In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon or demoness is a supernatural being that has generally been described as a malevolent spirit, or daemon and djinn. 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 (eg: Maxwell's demon). In common language, "demonizing" one's opponent is an aspersion.

As the Iranian Avestan and Vedic traditions and also other branches of Indo-European mythologies show, the notion of demon has existed for many centuries.

The Greek conception of a daemon (δαίμων) 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.The Hellenistic "Demon" eventually came to include many Semitic and Near Eastern gods as evaluated by Christianity.

In some present-day cultures, demons are still feared in popular superstition, largely due to their alleged power to possess humans, and they are an important concept in many modern religions and occultist traditions.

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.

Etymology

The idea of demons is as old as religion itself, and the word "demon" seems to have ancient origins. The Merriam-Webster

In modern greek, the word 'δαίμων', is the greek word for demon. But, in ancient greek, the word "δαίμων" means somebody very clever.

Demons in the Hebrew Bible

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

The demons mentioned 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 xiii. 21, xxxiv. 14), and which are identical with the jinn. (But compare the completely European woodwose.) Possibly to the same class belongs Azazel, the goat-like demon of the wilderness (Leviticus xvi. 10ff), probably the chief of the se'irim, and Lilith (Isaiah xxxiv. 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 ii. 7, iii. 5), are faunlike spirits similar to the se'irim, though of a harmless nature.

The "stones of the field" (Job v. 23), with which the righteous are said to be in league, seem to be field-demons of the same nature. The wilderness as the home of demons was regarded as the place whence such diseases as leprosy issued, and in cases of leprosy one of the birds set apart to be offered as an expiatory sacrifice was released, that it might carry the disease back to the desert (Leviticus xiv. 7, 52).

The evil spirit that troubled Saul (I Samuel xvi. 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 possesion. Instances of idol worship were often the result of a shed inhabiting an otherwise

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.

The works of J.R.R. Tolkien feature demons called Balrogs, terrible spirits of flame with humanoid bodies. In Tolkien's works, Melkor, a.k.a Morgoth, is analogous to Satan and Sauron is the chief demon in Morgoth's service.

Cenobites are demons which feature in the works of Clive Barker, such as the novel The Hellbound Heart on which the film Hellraiser is based.

In the novel Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, demons are described as essentially angels working for a different employer. The demon Anthony Crowley is said not to have Fallen so much as 'sauntered vaguely downward.'

In recent times, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist at the Vatican, has published two books on his experiences with Satan and 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 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.

For example, in Descartes' Second Meditation, it is argued, as a thought experiment, that it is at least possible that there is an all-powerful evil demon who is deceiving me, such that this demon causes me to have false beliefs, including the belief that there is an object before me and the belief that two plus three equals five. Note that the power of such a demon would be two-fold: both empirical and rational thinking can be completely compromised. This leads to a worrisome argument:

1. One knows some fact or other only when one can rule out that there is such a demon. 2. But one can never be in a position rule out that there is such a being, since we can never be sure that the demon isn't merely toying with our epistemic situation. 3. Thus, we can never know any facts at all!

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

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.

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.

Many fantasy-themed role-playing, computer and video games feature demons as enemies. Some allow player characters to summon or control demons, and others feature a main character that is a demon or part demon. Such games are sometimes accused of trying to draw children into the occult, although this is a minority viewpoint. See Fiend (Dungeons & Dragons) for further information on this topic.

Some recent Japanese video games feature demons stylized as a race of beings who are not necessarily irredeemably evil. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, in particular, is remarkable for having a young demon king as its main character.

ID Software's Doom 3 contains Demons in the 22nd century on Mars, the lone marine has to fight his way though hords of demons and zombies, as well as evil spirits.

See also

• Archdemon
• Ars Goetia
• Demonolatry
• Demonology
• Lilith
• List of specific demons and types of demons
• Names of the demons
• Interdimensional hypothesis
• Satan
• S.L. MacGregor Mathers
• Spiritual warfare
• Virus

Dæmon Dämon Demono Demonio دیو Démon (esprit) שד (מיתולוגיה) Demonas Dēmons Demon Demon (mitologia) Demónio Демон Демон Demon Демон 惡魔