In
ancient Greek literature, an eidolon (; grc, εἴδωλον 'image, idol, double, apparition, phantom,
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
'; plural: eidola or eidolons) is a spirit-image of a living or dead person; a shade or phantom look-alike of the human form.
Literary use
The concept of
Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...
's eidolon was explored both by
Homer and
Euripides. Homer uses the concept as a free-standing idea that gives Helen life after death. Euripides entangles it with the idea of ''
kleos
''Kleos'' (Greek: κλέος) is the Greek word often translated to "renown", or " glory". It is related to the English word "loud" and carries the implied meaning of "what others hear about you". A Greek hero earns ''kleos'' through accomplishing ...
'', the one being the product of the other.
Both Euripides and
Stesichorus, in their works concerning the
Trojan Horse, use the concept of the eidolon to claim that Helen was never physically present in the city at all.
The concept of the eidola of the dead has been explored in literature regarding
Penelope, who in later works was constantly laboring against the eidola of
Clytemnestra and later of
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
herself.
Homer's use of eidola also extends to the ''
Odyssey'' where, after the death of the
suitors of Penelope
In Greek mythology, the suitors of Penelope (also known as the Proci) are one of the main subjects of Homer's ''Odyssey''.
Role in the ''Odyssey''
In the ''Odyssey'' Homer describes Odysseus' journey home from Troy. Prior to the Trojan War, Odys ...
,
Theoclymenus notes that he sees the doorway of the court filled with them.
In ''
Dream-Land'', an 1844 poem by
Edgar Allan Poe, an Eidolon rules over a realm haunted by "ill angels only" and reserved for the ones whose "woes are legion" and who "walk in shadow".
Walt Whitman's poem by the same name in 1876 used a much broader understanding of the term, expanded and detailed in the poem. In Whitman's use of the term we can see the use broaden to include the concept of an oversoul composed of the individual souls of all life and expanding to include the Earth itself and the hierarchy of the planets, Sun, stars and galaxy.
In
Theosophy, the astral double or
perispirit
In Spiritism, perispirit is the subtle body that is used by the spirit to connect with the perceptions created by the brain. The term is found among the extensive terminology originally devised by Allan Kardec in his books about Spiritism. Its fir ...
or
kamarupa
Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam.
Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...
after death, before its disintegration, is identified with the eidolon.
Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary: A Resource on Theosophy
', G. de Purucker
See also
*
Doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
*
Etiäinen
*
Fetch (folklore)
*
Vardøger
References
{{reflist
Love
Ancient Greek religion
Theosophical philosophical concepts