Daimon

In ancient Greek religion, daimon (Ancient Greek: δαίμων), 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 daíō (δαίω, 'divide, distribute'). 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 (phúlakes, φύλακες‎), 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 ('Good Daimon').

Etymology

According to Robert S. P. Beekes, the word is derived from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂-(i-) 'cut, divide'.

Description

Daimons are lesser divinities or spirits, often personifications of abstract concepts, beings of the same nature as both mortals and deities, similar to ghosts, chthonic heroes, spirit guides, forces of nature, or the deities themselves (see Plato's Symposium).