Hello and welcome to the world of Domonique don't forget to upvote, follow and share your thoughts in the comment section! Today we will be discussing demons, their origins and why people have so much fear of them. I'd like to start off by explaining a bit of the etymology of the word demon. Demon comes from the word daemon which is latin for high and powerful spirit. Daemon itself originates from the greek word daimon (God, godlike, power, fate,) which itself essentially referred to a lesser or guiding spirit. Now where do we get the idea that all demons are evil?
In ancient cultures demons used to be evil spirits or sons of gods that represented certain calamities or disasters, however they also represented illnesses and disease. There was a demon known as "Shabriri" (dazzling glare) in Hebrew mythology who rested on uncovered water at night and blinded those who drank from it. So here we see that demons have throughout history become equated with calamity or negativity. The idea that demons could possess people and cause them any sort of ailment was very fear inducing in ancient society. However, are all demons viewed in a negative light because they are the causers of calamity, illness and negativity?
In the year 391 in ancient Rome the Theodocian Decrees were passed. These decrees established a practical ban on paganism. Visits to the temples were forbidden, remaining pagan holidays were abolished and the sacred fire of Vesta tended to by the vestal virgins was extinguished. Vesta of course being the virgin goddess of the home and family and the guardian of the Roman people. So you can see here that there was obvious repression of "pagans" which is a derogatory term originated from roman times and a repression of pagan gods. This is important to understanding why we view certain demons or high and powerful spirits as evil.
Somewhere along the line we began to refer to ancient powerful Gods as demons and evil, apparently because they were not worshiped in the most prevalent culture at the time. IE Baal. Many people upon reading that name would associate it with either Satan or a helper of Satan and thus he must be evil. However the ancient phoneticians did not believe so. He was their primary and most adored God. Satan must be the father and controller of demons no? Well Satan himself is derived from the word Saturn which is a God that was worshipped throughout antiquity. Saturn was the Roman god of the golden age. He was always associated with wealth and gold. In ancient Greece he was associated with the god Chronus. Chronus essentially came to power by castrating his father Uranus. He ate each of his children because it was believed one of his eventual offspring would dispose him and take over the rule. This eventually took place when Chronus' wife Rhea gave birth to Zeus who gave Chronus a potion which made him vomit up all his children. These became the Gods. Chronus was disposed by his children and escaped to Italy, where he initiated a golden age.
There is tons more I can add to this subject and I might at a later date. It is my sincere hope that this has piqued some interest in how religion has evolved over the years and how this might effect our lives. Please as always do your own research and always stay thirsty for knowledge. Thank you.
