demon

Evil spirit; attendant or guardian spirit. A good spirit is an angel.

The alternative spellings are more commonly used for senses without evil connotations, such as the genius of a place or a source of inspiration (‘he was seized by the daemon of painting’).

Most religions incorporate folk belief in evil spirits. A demon is one that has never inhabited a human body, frequently associated with the powers of nature – elemental spirits. Belief in the existence of evil spirits (such as the incubus and succubus) was very lively in the Middle Ages and played a role in accusations of witchcraft. Disease, especially mental illness and epilepsy, was sometimes blamed on possession by evil spirits, and there is an example in the New Testament of Jesus expelling demons.

In polytheistic religions, the many gods are balanced by a multitude of demons and spirits, each often having its especial sphere assigned to it. In monotheistic religions one God is usually opposed by one single evil spirit; this dualism is most perfectly balanced in Zoroastrianism. Similarly in Christianity and Old Testament Judaism, Jehovah is opposed by Satan, and the hosts of good angels are opposed by hosts of fallen angels, although they are less powerful than the good. The common opinion of the early Christian church was that the gods of all other faiths were evil spirits who had usurped the place of God. The most elaborate system of demonology is the Muslim.

Hindu mythology tells of many demons, two of the best known being Ravana, the ten-headed demon who abducted Sita in the Ramayana and was eventually killed by Rama and his army, and Hiranyakasipu, the demon who could not be destroyed by god, man, or beast, by day nor by night, by any weapon, neither in the earth nor in the heavens, neither out of doors nor indoors. He was eventually destroyed by Vishnu in his form as man-lion, by tearing him apart as he held him on his knees on the threshold at twilight.

Islam has the concept of the shaitan, which to some extent corresponds to the idea of a ‘daemon’: it is not necessarily evil, but usually proud and rebellious in relation to God. In Buddhist belief, many local traditions have given rise to a belief in demons in popular Buddhist culture, although the Buddha himself never taught about demons.

In Chinese religion, the demons are responsible for the punishments meted out in the ten hells.