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daimon

created by Anacreon

(thing) by Anacreon (1.9 mon) (print)   ?   2 C!s I like it! Wed Jul 19 2000 at 19:59:28

Daimones (the plural of daimon) was originally (in Homer for instance), synonymous with theoi (gods). However, as Greek philosophy progressed it became a general term to mark a group of minor deities in Greek Mythology. Though the word Demon sprang from this word (or, more accurately, from the Latinized version of it: daemon), daimones are not necessarily evil. However, the vast majority of them are Chthonic Deities, and thus connected with night, death and the occult. Many daimones have the ability to influence people's moods and consequent actions for better or worse, such daimones are: Ate - tragic blindness, Hybris - excessive pride, Peitho - seduction, Lyssa - murderous rage, Eris - quarrel, Tyche - luck. And so a man who succumbs to his emotions will often be refered to as daimon-possessed and his actions will be daimonic. A lucky or happy person will be called eudaimon (having good daimon) and a miserable or unlucky person will be called kakodaimon (having bad daimon).

The Daimones' gifts are always two sided: Peitho can be seduction to do bad things but she can also be persuasion- the ethic basis for democracy; Eris can cause wars and fights, but also be competition and consequent growth.


(idea) by KingGancho (4.7 y) (print)   ?   I like it! Sat Jan 12 2002 at 8:17:18

Daimon in Greek means 'divine power,' 'fate,' or 'god.' It's used in literary circles and English classes to mean what takes place after an Oracle of any sort prophesizes and before the prophecy is fulfilled. Oedipus does what he can to evade his mother, and has free will while doing so--no Olympian god is coming down to force him one way or the other--but still All Things Come To Pass.

More than just in Greek works, it's what you're expecting to happen in Marlow's Faust, or "Friends'" (of TV fame) Phoebe; it's the western version of karma where the character gets what was originally intended for them--but because of their actions. The watchers know the outcome from the outset, but the exact nature of characters' fates is self-determined.


printable version
chaos

Chthonic Deities Lillith's Brood The Ten Principles of Pythagoras karma
daemon Picard Maneuver demon Tyche
The grammar demons Eris hybris ate
eudemonia Lyssa Greek and Roman Mythology Elf
The Corpus Hermeticum: Book Twelve: About the Common Mind Fate Dictionary of Angels Unicode Indic Scripts
Jinn Peitho Mataglap Damon Knight
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