Demon

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This article is about conceptions of evil spirits from around the world. For the semi-divine
beings in classical mythology, see Daemon (classical mythology). For other uses,
see Demon (disambiguation).
"Evil spirit" redirects here. For the 1928 film, see Evil Spirit (film). For the album by The
Damned, see Evil Spirits (album).

Bronze statuette of the Assyro-Babylonian demon king Pazuzu, c. 800 – c. 700 BCE, Louvre

Mephistopheles (A Medieval demon from German folklore) flying over Wittenberg, in

a lithograph by Eugène Delacroix.

A demon is a supernatural being, typically associated with evil, prevalent

historically in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as
well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, and television
series.
In Ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic traditions, including
ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful
spiritual entity which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism.
Large portions of the Jewish demonology, a key influence
on Christianity and Islam, originated from a later form of Zoroastrianism, and
were transferred to Judaism during the Persian era.[1]
In Western occultism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an
amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah and Christian
demonology,[2] a demon is believed to be a spiritual entity that may
be conjured and controlled. The supposed existence of demons remains an
important concept in many modern religions and occultist traditions. Demons are
still feared 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, which is Crowley's
interpretation of the so-called 'Demon of the Abyss') is a useful metaphor for
certain inner psychological processes (inner demons), though some may also
regard it as an objectively real phenomenon.
The original Greek word daimon did not carry negative connotations.
[3]
 The Ancient Greek word δαίμων daimōn denotes a spirit or divine power, much
like the Latin genius or numen.[4] The Greek conception of a daimōn notably
appears in the works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration
of Socrates.