A cacodemon (or cacodaemon) is an evil spirit or (in the modern sense of the word) a
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. 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, ani ...
. The opposite of a cacodemon is an ''
agathodaemon
An agathodaemon ( grc, ἀγαθοδαίμων, ) or agathos daemon (, , ) was a spirit (''daemon'') of ancient Greek religion. They were personal or supernatural companion spirits, comparable to the Roman '' genii'', who ensured good luck, fer ...
'' or ''
eudaemon
Arabia Felix (literally: Fertile/Happy Arabia; also Ancient Greek: Εὐδαίμων Ἀραβία, ''Eudaemon Arabia'') was the Latin name previously used by geographers to describe South Arabia, or what is now Yemen.
Etymology
The term Arabia ...
'', a good spirit or
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
. The word ''cacodemon'' comes through Latin from the Ancient Greek κακοδαίμων ''kakodaimōn'', meaning an "evil spirit", whereas ''
daimon
Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy.
The word ...
'' would be a neutral spirit in Greek. It is believed to be capable of
shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
. A cacodemon is also said to be a malevolent person.
In
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, cacodemonia (or
cacodemonomania) is a form of
insanity
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...
in which the patient believes that they are possessed by an evil spirit. The first known occurrence of the word ''cacodemon'' dates to 1593. In
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
'' Act 1 Scene 3,
Queen Margaret calls
Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
a "cacodemon" for his foul deeds and manipulations. In
John Fletcher's ''
The Knight of Malta
''The Knight of Malta'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators. It was initially published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647.
Date and source
No firm information is avai ...
'', Norandine calls Mountferrat, the play's villain, a "cacodemon" in the final scene. In ''
The Arbatel de Magi Veterum'', written in 1575, the word Cacodemon is described as one of the Seven.
In
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
, the 12th
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
was once called the Cacodemon for its association with evil. Defined it as "a noise-making devil", Jane Davidson has noted an illustrated example of a cacodemon in editions of Ulisse Aldrovandi’s ''Monstrum Historia'' (Story of Monsters) as late as 1696.
In popular culture
*In the book and TV series ''
The Magicians'' by
Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), '' The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technolog ...
the main characters each have a Cacodemon magically implanted into their backs.
*
Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong (born 14 December 1968)[Bio for school projects](_blank)
Women of the Otherworld
''Women of the Otherworld'' is the name of a fantasy series by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong.
The books feature werewolves, witches, necromancers, sorcerers, and vampires struggling to fit as "normal" in today's world. The series also includ ...
'' novels feature cacodemons and eudemons, some of whom have produced semi-human-like progeny; in this context eudemons are not so much "good" as "non-chaotic".
*
Deicide
Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected.
Etymology
The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...
's second album, ''
Legion
Legion may refer to:
Military
* Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army
* Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army
* Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
'', contains a song called "Satan Spawn, the Caco-Daemon".
*
Nunslaughter's second full album, ''
Goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
'', contains a song called "As the Cacodemons Feast".
*There is a painting by
Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
called ''Cacodaemonic'' (1916).
*There is a boulder in
Squamish, Canada called Cacodemon; it is the location of the climb Dreamcatcher, a 5.14d (9a) first climbed by
Chris Sharma
Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April, 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of '' Real ...
.
* There's a Cacodemon in the sewers of Wormy's lair in the ''
Wormy comics'' for Dragon Magazine (124) by
David A. Trampier
David A. Trampier (April 22, 1954 – March 24, 2014) was an artist and writer whose artwork for TSR, Inc. illustrated some of the earliest editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Many of his illustrations, such as the cover o ...
. It is never shown, but when Grumble and Snaggly escape from Boon and Irvin in the sewers with half the payroll, Irvin says to Boon to lock the grate back as the treasure now belongs to the Cacodemon that lives in the sewers, the reason why Wormy kept it locked up.
Games
*In the first edition of ''
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...
'', "''Cacodemon''" is a seventh level
magic-user spell. It was used to summon a type IV, V, or VI
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. 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, ani ...
to the
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
's location in the game world. The spell was omitted from the early versions of the second edition of the game, and was later revised in the ''
Planescape
''Planescape'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, designed by Zeb Cook, and published in 1994. It crosses numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as dev ...
'' product line, in which it could summon a variety of powerful
tanar'ri
In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, "monsters" are generally the antagonists which players must fight and defeat to progress in the game. Since the game's first edition in 1974, a bestiary was included along other game man ...
or
baatezu
A devil (also known as a baatezu) is a fictional character in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game, a powerful group of monsters used as a high-level challenge for players of the game. Devils are Lawful Evil in alignment and originate f ...
. The spell was eventually phased out in the third edition of the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' game in favor of a more comprehensive creature-summoning spell.
* In the
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'', the
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...
Infinity Engine equivalent of the "Cacodemon" spell is known as "''Cacofiend''".
* In the
fantasy world
A fantasy world is a world created for/from fictional media, such as literature, film or games. Typical fantasy worlds involve magic or magical abilities, nonexistent technology and, sometimes, either a historical or futuristic theme. Some wor ...
Glorantha
Glorantha is a fantasy world created by Greg Stafford. It was first introduced in the board game '' White Bear and Red Moon'' (1975) by Chaosium and then in a number of other board, roleplaying and computer games, including ''RuneQuest'' and ''He ...
, Cacodemon is the god of lawlessness and
ogre
An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
s.
* In the ''
Doom
Doom is another name for damnation.
Doom may also refer to:
People
* Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed
* Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist
* Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher
* L ...
'' video game series developed by
id Software
id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and ar ...
, Cacodemons are an enemy, depicted as levitating, spherical, one-eyed monsters that fire burning projectiles. They have appeared in every game of the series.
* In ''
Final Fantasy XI
also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantasy ...
''
MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
, the Terrestrial Avatar Diabolos uses a special attack called "Cacodemonia".
* In ''
Anarchy Online
''Anarchy Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) published and developed by Norwegian video game development company Funcom. Released in June 2001, the game was the first in the genre to include a science-fiction ...
'' MMORPG, a pet that one of the professions can summon is the Cacodemon.
* In ''
Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom'', Cacodaemons are large red demons encountered on floor 777.
* In the ''
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeons & ...
'', cacodaemons are many-eyed, tadpolish daemons used as pets by greater ones and as
familiar
In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to re ...
s by spellcasters.
* In ''
Smite
''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.[Ymir
In Norse mythology, Ymir (, ), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writ ...]
.
* In ''
Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'', Dread Cacodemon is a card from the ''
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
'' expansion.
* In ''
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup
''Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup'' (''DCSS'') is a free and open source roguelike computer game and the community-developed successor to the 1997 roguelike game ''Linley's Dungeon Crawl'', originally programmed by Linley Henzell. It has been identifi ...
'', Cacodemons are large, yellow demons who attack with projectiles and hexes.
*In ''
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker'', a "''kakodaimon''" is part of a pivotal combat encounter.
See also
*
Genius (mythology)
In Roman religion, the genius (; plural ''geniī'') is the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. Much like a guardian angel, the genius would follow each man from the hour of h ...
*
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
*
Ancient Greek religion
Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...
References
Further reading
* {{cite book, last=Sinistrari, first=Ludovico Maria , authorlink=Ludovico Maria Sinistrari, url= https://archive.org/details/demonialityorinc00sinirich/mode/2up , title=Demoniality: Or, Incubi and Succubi, place=Paris , publisher=Isidore Liseux , year=1879, oclc=263027215
16th-century neologisms
Demons
Shapeshifting
Daimons