Satanic Spirits

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St. Anthony plagued by demons, as imagined by Martin Schongauer, in the 1480s
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St. Anthony plagued by demons, as imagined by Martin Schongauer, in the 1480s

In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that has generally been described as a malevolent spirit. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled. The "good" demon in recent use is largely a literary device (e.g., Maxwell's demon), though references to good demons can be found in Hesiod and Shakespeare. In common language, to "demonize" a person means to characterize or portay them as evil, or as the source of evil.

As the Iranian Avestan and Vedic traditions as well as other branches of Indo-European mythologies show, the notion of 'demons' has existed for many millennia.

Ancient Egyptians also believed in demonic monsters that might devour living souls while they traveled towards the afterlife, although demons per se did not exist in Ancient Egyptian belief.

The Greek conception of a daemon (δαίμων daímon) appears in the works of Plato and many other ancient authors, but without the evil connotations which are apparent in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible and in the Greek originals of the New Testament. The medieval and neo-medieval conception of a "demon" in Western civilization (see the Medieval grimoire called the Ars Goetia) derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late (Roman) Antiquity: Greco-Roman concepts of daemons that passed into Christian culture are discussed in the entry daemon, though it should be duly noted that the term referred only to a spiritual force, not a malevolent supernatural being. The Hellenistic "daemon" eventually came to include many Semitic and Near Eastern gods as evaluated by Christianity.

The supposed existence of demons is an important concept in many modern religions and occultist traditions. In some present-day cultures, demons are still feared in popular superstition, largely due to their alleged power to possess living creatures.

In the contemporary Western occultist tradition (perhaps epitomized by the work of Aleister Crowley), a demon, such as Choronzon, the "Demon of the Abyss", is a useful metaphor for certain inner psychological processes, though some may also regard it as an objectively real phenomenon.

Some scholars[1] believe that large portions of the demonology (see Asmodai) of Judaism, a key influence on Christianity and Islam, originated in Zoroastrianism, and were transferred to Judaism during the Babylonian captivity (apparently 100 years before the emergence of monotheistic Zoroastrianism) and the Persian era.

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[edit] Etymology

The idea of demons is as old as religion itself, and the word demon seems to have ancient origins. The Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the etymology of the word as Greek daimon, probably from the verb daiesthai meaning "to divide, distribute." The Proto-Indo-European root *deiwos for god, originally an adjective meaning "celestial" or "bright, shining" has retained this meaning in many related Indo-European languages and cultures (Sanskrit deva, Latin deus, German Tiw, Lithuanian Dievas), but also provided another other common word for demon in Avestan daeva. In modern Greek, the word δαίμων has the same meaning as the modern English demon. But in Ancient Greek, δαίμων meant "spirit" or "higher self", much like the Latin genius. This should not, however, be confused with the word genie, which is a false friend or false cognate of genius.

[edit] Psychical history

Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt remarks that "among the activities attributed by myths all over the world to demons, the harmful predominate, so that in popular belief bad demons are clearly older than good ones."[2] Sigmund Freud develops on this idea and claims that the concept of demons was derived from the important relation of the living to the dead: "The fact that demons are always regarded as the spirits of those who have died recently shows better than anything the influence of mourning on the origin of the belief in demons.[3]

[edit] Demons in the Hebrew Bible

Demons as described in the Tanakh are not the same as "demons" commonly known in popular or Christian culture.

Those in the Hebrew Bible are of two classes, the se'irim and the shedim. The se'irim ("hairy beings"), to which some Israelites offered sacrifices in the open fields, are satyr-like creatures, described as dancing in the wilderness (Isaiah 13:21, 34:14), and which are identical with the jinn, such as Dantalion, the 71st spirit of Solomon. (But compare the completely European woodwose.) Possibly to the same class belongs Azazel, the goat-like demons of the wilderness (Leviticus 16:10ff), probably the chief of the se'irim, and Lilith (Isaiah 34:14). Possibly "the roes and hinds of the field", by which Shulamit conjures the daughters of Jerusalem to bring her back to her lover (Canticles 2:7, 3:5), are faunlike spirits similar to the se'irim, though of a harmless nature.

The evil spirit that troubled Saul (I Samuel 16:14 et seq.) may have been a demon, though the Masoretic text suggests the spirit was sent by God.

Some benevolent shedim were used in kabbalistic ceremonies (as with the golem of Rabbi Yehuda Loevy), and malevolent shedim (mazikin, from the root meaning to wound) are often responsible in instances of possession. Instances of idol worship were often the result of a shed inhabiting an otherwise worthless statue;[citation needed] the shed would pretend to be a God with the power to send pestilence, although such events were not actually under his control.

[edit] Influences from Chaldean mythology

In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as shedu, meaning storm-demons. They were represented in winged bull form, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective genii of royal palaces, the name "shed" assumed also the meaning of a propitious genius in Babylonian magic literature.[4]

It was from Chaldea that the name "shedu" came to the Israelites, and so the writers of the Tanach applied the word as a dylogism to the Canaanite deities in the two passages quoted. But they also spoke of "the destroyer" (Exodus xii. 23) as a demon whose malignant effect upon the houses of the Israelites was to be warded off by the blood of the paschal sacrifice sprinkled upon the lintel and the door-post (a corresponding pagan talisman is mentioned in Isaiah lvii. 8). In II Samuel xxiv; 16 and II Chronicles xxi. 15 the pestilence-dealing demon is called "the destroying angel" (compare "the angel of the Lord" in II Kings xix. 35; Isaiah xxxvii. 36), because, although they are demons, these "evil messengers" (Psalms lxxviii. 49; A. V. "evil angels") do only the bidding of God; they are the agents of His divine wrath.

There are indications that popular Hebrew mythology ascribed to the demons a certain independence, a malevolent character of their own, because they are believed to come forth, not from the heavenly abode of God, but from the nether world (compare Isaiah xxxviii. 11 with Job xiv. 13; Psalms xvi. 10, xlix. 16, cxxxix. 8).

Hebrew demons were workers of harm. To them were ascribed the various diseases, particularly such as affect the brain and the inner parts. Hence there was a fear of "Shabriri" (lit. "dazzling glare"), the demon of blindness, who rests on uncovered water at night and strikes those with blindness who drink of it;[5] also mentioned were the spirit of catalepsy and the spirit of headache, the demon of epilepsy, and the spirit of nightmare.

These demons were supposed to enter the body and cause the disease while overwhelming or "seizing" the victim (hence "seizure"). To cure such diseases it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain incantations and talismanic performances, in which the Essenes excelled. Josephus, who speaks of demons as "spirits of the wicked which enter into men that are alive and kill them", but which can be driven out by a certain root,[6] witnessed such a performance in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian,[7] and ascribed its origin to King Solomon.

[edit] The King and Queen of Demons

In some rabbinic sources, the demons were believed to be under the dominion of a king or chief, either Asmodai (Targ. to Eccl. i. 13; Pes. 110a; Yer. Shek. 49b) or, in the older Haggadah, Samael ("the angel of death"), who kills by his deadly poison, and is called "chief of the devils". Occasionally a demon is called "satan": "Stand not in the way of an ox when coming from the pasture, for Satan dances between his horns" (Pes. 112b; compare B. Ḳ. 21a).

According to Zoroastrianism, the queen of demons is Lilith, pictured with wings and long flowing hair, and called the "mother of Ahriman" (B. B. 73b; 'Er. 100b; Nid. 24b). "When Adam, doing penance for his sin, separated from Eve for 130 years, he, by impure desire, caused the earth to be filled with demons, or shedim, lilin, and evil spirits" (Gen. R. xx.; 'Er. 18b.)

Though the belief in demons was greatly encouraged and enlarged in Babylonia under the influence of the Zoroastrianism that was the religion of the Persian Empire (Parsee) notions, demonology never became an essential feature of Jewish theology. The reality of demons was never questioned by the Talmudists and late rabbis; most accepted their existence as a fact. Nor did most of the medieval thinkers question their reality. Only rationalists like Maimonides and Abraham ibn Ezra, clearly denied their existence. Their point of view eventually became the mainstream Jewish understanding.

[edit] In the New Testament and Christianity

"Demon" has a number of meanings, all related to the idea of a spirit that inhabited a place, or that accompanied a person. Whether such a daemon was benevolent or malevolent, the Greek word meant something different from the later medieval notions of 'demon', and scholars debate the time in which first century usage by Jews and Christians in its original Greek sense became transformed to the later medieval sense. It should be noted that some denominations asserting Christian faith also include, exclusively or otherwise, fallen angels as de facto demons; this definition also covers the "sons of God" described in Genesis who abandoned their posts in heaven to mate with human women on Earth before the Deluge (Genesis 6:2, 4, also see Nephilim).

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus casts out many demons, or evil spirits, from those who are afflicted with various ailments (such as epileptic seizures). The imagery is very clear: Jesus is far superior to the power of demons over the beings that they inhabit, and he is able to free these victims by commanding and casting out the demons, by binding them, and forbidding them to return. Jesus also apparently lends this power to some of his disciples, who rejoice at their new found ability to cast out most, but not all, demons.

By way of contrast, in the book of Acts a group of Judaistic exorcists known as the sons of Sceva try to cast out a very powerful spirit without believing in or knowing Jesus, but fail with disastrous consequences. However Jesus himself never fails to vanquish a demon, no matter how powerful (see the account of the demon-possessed man at Gerasim), and even defeats Satan in the wilderness (see Gospel of Matthew).

There is a description in the Book of Revelation 12:7-17 of a battle between God's army and Satan's followers, and their subsequent expulsion from Heaven to earth to persecute humans — although this event is related as being foretold and taking place in the future. In Luke 10:18 it is mentioned that a power granted by Jesus to control demons made Satan "fall like lightning from heaven."

Augustine of Hippo's reading of Plotinus, in The City of God (ch.11) is ambiguous as to whether daemons had become 'demonized' by the early 5th century:

"He [Plotinus] also states that the blessed are called in Greek eudaimones, because they are good souls, that is to say, good demons, confirming his opinion that the souls of men are demons.[8]

If Augustine meant 'demons' in the later, medieval sense, the passage would savor of a rhetorical casuistry that is not characteristic of him.

The contemporary Roman Catholic Church unequivocally teaches that angels and demons are real personal beings, not just symbolic devices. The Catholic Church has a cadre of officially sanctioned exorcists which perform many exorcisms each year. The exorcists of the Catholic Church teach that demons attack humans continually but that afflicted persons can be effectively healed and protected either by the formal rite of exorcism, authorized to be performed only by bishops and those they designate, or by prayers of deliverance which any Christian can offer for themselves or others.[9]

[edit] In Christianity

Building upon the few references to daemons in the New Testament, especially the visionary poetry of the Apocalypse of John, Christian writers of apocrypha from the 2nd century onwards created a more complicated tapestry of beliefs about "demons" that was largely independent of Christian scripture.

According to apocryphal texts, when God created angels, he offered them the same choice he was to offer humanity: follow, or be cast apart from him. Some angels chose not to follow God, instead choosing the path of evil. These are not the fallen angels, but are the pre-human entities known as demons. The fallen angels are the host of angels who later rebelled against God, headed by Lucifer (who is often confused with his second in command, Satan). Satan was never a name. "Ha Satan" is a title meaning "The Adversary." And later the 200 angels known as the Grigori, led by Semyazza, Azazel and other angelic chiefs, some of whom became the demons that were conjured by King Solomon and imprisoned in the brass vessel, the Goetia demons, descended to Earth and cohabited with the daughters of men.

[edit] War in Heaven

According to tradition, the fall of the Adversary is portrayed in Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-14. Christian teachings build upon later Jewish traditions that the Adversary and the Adversary's host declared war with God, but that God's army, commanded by the archangel Michael, defeated the rebels. Their defeat was never in question, since God is by nature omnipotent, but Michael was given the honor of victory in the natural order; thus the rise of Christian veneration of the archangel Michael, beginning at Monte Gargano in 493, reflects the full incorporation of demons into Christianity. God then cast God's enemies from Heaven to the abyss, into a newly created prison called Hell (allusions to such a pit are made in the Book of Revelation, as pits of sulphur and fire) where all God's enemies should be sentenced to an eternal existence of pain and misery. This pain is not all physical; for their crimes, these angels, now called demons, would be deprived of the sight of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9), this being the worst possible punishment.

An indefinite time later (some biblical scholars believe that the angels fell sometime after the creation of living things). when God created the earth and life, the Adversary and the other demons were allowed to tempt humans or induce them to sin by other means. The first time the Adversary did this was as a serpent in the earthly paradise or Garden of Eden to tempt Eve, who subsequently drew her husband Adam into her crime. There is a theory that the serpent of old that tempted Eve was not actually the Adversary but a minor demon named Cerenus. The theory states that Cerenus made a deal with God to tempt Eve in exchange for liberation from the pit, this theory is of course not based in fact nor does it have any scriptural relevance.

[edit] Demonologies

At various times in Christian history, attempts have been made to classify these beings according to various proposed demonic hierarchies.

According to most Christian demonology demons will be eternally punished and never reconciled with God. Other theories postulate a Universal reconciliation, in which Satan, the fallen angels, and the souls of the dead that were condemned to Hell are reconciled with God. This doctrine is today often associated with the Unification Church. Origen, Jerome and Gregory of Nyssa also mentioned this possibility before it was generally accepted that the fallen state is eternal.

In contemporary Christianity, demons are generally considered to be angels who fell from grace by rebelling against God. Some contest that this view, championed by Origen, Augustine and John Chrysostom, arose during the 6th century. Another theory that may have preceded or co-existed with the hypothesis of fallen angels was that demons were ostracized from Heaven for the primary sin of mating with mortal women, giving rise to a race of half-human giants known as the Nephilim.

There are still others who say that the sin of the angels was pride and disobedience. It seems quite certain that these were the sins that caused Satan's downfall (Ezek. 28). If this be the true view then we are to understand the words, "estate" or "principality" in Deuteronomy 32:8 and Jude 6 ("And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.") as indicating that instead of being satisfied with the dignity once for all assigned to them under the Son of God, they aspired higher.

[edit] In Hinduism

There are three kinds of anthropomorphic beings, the devas (demigods), the manushyas (human beings) and the asuras (demons). The asuras live in Patala above Naraka (Hell), one of the three Lokas (worlds, dimensions of existence). The Patala loka exists below Bhu(r)loka (which includes Earth where humans live). The asuras are often ugly creatures. Puranas describe many cosmic battles between asuras and devas for supremacy.

The vetala, like the bat, is associated with hanging upside down on trees found in cremation grounds and cemeteries
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The vetala, like the bat, is associated with hanging upside down on trees found in cremation grounds and cemeteries

Originally, the word Asura in the earliest hymns of the Rig Veda (the holy book of the Indo-Aryans) meant any supernatural spirit—good or bad. Hence even some of the devas (demigods), especially Varuna, have the epithet of Asura. In fact, since the /s/ of the Indic linguistic branch is cognate with the /h/ of the Early Iranian languages, the word Asura, representing a category of celestial beings, became the word Ahura (Mazda), the Supreme God of the monotheistic Zoroastrians. But very soon, among the Indo-Aryans, Asura came to exclusively mean any of a race of anthropomorphic but hideous demons. All words such as Asura, Daitya (lit., sons of the demon-mother "Diti"), Rakshasa (lit. from "harm to be guarded against") are translated into English as demon. These demons are inherently evil are in a constant battle against the demigods. Hence in Hindu iconography, the gods / demigods are shown to carry weapons to kill the asuras. Unlike Christianity, the demons are not the cause of the evil and unhappiness in present mankind (which occurs on the account of ignorance from recognizing one's true self). In later Puranic mythology, exceptions do occur in the demonic race to produce god-fearing Asuras like Prahalada. Also, many Asuras are said to have been granted boons from one of the members of the Hindu trinity, viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva when the latter had been appeased from penances. All Asuras, unlike the devas, are said to be mortals (though they vehemently wish to become immortal). Many people metaphorically interpret these demons as manifestations of the ignoble passions in human mind.

On the account of the Hindu theory of reincarnation and transmigration of souls according to one's Karma, other kinds of demons can also be enlisted. If a human does extremely horrible and sinful karmas in his life, his soul (Atman) will, upon his death, directly turn into an evil ghostly spirit, many kinds of which are recognized in the later Hindu texts. These demons could be Vetalas, Pishachas, Bhūtas etc. [2]

[edit] In pre-Islamic Arab culture

Pre-Islamic mythology does not discriminate between gods and demons. The jinn are considered as divinities of inferior rank, having many human attributes: they eat, drink, and procreate their kind, sometimes in conjunction with human beings; in which latter case the offspring shares the natures of both parents. The jinn smell and lick things, and have a liking for remnants of food. In eating they use the left hand. Usually they haunt waste and deserted places, especially the thickets where wild beasts gather. Cemeteries and dirty places are also favorite abodes. In appearing to man jinn assume sometimes the forms of beasts and sometimes those of men.

Generally jinn are peaceable and well disposed toward men. Many a pre-Islamic poet was believed to have been inspired by good jinn; and Muhammad himself was accused by his adversaries of having been inspired by jinn ("majnun"). But there are also evil jinn, who contrive to injure men.

[edit] In Islam

Islam recognizes the existence of the jinn. Jinns are not the genies of modern lore, and they are not all evil, as demons are described in Christianity, but as creatures that co-exist with humans.

In Islam the evil jinns are referred to as the shayātīn, or devils, and Iblis (Satan) is their chief. Iblis was the first Jinn. According to Islam, the jinn are made of smokeless flame of fire (and mankind is made of clay.)

According to the Qur'an, Iblis was once a pious servant of God, but when God created Adam from clay, Iblis became very jealous, arrogant and disobeyed God.

Adam was the first man, and man was the greatest creation of God. Iblis could not stand this, and refused to aknowledge a creature made of "dirt" (man). God condemned Iblis to be punished after death eternally in the hellfire. God had created hell.

Iblis asked God if he may live to the last day and have the ability to mislead mankind and jinns, God said that Iblis may only mislead those whom God lets him. God then turned Iblis's countenance into horridness and condemned him to only have powers of trickery.

Adam and Eve (Hawwa in Arabic) were both together misled by Iblis into eating the forbidden fruit, and consequently fell from the garden of Eden to Earth.

The word genie comes from the Arabic jinn. This is not surprising considering the story of `Alā' ad-Dīn, (anglicized as Aladdin), passed through Arabian merchants en route to Europe.

[edit] In literature

French romance writer Jacques Cazotte (1719-1792) in The Devil in Love (Le Diable Amoureux, 1772) tells of a demon, or devil, who falls in love with an amateur human dabbler in the occult, and attempts, in the guise of a young woman, to win his affections. The book served as inspiration for, and is referred to within, Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel The Club Dumas (El Club Dumas, 1993). Roman Polanski's 1999 adaptation of the novel, The Ninth Gate, stars Johnny Depp as rare book dealer Dean Corso. Corso is hired to compare versions of a book allegedly authored in league with the Devil, and finds himself aided by a demon, in the form of a young woman, in his adventure.

Demon by Mikhail Vrubel
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Demon by Mikhail Vrubel

In Mikhail Lermontov's long poem (1840), the Demon makes love to the virgin Tamara in a scenic setting of the Caucasus mountains.

Many classic books and plays feature demons, such as the Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost and Faust.

Anton Rubinstein's lushly chromatic opera The Demon (1875), based on the poem "The Demon" by Lermontov, was delayed in its production because the censor attached to the Mariinsky Theatre felt that the libretto was sacrilegious. [3]

L. Frank Baum's The Master Key features the Demon of Electricity.

In C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape, a senior demon in Hell's hierarchy, writes a series of letters to his subordinate trainee, Wormwood, offering advice in the techniques of temptation of humans. Though fictional, it offers a plausible contemporary Christian viewpoint of the relationship of humans and demons.

J.R.R. Tolkien sometimes referred to the Balrogs of his Legendarium as "Demons".

Demons have permeated the culture of children's animated television series; they are used in comic books as powerful adversaries in the horror, fantasy and superhero stories. There are a handful of demons who fight for good for their own reasons like DC Comics' The Demon, Dark Horse Comics' Hellboy, and Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider.

In Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, dæmons are the physical incarnation of a person's soul. Although they bear almost no resemblance to Christian demons, the word is pronounced the same.

In recent times, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist at the Vatican, has published two books on his experiences with Satan and many demons entitled An Exorcist Tells His Story, and An Exorcist: More Stories published by Ignatius Press.

In the various books of Skeeve and Aahz by Robert Asprin a Demon is short for Dimension Traveller. In world A you would see beings from world B as demons, however, should you leave world A and go to world B, you would be the demon to the locals.

In the immensely popular novel and movie The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty a demon, possibly Satan himself, has taken possession of a young girl.

In recent Darren Shan novels, The Demonata series, demons feature as a large part of the books. They are portrayed as another set of sentient beings, struggling to exit their universe to destroy our world.

In modern Japanese manga and anime, there is the motif of a demon/human offspring referred to as hanyō, hanma, or hanki depending on the offspring's parentage.

[edit] In science

Scientists occasionally invent hypothetical entities with special abilities as part of a thought experiment. These "demons" have abilities that are nearly limitless, but they are still subject to the physical laws being theorized about.

See also: Maxwell's demon and Laplace's demon

[edit] In games

The earliest connection of the word with games is that the British call a form of solitaire "Demon", from at least the nineteenth century. The selection of this word comes from the observance of a player by others. Formerly, adults nearly always bet on card games. As the player is turned from interaction with others and is forced to move cards around without feeling, the player is metaphorically considered possessed by a demon. "Demon" is called Canfield in the United States.

The Cyberdemon from Doom II
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The Cyberdemon from Doom II

It has been asserted by conservative religious groups that demons communicate with humans through the use of a Ouija board and that demonic possession is possible in this way. The most common explanation is that the Ouija board's users move the game's planchette with their hands (consciously or unconsciously) and only appear to be communicating with spirits. The resulting possession appears to be purely psychosomatic. The original idea for the use of spirit boards was to contact ghosts of dead humans and not evil spirits or demons.

The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons features demons as creatures that can be fought. They are evil, and often fight amongst themselves.

The table-top games Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 feature demons as part of the 'warp', a distortion of space-time that is inhabited by the Chaos gods.

Demons are important or principal adversaries in numerous fantasy and horror-themed computer games. Perhaps most famously, in the Doom series the player must fight a colourful variety of demonic foes, often featuring science fiction twists.

In the popular Devil May Cry series, Dante is the half-demon son of Sparda, as is his brother Vergil.

The popular MMORPG RuneScape created by Jagex has many demons and dragons. There are lesser and greater demons. They are normaly red and can hit 6-13 damage.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Boyce, 1987; Black and Rowley, 1987; Duchesne-Guillemin, 1988.
  2. ^ Freud (1950, 65), quoting Wundt (1906, 129).
  3. ^ Freud (1950, 65).
  4. ^ See Delitzsch, Assyrisches Handwörterbuch. pp. 60, 253, 261, 646; Jensen, Assyr.-Babyl. Mythen und Epen, 1900, p. 453; Archibald Sayce, l.c. pp. 441, 450, 463; Lenormant, l.c. pp. 48-51.
  5. ^ Pesachim 112a; Avodah Zarah 12b
  6. ^ Bellum Judaeorum vii. 6, § 3
  7. ^ "Antiquities" viii. 2, § 5
  8. ^ Augustine of Hippo, City of God, ch. 11: Of the Opinion of the Platonists, that the Souls of Men Become Demons When Disembodied.
  9. ^ [1]

[edit] References

  • Wundt, W. (1906). Mythus und Religion, Teil II (Völkerpsychologie, Band II). Leipzig.

[edit] External links

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