Mesopotamian 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, anime, and television series.

Belief in demons probably goes back to the Paleolithic age, stemming from humanity's fear of the unknown, the strange and the horrific. ''A Dictionary of Comparative Religion'' edited by S.G.F. Brandon 1970 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. 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.

Demons may or may not also be considered to be devils: minions of the Devil. In many traditions, demons are independent operators, with different demons causing different types of evils (destructive natural phenomena, specific diseases, etc.). In religions featuring a principal Devil (e.g. Satan) locked in an eternal struggle with God, demons are often also thought to be subordinates of the principal Devil. 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.

The original Ancient Greek word ' () did not carry negative connotations, as it denotes a spirit or divine power. The Greek conception of a ' notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates.

In Christianity, morally ambivalent ' were replaced by demons, forces of evil only striving for corruption. Such demons are not the Greek intermediary spirits, but hostile entities, already known in Iranian beliefs.

In Western occultism and Renaissance magic, which grew out of an amalgamation of Greco-Roman magic, Jewish Aggadah and Christian demonology, a demon is believed to be a spiritual entity that may be conjured and controlled.

Belief in demons remains an important part of many modern religions and occultist traditions. Demons are still feared largely due to their alleged power to possess living creatures. In the contemporary Western occultist tradition (perhaps epitomized by the work of Aleister Crowley), a demon (such as Choronzon, which is Crowley's interpretation of the so-called "Demon of the Abyss") is a useful metaphor for certain inner psychological processes (inner demons), though some may also regard it as an objectively real phenomenon.

Etymology

The Ancient Greek word ('' daimōn'') denotes a spirit or divine power, much like the Latin ''genius'' or ''numen''. ''Daimōn'' most likely came from the Greek verb ''daiesthai'' ("to divide" or "distribute"). The Greek conception of a ''daimōn'' notably appears in the philosophical works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. The original Greek word ''daimon'' does not carry the negative connotation initially understood by implementation of the Koine (''daimonion''), and later ascribed to any cognate words sharing the root.

The Greek terms do not have any connotations of evil or malevolence. In fact, (''eudaimonia'', which literally translates as "good-spiritedness") means happiness. By the early centuries of the Roman Empire, cult statues were seen, by Pagans and their Christian neighbors alike, as inhabited by the numinous presence of the Greco-Roman gods: "Like pagans, Christians still sensed and saw the gods and their power, and as something, they had to assume, lay behind it, by an easy traditional shift of opinion they turned these pagan ''daimones'' into malevolent 'demons', the troupe of Satan. Far into the Byzantine period, Christians eyed their cities' old pagan statuary as a seat of the demons' presence. It was no longer beautiful, it was infested." The term had first acquired its negative connotations in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which drew on the mythology of ancient Semitic religions. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the New Testament. The Western medieval and neo-medieval conception of a ''demon'' derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late Antiquity.

The English use of ''demon'' as synonym for devils goes back at least as far as about 825. The German word (''Dämon''), however, is different from devil (''Teufel'') and demons as evil spirits, and akin to the original meaning of a Daimon.Jeffrey Burton Russell Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages Cornell University Press, 1986 ISBN 9780801494291 p. 37

Ancient Egypt

Both deities and demons can act as intermediaries to deliver messages to humans. Thus they share some resemblance to the Greek daimonion. The exact definition of "demon" in Egyptology posed a major problem for modern scholarship, since the borders between a deity and a demon are sometimes blurred and the ancient Egyptian language lacks a term for the modern English "demon".Rita Lucarelli ''Demons (Benevolent and Malevolent'' Ucla Encyclopedia of egyptology 2010 p. 2Siam Bhayro, Catherine Rider ''Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period'' BRILL 2017 p. 53 However, magical writings indicate that ancient Egyptians acknowledged the existence of malevolent demons by highlighting the demon names with red ink. Demons in this culture appeared to be subordinative and related to a specific deity, yet they may have occasionally acted independently of the divine will. The existence of demons can be related to the realm of chaos, beyond the created world. But even this negative connotation cannot be denied in light of the magical texts. The role of demons in relation to the human world remains ambivalent and largely depends on context.

Ancient Egyptian demons can be divided into two classes: "guardians" and "wanderers". "Guardians" are tied to a specific place; their demonic activity is topographically defined and their function can be benevolent towards those who have the secret knowledge to face them.Rita Lucarelli ''Demons (Benevolent and Malevolent'' Ucla Encyclopedia of egyptology 2010 p. 4 Demons protecting the underworld may prevent human souls from entering paradise. Only by knowing right charms is the deceased able to enter the ''Halls of Osiris''. Here, the aggressive nature of the guardian demons is motivated by the need to protect their abodes and not by their evil essence. Accordingly, demons guarded sacred places or the gates to the netherworld. During the Ptolemaic and Roman period, the guardians shifted towards the role of Genius loci and they were the focus of local and private cults.

The "wanderers" are associated with possession, mental illness, death and plagues. Many of them serve as executioners for the major deities, such as Ra or Osiris, when ordered to punish humans on earth or in the netherworld. Wanderers can also be agents of chaos, arising from the world beyond creation to bring about misfortune and suffering without any divine instructions, led only by evil motivations. The influences of the wanderers can be warded off and kept at the borders on the human world by the use of magic, but they can never be destroyed. A sub-category of "wanderers" are nightmare demons, which were believed to cause nightmares by entering a human body.

Mesopotamia

The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the underworld was home to many demons, which are sometimes referred to as "offspring of ''arali''". These demons could sometimes leave the underworld and terrorize mortals on earth. One class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld were known as '' galla''; their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur. They are frequently referenced in magical texts, and some texts describe them as being seven in number. Several extant poems describe the ''galla'' dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld. Like other demons, however, ''galla'' could also be benevolent and, in a hymn from King Gudea of Lagash ( 2144 – 2124 BCE), a minor god named Ig-alima is described as "the great ''galla'' of Girsu".

Lamashtu was a demonic goddess with the "head of a lion, the teeth of a donkey, naked breasts, a hairy body, hands stained (with blood?), long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of Anzû". She was believed to feed on the blood of human infants and was widely blamed as the cause of miscarriages and cot deaths. Although Lamashtu has traditionally been identified as a demoness, the fact that she could cause evil on her own without the permission of other deities strongly indicates that she was seen as a goddess in her own right. Mesopotamian peoples protected against her using amulets and talismans. She was believed to ride in her boat on the river of the underworld and she was associated with donkeys. She was believed to be the daughter of An.

Pazuzu is a demonic god who was well known to the Babylonians and Assyrians throughout the first millennium BCE. He is shown with "a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a scaly body, a snake-headed penis, the talons of a bird and usually wings". He was believed to be the son of the god Hanbi. He was usually regarded as evil, but he could also sometimes be a beneficent entity who protected against winds bearing pestilence and he was thought to be able to force Lamashtu back to the underworld. Amulets bearing his image were positioned in dwellings to protect infants from Lamashtu and pregnant women frequently wore amulets with his head on them as protection from her.

Šul-pa-e's name means "youthful brilliance", but he was not envisioned as youthful god. According to one tradition, he was the consort of Ninhursag, a tradition which contradicts the usual portrayal of Enki as Ninhursag's consort. In one Sumerian poem, offerings made to Šhul-pa-e in the underworld and, in later mythology, he was one of the demons of the underworld.

According to ''The'' ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', originally published in 12 volumes from 1901 to 1906, "In Chaldean mythology the seven evil deities were known as ''shedu'', storm-demons, represented in ox-like form." They were represented as winged bulls, derived from the colossal bulls used as protective jinn of royal palaces.

Judaism

There are differing opinions in Judaism about the existence or non-existence of demons (''shedim'' or ''se'irim''). There are "practically nil" roles assigned to demons in the Hebrew Bible. Not all Jews believe in the existence of demons, and some famous authors, such as Maimonides, denied their reality, regarding them as mere images which people ascribe divinity to. Jews are not obligated to believe in the existence of ''shedim'', as ''posek'' rabbi David Bar-Hayim points out. Some Rabbinic scholars assert that demons have existed in Talmudic times, but don't exist regularly in present. When prophecy, Divine intuition and Divine inspiration gradually decreased, the demonic powers of impurity have become correspondingly weak, too.Taylor, P. (n.d.). A Jewish Guide to the Mysterious. USA: Torah Lab Publishers.

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible mentions two classes of demonic spirits, the ''se'irim'' and the ''shedim''. The word ''shedim'' (sing ''shed'' or ''sheyd'') appears in two places in the Hebrew Bible. The ''se'irim'' (sing. ''sa'ir'', "male goat") are mentioned once in Leviticus 17:7, probably a recollection of Assyrian demons in the shape of goats. The ''shedim'', however, are not pagan demigods, but the foreign gods themselves. Both entities appear in a scriptural context of animal or child sacrifice to non-existent false gods.

From Chaldea, the term ''shedu'' traveled to the Israelites. The writers of the Tanach applied the word as a dialogism to Canaanite deities.

There are indications that demons in popular Hebrew mythology were believed to come from the nether world. Various diseases and ailments were ascribed to them, particularly those affecting the brain and those of internal nature. Examples include catalepsy, headache, epilepsy and nightmares. There also existed a demon of blindness, "Shabriri" (lit. "dazzling glare") who rested on uncovered water at night and blinded those who drank from it.

Demons supposedly entered the body and caused the disease while overwhelming or "seizing" the victim. To cure such diseases, it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain incantations and talismanic performances, at which the Essenes excelled. Josephus, who spoke of demons as "spirits of the wicked which enter into men that are alive and kill them", but which could be driven out by a certain root, witnessed such a performance in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and ascribed its origin to King Solomon. In mythology, there were few defences against Babylonian demons. The mythical mace Sharur had the power to slay demons such as Asag, a legendary ''gallu'' or ''edimmu'' of hideous strength.

Talmudic tradition and Midrashim

In the Jerusalem Talmud, notions of ''shedim'' ("demons" or "spirits") are almost unknown or occur only very rarely, whereas in the Babylonian Talmud there are many references to ''shedim'' and magical incantations. The existence of ''shedim'' in general was not questioned by most of the Babylonian Talmudists. As a consequence of the rise of influence of the Babylonian Talmud over that of the Jerusalem Talmud, late rabbis, in general, took as fact the existence of ''shedim'', nor did most of the medieval thinkers question their reality. However, rationalists like Maimonides and Saadia Gaon and others explicitly denied their existence, and completely rejected concepts of demons, evil spirits, negative spiritual influences, attaching and possessing spirits. They thought the essential teaching about ''shedim'' and similar spirits is, that they should not be an object of worship, not a reality to be acknowledged or feared. Their point of view eventually became mainstream Jewish understanding.

The opinion of some authors is not clear. Abraham ibn Ezra states that insane people can see the image of ''se'irim'', when they go astray and ascribe to them powers independent from God. It is not clear from his work, if he considered these images of ''se'irim'' as manifestations of actual spirits (''shedim'') or merely delusions. Despite academic consensus, Rabbis disputed that Maimonies denied the existence of demons entirely. He would only dispute the existence of demons in his own life time, but not that demons had existed once.

Occasionally an angel is called ''satan'' in the Babylon Talmud. But ''satans'' do not refer to demons as they remain at the service of God: "Stand not in the way of an ox when coming from the pasture, for Satan dances between his horns".

Aggadic tales from the Persian tradition describe the ''shedim'', the'' mazziḳim'' ("harmers"), and the'' ruḥin'' ("spirits"). There were also ''lilin'' ("night spirits"), ''ṭelane'' ("shade", or "evening spirits"), ''ṭiharire'' ("midday spirits"), and'' ẓafrire'' ("morning spirits"), as well as the "demons that bring famine" and "such as cause storm and earthquake". According to some aggadic stories, demons were under the dominion of a king or chief, usually ''Asmodai''.

Kabbalah

In Kabbalah, demons are regarded a necessary part of the divine emanation in the material world and a byproduct of human sin (Qliphoth). After they are created, they assume an existence on their own. Demons would attach themselves to the sinner and start to multiply as an act of self-preservation. Medieval Kabbalists characterize such demons as punishing angels of destruction. They are subject to the Divine will, and do not act independently.

Other demonic entities, such as the ''shedim'', might be considered benevolent. The Zohar classifies them as those who are like humans and submit to the Torah, and those who have no fear of God and are like animals.

Second Temple Judaism

The sources of demonic influence were thought to originate from the Watchers or Nephilim, who are first mentioned in Genesis 6 and are the focus of 1 Enoch Chapters 1–16, and also in Jubilees 10. The Nephilim were seen as the source of the sin and evil on Earth because they are referenced in Genesis 6:4 before the story of the Flood. In Genesis 6:5, God sees evil in the hearts of men. Ethiopic Enoch refers to Genesis 6:4–5, and provides further description of the story connecting the Nephilim to the corruption of humans. According to the Book of Enoch, sin originates when angels descend from heaven and fornicate with women, birthing giants. The Book of Enoch shows that these fallen angels can lead humans to sin through direct interaction or through providing forbidden knowledge. Most scholars understand the text, that demons originate from the evil spirits of the deceased giants, cursed by God to wander the Earth. Dale Martin disagrees with this interpretation, arguing that the ghosts of the Nephilim are distinct. The evil spirits would make the people sacrifice to the demons, but they were not demons themselves. The spirits are stated in Enoch to "corrupt, fall, be excited, and fall upon the earth, and cause sorrow".

The Book of Jubilees conveys that sin occurs when Cainan accidentally transcribes astrological knowledge used by the Watchers. This differs from Enoch in that it does not place blame on the angels. However, in Jubilees 10:4 the evil spirits of the Watchers are discussed as evil and still remain on Earth to corrupt humans. God binds only 90% of the Watchers and destroys them, leaving 10% to be ruled by Mastema. Because the evil in humans is great, only 10% would be needed to corrupt and lead humans astray. These spirits of the giants are also referred to as "the bastards" in the apotropaic prayer Songs of the Sage, which lists the names of demons the narrator hopes to expel.

To the Qumran community during the Second Temple period, this apotropaic prayer was assigned, stating: "And, I the Sage, declare the grandeur of his radiance in order to frighten and terri yall the spirits of the ravaging angels and the bastard spirits, demons, Liliths, owls" (''Dead Sea Scrolls'', "Songs of the Sage", Lines 4–5).

Indian religions

Hinduism

In the Veda, gods (''deva'') and demons (''asura'') share both the upper world. It is only by the time of the Brahmanas that they are said to inhabit the underworld. The identification of ''asura'' with ''demons'' stems from the description of asura as "formerly gods" (''pūrvadeva''). The gods are said to have claimed heaven for themselves and tricked the demons, ending on earth. During the Vedic period, gods aid humans against demons. By that, gods secure their own place in heaven, using humans as tools to defeat their cosmic enemies.O'Flaherty, W. D., Doniger, W. (1988). The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology. Indien: Motilal Banarsidass. p. 65-95

''Asura'', in the earliest hymns of the Rigveda, originally meant any supernatural spirit, either good or bad. Since the /s/ of the Indic linguistic branch is cognate with the /h/ of the Early Iranian languages, the word ''asura'', representing a category of celestial beings, is a cognate with Old Persian ''Ahura''. Ancient Hinduism tells that Devas (also called ''suras'') and Asuras are half-brothers, sons of the same father Kashyapa; although some of the Devas, such as Varuna, are also called Asuras. Later, during Puranic age, Asura and Rakshasa came to exclusively mean any of a race of anthropomorphic, powerful, possibly evil beings. Daitya (lit. sons of the mother "Diti"), Maya Danava, Rakshasa (lit. from "harm to be guarded against"), and asura are incorrectly translated into English as "demon".

With increase in asceticism during the post-Vedic period, withdrawal of sacrificial rituals was consindered a threat to the gods. Ascetic humans or ascetic demon were supposed to be more powerful than gods. Pious, highly enlightened Asuras, such as Prahlada and Vibhishana, are not uncommon. The Asura are not fundamentally against the gods, nor do they tempt humans to fall. Many people metaphorically interpret the Asura as manifestations of the ignoble passions in the human mind and as symbolic devices. There were also cases of power-hungry asuras challenging various aspects of the gods, but only to be defeated eventually and seek forgiveness.

Hinduism advocates the reincarnation and transmigration of souls according to one's karma. Souls (Atman) of the dead are adjudged by the Yama and are accorded various purging punishments before being reborn. Humans that have committed extraordinary wrongs are condemned to roam as lonely, often mischief mongers, spirits for a length of time before being reborn. Many kinds of such spirits (Vetalas, Pishachas, Bhūta) are recognized in the later Hindu texts. According to Hinduism, demons are not inherently evil beings, but good by following their ''dharma'' what is being evil and deceitful. However, nothing is purely evil or good, and a demon could eventually abandon his demonic nature.

Buddhism

Belief in demons does not constitute an essential feature in Buddhism. However, since belief in demons were common during the rise of Buddhism, they are integrated into the '' cycle of Saṃsāra''. Accordingly, their malevolent condition is due to their bad ''karma'' from their previous lives. When Buddhism spread, it accommodated itself with indigenous popular ideas about demons.

Iranian demons

Zoroastrianism

The Zorastrian belief in demons (''Daeva'', later ''div'') had strong influence on the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity and Islam. The ''daevas'' seem to be a Zorastrian interpretation of the Hindu pantheon. Particularly Indra, one of the most eminent individual deities of Vedic texts, is portrayed as a malicious force only next to Ahriman, the principle of evil (devil).

But ''daevas'' are not merely the false gods of a past religion, but also embodiment of vices and fierce side of nature. Thraotona slays the ''daeva'' Azhi Dahāka, a serpentine or dragon-like creature with three heads.Ghan, Chris. The ''daevas'' in Zoroastrian scripture. University of Missouri-Columbia, 2014. p. 12 Thraotona's victory over Azhi Dahāka, is not the victory of a great warrior, but to show that people who live in accordance with ''Asha'' can overcome evil. Aeshma, a demon of wrath and destruction, appears to be the direct forerunner of Asmodeus (''Sakhr'' in Islam) from Abrahamic religion. Winter too became associated with one of the daeva. Demons assault the souls when passing the Chinvat Bridge. While virtuous people ward them off and succeed on entering heaven, wicked souls fail and are seized by the demons.Ghan, Chris. The daevas in Zoroastrian scripture. University of Missouri-Columbia, 2014. p. 57 In hell, demons continue to torment the damned.

In Zarathustra's personal revelation, there are no individual daevas. They are always referred to as in a group and their worshippers are associated with violence and destruction:

but ye Daevas are all spawned from Evil Thought/ as is the grandee who worships you, and from wrong and contempt... ever since you have been enjoying those worst of things that mortals are to do/ to wax to the daevas' favor retreating from Good Thought/ losing the way from the Mindful Lord's wisdom and from Right.
:— Yasna 32.3-4

In their state of wickedness, they lead mankind into sin and death:

So ye lure the mortal from good living and security from death/as the Evil Will does you who are daevas, by evil thought/ and that evil speech with which he assigns the deed to the wrongful one's control.
:— Yasna 32.5

Demons are subordinate to the absolute power of evil, the Evil Will, embodied in Ahriman/Angra Manyu. They are both corrupted and evil themselves. Demons possess no substance on their own and can only attach themselves to material agents. People who worship demons are blamed to give them power. In the Gathas, the primary way for demons to corrupt humans and cause suffering, manifests through their worshippers. The ''Vendidad'' (Law against Daeva) is mainly concerned to ward off demons by offering laws for ritual purity. However, demons would not increase their power only through acts in their favor but also by every act against Ahura Mazda (supreme good). Everyday actions might be considered a form of demon-worship. For example, cutting one's hair or nails and keeping them on the ground is understood as a sacrifice to the demons. Just like the demons' power increase by acts of wickedness, they are weakened by good deeds. Performaning invocations of Ahura Mazda are considered especially helpful. The Vendidad further explores the possibility for humans to turn into demons. A human who performs sexual immoralities or worships demons becomes a demon after death. A wicked person might be considered a demon in his lifetime, but only turns completely into one after death.

The Bundahishn offers an overview about the creation of demons. The text explains that Ahura Mazda and Ahriman existed before the material world, one in light and the other in the abyss of darkness. When Ahriman assaulted Ahura Mazda, Ahura Mazda created a world as a battle place and Ahriman could be defeated. The first beings created by Ahura Mazda were the six Amesha Spenta, whereupon Ahriman counters by creating six daevas. The demons are not tempted but directly created by the principle of evil. According to the Bundahishn, the demons revive Ahriman, whereby calling him their father:

Rise up, thou father of us! for we will cause a conflict in the world, the distress and injury from which will become those of Ohrmazd and the archangels
:— Bun 3.1

Book 3 of the Denkard describes demons as the opposite of the creative power of God. As such, they cannot create, but only corrupt, and thus, evil is merely the corruption of the good. Since demons can only destroy, they will ultimately destroy themselves. Chapter 30 questions the reality of demons, since their existence seem to rely on their destruction of good. Therefore, Ahriman and his demons would miss any substance and exist only as absence of good.

Manichaeism

Manichaeism was a major religion founded in the third century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (), in the Sasanian Empire. One of its key concepts is the doctrine of ''Two Principles and Three Moments''. Accordingly, the world could be described as resulting from a past moment, in which two principles (good and evil) were separate, a contemporary moment in which both principles are mixed due to an assault of the world of darkness on the realm of light, and a future moment when both principles are distinct forever. Thus, evil and demons played a significant role within Manichaean teachings.

There are numberless designations for various groups of demonic entities in Manichaean cosmology. The general term used for the beings of the world of darkness is '' dyw'' (''dev''). Before the demons attacked the realm of light, they have been in constant battle and intercourse against each other. It is only in the realm of darkness demons are described in their physical form. After their assault on the world above, they have been overcome by the Living Spirit, and imprisoned in the structure of the world. From that point onwards, they impact human's ethical life, and appear as personified ethical qualities, mostly greed, envy, grief, and wrath (desire for destruction).

Ibn al-Jawzi, in his work ''Talbīs Iblīs'' (devils' delusion), credits the Manichaeans with believing that each ''Light'' and ''Darkness'' (God and the Devil) consist of four bodies and one spirit. The bodies of ''Light'' (God) were referred to as angels, while the bodies of ''Darkness'' (Devil) were referred to as ''ifrits''. ''Light'' and ''Darkness'' would multiple by angels and demons respectively.

In ''The Book of Giants'', one of the canonical seven treatises also known from Jewish intertestamental literature, the Grigori (''egrēgoroi'') beget giant half-demon offspring with human woman. In the Middle Persian version of the ''Book of Giants'' they are referred to as ''kʾw'', while in the Coptic ''Kephalaia'' as ''gigas''. In accordance with some interpretations of Genesis 6:1–4,Lester L. Grabbe,
An Introduction to First Century Judaism: Jewish Religion and History in the Second Temple Period
'' (Continuum International Publishing Group 1996 ), p. 101 the giant offspring became the ancient tyrannic rulers over mankind, until overthrown by the angels of punishment. Nonetheless, these demons are still active in the microcosm, such as ''Āz'' and ''Āwarzōg''. Views on stars (''abāxtarān'') are mixed. On one hand, they are regarded as light particles of the world soul fixed in the sky. On the other hand, stars are identified with powers hindering the soul from leaving the material world. The Third Messenger (Jesus) is said to have chained up demons in the sky. Their offspring, the ''nephilim'' (''nĕf īlīm'') or ''asrestar'' (''āsarēštārān''), ''Ašqalūn'' and ''Nebrō’ēl'' in particular, play instrumental roles in the creation of Adam and Eve. According to Manichaeism, the watchers, known as angels in Jewish lore, are not considered angels, but demons.

In the ''Shahnameh''

In the ''Shahnameh'', written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE, demonic beings called ''divs'' are recurring enemies of human civilization. Divs are often black, long teeth, claws as hands; a monstrous but humanoid shape. Despite their physical appearance, many divs are masters of supernatural sorcery, reflecting their former associations with the daevas. Div-e Sepid (White Div), leader of the divs, is both an outstanding warrior and a master of magic, who causes storms to overcome hostile armies.

The poem begins with the kings of the Pishdadian dynasty. They defeat and subjugate the demonic divs. Tahmuras commanded the divs and became known as ''dīvband'' (binder of demons). Jamshid, the fourth king of the world, ruled over both angels and divs, and served as a high priest of Ahura Mazda (Hormozd). Like his father, he slayed many divs, however, spared some under the condition they teach him new valuable arts, such as writing in different languages.SHAH, PORTRAYED IN SHAH TAHMASP’S. "TWIN SPIRITS ANGELS AND DEVILS PORTRAYED IN SHAH TAHMASP’S SHAH NAMEH DUNCAN HALDANE." Paradise and Hell in Islam (2012): 39. After a just reign over hundreds of years, Jamshid grew haughty and claims, because of his wealth and power, divinity for himself. Whereupon God withdraws his blessings from him, and his people get unsatisfied with their king. With ceasing influence of God, the devil gains power and aids Zahhak to usurp the throne. Jamshid dies sawn in two by two demons. Tricked by Ahriman (or Iblis), Zahhak grew two snakes on his shoulders and becomes the demonic serpent-king. The King Kay Kāvus fails to conquer the legendary Mazandaran, the land of divs and gets captured. To save his king, Rustam takes a journey and fights through seven trials. Divs are among the common enemies Rustam faces, the last one the Div-e Sepid, the demonic king of Mazandaran.

The div in the Shahnameh might include both demonic supernatural beings as well as evil humans.Vol. VII, Fasc. 4, pp. 428-431 It has been conjectured that the divs of the legendary Mazandaran might reflect human enemies of Iran. Zahak, inspired by the daeva '' Azhi Dahāka'', is not a de-graced deity, but a human tyrant, identified as an Arab, who slayed his father in exchange for power. It is only after he was tricked by the devil for power, he grows serpentine heads on his shoulders and becomes less human.

Rustam's battle against the demonic may also have a symbolic meaning: Rustam representing wisdom and rationality fights the demon, embodiment of passion and instinct.Melville, Charles, and Gabrielle van den Berg, eds. Shahnama Studies II: The Reception of Firdausi's Shahnama. Vol. 5. Brill, 2012. Rustam's victory over the White Div is also a triumph over men's lower drives, and killing the demon a way to purge human soul from such evil inclinations. The killing of the White Div is an inevitable act to restore the human king's eyesight. Eliminating the divs is an act of self-preservation to safeguard the good in oneself's, and the part acceptable in a regulated society.

Native North American demons

Wendigo

The Algonquian people traditionally believe in a spirit called a wendigo. The spirit is believed to possess people who then become cannibals. In Athabaskan folklore, there is a belief in wechuge, a similar cannibal spirit.

Christianity

Old Testament

The existence of demons as inherently malicious spirits within Old Testamental texts is absent.Anne Marie Kitz. "Demons in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East". ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', vol. 135, no. 3, 2016, pp. 447–464. . Accessed 16 May 2021. Though there are evil spirits sent by YHWH, they can hardly be called ''demons'', since they serve and do not oppose the governing deity. First then the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, the "gods of other nations" were merged into a single category of demons (daimones) with implied negativity.

The Greek Daimons were associated with demi-divine entities, deities, illnesses and fortune-telling. The Jewish translators rendered them all as demons, depicting their power as nullified comparable to the description of shedim in the Tanakh