A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity.

Historically, belief in demons, or stories about

demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, and literature; these beliefs are reflected
in media including comics, fiction, film, television, and video games. Belief in demons probably
goes back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and
the horrific.[1] In ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic religions, including early
Judaism[2] and ancient-medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual
entity that may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. Large portions of Jewish
demonology, a key influence on Christianity and Islam, originated from a later form
of Zoroastrianism, and was transferred to Judaism during the Persian era.[3]
Demons may or may not also be considered to be devils: minions of the Devil.[1] In many
traditions, demons are independent operators, with different demons causing different types of
evils (destructive natural phenomena, specific diseases, etc.). In religions featuring a principal
Devil (e.g. Satan) locked in an eternal struggle with God, demons are often also thought to be
subordinates of the principal Devil. As lesser spirits doing the Devil's work, they have additional
duties— causing humans to have sinful thoughts and tempting humans to commit sinful actions.[4]
The original Ancient Greek word daimōn (δαίμων) did not carry negative connotations, as it
denotes a spirit or divine power.[5] The Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the
philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. In Christianity,
morally ambivalent daimōn were replaced by demons, forces of evil only striving for corruption.
[6]
Such demons are not the Greek intermediary spirits, but hostile entities, already known in
Iranian beliefs.[7] In Western esotericism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an
amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah, and Christian demonology, a demon is
believed to be a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.
Belief in demons remains an important part of many modern religions and occult traditions.
Demons are still feared largely due to their alleged power to possess living creatures. In
contemporary Western esoteric traditions, demons may be used as metaphors for inner
psychological processes ("inner demons").

Etymology[edit]
Further information: Daemon (classical mythology), Agathodaemon, Cacodemon, Daimonic,
and Eudaimonia

Mephistopheles (a medieval demon from German folklore) flying

over Wittenberg, in a lithograph by Eugène Delacroix.
The Ancient Greek word δαίμων (daimōn) denotes a spirit or divine power, much like
the Latin genius or numen. Daimōn most likely came from the Greek verb daiesthai ("to divide" or
"distribute").[8] The Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the philosophical works
of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. The original Greek
word daimōn does not carry the negative connotation initially understood by implementation of
the Koine δαιμόνιον (daimonion),[5] and later ascribed to any cognate words sharing the root.
The Greek terms do not have any connotations of evil or malevolence. In
fact, εὐδαιμονία (eudaimonia, which literally translates as "good-spiritedness") means happiness.
By the early centuries of the Roman Empire, cult statues were seen, by Pagans and their
Christian neighbors alike, as inhabited by the numinous presence of the Greco-Roman gods:
"Like pagans, Christians still sensed and saw the gods and their power, and as something, they
had to assume, lay behind it, by an easy traditional shift of opinion they turned these
pagan daimones into malevolent 'demons', the troupe of Satan. Far into the Byzantine period,
Christians eyed their cities' old pagan statuary as a seat of the demons' presence. It was no
longer beautiful, it was infested."[9] The term had first acquired its negative connotations in
the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which drew on the mythology
of ancient Semitic religions. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the New Testament.
The English use of demon as synonym for devils goes back at least as far as about 825. The
German word (Dämon), however, is different from devil (Teufel) and demons as evil spirits, and
akin to the original meaning of daimon.[10] The Western Modern era conception of a demon, as in
the Ars Goetia, derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late Antiquity.

Ancient Egypt[edit]

Ram-headed demon. The hands probably outstretch to hold two

snakes. From a royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt. End of the 18th
Dynasty, around 1325 BCE
The exact definition of "demon" in Egyptology posed a major problem for modern scholarship,
since the borders between a deity and a demon are sometimes blurred and the ancient Egyptian
language lacks a term for the modern English "demon".[11][12] Both deities and demons can act as
intermediaries to deliver messages to humans.[13] By that, they share some resemblance to the
Greek daimon. However, magical writings indicate that ancient Egyptians acknowledged the
existence of malevolent demons by highlighting the demon names with red ink.[12] Demons in this
culture appeared to be subordinative and related to a specific deity, yet they may have
occasionally acted independently of the divine will. The existence of demons can be related to
the realm of chaos, beyond the created world.[11] But even this negative connotation cannot be
denied in light of the magical texts. The role of demons in relation to the human world remains
ambivalent and largely depends on context.
Ancient Egyptian demons can be divided into two classes: "guardians" and "wanderers".
> "Guardians" are tied to a specific place; their demonic activity is topographically defined
[13] [14]

and their function can be benevolent towards those who have the secret knowledge to face them.
[15]
Demons protecting the underworld may prevent human souls from entering paradise. Only by
knowing the right charms is the deceased able to enter the Halls of Osiris.[16] Here, the aggressive
nature of the guardian demons is motivated by the need to protect their abodes and not by their
evil essence. Accordingly, demons guarded sacred places or the gates to the netherworld.
During the Ptolemaic and Roman period, the guardians shifted towards the role of genius
loci and they were the focus of local and private cults.
The "wanderers" are associated with possession, mental illness, death and plagues. Many of
them serve as executioners for the major deities, such as Ra or Osiris, when ordered to punish
humans on earth or in the netherworld.[15] Wanderers can also be agents of chaos, arising from
the world beyond creation to bring about misfortune and suffering without any divine instructions,
led only by evil motivations. The influences of the wanderers can be warded off and kept at the
borders of the human world by the use of magic, but they can never be destroyed. A sub-
category of "wanderers" are nightmare demons, which were believed to cause nightmares by
entering a human body.[11]

Mesopotamia[edit]
Further information: Ancient Mesopotamian underworld § Demons

Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the

god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons
The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the underworld was home to many demons,[17] which
are sometimes referred to as "offspring of arali".[17] These demons could sometimes leave the
underworld and terrorize mortals on earth.[17] One class of demons that were believed to reside in
the underworld were known as galla;[18] their primary purpose appears to have been to drag
unfortunate mortals back to Kur.[18] They are frequently referenced in magical texts,[19] and some
texts describe them as being seven in number.[19] Several extant poems describe
the galla dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld.[20] Like other demons,
however, galla could also be benevolent[20] and, in a hymn from King Gudea of Lagash (c. 2144 –
2124 BCE), a minor god named Ig-alima is described as "the great galla of Girsu".[20]
Lamashtu was a demonic goddess with the "head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey, naked breasts,
a hairy body, hands stained (with blood?), long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of Anzû".
[21]
She was believed to feed on the blood of human infants[21] and was widely blamed as the
cause of miscarriages and cot deaths.[21] Although Lamashtu has traditionally been identified as a
demoness,[22] the fact that she could cause evil on her own without the permission of other deities
strongly indicates that she was seen as a goddess in her own right.[21] Mesopotamian peoples
protected against her using amulets and talismans.[21] She was believed to ride in her boat on the
river of the underworld[21] and she was associated with donkeys.[21] She was believed to be the
daughter of An.[21]
Pazuzu is a demonic god who was well known to the Babylonians and Assyrians throughout the
first millennium BCE.[23] He is shown with "a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a
scaly body, a snake-headed penis, the talons of a bird and usually wings".[23] He was believed to
be the son of the god Hanbi.[24] He was usually regarded as evil,[23] but he could also sometimes
be a beneficent entity who protected against winds bearing pestilence[23] and he was thought to
be able to force Lamashtu back to the underworld.[25] Amulets bearing his image were positioned
in dwellings to protect infants from Lamashtu[24] and pregnant women frequently wore amulets
with his head on them as protection from her.[24]
Šul-pa-e's name means "youthful brilliance", but he was not envisioned as youthful god.
[26]
According to one tradition, he was the consort of Ninhursag, a tradition which contradicts the
usual portrayal of Enki as Ninhursag's consort.[26][27] In one Sumerian poem, offerings made to
Šhul-pa-e in the underworld and, in later mythology, he was one of the demons of the
underworld.[26]
According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, originally published in 12 volumes from 1901 to 1906,
"In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as shedu, storm-demons, represented
in ox-like form."[28] They were represented as winged bulls, derived from the colossal bulls used
as protective jinn of royal palaces.[citation needed]
Judaism[edit]
See also: Dybbuk and Samael
There are differing opinions in Judaism about the existence or non-existence of demons
(shedim or se'irim).[28] Some Rabbinic scholars assert that demons have existed in Talmudic
times, but do not exist regularly in present. When prophecy, divine presence, and divine
inspiration gradually decreased, the demonic powers of impurity have become correspondingly
weak, too.[29]
Hebrew Bible[edit]
The Hebrew Bible mentions two classes of demonic spirits, the se'irim and the shedim. The
word shedim (sing shed or sheyd) appears in two places in the Hebrew Bible.
[30]
The se'irim (sing. sa'ir, "male goat") are mentioned once in Leviticus 17:7,[28] probably a
recollection of Assyrian demons in the shape of goats.[31] They might be a metaphorical symbol
for life-threatening animals, such as hyenas, ostrichs, and jackals.[32] The shedim, however, are
not pagan demigods, but the foreign gods themselves. Both entities appear in a scriptural context
of animal or child sacrifice to non-existent false gods.[28][33]
Various diseases and ailments were ascribed to demons, particularly those affecting the brain
and those of internal nature. Examples include catalepsy, headache, epilepsy and nightmares.
There also existed a demon of blindness, "Shabriri" (lit. "dazzling glare") who rested on
uncovered water at night and blinded those who drank from it.[34]
Demons supposedly entered the body and caused the disease while overwhelming or "seizing"
the victim. To cure such diseases, it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain
incantations and talismanic performances, at which the Essenes excelled.[28] Josephus, who
spoke of demons as "spirits of the wicked which enter into men that are alive and kill them", but
which could be driven out by a certain root,[35] witnessed such a performance in the presence of
the Emperor Vespasian[36] and ascribed its origin to King Solomon. In mythology, there were few
defences against Babylonian demons. The mythical mace Sharur had the power to slay demons
such as Asag, a legendary gallu or edimmu of hideous strength.
Talmudic tradition and Midrashim[edit]
Further information: Midrash
In the Jerusalem Talmud, notions of shedim ("demons" or "spirits") are almost unknown or occur
only very rarely, whereas in the Babylonian Talmud there are many references to shedim and
magical incantations. The existence of shedim in general was not questioned by most of the
Babylonian Talmudists. As a consequence of the rise of influence of the Babylonian Talmud over
that of the Jerusalem Talmud, late rabbis, in general, took as fact the existence of shedim, nor
did most of the medieval thinkers question their reality.[37] However, rationalists
like Maimonides and Saadia Gaon and others explicitly denied their existence, and completely
rejected concepts of demons, evil spirits, negative spiritual influences, attaching and possessing
spirits. They thought the essential teaching about shedim and similar spirits is, that they should
not be an object of worship, not a reality to be acknowledged or feared.[38] Their point of view
eventually became mainstream Jewish understanding.[28]
The opinion of some authors is not clear. Abraham ibn Ezra states that insane people can see
the image of se'irim, when they go astray and ascribe to them powers independent from God. It
is not clear from his work, if he considered these images of se'irim as manifestations of actual
spirits or merely delusions.[citation needed] Despite academic consensus, Rabbis disputed that
Maimonides denied the existence of demons entirely. He would only dispute the existence of
demons in his own life time, but not that demons had existed once.[39]
Occasionally an angel is called satan in the Babylon Talmud. But satans do not refer to demons
as they remain at the service of God: "Stand not in the way of an ox when coming from the
pasture, for Satan dances between his horns".[40]
Aggadic tales from the Persian tradition describe the shedim, the mazziḳim ("harmers"), and
the ruḥin ("spirits"). There were also lilin ("night spirits"), ṭelane ("shade", or "evening
spirits"), ṭiharire ("midday spirits"), and ẓafrire ("morning spirits"), as well as the "demons that
bring famine" and "such as cause storm and earthquake".[41][28] According to some aggadic stories,
demons were under the dominion of a king or chief, usually Asmodai.[42]
Kabbalah[edit]
In Kabbalah, demons are regarded as a necessary part of the divine emanation in the material
world and a byproduct of human sin (Qlippoth).[43] After they are created, they assume an
existence on their own. Demons would attach themselves to the sinner and start to multiply as an
act of self-preservation.[44] Medieval Kabbalists characterize such demons as punishing angels of
destruction. They are subject to the divine will, and do not act independently.[45]
Other demonic entities, such as the shedim, might be considered benevolent.
The Zohar classifies them as those who are like humans and submit to the Torah, and those who
have no fear of God and are like animals.[46]
Second Temple Judaism[edit]
See also: Apotropaic magic
The sources of demonic influence were thought to originate from the Watchers or Nephilim, who
are first mentioned in Genesis 6 and are the focus of 1 Enoch Chapters 1–16, and also
in Jubilees 10. The Nephilim were seen as the source of the sin and evil on Earth because they
are referenced in Genesis 6:4 before the story of the Flood.[47] In Genesis 6:5, God sees evil in
the hearts of men. Ethiopic Enoch refers to Genesis 6:4–5, and provides further description of
the story connecting the Nephilim to the corruption of humans. According to the Book of Enoch,
sin originates when angels descend from heaven and fornicate with women, birthing giants. The
Book of Enoch shows that these fallen angels can lead humans to sin through direct interaction
or through providing forbidden knowledge. Most scholars understand the text, that demons
originate from the evil spirits of the deceased giants, cursed by God to wander the Earth. Dale
Martin disagrees with this interpretation, arguing that the ghosts of the Nephilim are distinct. The
evil spirits would make the people sacrifice to the demons, but they were not demons
themselves.[48] The spirits are stated in Enoch to "corrupt, fall, be excited, and fall upon the earth,
and cause sorrow".[49][50]
The Book of Jubilees conveys that sin occurs when Cainan accidentally transcribes astrological
knowledge used by the Watchers.[51] This differs from Enoch in that it does not place blame on the
angels. However, in Jubilees 10:4 the evil spirits of the Watchers are discussed as evil and still
remain on Earth to corrupt humans. God binds only 90% of the Watchers and destroys them,
leaving 10% to be ruled by Mastema. Because the evil in humans is great, only 10% would be
needed to corrupt and lead humans astray. These spirits of the giants are also referred to as "the
bastards" in the apotropaic prayer Songs of the Sage, which lists the names of demons the
narrator hopes to expel.[52]
To the Qumran community during the Second Temple period, this apotropaic prayer was
assigned, stating: "And, I the Sage, declare the grandeur of his radiance in order to frighten and
terri[fy] all the spirits of the ravaging angels and the bastard spirits, demons, Liliths, owls" (Dead
Sea Scrolls, "Songs of the Sage", Lines 4–5).[53][54]

Indian religions[edit]
Hinduism[edit]
See also: Surapadman and Narakasura
 The Army of Super Creatures – from The Saugandhika
Parinaya Manuscript (1821 CE)
In the Veda, gods (deva) and anti-gods (asura) share both the upper world. It is only by the time
of the Brahmanas that they are said to inhabit the underworld. The identification
of asura with demons stems from the description of asura as "formerly gods" (pūrvadeva). The
gods are said to have claimed heaven for themselves and tricked the demons, ending on earth.
During the Vedic period, gods aid humans against demons. By that, gods secure their own place
in heaven, using humans as tools to defeat their cosmic enemies.[55]
Asura, in the earliest hymns of the Rigveda, originally meant any supernatural spirit, either good
or bad. Since the /s/ of the Indic linguistic branch is cognate with the /h/ of the Early Iranian
languages, the word asura, representing a category of celestial beings, is a cognate with Old
Persian Ahura. Ancient Hinduism tells that Devas (also called suras) and Asuras are half-
brothers, sons of the same father Kashyapa; although some of the Devas, such as Varuna, are
also called Asuras. Later, during Puranic age, Asura and Rakshasa came to exclusively mean
any of a race of anthropomorphic, powerful, possibly evil beings. Daitya (lit. sons of the mother
"Diti"), Danava (lit. sons of the mother "Danu"), Maya Danava, Rakshasa (lit. from "harm to be
guarded against"), and asura are incorrectly translated into English as "demon".[56]
With increase in asceticism during the post-Vedic period, withdrawal of sacrificial rituals was
considered a threat to the gods.[55] Ascetic humans or ascetic demons were supposed to be more
powerful than gods. Pious, highly enlightened Asuras and Rakshasas, such
as Prahlada and Vibhishana, are not uncommon. The Asura are not fundamentally against the
gods, nor do they tempt humans to fall. Many people metaphorically interpret the Asura as
manifestations of the ignoble passions in the human mind and as symbolic devices. There were
also cases of power-hungry asuras challenging various aspects of the gods, but only to be
defeated eventually and seek forgiveness.
Hinduism advocates the reincarnation and transmigration of souls according to one's karma.
Souls (Atman) of the dead are adjudged by the Yama and are accorded various purging
punishments before being reborn. Humans that have committed extraordinary wrongs are
condemned to roam as lonely, often mischief mongers, spirits for a length of time before being
reborn. Many kinds of such spirits (Vetalas and Pishachas) are recognized in the later Hindu
texts. According to Hinduism, demons are not inherently evil beings, but good by following
their dharma what is being evil and deceitful. However, nothing is purely evil or good, and a
demon could eventually abandon his demonic nature.
Buddhism[edit]
Further information: Mara (demon)
Belief in demons does not constitute an essential feature in Buddhism. However, since belief in
demons were common during the rise of Buddhism, they are integrated into the cycle of
Saṃsāra.[1] Accordingly, their malevolent condition is due to their bad karma from their previous
lives. When Buddhism spread, it accommodated itself with indigenous popular ideas about
demons.[1]

Iranian demons[edit]
Zoroastrianism[edit]
 Div-e Sepid, literally "white demon", the chieftain of

demons from the epic Shahnameh Arzhang Div (The Shahnameh of

Shah Tahmasp) Black Div (The Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp)

Rostam carried by Akvan Div (cropped)

Main article: Daeva
The Zorastrian belief in demons (Daeva, later div)[57] had strong influence on the Abrahamic
religions, especially Christianity and Islam. In hell, demons continue to torment the damned.[58]
Book 3 of the Denkard describes demons as the opposite of the creative power of God. As such,
they cannot create, but only corrupt, and thus, evil is merely the corruption of the good. Since
demons can only destroy, they will ultimately destroy themselves. Chapter 30 questions the
reality of demons, since their existence seem to rely on their destruction of good. Therefore,
Ahriman and his demons would miss any substance and exist only as absence of good.[57]
Manichaeism[edit]
Manichaeism was a major religion[59] founded in the third century AD by
the Parthian[60] prophet Mani (c. 216–274 AD), in the Sasanian Empire.[61] One of its key concepts
is the doctrine of Two Principles and Three Moments. Accordingly, the world could be described
as resulting from a past moment, in which two principles (good and evil) were separate, a
contemporary moment in which both principles are mixed due to an assault of the world of
darkness on the realm of light, and a future moment when both principles are distinct forever.
[62]
Thus, evil and demons played a significant role within Manichaean teachings.
There are numberless designations for various groups of demonic entities in Manichaean
cosmology.[63] The general term used for the beings of the world of darkness is dyw (dev).
[63]
Before the demons attacked the realm of light, they have been in constant battle and
intercourse against each other.[63] It is only in the realm of darkness demons are described in their
physical form. After their assault on the world above, they have been overcome by the Living
Spirit, and imprisoned in the structure of the world.[63] From that point onwards, they impact
human's ethical life, and appear as personified ethical qualities, mostly greed, envy, grief, and
wrath (desire for destruction).[63]
Ibn al-Jawzi, in his work Talbīs Iblīs (devils' delusion), credits the Manichaeans with believing that
each Light and Darkness (God and the Devil) consist of four bodies and one spirit. The bodies
of Light (God) were referred to as angels, while the bodies of Darkness (Devil) were referred to
as ifrits. Light and Darkness would multiple by angels and demons respectively.[64]
In The Book of Giants, one of the canonical seven treatises also known from
Jewish intertestamental literature, the Grigori (egrēgoroi) beget giant half-demon offspring with
human woman. In the Middle Persian version of the Book of Giants they are referred to as kʾw,
while in the Coptic Kephalaia as gigas.[63] In accordance with some interpretations of Genesis
6:1–4,[65] the giant offspring became the ancient tyrannic rulers over mankind, until overthrown by
the angels of punishment. Nonetheless, these demons are still active in the microcosm, such
as Āz and Āwarzōg.[63] Views on stars (abāxtarān) are mixed. On one hand, they are regarded as
light particles of the world soul fixed in the sky. On the other hand, stars are identified with
powers hindering the soul from leaving the material world.[63] The Third Messenger (Jesus) is said
to have chained up demons in the sky. Their offspring, the nephilim (nĕf īlīm)
or asrestar (āsarēštārān), Ašqalūn and Nebrō’ēl in particular, play instrumental roles in the
creation of Adam and Eve.[63] According to Manichaeism, the watchers, known as angels in
Jewish lore, are not considered angels, but demons.[63]
In the Shahnameh[edit]

Gate of Citadel of semnan 9. Rustam slaying the Div-e

Sepid (White Div)
The poem begins with the kings of the Pishdadian dynasty. They defeat and subjugate the
demonic divs. Tahmuras commanded the divs and became known as dīvband (binder of
demons). Jamshid, the fourth king of the world, ruled over both angels and divs, and served as a
high priest of Ahura Mazda (Hormozd). Like his father, he slayed many divs, however, spared
some under the condition they teach him new valuable arts, such as writing in different
languages.[66] After a just reign over hundreds of years, Jamshid grew haughty and claimed,
because of his wealth and power, divinity for himself. Whereupon God withdraws his blessings
from him, and his people get unsatisfied with their king. With the ceasing influence of God, the
devil gains power and aids Zahhak to usurp the throne.[66] Jamshid dies sawn in two by two
demons. Tricked by Ahriman (or Iblis), Zahhak grew two snakes on his shoulders and becomes
the demonic serpent-king.[67] The King Kay Kāvus fails to conquer the legendary Mazandaran, the
land of divs and gets captured.[68] To save his king, Rustam takes a journey and fights
through seven trials. Divs are among the common enemies Rustam faces, the last one the Div-e
Sepid, the demonic king of Mazandaran.
The div in the Shahnameh might include both demonic supernatural beings as well as evil
humans.[69]
Rustam's battle against the demonic may also have a symbolic meaning: Rustam represents
wisdom and rationality, fights the demon, embodiment of passion and instinct.[70]: 115 Rustam's
victory over the White Div is also a triumph over men's lower drives, and killing the demon is a
way to purge the human soul from such evil inclinations. The killing of the White Div is an
inevitable act to restore the human king's eyesight.[70]: 115 Eliminating the divs is an act of self-
preservation to safeguard the good in oneself's, and the part acceptable in a regulated society.[70]:
115

Native North American demons[edit]

Wendigo[edit]
Main articles: Wendigo and Wechuge
The Algonquian people traditionally believe in a spirit called a wendigo. The spirit is believed to
possess people who then become cannibals. In Athabaskan folklore, there is a belief
in wechuge, a similar cannibal spirit.

Middle Eastern and Central Asian demons[edit]

 Ali slaying demons with his sword Zulfiqar in a Persian
manuscript. As evident from the poetry of Sanā'ī Ghaznavī, the sword is believed to be made
from fire (‫)آتش‬, able to kill not only a body but also a soul. [71]

Ideas of demons (often called Dīv/Dēw) in Armenia, Turkic countries,[72] and Albania[73] derive
from Persian imagery.[74] At this time, the demons are more anthropomorphized and morally
complex than their original Persian counterparts (daeva).[75](p 37) However, a general negative
association remains during the Islamic period.[76]
Common features of these Middle Eastern demons are their immortality and pernicious nature,
they can turn invisible, and can be enslaved when pierced by a silver needle.[77] Due to their
reluctant nature, even enslaved, they do always the opposite of what has been commanded.
[78]
Like the jinn from Islamic traditions, they can enter sexual relationships with humans and sire
offspring.[79] Demons are believed to be mostly active at night and a bad smell in the air or sudden
change in temperature would announce their presence.[80] In some tales, supernatural powers are
attributed to them, such as causing sickness, mental illnesses, or even turn humans to stone.[81]
Demons are believed to be vanquished by sacred symbols. The content of the symbol depends
on the prevailing religion of the culture. Among Turks, the basmalah ("invocation of the name of
Allah") is used to ward off demons,[82] while among Armenians, the symbol of the cross is utilized.
[77]

The origin of the demons is explained by Abu Ali Bal'ami's interpretation of Tarikh al-Tabari as
the possibly first creation of God (Allah). The demons would have reigned for 70,000 years until
they have been replaced by the jinn (peri). Only then, 5000 years later, the angels (firis̲ h̲ ta) were
sent with Iblis as their leader to chase them away and the story of Adam begins.[75]: 40 According to
the Süleymanname, written during the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, demons were created in
the time between the parī and the angels from the fires of the stars and smoke.[83] Due to
the Islamic belief-system prevailing in Middle Eastern and Central Asian culture at the time,
authors emphasized that demons only exist by God's will and not as an independent or even
accidental part of the world.[84] Muslim authors sometimes identified the demons with the devils
and ifrits of Islamic tradition, as the Quran asserts that it is God who controls both the angels and
devils.[85](p452)

Christianity[edit]
Old Testament[edit]
The existence of demons as inherently malicious spirits within Old Testamental texts is absent.[86]
[87]: 447
Though there are evil spirits sent by YHWH, they can hardly be called demons, since they
serve and do not oppose the governing deity.[87]: 448 First then the Hebrew Bible was translated into
Greek, the "gods of other nations" were merged into a single category of demons (daimones)
with implied negativity.[88]
The Greek Daimons were associated with demi-divine entities, deities, illnesses and fortune-
telling. The Jewish translators rendered them all as demons, depicting their power as nullified
comparable to the description of shedim in the Tanakh. Although all these supernatural powers
were translated, none were angels, despite sharing a similar function to that of the Greek
Daimon. This established a dualism between the angels on God's side and negatively evaluated
demons of pagan origin.[89] Their relationship to the God-head became the main difference
between angels and demons, not their degree of benevolence. Both angels and demons might
be fierce and terrifying. However, the angels act always at service of the high god of the
Israelites, differing from the pagan demons, who represent the powers of foreign deities.[90] The
Septuagint refers to evil spirits as demons (daimon).[citation needed]
New Testament[edit]

Medieval illumination from the Ottheinrich Folio depicting

the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac by Jesus
Through the New Testament, demons appear 55 times, and 46 times in reference to demonic
possession or exorcisms.[91] Some old English Bible translations such as King James Version do
not have the word 'demon' in their vocabulary and translate it as 'devil'. As adversaries of Jesus,
demons are not morally ambivalent spirits, but evil; causes of misery, suffering, and death.
[91]
They are not tempters, but the cause of pain, suffering, and maladies, both physical and
mental. Temptation is reserved for the devil only.[92] Unlike spirits in pagan beliefs, demons are
not intermediary spirits who must be sacrificed for the appeasement of a deity. Possession also
shows no trace of positivity, contrary to some pagan depictions of spirit possession. They are
explicitly said to be ruled by the Devil or Beelzebub.[93] Their origin is unclear, the texts take the
existence of demons for granted. Many early Christians, like Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Clement of
Alexandria, and Lactantius assumed demons were ghosts of the Nephilim, known from
Intertestamental writings.[94] Because of references to Satan as the lord of demons and evil
angels of Satan throughout the New Testament, other scholars identified fallen angels with
demons.[95] Demons as entirely evil entities, who have been born evil, may not fit the proposed
origin of evil in free will, taught in alternate or opposing theologies.[96]
Pseudepigrapha and deuterocanonical books[edit]
 A demon from The Ladder of Divine Ascent, written in Georgian
by Nikrai.
Main articles: Pseudepigrapha and Deuterocanonical books
See also: Book of Tobit, Book of Enoch, and Book of Jubilees
Demons are included in biblical interpretation. In the story of Passover, the Bible tells the story as
"the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt" (Exodus 12:21–29). In the Book of Jubilees,
which is considered canonical only by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,[97] this same event is told
slightly differently: "All the powers of [the demon] Mastema had been let loose to slay all the first-
born in the land of Egypt. And the powers of the Lord did everything according as the Lord
commanded them." (Jubilees 49:2–4)
In the Genesis flood narrative, the author explains how God was noticing "how corrupt the earth
had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways" (Genesis 6:12). In Jubilees,
the sins of man are attributed to "the unclean demons [who] began to lead astray the children of
the sons of Noah, and to make to err and destroy them" (Jubilees 10:1). In Jubilees, Mastema
questions the loyalty of Abraham and tells God to "bid him offer him as a burnt offering on the
altar, and Thou wilt see if he will do this command" (Jubilees 17:16). The discrepancy between
the story in Jubilees and the story in Genesis 22 exists with the presence of Mastema. In
Genesis, God tests the will of Abraham merely to determine whether he is a true follower,
however; in Jubilees, Mastema has an agenda behind promoting the sacrifice of Abraham's son,
"an even more demonic act than that of Satan in Job".[98] In Jubilees, where Mastema, an angel
tasked with tempting mortals into sin and iniquity, requests that God give him a tenth of the spirits
of the children of the watchers, demons, in order to aid the process (Jubilees 10:7–9). These
demons are passed into Mastema's authority, where once again, an angel is in charge of
demonic spirits.
In the Testament of Solomon, written sometime in the first three centuries C.E., the
demon Asmodeus explains that he is the son of an angel and a human mother. Another demon
describes himself as having died in the "massacre in the age of giants". Beelzeboul, the prince of
demons, appears as a fallen angel, not as a demon, but makes people worship demons as their
gods.[95]
Christian demonology[edit]
Main articles: Christian demonology, Exorcism in Christianity, Exorcism in the Catholic Church,
and Demonic possession § Christianity
 The Torment of Saint Anthony (1488) by Michelangelo,

depicting Saint Anthony being assailed by demons Death and the

Miser (detail), a Hieronymus Bosch painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Painting of Saint Francis Borgia performing an exorcism,

as depicted by Goya
Since Early Christianity, demonology has developed from a simple acceptance of demons to a
complex study that has grown from the original ideas taken from Jewish demonology and
Christian scriptures.[99] Christian demonology is studied in depth within the Roman Catholic
Church,[100] although many other Christian churches affirm and discuss the existence of demons.
[101][102]

Building upon the few references to daimon in the New Testament, especially the poetry of the
Book of Revelation, Christian writers of apocrypha from the second century onwards created a
more complicated tapestry of beliefs about "demons" that was largely independent of Christian
scripture.
While daimons were considered as both potentially benevolent or malevolent, Origen argued
against Celsus that daimons are exclusively evil entities, supporting the later idea of (evil)
demons. According to Origen's cosmology, increasing corruption and evil within the soul, the
more estranged the soul gets from God. Therefore, Origen opined that the most evil demons are
located underground. Besides the fallen angels known from Christian scriptures, Origen talks
about Greek daemons, like nature spirits and giants. These creatures were thought to inhabit
nature or air and nourish from pagan sacrifices roaming the earth. However, there is no
functional difference between the spirits of the underworld and of earth, since both have fallen
from perfection into the material world. Origen sums them up as fallen angels and thus equal to
demons.[103]
Many ascetics, like Origen and Anthony the Great, described demons as psychological powers,
tempting to evil,[104] in contrast to benevolent angels advising good. According to Life of Anthony,
written in Greek around 360 by Athanasius of Alexandria, most of the time, the demons were
expressed as an internal struggle, inclinations, and temptations. But after Anthony successfully
resisted the demons, they would appear in human form to tempt and threaten him even more
intensely.[105]
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite described evil as "defiancy" and does not give evil an
ontological existence. He explains demons are deficient creatures, who willingly turn themselves
towards the unreal and non-existence. Their dangerous nature results not from the power of their
nature, but from their tendency to drag others into the "void" and the unreal, away from God.[10]
Michael Psellos proposed the existence of several types of demons, deeply influenced by the
material nature of the regions they dwell. The highest and most powerful demons attack the mind
of people using their "imaginative action" (phantastikos) to produce illusions in the mind. The
lowest demons, on the other hand, are almost mindless, gross, and grunting spirits, which try to
possess people instinctively, simply attracted by the warmth and life of humans. These cause
diseases, fatal accidents and animalistic behavior in their victims. They are unable to speak,
while other lower types of demons might give out false oracles. The demons are divided into:

 Leliouria: The highest demons who inhabit the ether, beyond the moon
 Aeria: Demons of the air below the moon
 Chthonia: Inhabiting the land
 Hyraia/Enalia: Dwelling in the water
 Bypochtbonia: They live beneath the earth
 Misophaes: The lowest type of demon, blind and almost senseless in the lowest hell
Invocation of Saints, holy men and women, especially ascetics, reading the Gospel, holy oil or
water is said to drive them out. However, Psellos' schemes have been too inconsistent to answer
questions about the hierarchy of fallen angels. The devil's position is impossible to assign in this
scheme and it does not respond to living perceptions of felt experience and was considered
rather impractical to have a lasting effect or impact on Christian demonology.[106]
The contemporary Roman Catholic Church unequivocally teaches that angels and demons are
real beings rather than just symbolic devices. The Catholic Church has a cadre of officially
sanctioned exorcists which perform many exorcisms each year. The exorcists of the Catholic
Church teach that demons attack humans continually but that afflicted persons can be effectively
healed and protected either by the formal rite of exorcism, authorized to be performed only by
bishops and those they designate, or by prayers of deliverance, which any Christian can offer for
themselves or others.[107]
At various times in Christian history, attempts have been made to classify demons according to
various proposed demonic hierarchies.
In recent times, scholars doubted that independent demons exist, and rather considers them,
aking to Jewish satan, to be servants of God. According to S. N. Chiu, God is shown sending a
demon against Saul in 1 Samuel 16 and 18 in order to punish him for the failure to follow God's
instructions, showing God as having the power to use demons for his own purposes, putting the
demon under his divine authority.[108] According to the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, demons,
despite being typically associated with evil, are often shown to be under divine control, and not
acting of their own devices.[109]

Mandaeism[edit]
Main article: Demons in Mandaeism
See also: Mandaeism and Ruha
In Mandaeism, the World of Darkness (alma d-hšuka), also referred to as Sheol, is
the underworld located below Tibil (Earth). It is ruled by its king Ur (Leviathan) and its
queen Ruha, mother of the seven planets and twelve constellations. The great dark Ocean of
Sup (or Suf) lies in the World of Darkness.[110] The great dividing river of Hitfun, analogous to the
river Styx in Greek mythology, separates the World of Darkness from the World of Light.
[111]
Prominent infernal beings found in the World of Darkness
include lilith, nalai (vampire), niuli (hobgoblin), gadalta (ghost), satani (Satan) and various other
demons and evil spirits.[110][111]

Gnosticism[edit]
Gnosticism largely relies on Greek and Persian dualism, especially on Platonism. In accordance
with Platonism, they regarded the idea as good while considering the material and conscious
world to be inherently evil.[112] The demonized star-deities of late Persian religion became
associated with a demon, thus identifying the seven observable planets with an Archon (demonic
ruler).[112] These demons rule over the earth and the realm of planets, representing different
desires and passions.[113] According to Origen, the Ophites depicted the world as surrounded by
the demonic Leviathan.[113]
Like in Christianity, the term daimons was used for demons and refers to both the Archons as
well as to their demonic assistants. Judas Iscariot is, in the Gospel of Judas, portrayed as
the thirtheenth daimon for betraying Jesus and a supporter of the Archons.[114]
Examples of Gnostic portrayals of demons can be found in the Apocryphon of John in which they
are said to have helped construct the physical Adam[115] and in Pistis Sophia which states they are
ruled over by Hekate and punish corrupt souls.[116]

Islam[edit]
 Demons depicted in the Book of Wonders, a late 14th-

century Arabic manuscript Examples of the Jinn of the Air

depicted on Seljuk 13th century tilework from Kubad Abad
In Islamic beliefs, demons are roughly of two types:
[117]
Jinn and devils (Arabic: ‫َش َياِط ين‬, romanized: šayāṭīn or Persian: ‫دیو‬, romanized: dīv).[118][119] The jinn
are parts of pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs, although their exact origin is unclear.
The presence of jinn in pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs is not only testified by the Quran, but also by
pre-Islamic literature in the seventh century.[120]: 54 The jinn were made responsible for various
diseases, mental illnesses, and demonic possession,[121](p 122) but also venerated for means of
protection.[122] The distinction between a deity and a jinni in pre-Islamic times is not always clear.
In the regions north to the Hejaz, Palmyra and Baalbek, the terms jinni and ilah (deity) were often
used interchangeably.[123] Emilie Savage-Smith, asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were
distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute.[124] Julius
Wellhausen distinguishes between the jinn worshipped in private and deities worshipped in
public.[124]: 39 Likewise, some Muslim Quran commentators identify the pre-Islamic Arabian deities,
most notably Manat, al-Lat and al-Uzza, with jinn.[125]
Muslims generally adopt the belief that jinn can possess people.[126] In the tradition of Ash'ari, it
has been considered to be part of the doctrines (aqidah) of the "people of the Sunnah" (ahl as-
sunnah wal-jammah'a).[127] The demonic features of jinn are, however, virtually absent in
the Quran. According to the Quran, the jinn can neither benefit nor harm humans, in contrast to
demons from the biblical tradition.[128](p181, 185) The Quran uses the term jinn to refer to foreign inseen
anthropomorphic creatures in general, frequently paired with ins (known humans), emphasizing
the status of jinn as equal in regards of their creation and rejecting the pre-Islamic belief that jinn
share divinity with the Creator.[128](p181)
While the jinn are morally ambivalent, the devils are inherently malevolent beings and closer to
the devils of the Judeo-Christian tradition.[129]: 286 In contrast to the jinn, devils are usually not
described with human-like features, but are created from fire too, which explains some
extraordinary abilities among both creatures.[128][130] The primary function of devils is to tempt
humans (and jinn) to sin. They are, however, sent by God and endowed with immortality until the
world ceases to exist.[131][132](p278)[133](p452) Prayers are used to ward off their attacks, dissolving them
temporarily. Both jinn and devils feature in Islamic magical practises. However, summoning a
devil requires acts against God's laws and are therefore forbidden (haram). Such acts may
include illicit blood-sacrifices, abandoning prayer, and rejecting fasting.[134]
According to a tradition mentioned in tafsīr (authorized Quranic exegesis) attributed to ibn Abbas,
the devils have been dismissed by God when he created Adam.[135] According to the Quran, when
God created Adam, he ordered the angels to bow before the newest creation.
However, Iblis (Satan) refuses to do so and is consequently punished. He explains that the devils
observed the jinn causing corruption on earth, whereupon they were sent to chase away the jinn
from the surface. When God created a successor to the jinn, they protested and those who
remained in protest, have been punished with hell.[136]

Bahá'í Faith[edit]
In the Bahá'í Faith, demons are not regarded as independent evil spirits as they are in some
faiths. Rather, evil spirits described in various faiths' traditions, such as Satan, fallen angels,
demons and jinn, are metaphors for the base character traits a human being may acquire and
manifest when he turns away from God and follows his lower nature. Belief in the existence of
ghosts and earthbound spirits is rejected and considered to be the product of superstition.[137]

Occultism[edit]
In occultism, demons are often seen as beneficial and useful, lacking an inherent negative
connotation.[138] While some people fear demons, or attempt to exorcise them, others willfully
attempt to summon them for knowledge, assistance, or power. William of Conches (c.
1090/1091 – c. 1155/1170s) understands 'demon' closer to the Greek 'daimon', reserving the
concept of the "devil" only for the "demons of the lower regions":
You think, as I infer from your words, that a demon is the same as a devil, which is not the case.
For a demon is said to be any invisible being using reason, as if knowing. Of these the two high
orders are called calodemons, that is, 'good knowing ones', the lower order is called cacodemon,
that is, 'evil knowing one', for calos means 'good', cacos 'bad'.[139]
The ceremonial magician usually consults a grimoire, which gives the names and abilities of
demons as well as detailed instructions for conjuring and controlling them. Grimoires are not
limited to demons – some give instructions for the invocation of deity, a process called theurgy.
The use of ceremonial magic to call demons is also known as goetia, a word derived from the
Greek word "goes", which originally denoted diviners, magicians, healers, and seers.[140]

In modernity[edit]
 The classic oni, a Japanese ogre-like creature which often has horns and
often translated into English as "demon".
The Age of Enlightenment conceptualizes humans as autonomous individuals, mostly
independent from outer invisible forces, such as demons or gods ruling over human fate.
[141]
Previously, the world was understood to be inhabited by various spirits and demons. With the
rise of the rationalistic school of thought, the existence of foreign unknown forces was
increasingly rejected.[141] Demons were explained as non-existent. Visions of demons and ghosts
were explained as the products of one's own mind. By labelling local deities and demons as
superstition, local religious ideas were banished, supporting the promotion of nationwide gods
and religions.[142] Because of that, demons became increasingly associated with delusions.
Wilkinson Duran states that people who believe in demons are often marginalized in the United
States.[141] The notion of possession was at odds with Western philosophy, such as the American
Dream and capitalism, which implies the belief that everyone is responsible for their own fate and
not at the mercy of external forces.[141]

Psychological approach[edit]
Islamic world[edit]
A minority of Muslim scholars in the Medieval Age, often associated with the Muʿtazila and
the Jahmītes, denied that demons (jinn, devils, divs etc.) have physicality and asserted, they
could only affect the mind by waswās (Arabic: ‫َو ْس َو اس‬, 'demonic whisperings in the mind').[127](p 73)
[143]
Some scholars, like ibn Sina,[144](p 89) rejected the reality of jinn altogether. Al-Jāḥiẓ and al-
Masʿūdī, explained jinn and demons as a merely psychological phenomena. In his Kitāb al-
Hayawān, al-Jāḥiẓ states that jinn and demons are the product of loneliness. Such a state
induces people to mind-games, causing waswās.[129](p36) Al-Masʿūdī is similarly critical regarding
the reality of demons. He states that alleged demonic encounters are the result of fear and
"wrong thinking". Alleged encounters are then told to other generations in bedtime stories and
poems. When they grow up, they remember such stories in a state of fear or loneliness. This
encourages their imaginations, resulting in another alleged demonic encounter.[129](p37)
Western world[edit]
Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt remarked that "among the activities attributed by myths all over the
world to demons, the harmful predominate, so that in popular belief bad demons are clearly older
than good ones."[145] Sigmund Freud developed this idea and claimed that the concept of demons
was derived from the important relation of the living to the dead: "The fact that demons are
always regarded as the spirits of those who have died recently shows better than anything the
influence of mourning on the origin of the belief in demons."[146]
M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist, wrote two books on the subject, People of the Lie: The
Hope For Healing Human Evil[147] and Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts
of Possession, Exorcism, and Redemption.[148] Peck describes in some detail several cases
involving his patients. In People of the Lie he provides identifying characteristics of an evil
person, whom he classified as having a character disorder. In Glimpses of the Devil Peck goes
into significant detail describing how he became interested in exorcism in order to debunk
the myth of possession by evil spirits – only to be convinced otherwise after encountering two
cases which did not fit into any category known to psychology or psychiatry. Peck came to the
conclusion that possession was a rare phenomenon related to evil and that possessed people
are not actually evil; rather, they are doing battle with the forces of evil.[149]
Although Peck's earlier work was met with widespread popular acceptance, his work on the
topics of evil and possession has generated significant debate and derision. Much was made of
his association with (and admiration for) the controversial Malachi Martin, a Roman
Catholic priest and a former Jesuit, despite the fact that Peck consistently called Martin a liar and
a manipulator.[150]

LINK : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon