daemon
Sign in to saveAlso known as daimon, Daimonai, Daimones, Daemones
thumb|Two Minoan Genius performing a libation over an altar In ancient Greek religion, daimon (), also spelled daemon, often referred to lesser deities, but could more broadly signify "the experience of divine power". The term's etymology is unclear, though it is often thought to originate from (, ). The Iliad describes the gods congregated atop Olympus as daimones; the term is employed by a Homeric character when they are unaware which deity is the agent of an event. In Hesiod's Works and Days it describes the souls of people from the Golden Age, who acted as guardians (, ), leading to its de
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- Daemon (classical mythology)
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- Etymology
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- In mythology
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thumb|Two Minoan Genius performing a libation over an altar In ancient Greek religion, daimon (), also spelled daemon, often referred to lesser deities, but could more broadly signify "the experience of divine power". The term's etymology is unclear, though it is often thought to originate from (, ). The Iliad describes the gods congregated atop Olympus as daimones; the term is employed by a Homeric character when they are unaware which deity is the agent of an event. In Hesiod's Works and Days it describes the souls of people from the Golden Age, who acted as guardians (, ), leading to its denoting a spirit who positively or negatively influences an individual's life.
In Plato's Symposium, daimones are beings who sit somewhere between gods and men, an idea embraced by later authors. For Christian thinkers, the daimonic was associated with non-rational divine inspiration and, due to its lack of predictability, was considered evil. For modern non-Christian thinkers, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the daimon remained neutral. There is only one instance of daimon featuring in ancient Greek cult and art: in the form of Agathos Daimon ().