In Christianity, morally ambivalent daimōn were replaced by demons, forces of evil only striving for corruption. The Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. The original Ancient Greek word daimōn ( δαίμων) did not carry negative connotations, as it denotes a spirit or divine power. 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. Satan) locked in an eternal struggle with God, demons are often also thought to be subordinates of the principal Devil. In religions featuring a principal Devil (e.g. In many traditions, demons are independent operators, with different demons causing different types of evils (destructive natural phenomena, specific diseases, etc.). ĭemons may or may not also be considered to be devils: minions of the Devil. 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. In ancient Near Eastern religions and in the Abrahamic religions, including early Judaism and ancient-medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity which may cause demonic possession, calling for an exorcism. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, and television series.īelief in demons probably goes back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and the horrific. 800–700 BCE, LouvreĪ demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Bronze statuette of the Assyro-Babylonian demon king Pazuzu, c. 'Evil spirit' and 'Evil spirits' redirect here.

Different types of spirits descriptions