Empusa
Sign in to saveAlso known as Empousa
Empusa or Empousa (; ; plural: Empusai) is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousae have been described as a category of phantoms or spectres, equated with the lamiai and mormolykeia, thought to seduce and feed on young men.
~4 min read
Article
10 sectionsContents
- In antiquity
- Aristophanes
- ''Life of Apollonius''
- Modern Greek folklore
- In fiction
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Citations
- Bibliography
Empusa or Empousa (; ; plural: Empusai) is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousae have been described as a category of phantoms or spectres, equated with the lamiai and mormolykeia, thought to seduce and feed on young men.
== In antiquity == The primary sources for the empousa in Antiquity are Aristophanes's plays (The Frogs and Ecclesiazusae) and Philostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana.