Agathodaemon

Agathos Daimon (ἀγαθός δαίμων, agathós daímōn, lit.  'noble

Agathos Daimon
spirit')[a] originally was a lesser deity (daemon) of classical ancient
Greek religion and Graeco-Egyptian religion. In his original Greek Fertility, grain, health
form, he served as a household god, to whom, along with Zeus
Soter, libations were made after a meal. In later (post-)Ptolemaic
antiquity he took on two partially distinct roles; one as the Agathos
Daimon a prominent serpentine civic god, who served as the
special protector of Alexandria. The other as a genus of serpentine
household gods, the Agathoi Daimones, individual protectors of
the homes in which they were worshipped.[1]

Greek classical period

Though little noted in Greek mythology (Pausanias conjectured
that the name was merely an epithet of Zeus),[2] he was prominent
in Greek folk religion;[3] it was customary to drink or pour out a
few drops of unmixed wine after the meal to honor him and Zeus
after every symposium or formal banquet, as was done for Hestia
prior to the meal.[4] In Aristophanes' Peace, when War has trapped Agathos Daimon wearing a
Peace (Εἰρήνη Eirene) in a deep pit, Hermes comes to give aid: pschent, the double crown of Egypt,
"Now, oh Greeks! is the moment when, freed of quarrels and holding and thyrsus (left) and a
fighting, we should rescue sweet Eirene and draw her out of this caduceus (right)
pit... This is the moment to drain a cup in honor of the Agathos
Major cult centre Alexandria,
Daimon." A temple dedicated to them was situated on the road
Egypt
from Megalopolis to Maenalus in Arcadia.[5]
Animals Snakes
Agathos Daimon was the spouse or companion of Tyche Agathe
Symbol Horn of Plenty
(Τύχη Ἀγαθή, "Good Fortune"; Latin: Agatha). "Tyche we know
at Lebadeia as the wife of the Agathos Daimon, the Good or Rich Day 2 February
Spirit".[6][7] Their numinous presence could be represented in art (Gregorian)
as a serpent or more concretely as a young man bearing a 25 Tybi
cornucopia and a bowl in one hand, and a poppy and an ear of (Egyptian)
grain in the other.[6] Gender Male
Consort Tyche Agathe
Egyptian late antiquity Equivalents

In the syncretic atmosphere of late Antiquity, agathodaemons could Pre-Ptolemaic Shai

be bound up with Egyptian bringers of security and good fortune: Egyptian
a gem carved with magic emblems bears the images of Serapis equivalent
with crocodile, sun-lion and Osiris mummy surrounded by the lion-headed snake Chnum–Agathodaemon–
Aion, with Harpocrates on the reverse.[8]

See also
Cacodaemon
Eudaemon
Genius

Footnotes
a. Sometimes written as Agathodaemon (Ancient Greek: ἀγαθοδαίμων, agathodaímōn)

References
1. Ogden, Daniel (2013). Drakōn : dragon myth and serpent cult in the Greek and Roman
worlds (http://worldcat.org/oclc/837855776). Oxford University Press. pp. 286–309.
ISBN 978-0-19-955732-5. OCLC 837855776 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/837855776).
2. Pausanias, Description of Greece, viii. 36. § 3
3. Martin P. Nilsson, Greek Folk Religion. (Columbia University Press), 1981:33, 70, 73.
4. Fraser, Peter M. (1972). Ptolemaic Alexandria. Vol. I. Oxford: Claredon Press. p. 210.
5. Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Agathodaemon" (https://web.archive.org/web/20051026200326/
http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0074.html), in Smith, William (ed.), Dictionary of
Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. 1, Boston, p. 65, archived from the original
(http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0074.html) on 2005-10-26, retrieved 2008-05-05
6. Chisholm 1911, p. 371.
7. Harrison 1922, pp. 355–ff, 543.
8. Illustrated in W. Fauth, Helios Megistos: zur synkretistischen Theologie der Spätantike
(Leiden: Brill) 1995:85.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh,
ed. (1911). "Agathodaemon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge
University Press. p. 371.

Bibliography
Harrison, Jane Ellen (1922). Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (3rd ed.). pp. 355–
ff, 543.

External links
Theoi.com: (http://www.theoi.com/) Greek and Latin sources in translation

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