In ancient Greek thought, which has influenced modern literature and Theosophy, an eidolon (Greek εἴδωλον: "image, idol, double, apparition, phantom, ghost") is a spirit-image of a living or dead person; a shade or phantom look-alike of the human form. If of a dead person, the phantom can appear under certain conditions to survivors of the deceased.
Two ancient Greek authors, Stesichorus and Euripides, denied that Helen of Troy ever bodily went to Troy at all, but only her eidolon. In the story used by Euripides in his play Helen, Hermes fashioned a likeness of her out of clouds at Zeus' request, and Helen spent the entire Trojan war in Egypt.
The term Eidolon was used by Edgar Allan Poe in his poem 'Dreamland' (1844). It was also later used as the subject of Walt Whitman's 'Eidolons' (1876).
In Theosophy, the astral double or perispirit or kamarupa after death, before its disintegration is identified with the eidolon.
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In the game Dungeons and Dragons a monster called a Rogue Eidolon exists. The accompanying flavour-text tells that these creatures are animated statues of ancient cults to various dark gods, and that they were eventually driven insane by their fraction of sentience. (Monster Manual II) Other books from D&D 3.5 also mention Eidolons; Lords of Madness: The Book of Aberrations mentions an Elder Eidolon and Frostburn: Mastering the Perils of Ice and Snow mentions a Rimefire Eidolon. The Elder Eidolon is an animated stone carving but the Rimefire Eidolon is a described as a chunk of ice surrounded by blue flame walking on thin tendrils. In the Eberron campaign setting Eidolons are described as similar to illusions that inhabit the fringes of the plane Dal Quor: The Region of Dreams. In the Ghostwalk campaign setting, Eidolon is a character class for ghost characters.
In the game Pathfinder there is a class called the Summoner which gains the ability to summon a special companion called an Eidolon, which can take on various forms based on attributes assigned to it. The official rules state that the summoned Eidolon is an aspect of a powerful otherworldly creature, tying back to the original meaning of the word. It is an Outsider, which implies that it is composed of spiritual essence, usually that of the Outer Planes.
In the game Mystic Empyrean you play as powerful creatures called Eidolons, each one has 5 powers which are formed through how they act in life (I.e. Proud people can become Dragon-like)
In the c64 game The Eidolon, the Eidolon is a vehicle crafted from wood and powered by magic used to navigate the map and destroy dragons.
In the game Final Fantasy IV, Eidolons are the summons that Rydia summon to help the party in battle. They live in a place called the Feymarch that is set apart from civilization. The Eidolons build houses, set up shops, have a library and are ruled by a King and a Queen. A bond between a specified Eidolon and their summoner is unique. Once one dies, the other dies also, as seen with Rydia's mother early in the game.
In the game Defense of the Ancients, Hero named Enigma can convert enemy units into eidolons, which can be used to attack enemy units.
In the game Final Fantasy IX eidolons are entities that may be summoned by two characters to help in battles: Garnet, and Eiko
In the game Final Fantasy XIII eidolons are entities specific to each of the main cast of playable characters that can be summoned to help in battles.
In the game Hexen 2, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death) are bosses. They lead up to the final boss, Eidolon.
In the game EVE Online, the Eidolon is a class of battleship belonging to the Jove race.
In the game City of Heroes, the Eidolon is a powerful being created from body parts of fallen heroes and reanimated to serve their villainous master, Dr. Vahzilok.
In the Warcraft 3 mod: Defense of the Ancients DotA, a Hero named Enigma can summon smaller copies of himself called Eidolons
In the game Guild Wars, an Eidolon is a large, floating monster similar to a squid with immense elemental powers. It is a boss creature that must be slain in order to upgrade your character's armor at one point in the prophecies campaign.
In the game Death Rally one of the racing tracks is called Eidolon.
In the game Shards of Dalaya one of bosses of Plane of Frost is named Horshint, The Gelid Eidolon
In the game Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, an eidolon is a spectre which can inflict fear in the player, forcing him to flee.
In the game Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, in the first area for Destruction players, a Chosen named The Eidolon gives item rewards.
The Marvel Comics superhero War Machine, a.k.a. James Rhodes, wore a living, symbiotic suit of armor known as the Eidolon Warwear for a short period of time. The suit could be retracted into a mandala on his chest, or released to outfit him with alien weaponry and wrap his full form.
In the Star Wars Rogue Squadron series, the Eidolon was a redesigned Imperial Star Destroyer, though it was just a ruse from a high ranking Imperial officer to steal galactic treasures.
In Jack of Fables The Big Book of War, an Eidolon army of fables whose stories have been destroyed by Bookburner attacks Revise and the captive fables at the Golden Boughs Retirement Community.
German black metal band Dark Fortress released the Eidolon (album) in 2008.
American technical death metal band The Faceless released the track "The Eidolon Reality" for their upcoming 2011 album.
Canadian power metal band Eidolon (band) formed in 1993.
Seattle progressive rock band Rishloo released Eidolon in May, 2007
Seattle pop-rock band, The Love Lights, released 'O! Eidolon' in 2008.
ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY: A Resource on Theosophy, G. de Purucker