Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of "Zelus"

⭐ In the context of Zelus, a daemon in Greek mythology, what is considered a core aspect of its personification?

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⭐ Core Definition: Daemon (classical mythology)

The daimon (δαίμων), also spelled daemon (meaning "god", "godlike", "power", "fate"), denotes an "unknown superfactor", which can be either good or hostile. The daimonic manifests as a penetration into the order of the known and explainable world. For Christian thinkers, the daimonic was associated with non-rational divine inspiration and, due to lack of its predictability, considered evil. For modern non-Christian thinkers, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the daimon remained neutral.

In ancient Greek religion and mythology a daimon was imagined to be a lesser deity or guiding spirit. The word is derived from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂i-mō ~ *dh₂i-mn-és 'divider, apportioner(?)'. Daimons were possibly seen as the souls of men of the golden age, tutelary deities, or the forces of fate.

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👉 Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Zelus

In Greek mythology, Zelus or Zelos (/ˈzləs/; Ancient Greek: Ζῆλος, romanizedZêlos, lit.'zeal') was the daimon that personifies dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal. The English word "zeal" is derived from his name.

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Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Orcus

Orcus was a god of the underworld, punisher of broken oaths in Etruscan and Roman mythology. As with Hades, the name of the god was also used for the underworld itself. Eventually, he was conflated with Dis Pater and Pluto.

A temple to Orcus may once have existed on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It is likely that he was transliterated from the Greek daemon Horkos, the personification of oaths and a son of Eris.
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Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Minoan Genius

The Minoan Genius is a legendary creature that was common in the Minoan art of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization in ancient Crete. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion, or of a hippopotamus, or of other animals. It is mostly seen on Minoan seals, often in pairs as supporters of deities. It is also sometimes called a "demon", though it seems generally to be a benign figure in Minoan religion; the meaning is that of a daemon in later classical religions.

It is often portrayed with water vessels, such as ewers, so it seems to play a role as a libation bearer to deities.

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Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Polemos

In Greek mythology, Polemos /ˈpɒlɪˌmɒs/ or Polemus /ˈpɒlɪməs/ (Ancient Greek: Πόλεμος Pólemos; "war") was a daemon; a divine personification or embodiment of war. No cult practices or myths are known for him, and as an abstract representation he figures mainly in allegory and philosophical discourse. The Roman counterpart of this figure was Bellum.

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Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Somnium (novel)

Somnium (Latin for "The Dream") — full title: Somnium, seu opus posthumum De astronomia lunari — is a novel written in Latin in 1608 by Johannes Kepler. It was first published in 1634 by Kepler's son, Ludwig Kepler, several years after the death of his father. In the narrative, an Icelandic boy and his witch mother learn of an island named Levania (the Moon) from a daemon ("Levana" is the Hebrew word for the moon). Somnium presents a detailed imaginative description of how the Earth might look when viewed from the Moon, and is considered the first serious scientific treatise on lunar astronomy. Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov have referred to it as one of the earliest works of science fiction.

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Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Keuthonymos


Ceuthonymus or Keuthonymos (Ancient Greek: Κευθώνυμος) is a spirit in Greek mythology who is the father of Menoites (or Menoetes, Menoetius). Ceuthonymus is a mysterious daimon or spirit of the underworld, who lives in the realm of Hades.

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Daemon (classical mythology) in the context of Apology (Plato)

The Apology of Socrates (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους, Apología Sokrátous; Latin: Apologia Socratis), written by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue of the speech of legal self-defence which Socrates (469–399 BC) spoke at his trial for impiety and corruption in 399 BC.

Specifically, the Apology of Socrates is a defence against the charges of "corrupting the youth" and "not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel" to Athens (24b).

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