A demon is a supernatural, often malevolent being prevalent in religion, occultism, literature, and folklore. The original Greek word daimon does not carry the negative connotation initially understood by implementation of the Koine δαιμόνιον (daimonion), and later ascribed to any cognate words sharing the root.
In Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an unclean spirit, more specifically an evil angel, which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. In Western occultism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish demonology, and Christian tradition, a demon is a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.
Read more about Demon: Terminology, Psychological Archetype
Other articles related to "demon, demons":
... The Demons are the largest and most vicious black-aligned creatures of Magic the Gathering and are often cast as the symmetrical opposites to angels ... muscular bodies, twisted, horned faces, clawed limbs, and in many cases leathery wings, demons embody the suffering and evil desires of ordinary races ... Few wizards ever gain the power needed to summon and control a demon fewer still would want to, as they're known to exact a heavy price for their services, mechanically ...
... In the Bahá'í Faith, demons are not regarded as independent evil spirits as they are in some faiths ... evil spirits described in various faiths' traditions, such as Satan, fallen angels, demons, and jinns, are metaphors for the base character traits a human being may acquire and manifest when he turns away from ...
... Little is known about Kerzit's origins, except he is a minor demon lord (supposedly created by other, more powerful demon lords) bounded to the Tome of the Black Heart ... its current owner to summon Kerzit, but at the same time, sacrifices must be made to the demon if any of the tome's more powerful spells and rituals are to be accessed ...
... He had a personal rivalry with Banriki Demon King ... battle between the Denzimen and Banriki Demon King and Omnipotent Demon Monse ... that was to defend Queen Hedrian from an attack by Banriki Demon King ...
... Several years after the demon outbreak of the first film, German television broadcasts a special dramatization of the events of that night ... Finding the lifeless corpse of a demon, one of the teens accidentally causes it to revive by its own blood ... Suddenly, the demon notices her, climbs through the television and attacks her ...
Famous quotes containing the word demon:
“The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well? You may say the wisest thing you can, old man,—you who have lived seventy years, not without honor of a kind,—I hear an irresistible voice which invites me away from all that.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“For certain minutes at the least
That crafty demon and that loud beast
That plague me day and night
Ran out of my sight;
Though I had long perned in the gyre,
Between my hatred and desire....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Not necessity, not desire—no, the love of power is the demon of mankind. Grant them everything, health, food, housing, entertainment—they are and remain unhappy and anxious: for the demon waits and waits, and wants to be satisfied.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)