in Persian Popular Narratives of the Islamic Period p. 24 Within context of the Islamic belief system, demons are considered to be yet another creature of God, rather than independent parts of the world,Sinai, Nicolai. "Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary." (2023): 1-840. as evident from Abu Ali Bal'ami's interpretation of Tarikh al-Tabari and the Süleymanname (written at the time of Suleiman the Magnificent).

''Dīv'' also appear in Manichaeistic writings as the original inhabitants of the world of darkness. Before the demons attacked the realm of light, they have been in constant battle and sexual intercourse against each other. It is only in the realm of darkness demons are described in their physical form. After their assault on the world above, they have been overcome by the Living Spirit, and imprisoned in the structure of the world. From that point onwards, they impact human's ethical life, and appear as personified ethical qualities, mostly greed, envy, grief, and wrath (desire for destruction). Ibn al-Jawzi, describes these demons ('' ʿafārīt''), in his (), as components of the Devil (or ''Darkness'') waging war against God (or ''Light''), composed of angels. Such demons also frequently appear throughout Islamic literature as personification of human vices. The protagonist of these stories must overcome the demons, as a symbol for their own animalistic nature, in order to heed his rational inclination and achieve salvation in paradisical bliss.Barry, M. A. (2004). Figurative art in medieval Islam and the riddle of Bihzad of Herat (1465-1535). Flammarion. 361-363

Demons are believed to be vanquished by sacred symbols. The content of the symbol depends on the prevailing religion of the culture. Among Turks, the ''basmalah'' ("invocation of the name of Allah") is used to ward off demons, while among Armenians, the symbol of the cross is utilized. Common features of these Middle Eastern demons are their immortality and pernicious nature, they can turn invisible, and can be enslaved when pierced by a silver needle. Demons are believed to be mostly active at night and a bad smell in the air or sudden change in temperature would announce their presence. It is generally accepted that demons can be subjugated as they are said to be enslaved by legendary heroes (Solomon in the Quran and Jamshid in Persian legends). Due to their reluctant nature, even enslaved, they do always the opposite of what has been commanded. In some tales, supernatural powers are attributed to them, such as causing sickness, mental illnesses, or even turn humans to stone.

European occultism and Renaissance magic

Under influence of Islamic philosophy, Medieval occult traditions and Renaissance magic, demons are often seen as beneficial and useful, lacking an inherent negative connotation. In fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Renaissance magic, the terms ''demon'' and ''devil'' have two different, although not exclusive, meanings.Maggi, A. (2001). Satan's Rhetoric: A Study of Renaissance Demonology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 14-15 The term ''demons'' refers to a cluster of supernatural beings, such as daimons, spirits, and devils, affecting the mind. While some people fear demons, or attempt to exorcise them, others willfully attempt to summon them for knowledge, assistance, or power. William of Conches () understands ''demon'' closer to the Greek ', reserving the concept of the devil only for the "demons of the lower regions":

You think, as I infer from your words, that a demon is the same as a devil, which is not the case. For a demon is said to be any invisible being using reason, as if knowing. Of these the two high orders are called calodemons, that is, 'good knowing ones', the lower order is called cacodemon, that is, 'evil knowing one', for calos means 'good', cacos 'bad'.

In the sixteenth century, among proponents of demons as ambivalent spirits, Paracelsus was the most vocal.Goodare, Julian. "Between humans and angels: Scientific uses for fairies in early modern Scotland." Fairies, Demons, and Nature Spirits: 'Small Gods' at the Margins of Christendom (2018): 175. He asserted that these beings are spirit-like and thus not human, but they have bodies and flesh and are thus, not angels. Robert Kirk (1644–1692) integrated fairies into his theories of intermediary spirits. He suggested that these beings are structured similar to human societies, intelligent beings who eat and drink yet invisible to most humans. Their views were rejected by demonologists and religious orthodoxy and labelled as "atheistic". They denied that spirits could have an autonomeous existence and that they are demons with the sole purpose of deceiving and harming people.

A variety of spirits or the assumption that demons might be morally ambivalent is encouraged by necromancy. Here, a necromancer supposedly converses with the spirits of the dead. A ceremonial magician usually consults a grimoire, which gives the names and abilities of demons as well as detailed instructions for conjuring and controlling them. Grimoires are not limited to demons – some give instructions for the invocation of deity, a process called theurgy. The use of ceremonial magic to call demons is also known as ''goetia'', a word derived from the Greek word , which originally denoted diviners, magicians, healers, and seers.

Age of Enlightenment

In the 16th to early 17th centuries, the idea – inherited from Renaissance magic and occultism – that demonic forces could be conjured and controlled may have paved the way for the development of modern sciences. In Hermetic- and Kabbalist philosophy, demons could be subjugated and shaped the idea that humans can control their social environment and their surrounding natural forces.

The Age of Enlightenment conceptualizes humans as autonomous individuals, mostly independent from external invisible forces, such as demons or gods ruling over human fate. While in the pre-modern period, spirits and demons were assigned to various natural phenomena, the rationalistic school of thought, increasingly rejected the attribution of demons to unknown causes.Mircea Eliade ''Encyclopedia of Religion'' Macmillan Publishing (1986) p. 287

The rejection of demons as a form of superstition was also welcomed by religious perspective, considered to be a "removal" of remaining pagan beliefs. According to Wouter Hanegraaff, demons are ''pagan'' beliefs, removed by the Age of Enlightenment.

Many considered demons to be non-existent and alleged visions of demons and ghosts were explained as results of superstition. By that local religious customs were also oppressed in favor of nationwide (religious) ideas or deities. Wilkinson Duran states that people who believe in demons are often marginalized in the United States.

The rejection of demons as the cause of natural events also contributed to the association of demons with delusions and merely mental phenomena. For example, the notion that demons could possess an individual, stripped the individual away from their personhood and was at odds with modern Western philosophy. The most prominent ones, such as the American Dream and capitalism, imply the belief that everyone is responsible for their own fate and not at the mercy of external forces, thus has no room left for demons or demonic possessions. The concept of demons has nevertheless not disappeared from the public, permeating media, arts, and psychology.

Judaism

There are differing opinions in Judaism about the existence or non-existence of demons (''shedim'' or ''se'irim''). Some Rabbinic scholars assert that demons have existed in Talmudic times, but do not exist regularly in present. When prophecy, divine presence, and divine inspiration gradually decreased, the demonic powers of impurity have become correspondingly weak, too.

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible