Daemon (classical mythology)

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This article is about the semi-divine beings in classical mythology. For other
uses, see Daemon.

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A painting (Herbert James Draper, 1909) of Lamia, the queen of Libya, who,
according to Greek mythology, became a daemon
The words "dmon" and "daimn" are Latinized versions of the Greek
"" ("godlike power, fate, god"),[1] a reference to the daemons of
ancient Greek religion and mythology, as well as later Hellenistic religion
and philosophy.[2]

Contents [hide]
1 Description
2 In mythology and philosophy
3 Categories
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links
Description[edit]
Daemons are benevolent or benign nature spirits, beings of the same nature
as both mortals and deities, similar to ghosts, chthonic heroes, spirit guides,
forces of nature or the deities themselves (see Plato's Symposium). Walter
Burkert suggests that unlike the Christian use of demon in a strictly

malignant sense, [a] general belief in spirits is not expressed by the term
daimon until the 5th century when a doctor asserts that neurotic women
and girls can be driven to suicide by imaginary apparitions, evil daimones.
How far this is an expression of widespread popular superstition is not easy
to judge On the basis of Hesiod's myth, however, what did gain currency
was for great and powerful figures to be honoured after death as a
daimon[3] Daimon is not so much a type of quasi-divine being, according
to Burkert, but rather a non-personified peculiar mode of their activity.

In Hesiod's Theogony, Phaton becomes an incorporeal daimon or a divine

spirit,[4] but, for example, the ills released by Pandora are deadly deities,
keres, not daimones.[3] From Hesiod also, the people of the Golden Age
were transformed into daimones by the will of Zeus, to serve mortals
benevolently as their guardian spirits; good beings who dispense riches
[nevertheless], they remain invisible, known only by their acts.[5] The
daimon of venerated heroes, were localized by the construction of shrines,
so as not to restlessly wander, and were believed to confer protection and
good fortune on those offering their respects.

Characterizations of the daemon as a dangerous, if not evil, lesser spirit

were developed by Plato and his pupil Xenocrates,[3][dubious discuss] and
later absorbed in Christian patristic writings along with Neo-Platonic
elements.

In the Old Testament, evil spirits appear in the book of Judges and in Kings.
In the Greek translation of the Septuagint, made for the Greek-speaking
Jews of Alexandria, the Greek ngelos ( "messenger") translates the
Hebrew word mal'ak, while daimon (or neuter daimonion ()) carries
the meaning of a natural spirit that is less than divine (see supernatural)
and translates the Hebrew words for idols, foreign deities, certain beasts,
and natural evils.[6] The use of daimn in the New Testament's original
Greek text, caused the Greek word to be applied to the Judeo-Christian
concept of an evil spirit by the early second century AD.

Satanists have used the word demon to define a knowledge that has been
banned by the Church.[citation needed]

In mythology and philosophy[edit]

Carnelian gem imprint representing Socrates, Rome, first century BC - first

century AD.
Homer's use of the words theo ( "gods") and damones (),
suggests that while distinct, they are similar in kind.[7] Later writers
developed the distinction between the two.[8] Plato, in Cratylus[9]
speculates that the word daimn ( "deity") is synonymous to damn
( "knowing or wise"),[10] however, it is more probably dai ( "to
divide, to distribute destinies, to allot").[11]

In Plato's Symposium, the priestess Diotima teaches Socrates that love is

not a deity, but rather a "great daemon" (202d). She goes on to explain that
"everything daemonic is between divine and mortal" (202de), and she
describes daemons as "interpreting and transporting human things to the
gods and divine things to men; entreaties and sacrifices from below, and
ordinances and requitals from above..." (202e). In Plato's Apology of
Socrates, Socrates claimed to have a daimonion (literally, a "divine
something")[12] that frequently warned himin the form of a "voice"
against mistakes but never told him what to do.[13] The Platonic Socrates,
however, never refers to the daimonion as a daimn; it was always an
impersonal "something" or "sign".[14] By this term he seems to indicate the
true nature of the human soul, his newfound self-consciousness.[15]

Regarding the charge brought against Socrates in 399, Plato surmised

Socrates does wrong because he does not believe in the gods in whom the
city believes, but introduces other daemonic beings Burkert notes that a
special being watches over each individual, a daimon who has obtained the
person at his birth by lot, is an idea which we find in Plato, undoubtedly from
earlier tradition. The famous, paradoxical saying of Heraclitus is already
directed against such a view: 'character is for man his daimon'.[3]

Plato and Proclus In the ancient Greek religion, daimon designates not a
specific class of divine beings, but a peculiar mode of activity: it is an occult
power that drives humans forward or acts against them: since daimon is the
veiled countenance of divine activity, every deity can act as daimon; a
special knowledge of daimones is claimed by Pythagoreans; for Plato,
daimon, is a spiritual being who watches over each individual, and is
tantamount to a higher self, or an angel; whereas Plato is called divine by
Neoplatonists, Aristotle is regarded as daimonios, meaning an intermediary
to deities' therefore Aristotle stands to Plato as an angel to a deity; for
Proclus, daimones are the intermediary beings located between the celestial
objects and the terrestrial inhabitants.[citation needed]

Categories[edit]
The Hellenistic Greeks divided daemons into good and evil categories:
agathodaimn ( "noble spirit"), from agaths ( "good,
brave, noble, moral, lucky, useful"), and kakdaimn (
"malevolent spirit"), from kaks ( "bad, evil"). They resemble the jinn
(or genie) of Arab folklore, and in their humble efforts to help mediate the
good and ill fortunes of human life, they resemble the Judeo-Christian
guardian angel and adversarial demon, respectively. Eudaimonia, the state
of having a eudaemon, came to mean "well-being" or "happiness". The
comparable Roman concept is the genius who accompanies and protects a
person or presides over a place (see genius loci).

A distorted view of Homer's daemon results from an anachronistic reading in

light of later characterizations by Plato and Xenocrates, his successor as
head of the Academy, of the daemon as a potentially dangerous lesser
spirit:[3][16] Burkert states that in the Symposium, Plato has laid the
foundation that would make it all but impossible to imagine the daimon in
any other way with Eros, who is neither god nor mortal but a mediator in
between, and his metaphysical doctrine of an incorporeal, pure actuality,
energeia identical to its performance: thinking of thinking, noesis
noeseas the most blessed existence, the highest origin of everything. This
is the god. On such a principle heaven depends, and the cosmos.'[this quote
needs a citation] The highest, the best is one; but for the movement of the
planets a plurality of unmoved movers must further be assumed In the
monotheism of the mind, philosophical speculation has reached an endpoint. That even this is a self-projection of a human, of the thinking
philosopher, was not reflected on in ancient philosophy.

In Plato there is an incipient tendency toward the apotheosis of nous. He

needs a closeness and availability of the divine that is offered neither by the
stars nor by metaphysical principles. Here a name emerged to fill the gap, a
name which had always designated the incomprehensible yet present
activity of a higher power, daimon. Daemons scarcely figure in Greek
mythology or Greek art: they are felt, but their unseen presence can only be
presumed, with the exception of the agathodaemon, honored first with a
libation in ceremonial wine-drinking, especially at the sanctuary of Dionysus,
and represented in iconography by the chthonic serpent.

Burkert suggests that, for Plato, theology rests on two Forms: the Good and
the Simple; which Xenocrates unequivocally called the unity god in sharp
contrast to the poet's gods of epic and tragedy.[3] Although much like the
deities, these figures were not always depicted without considerable moral
ambiguity:

On this account, the other traditional notion of the daemon as related to

the souls of the dead is elided in favour of a spatial scenario which evidently
also graduated in moral terms; though [Plato] says nothing of that here, it is
a necessary inference from her account, just as Eros is midway between
deficiency and plenitude Indeed, Xencrates explicitly understood
daemones as ranged along a scale from good to bad [Plutarch] speaks of
great and strong beings in the atmosphere, malevolent and morose, who
rejoice in [unlucky days, religious festivals involving violence against the
self, etc.], and after gaining them as their lot, they turn to nothing worse.
The use of such malign daemones by human beings seems not to be even
remotely imagined here: Xenocrates' intention was to provide an
explanation for the sheer variety of polytheistic religious worship; but it is
the potential for moral descrimination offered by the notion of daemones
which later became one further means of conceptualizing what
distinguishes dominated practice from civic religion, and furthering the
transformation of that practice into intentional profanation Quite when the
point was first made remains unanswerable. Much the same thought as
[Plato's] is to be found in an explicitly Pythagorean context of probably late
Hellenistic composition, the Pythagorean Commentaries, which evidently
draws on older popular representations: The whole air is full of souls. We
call them daemones and heros, and it is they who send dreams, signs and
illnesses to men; and not only men, but also to sheep and other domestic
animals. It is towards these daemones that we direct purifications and
apotropaic rites, all kinds of divination, the art of reading chance utterances,
and so on This account differs from that of the early Academy in reaching
back to the other, Archaic, view of daemones as souls, and thus anticipates
the views of Plutarch and Apuleius in the Principate It clearly implies that
daemones can cause illness to livestock: this traditional dominated view has
now reached the intellectuals.[17]

In the Hellenistic ruler cult that began with Alexander the Great, it was not
the ruler, but his guiding daemon that was venerated. In the Archaic or early
Classical period, the daimon had been democratized and internalized for
each person, whom it served to guide, motivate, and inspire, as one
possessed of such good spirits.[18] Similarly, the first-century Roman
imperial cult began by venerating the genius or numen of Augustus, a
distinction that blurred in time.

See also[edit]
udaimonia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the moth, see Eudaemonia (moth). For other uses, see Eudaemon
(disambiguation).
Eudaimonia (Greek: [euu dai umona]), sometimes anglicized as
eudaemonia or eudemonia /judmoni/, is a Greek word commonly
translated as happiness or welfare; however, "human flourishing" has been
proposed as a more accurate translation.[1] Etymologically, it consists of the
words "eu" ("good") and "daimn" ("spirit"). It is a central concept in
Aristotelian ethics and political philosophy, along with the terms "aret",
most often translated as "virtue" or "excellence", and "phronesis", often
translated as "practical or ethical wisdom".[2] In Aristotle's works,
eudaimonia was (based on older Greek tradition) used as the term for the
highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including
ethics and political philosophy, to consider (and also experience) what it
really is, and how it can be achieved.

Discussion of the links between virtue of character (ethik aret) and

happiness (eudaimonia) is one of the central concerns of ancient ethics, and
a subject of much disagreement. As a result there are many varieties of
eudaimonism. Two of the most influential forms are those of Aristotle[3] and
the Stoics. Aristotle takes virtue and its exercise to be the most important
constituent in eudaimonia but acknowledges also the importance of external
goods such as health, wealth, and beauty. By contrast, the Stoics make
virtue necessary and sufficient for eudaimonia and thus deny the necessity
of external goods.[4]

Contents [hide]
1 Definition
2 Main views on eudaimonia and its relation to aret
2.1 Socrates
2.2 Plato
2.3 Aristotle
2.4 Epicurus
2.5 The Stoics
3 Eudaimonia and modern moral philosophy
4 Eudaimonia and modern psychology
4.1 Genetics

5 Etymology and translation

6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
Definition[edit]
The Definitions, a dictionary of Greek philosophical terms attributed to Plato
himself but believed by modern scholars to have been written by his
immediate followers in the Academy, provides the following definition of the
word eudaimonia:

The good composed of all goods; an ability which suffices for living well;
perfection in respect of virtue; resources sufficient for a living creature.

In his Nicomachean Ethics, (21; 1095a1522) Aristotle says that everyone

agrees that eudaimonia is the highest good for human beings, but that there
is substantial disagreement on what sort of life counts as doing and living
well; i.e. eudaimon:

Verbally there is a very general agreement; for both the general run of men
and people of superior refinement say that it is [eudaimonia], and identify
living well and faring well with being happy; but with regard to what
[eudaimonia] is they differ, and the many do not give the same account as
the wise. For the former think it is some plain and obvious thing like
pleasure, wealth or honour [1095a17][5]

So, as Aristotle points out, saying that eudaimon life is a life which is
objectively desirable, and means living well, is not saying very much.
Everyone wants to be eudaimon; and everyone agrees that being eudaimon
is related to faring well and to an individuals well being. The really difficult
question is to specify just what sort of activities enable one to live well.
Aristotle presents various popular conceptions of the best life for human
beings. The candidates that he mentions are a (1) life of pleasure, (2) a life
of political activity and (3) a philosophical life.

One important move in Greek philosophy to answer the question of how to

achieve eudaimonia is to bring in another important concept in ancient
philosophy, "arete" ("virtue"). Aristotle says that the eudaimon life is one of
virtuous activity in accordance with reason [1097b221098a20]. And even
Epicurus who argues that the eudaimon life is the life of pleasure maintains
that the life of pleasure coincides with the life of virtue. So the ancient
ethical theorists tend to agree that virtue is closely bound up with happiness
(aret is bound up with eudaimonia). However, they disagree on the way in
which this is so. We shall consider the main theories in a moment, but first a
warning about the proper translation of aret.

As already noted, the Greek word aret is usually translated into English as
virtue. One problem with this is that we are inclined to understand virtue in
a moral sense, which is not always what the ancients had in mind. For a
Greek, aret pertains to all sorts of qualities we would not regard as relevant
to ethics, for example, physical beauty. So it is important to bear in mind
that the sense of virtue operative in ancient ethics is not exclusively moral
and includes more than states such as wisdom, courage and compassion.
The sense of virtue which aret connotes would include saying something
like "speed is a virtue in a horse", or "height is a virtue in a basketball
player". Doing anything well requires virtue, and each characteristic activity
(such as carpentry, flute playing, etc.) has its own set of virtues. The
alternative translation excellence (or "a desirable quality") might be helpful
in conveying this general meaning of the term. The moral virtues are simply
a subset of the general sense in which a human being is capable of
functioning well or excellently.

Main views on eudaimonia and its relation to aret[edit]

Socrates[edit]
Picture of a painting.
French painter David portrayed the philosopher in The Death of Socrates
(1787).
What we know of Socrates' philosophy is almost entirely derived from
Platos writings. Scholars typically divide Platos works into three periods:
the early, middle, and late periods. They tend to agree also that Platos
earliest works quite faithfully represent the teachings of Socrates and that
Platos own views, which go beyond those of Socrates, appear for the first
time in the middle works such as the Phaedo and the Republic. This division
will be employed here in dividing up the positions of Socrates and Plato on
eudaimonia.

As with all other ancient ethical thinkers Socrates thought that all human
beings wanted eudaimonia more than anything else. (see Plato, Apology
30b, Euthydemus 280d282d, Meno 87d89a). However, Socrates adopted a
quite radical form of eudaimonism (see above): he seems to have thought
that virtue is both necessary and sufficient for eudaimonia. Socrates is
convinced that virtues such as self-control, courage, justice, piety, wisdom
and related qualities of mind and soul are absolutely crucial if a person is to
lead a good and happy (eudaimon) life. Virtues guarantee a happy life
eudaimonia. For example, in the Meno, with respect to wisdom, he says:
everything the soul endeavours or endures under the guidance of wisdom
ends in happiness[Meno 88c].

In the Apology, Socrates clearly presents his disagreement with those who
think that the eudaimon life is the life of honour or pleasure, when he
chastises the Athenians for caring more for riches and honour than the state
of their souls.

Good Sir, you are an Athenian, a citizen of the greatest city with the greatest
reputation for both wisdom and power; are you not ashamed of your
eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation, and honors as possible,
while you do not care for nor give thought to wisdom or truth or the best
possible state of your soul [29d].[6]

it does not seem like human nature for me to have neglected all my own
affairs and to have tolerated this neglect for so many years while I was
always concerned with you, approaching each one of you like a father or an
elder brother to persuade you to care for virtue. [31ab; italics added]

It emerges a bit further on that this concern for ones soul, that ones soul
might be in the best possible state, amounts to acquiring moral virtue. So
Socrates point that the Athenians should care for their souls means that
they should care for their virtue, rather than pursuing honour or riches.
Virtues are states of the soul. When a soul has been properly cared for and
perfected it possesses the virtues. Moreover, according to Socrates, this
state of the soul, moral virtue, is the most important good. The health of the
soul is incomparably more important for eudaimonia than (e.g.) wealth and
political power. Someone with a virtuous soul is better off than someone
who is wealthy and honoured but whose soul is corrupted by unjust actions.
This view is confirmed in the Crito, where Socrates gets Crito to agree that
the perfection of the soul, virtue, is the most important good:

And is life worth living for us with that part of us corrupted that unjust action
harms and just action benefits? Or do we think that part of us, whatever it
is, that is concerned with justice and injustice, is inferior to the body? Not at
all. It is much more valuable? Much more (47e48a)

Here Socrates argues that life is not worth living if the soul is ruined by
wrongdoing.[7] In summary, Socrates seems to think that virtue is both
necessary and sufficient for eudaimonia. A person who is not virtuous
cannot be happy, and a person with virtue cannot fail to be happy. We shall
see later on that Stoic ethics takes its cue from this Socratic insight.

Plato[edit]
Platos great work of the middle period, the Republic, is devoted to
answering a challenge made by a sophist Thrasymachus, that conventional
morality, particularly the virtue of justice, actually prevents the strong man
from achieving eudaimonia. Thrasymachuss views are restatements of a
position which Plato discusses earlier on in his writings, in the Gorgias,
through the mouthpiece of Callicles. The basic argument presented by
Thrasymachus and Callicles is that justice (being just) hinders or prevents
the achievement of eudaimonia because conventional morality requires that
we control ourselves and hence live with un-satiated desires. This idea is
vividly illustrated in book 2 of the Republic when Glaucon, taking up
Thrasymachus challenge, recounts a myth of the magical ring of Gyges.
According to the myth, Gyges becomes king of Lydia when he stumbles
upon a magical ring, which, when he turns it a particular way, makes him
invisible, so that he can satisfy any desire he wishes without fear of
punishment. When he discovers the power of the ring he kills the king,
marries his wife and takes over the throne. The thrust of Glaucons
challenge is that no one would be just if he could escape the retribution he
would normally encounter for fulfilling his desires at whim. But if eudaimonia
is to be achieved through the satisfaction of desire, whereas being just or
acting justly requires suppression of desire, then it is not in the interests of
the strong man to act according to the dictates of conventional morality.
(This general line of argument reoccurs much later in the philosophy of
Nietzsche.) Throughout the rest of the Republic, Plato aims to refute this
claim by showing that the virtue of justice is necessary for eudaimonia.

The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio, 1509, showing Plato (left) and
Aristotle (right)

The argument of the Republic is lengthy, complex, and profound, and the
present context does not allow that we give it proper consideration. In a
thumbnail sketch, Plato argues that virtues are states of the soul, and that
the just person is someone whose soul is ordered and harmonious, with all
its parts functioning properly to the persons benefit. In contrast, Plato
argues that the unjust mans soul, without the virtues, is chaotic and at war
with itself, so that even if he were able to satisfy most of his desires, his lack
of inner harmony and unity thwart any chance he has of achieving
eudaimonia. Platos ethical theory is eudaimonistic because it maintains
that eudaimonia depends on virtue. On Platos version of the relationship,
virtue is depicted as the most crucial and the dominant constituent of
eudaimonia.

Aristotle[edit]
Aristotles account is articulated in the Nicomachean Ethics and the
Eudemian Ethics. In outline, for Aristotle, eudaimonia involves activity,
exhibiting virtue (aret sometimes translated as excellence) in accordance
with reason. This conception of eudaimonia derives from Aristotles
essentialist understanding of human nature, the view that reason (logos
sometimes translated as rationality) is unique to human beings and that the
ideal function or work (ergon) of a human being is the fullest or most perfect
exercise of reason. Basically, well being (eudaimonia) is gained by proper
development of one's highest and most human capabilities and human
beings are "the rational animal". It follows that eudaimonia for a human
being is the attainment of excellence (aret) in reason.

According to Aristotle, eudaimonia actually requires activity, action, so that

it is not sufficient for a person to possess a squandered ability or disposition.
Eudaimonia requires not only good character but rational activity. Aristotle
clearly maintains that to live in accordance with reason means achieving
excellence thereby. Moreover, he claims this excellence cannot be isolated
and so competencies are also required appropriate to related functions. For
example, if being a truly outstanding scientist requires impressive math
skills, one might say "doing mathematics well is necessary to be a first rate
scientist". From this it follows that eudaimonia, living well, consists in
activities exercising the rational part of the psyche in accordance with the
virtues or excellency of reason [1097b221098a20]. Which is to say, to be
fully engaged in the intellectually stimulating and fulfilling work at which
one achieves well-earned success. The rest of the Nicomachean Ethics is
devoted to filling out the claim that the best life for a human being is the life
of excellence in accordance with reason. Since reason for Aristotle is not
only theoretical but practical as well, he spends quite a bit of time
discussing excellence of character, which enables a person to exercise his
practical reason (i.e., reason relating to action) successfully.

Aristotles ethical theory is eudaimonist because it maintains that

eudaimonia depends on virtue. However, it is Aristotles explicit view that
virtue is necessary but not sufficient for eudaimonia. While emphasizing the
importance of the rational aspect of the psyche, he does not ignore the
importance of other goods such as friends, wealth, and power in a life that
is eudaimonic. He doubts the likelihood of being eudaimonic if one lacks
certain external goods such as good birth, good children, and beauty. So, a
person who is hideously ugly or has lost children or good friends through
death (1099b56), or who is isolated, is unlikely to be eudaimon. In this
way, "dumb luck" (chance) can preempt one's attainment of eudaimonia.

Epicurus[edit]
Sculpture of a face.
Epicurus identified eudaimonia with the life of pleasure.
Epicurus ethical theory is hedonistic. (His view proved very influential on
the founders and best proponents of utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill.) Hedonism is the view that pleasure is the only intrinsic
good and that pain is the only intrinsic bad. An object, experience or state of
affairs is intrinsically valuable if it is good simply because of what it is.
Intrinsic value is to be contrasted with instrumental value. An object,
experience or state of affairs is instrumentally valuable if it serves as a
means to what is intrinsically valuable. To see this, consider the following
example. Suppose you spend your days and nights in an office, working at
not entirely pleasant activities, such as entering data into a computer, and
this, all for money. Someone asks, why do you want the money? and you
answer, So, I can buy an apartment overlooking the Mediterranean, and a
red Ferrari. This answer expresses the point that money is instrumentally
valuable because it is a means to getting your apartment and red Ferrari.
The value of making money is dependent on the value of commodities. It is
instrumentally valuable: valuable only because of what one obtains by
means of it[citation needed].

Epicurus identifies the eudaimon life with the life of pleasure. He

understands eudaimonia as a more or less continuous experience of
pleasure, and also, freedom from pain and distress. But it is important to
notice that Epicurus does not advocate that one pursue any and every
pleasure. Rather, he recommends a policy whereby pleasures are
maximized in the long run. In other words, Epicurus claims that some
pleasures are not worth having because they lead to greater pains, and
some pains are worthwhile when they lead to greater pleasures. The best

strategy for attaining a maximal amount of pleasure overall is not to seek

instant gratification but to work out a sensible long term policy.

Ancient Greek ethics is eudaimonist because it links virtue and eudaimonia,

where eudaimonia refers to an individuals (objective) well being. Epicurus'
doctrine can be considered eudaimonist since Epicurus argues that a life of
pleasure will coincide with a life of virtue. He believes that we do and ought
to seek virtue because virtue brings pleasure. Epicurus basic doctrine is
that a life of virtue is the life which generates the most amount of pleasure,
and it is for this reason that we ought to be virtuous. This thesisthe
eudaimon life is the pleasurable lifeis not a tautology as eudaimonia is
the good life would be: rather, it is the substantive and controversial claim
that a life of pleasure and absence of pain is what eudaimonia consists in.

One important difference between Epicurus eudaimonism and that of Plato

and Aristotle is that for the latter virtue is a constituent of eudaimonia,
whereas Epicurus makes virtue a means to happiness. To this difference,
consider Aristotles theory. Aristotle maintains that eudaimonia is what
everyone wants (and Epicurus would agree). He also thinks that eudaimonia
is best achieved by a life of virtuous activity in accordance with reason. The
virtuous person takes pleasure in doing the right thing as a result of a
proper training of moral and intellectual character (See e.g., Nicomachean
Ethics 1099a5). However, Aristotle does not think that virtuous activity is
pursued for the sake of pleasure. Pleasure is a byproduct of virtuous action:
it does not enter at all into the reasons why virtuous action is virtuous.
Aristotle does not think that we literally aim for eudaimonia. Rather,
eudaimonia is what we achieve (assuming that we arent particularly
unfortunate in the possession of external goods) when we live according to
the requirements of reason. Virtue is the largest constituent in a eudaimon
life. By contrast, Epicurus holds that virtue is the means to achieve
happiness. His theory is eudaimonist in that he holds that virtue is
indispensable to happiness; but virtue is not a constituent of a eudaimon
life, and being virtuous is not (external goods aside) identical with being
eudaimon. Rather, according to Epicurus, virtue is only instrumentally
related to happiness. So whereas Aristotle would not say that one ought to
aim for virtue in order to attain pleasure, Epicurus would endorse this claim.

The Stoics[edit]

Zeno, thought happiness was a "good flow of life."

Stoic philosophy begins with Zeno of Citium c.300 BCE, and was developed
by Cleanthes (331232 BCE) and Chrysippus (c.280c.206 BCE) into a
formidable systematic unity.[8] Zeno believed happiness was a "good flow of
life"; Cleanthes suggested it was "living in agreement with nature", and
Chrysippus believed it was "living in accordance with experience of what
happens by nature."[8] Stoic ethics is a particularly strong version of
eudaimonism. According to the Stoics, virtue is necessary and sufficient for
eudaimonia. (This thesis is generally regarded as stemming from the
Socrates of Platos earlier dialogues.) We saw earlier that the conventional
Greek concept of arete is not quite the same as that denoted by virtue,
which has Christian connotations of charity, patience, and uprightness, since
arete includes many non-moral virtues such as physical strength and
beauty. However, the Stoic concept of arete is much nearer to the Christian
conception of virtue, which refers to the moral virtues. However, unlike
Christian understandings of virtue, righteousness or piety, the Stoic
conception does not place as great an emphasis on mercy, forgiveness, selfabasement (i.e. the ritual process of declaring complete powerlessness and
humility before God), charity and self-sacrificial love, though these
behaviors/mentalities are not necessarily spurned by the Stoics (they are
spurned by other philosophers of Antiquity). Rather Stoicism emphasizes
states such as justice, honesty, moderation, simplicity, self-discipline,
resolve, fortitude, and courage (states which Christianity also encourages).

The Stoics make a radical claim that the eudaimon life is the morally
virtuous life. Moral virtue is good, and moral vice is bad, and everything
else, such as health, honour and riches, are merely neutral.[8] The Stoics
therefore are committed to saying that external goods such as wealth and
physical beauty are not really good at all. Moral virtue is both necessary and
sufficient for eudaimonia. In this, they are akin to Cynic philosophers such as
Antisthenes and Diogenes in denying the importance to eudaimonia of
external goods and circumstances, such as were recognized by Aristotle,
who thought that severe misfortune (such as the death of ones family and
friends) could rob even the most virtuous person of eudaimonia. This Stoic
doctrine re-emerges later in the history of ethical philosophy in the writings
of Immanuel Kant, who argues that the possession of a "good will" is the
only unconditional good. One difference is that whereas the Stoics regard
external goods as neutral, as neither good nor bad, Kants position seems to
be that external goods are good, but only so far as they are a condition to
achieving happiness.

Eudaimonia and modern moral philosophy[edit]

Interest in the concept of eudaimonia and ancient ethical theory more
generally enjoyed a revival in the twentieth century. Elizabeth Anscombe in
her article "Modern Moral Philosophy" (1958) argued that duty-based

conceptions of morality are conceptually incoherent for they are based on

the idea of a "law without a lawgiver".[9] She claims a system of morality
conceived along the lines of the Ten Commandments depends on someone
having made these rules.[10] Anscombe recommends a return to the
eudaimonistic ethical theories of the ancients, particularly Aristotle, which
ground morality in the interests and well being of human moral agents, and
can do so without appealing to any such lawgiver.

Julia Driver in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains:

Anscombe's article Modern Moral Philosophy stimulated the development of

virtue ethics as an alternative to Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, and Social
Contract theories. Her primary charge in the article is that, as secular
approaches to moral theory, they are without foundation. They use concepts
such as morally ought, morally obligated, morally right, and so forth that
are legalistic and require a legislator as the source of moral authority. In the
past God occupied that role, but systems that dispense with God as part of
the theory are lacking the proper foundation for meaningful employment of
those concepts.[11]

Eudaimonia and modern psychology[edit]

Further information: Psychological well-being and Meaningful Life
Models of eudaimonia in psychology emerged from early work on selfactualisation and the means of its accomplishment by researchers such as
Erikson, Allport, and Maslow.[12] The psychologist C. D. Ryff highlighted the
distinction between eudaimonia wellbeing, which she identified as
psychological well-being, and hedonic wellbeing or pleasure. Building on
Aristotelian ideals of belonging and benefiting others, flourishing, thriving
and exercising excellence, she conceptualised eudaimonia as a six-factor
structure :

Autonomy
Personal growth
Self-acceptance
Purpose in life
Environmental mastery
Positive relations with others.

Importantly, she also produced scales for assessing mental health.[12]

This factor structure has been debated,[13][14] but has generated much
research in wellbeing, health and successful aging.

Genetics[edit]
Individual differences in both overall Eudaimonia, identified loosely with selfcontrol and in the facets of eudaimonia are heritable. Evidence from one
study supports 5 independent genetic mechanisms underlying the Ryff
facets of this trait, leading to a genetic construct of eudaimonia in terms of
general self-control, and four subsidiary biological mechanisms enabling the
psychological capabilities of purpose, agency, growth, and positive social
relations [15]

Etymology and translation[edit]

In terms of its etymology, eudaimonia is an abstract noun derived from eu
meaning well and daimon (daemon), which refers to a minor deity or a
guardian spirit.[3]

Eudaimonia implies a positive and divine state of being that humanity is

able to strive toward and possibly reach. A literal view of eudaimonia means
achieving a state of being similar to benevolent deity, or being protected
and looked after by a benevolent deity. As this would be considered the
most positive state to be in, the word is often translated as 'happiness'
although incorporating the divine nature of the word extends the meaning
to also include the concepts of being fortunate, or blessed. Despite this
etymology, however, discussions of eudaimonia in ancient Greek ethics are
often conducted independently of any super-natural significance.

In his Nicomachean Ethics, (1095a1522) Aristotle says that eudaimonia

means doing and living well. It is significant that synonyms for eudaimonia
are living well and doing well. On the standard English translation, this
would be to say that happiness is doing well and living well. The word
happiness does not entirely capture the meaning of the Greek word. One
important difference is that happiness often connotes being or tending to be
in a certain pleasant state of consciousness. For example, when we say that
someone is a very happy person, we usually mean that they seem
subjectively contented with the way things are going in their life. We mean
to imply that they feel good about the way things are going for them. In

contrast, eudaimonia is a more encompassing notion than feeling happy

since events that do not contribute to ones experience of feeling happy
may affect ones eudaimonia.

Eudaimonia depends on all the things that would make us happy if we knew
of their existence, but quite independently of whether we do know about
them. Ascribing eudaimonia to a person, then, may include ascribing such
things as being virtuous, being loved and having good friends. But these are
all objective judgments about someones life: they concern a persons really
being virtuous, really being loved, and really having fine friends. This implies
that a person who has evil sons and daughters will not be judged to be
eudaimonic even if he or she does not know that they are evil and feels
pleased and contented with the way they have turned out (happy).
Conversely, being loved by your children would not count towards your
happiness if you did not know that they loved you (and perhaps thought that
they did not), but it would count towards your eudaimonia. So eudaimonia
corresponds to the idea of having an objectively good or desirable life, to
some extent independently of whether one knows that certain things exist
or not. It includes conscious experiences of well being, success, and failure,
but also a whole lot more. (See Aristotles discussion: Nicomachean Ethics,
book 1.101.11.)

Because of this discrepancy between the meaning of eudaimonia and

happiness, some alternative translations have been proposed. W.D. Ross
suggests "well-being" and John Cooper proposes "flourishing". These
translations may avoid some of the misleading associations carried by
"happiness" although each tends to raise some problems of its own. In some
modern texts therefore, the other alternative is to leave the term in an
English form of the original Greek, as "eudaimonia".

See also[edit]
Eudaemon (mythology)
Eudaemons
Eupraxsophy
Humanism
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Nicomachean Ethics
Phronesis

Summum bonum
Virtue ethics
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Daniel N. Robinson. (1999). Aristotle's Psychology. Published by
Daniel N. Robinson. ISBN 0-9672066-0-X ISBN 978-0967206608
Jump up ^ Rosalind Hursthouse (July 18, 2007). "Virtue Ethics". Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2010-06-05. But although modern
virtue ethics does not have to take the form known as "neo-Aristotelian",
almost any modern version still shows that its roots are in ancient Greek
philosophy by the employment of three concepts derived from it. These are
aret (excellence or virtue) phronesis (practical or moral wisdom) and
eudaimonia (usually translated as happiness or flourishing.) As modern
virtue ethics has grown and more people have become familiar with its
literature, the understanding of these terms has increased, but it is still the
case that readers familiar only with modern philosophy tend to misinterpret
them.
^ Jump up to: a b Verena von Pfetten (09-4-08). "5 Things Happy People
Do". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-06-05. But researchers now believe
that eudaimonic well-being may be more important. Cobbled from the Greek
eu ("good") and daimon ("spirit" or "deity"), eudaimonia means striving
toward excellence based on one's unique talents and potentialAristotle
considered it to be the noblest goal in life. In his time, the Greeks believed
that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the
highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned
the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking
away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person's baser exterior). The
effort to know and realize one's most golden self"personal growth," in
today's vernacularis now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has
also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling
one's sense of purpose in life. Check date values in: |date= (help)
Jump up ^ Jacobs, J.A. (2012). Reason, Religion, and Natural Law: From Plato
to Spinoza. OUP USA. pp. 6364. ISBN 9780199767175. LCCN 2012001316.
According to Irwin, the Stoic thesis that loss and tragedy do not affect an
agents welfare does not imply that a rational agent has no reason to regret
such a loss, for on Irwins account of Stoic theory the life of virtue and
happiness and the life that accords with nature constitute independently
rational aims... A number of considerations tell against this interpretation,
however. One such consideration is merely an ex silentio appeal. No Stoic
source, to my knowledge, suggests that actions may be justified with
respect to anything other than what contributes to the end of happiness,
and virtue alone does this in the Stoics view. A few texts, moreover, are
explicit on this point. Ciceros summary of Stoics ethics in De finibus 3
considers and rejects the suggestion that Stoic theory is implicitly

committed to two final ends, virtue and a life that accords with nature,
where these are conceived as independent objectives at which a rational
agent might aim... Independent, that is, in the strong sense according to
which one of these rational objectives may be realized while the other is not.
See Irwin (2007), p. 316: 'Virtuous action. therefore, is not sufficient for
achieving the life according to nature, which includes the natural
advantages.' Irwin is certainly correct to point out that virtue is not sufficient
for attaining the natural advantages, preferred indifferents such as health
and wealth. But it is the Stoics critics, not the Stoics themselves, who
maintain that the actual possession of these items is a necessary condition
of the life according to nature.
Jump up ^ Aristotle, also David Ross, Lesley Brown (1980). "The
Nicomachean Ethics". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
Verbally there is very general agreement, for both the general run of men
and people of superior refinement...
Jump up ^ Uncertain (19 September 2008). "How "God" functioned in
Socrates' life". DD:Religion. Retrieved 2010-06-05. Men of Athens, I am
grateful and I am your friend, but I will obey the god rather than you, and as
long as I draw breath and am able, I shall not cease to practice philosophy,
to exhort you and in my usual way to point out to any of you whom I happen
to meet: "Good Sir, you are an Athenian, a citizen of the greatest city with
the greatest reputation for both wisdom and power; are you not ashamed of
your eagerness to possess as much wealth, reputation and honors as
possible, while you do not care for nor give thought to wisdom or truth, or
the best possible state of your soul?"
Jump up ^ Richard Parry (Aug 7, 2009). "Ancient Ethical Theory". Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2010-06-05. Socrates says that a man
worth anything at all does not reckon whether his course of action
endangers his life or threatens death. He looks only at one thing whether
what he does is just or not, the work of a good or of a bad man (28bc).
^ Jump up to: a b c Dirk Baltzly (Feb 7, 2008). "Stoicism". Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2010-06-05. But what is happiness?
The Epicureans' answer was deceptively straightforward: the happy life is
the one which is most pleasant. (But their account of what the highest
pleasure consists in was not at all straightforward.) Zeno's answer was "a
good flow of life" (Arius Didymus, 63A) or "living in agreement", and
Cleanthes clarified that with the formulation that the end was "living in
agreement with nature" (Arius Didymus, 63B). Chrysippus amplified this to
(among other formulations) "living in accordance with experience of what
happens by nature"; later Stoics inadvisably, in response to Academic
attacks, substituted such formulations as "the rational selection of the
primary things according to nature." The Stoics' specification of what
happiness consists in cannot be adequately understood apart from their
views about value and human psychology.

Jump up ^ "The ethics of virtue: The Ethics of Virtue and the Ethics of Right
Action". wutsamada.com. 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-06-05. legalistic
ethics rest on the incoherent notion of a "law" without a lawgiver: DCT
unacceptable; and the alternative sources of moral "legislation" are
inadequate substitutes
Jump up ^ G. E. M. Anscombe (January 1958). "Modern Moral Philosophy".
Philosophy 33, No. 124. Retrieved 2010-06-05. Originally published in
Philosophy 33, No. 124 (January 1958). ... The first is that it is not profitable
for us at present to do moral philosophy; that should be laid aside at any
rate until we have an adequate philosophy of psychology, in which we are
conspicuously lacking. The second is that the concepts of obligation, and
dutymoral obligation and moral duty, that is to sayand of what is
morally right and wrong, and of the moral sense of "ought", ought to be
jettisoned if this is psychologically possible; because they are survivals, or
derivatives from survivals, from an earlier conception of ethics which no
longer generally survives, and are only harmful without it. My third thesis is
that the differences between the well-known English writers on moral
philosophy from Sidgwick to the present day are of little importance.
Jump up ^ Julia Driver (Jul 21, 2009). "Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret
Anscombe: 5.1 Virtue Ethics". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Retrieved 2010-06-05. In the past God occupied that role, but systems that
dispense with God as part of the theory are lacking the proper foundation
for meaningful employment of those concepts.
^ Jump up to: a b C. D. Ryff. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it?
Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.
Jump up ^ K. W. Springer, R. M. Hauser and J. Freese. (2006). Bad news
indeed for Ryff's six-factor model of well-being. Social Science Research, 35,
1120-1131.
Jump up ^ C. D. Ryff and B. H. Singer. (2006). Best news yet on the sixfactor model of well-being. Social Science Research, 35, 1103-1119.
Jump up ^ D. Archontaki, G. J. Lewis and T. C. Bates. (2012). Genetic
influences on psychological well-being: A nationally representative twin
study. Journal of Personality10.1111/j.1467-6494.2012.00787.x
Agathodaemon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Greek god. For other uses of this name, see
Agathodaemon (disambiguation).

Roman marble sculpture of Agathodaemon restored with an unrelated head,

as "Antinous Agathodaemon", purchased in Rome ca. 1760, (Staatliche
Museen, Berlin)[1]
In ancient Greek religion, Agathos Daimon or Agathodaemon (Greek:
, "noble spirit") was a daemon or presiding spirit of the vineyards and
grainfields and a personal companion spirit,[2][3] similar to the Roman
genius, ensuring good luck, health, and wisdom.

Contents [hide]
1 Classical period
2 Late antiquity
3 See also
4 References
5 Bibliography
6 External links
Classical period[edit]
Though he was little noted in Greek mythology (Pausanias conjectured that
the name was a mere epithet of Zeus),[4] he was prominent in Greek folk
religion;[5] it was customary to drink or pour out a few drops of unmixed
wine to honor him in every symposium or formal banquet. In Aristophanes'
Peace, when War has trapped Peace ( Eirene) in a deep pit, Hermes
comes to give aid: "Now, oh Greeks! is the moment when, freed of quarrels
and fighting, we should rescue sweet Eirene and draw her out of this pit...
This is the moment to drain a cup in honor of the Agathos Daimon." A
temple dedicated to him was situated on the road from Megalopolis to
Maenalus in Arcadia.[6]

Agathos Daimon was the spouse or companion of Tyche Agathe (

"Good Fortune"; Latin, and dialect, Agatha); "Tyche we know at Lebadeia as
the wife of the Agathos Daimon, the Good or Rich Spirit."[7] His numinous
presence could be represented in art as a serpent or more concretely as a
young man bearing a cornucopia and a bowl in one hand, and a poppy and
an ear of grain in the other. The agathodaemon was later adapted into a
general daemon of fortuna, particularly of the continued abundance of a
family's good food and drink.

Late antiquity[edit]

In the syncretic atmosphere of Late Antiquity, Agathodaemon (Koine Greek:

) could be bound up with Egyptian bringers of security and
good fortune: a gem carved with magic emblems bears the images of
Serapis with crocodile, sun-lion and Osiris mummy surrounded by the lionheaded snake CnumAgathodaemonAion, with Harpocrates on the reverse.
[8]
Cacodemon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Cacodaemon)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve
this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Tychodaimon, the opposite of the Kakodaimon

A cacodemon (or cacodaemon) is an evil spirit or (in the modern sense of
the word) a demon. The opposite of a cacodemon is an agathodaemon or
eudaemon, a good spirit or angel. The word cacodemon comes through
Latin from the Ancient Greek kakodaimn, meaning an "evil
spirit," whereas daimon would be a neutral spirit in Greek and Tychodaimon
would be a good spirit. In psychology, cacodemonia (or cacodemomania) is
a form of insanity in which the patient believes that they are possessed by
an evil spirit. The first known occurrence of the word cacodemon dates to
1398. In Shakespeare's Richard III Act 1 Scene 3, Queen Margaret calls
Richard a "cacodemon" for his foul deeds and manipulations.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 In popular culture
1.1 Games
2 See also
3 References
In popular culture[edit]
In the book The Magicians by Lev Grossman, the main characters each have
a Cacodemon magically implanted into their backs.

Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld 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's second album, Legion, contains a song called "Satan Spawn, The
Caco-Daemon".
In Digimon Savers, the Mega-level Digimon Daemon of the Seven Great
Demon Lords is based on the Cacodemon in both name and design.
There is a painting by Paul Klee 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.
Games[edit]
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Cacodaemon is a powerful
Yugoloth (daemon), much like the Baatezu (devils) and the Tanar'ri
(demons).
In the first edition of the fantasy role-playing game Advanced Dungeons &
Dragons, "Cacodemon" is a seventh level magic-user spell. It was used to
summon a type IV, V, or VI demon to the player character'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 product line, in
which it could summon a variety of powerful tanar'ri or baatezu. The spell
was eventually phased out in the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons
game in favor of a more comprehensive creature-summoning spell.
In fantasy video game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, the Bioware Infinity
Engine equivalent of the "Cacodemon" spell is known as "Cacofiend".
In third edition Dungeons & Dragons, the (in)famous namesake beast itself
("Cacodaemon") was later revised into the "Cacoloth" class of Yugoloth,
whose sole purpose is to act as bodyguards and servants for the "Oinoloth"
and the "Ultraloths."
In the Fantasy world Glorantha Cacodemon is the god of ogres
In the Doom series of computer games developed by id software,
Cacodemons are an enemy.[2]
In Final Fantasy XI MMORPG, the Terrestrial Avatar Diabolos uses a special
attack called "Cacodemonia."
In Anarchy Online MMORPG, a pet that one of the professions can summon
is the Cacodemon.
In Talisman Online MMORPG, Cacodaemons are one of the types of creature
inhabiting the Cloud Mountain area.

In Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom, Cacodaemons are large red demons

encountered on floor 777.[3]
In the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, cacodaemons appear as a low-level
demon with features similar to the ones found in Doom.
In Smite (video game), there is a Cacodemon skin for the playable God Ymir.
In Magic: the Gathering, Dread Cacodemon is a card from the Commander
expansion.
Genius (mythology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its
contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible
overview of all important aspects of the article. (May 2012)

Winged genius facing a woman with a tambourine and mirror, from southern
Italy, about 320 BC.
In ancient Roman religion, the genius is the individual instance of a general
divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing.[1]

Contents [hide]
1 Nature of the genius
2 Specific genii
3 History of the concept
3.1 Origin
3.2 Genii under the monarchy
3.3 Republican genii
3.4 Imperial genii
4 Roman iconography
4.1 Coins
5 Modern-era representations
6 See also

7 References
8 Additional reading
9 External links
Nature of the genius[edit]
The rational powers and abilities of every human being were attributed to
their soul, which was a genius.[2] Each individual place had a genius (genius
loci) and so did powerful objects, such as volcanoes. The concept extended
to some specifics: the genius of the theatre, of vineyards, and of festivals,
which made performances successful, grapes grow, and celebrations
succeed, respectively. It was extremely important in the Roman mind to
propitiate the appropriate genii for the major undertakings and events of
their lives.

Specific genii[edit]

Bronze genius depicted as pater familias (1st century CE)

Although the term genius might apply to any divinity whatsoever, most of
the higher-level and state genii had their own well-established names.
Genius applied most often to individual places or people not generally
known; that is, to the smallest units of society and settlements, families and
their homes. Houses, doors, gates, streets, districts, tribes, each one had its
own genius.[3] The supreme hierarchy of the Roman gods, like that of the
Greeks, was modelled after a human family. It featured a father, Jupiter
("father god"), who was also the supreme divine unity, and a mother, Juno,
queen of the gods. These supreme unities were subdivided into genii for
each individual family; hence, the genius of each female, representing the
female domestic reproductive power, was a Juno. The male function was a
Jupiter.[4]

The juno was worshipped under many titles:

Iugalis, "of marriage"

Matronalis, "of married women"
Pronuba, "of brides"
Virginalis, "of virginity"

Genii were often viewed as protective spirits, as one would propitiate them
for protection. For example, to protect infants one propitiated a number of
deities concerned with birth and childrearing: Cuba ("lying down to sleep"),
Cunina ("of the cradle") and Rumina ("of breast-feeding").[5] Certainly, if
those genii did not perform their proper function well, the infant would be in
danger.

Hundreds of lararia, or family shrines, have been discovered at Pompeii,

typically off the atrium, kitchen or garden, where the smoke of burnt
offerings could vent through the opening in the roof. A lararium was distinct
from the penus ("within"), another shrine where the penates, gods
associated with the storerooms, was located. Each lararium features a panel
fresco containing the same theme: two peripheral figures (Lares) attend on
a central figure (family genius) or two figures (genius and Juno) who may or
may not be at an altar. In the foreground is one or two serpents crawling
toward the genius through a meadow motif. Campania and Calabria
preserved an ancient practice of keeping a propitious house snake, here
linked with the genius.[6] In another, unrelated fresco (House of the
Centenary) the snake-in-meadow appears below a depiction of Mount
Vesuvius and is labelled Agathodaimon, "good daimon", where daimon must
be regarded as the Greek equivalent of genius.

History of the concept[edit]

Origin[edit]

Head of a genius worshipped by Roman soldiers (found at Vindobona, 2nd

century CE)
Etymologically genius (household guardian spirit) has the same derivation
as nature from gns (tribe, people) from the Indo-European root *gen-,
"produce."[7] It is the indwelling nature of an object or class of objects or
events that act with a perceived or hypothesized unity.[8] Philosophically
the Romans did not find the paradox of the one being many confusing; like
all other prodigies they attributed it to the inexplicable mystery of divinity.
Multiple events could therefore be attributed to the same and different
divinities and a person could be the same as and different from his genius.
They were not distinct, as the later guardian angels, and yet the Genius
Augusti was not exactly the same as Augustus either. As a natural outcome
of these beliefs, the pleasantness of a place, the strength of an oath, an
ability of a person, were regarded as intrinsic to the object, and yet were all
attributable to genius; hence all of the modern meanings of the word. This
point of view is not attributable to any one civilization; its roots are lost in
prehistory. The Etruscans had such beliefs at the beginning of history, but

then so did the Greeks, the native Italics and many other peoples in the
near and middle east.

Genii under the monarchy[edit]

No literature of the monarchy has survived, but later authors in recounting
its legends mention the genius. For example, under Servius Tullius the
triplets Horatii of Rome fought the triplets Curiatii of Alba Longa for the
decision of the war that had arisen between the two communities.In the
battle, the three Curiatii were wounded, but two of the Horatii were killed.
The last of the Horatii, Publius, turned as if to flee. The Curiatii chased him
but, as a result of their wounds, became separated. This enabled Publius to
slay them one by one. When the victorious Publius returned carrying the
spoils of victory, his sister, who had been betrothed to one of the Curiatii,
began to keen, breast-beat and berate Publius. He executed her, was tried
for murder, was acquitted by the Roman people but the king made him
expiate the Juno of his sister and the Genius Curiatii, a family genius.[9](see
Horatii)

Republican genii[edit]
The genius appears explicitly in Roman literature relatively late as early as
Plautus, where one character in the play, Captivi, jests that the father of
another is so avaricious that he uses cheap Samian ware in sacrifices to his
own genius, so as not to tempt the genius to steal it.[10] In this passage,
the genius is not identical to the person, as to propitiate oneself would be
absurd, and yet the genius also has the avarice of the person; that is, the
same character, the implication being, like person, like genius.

Implied geniuses date to much earlier; for example, when Horatius Cocles
defends the Pons Sublicius against an Etruscan crossing at the beginning of
the Roman Republic, after the bridge is cut down he prays to the Tiber to
bear him up as he swims across: Tiberine pater te, sancte, precor ..., "Holy
father Tiber, I pray to you ...." The Tiber so addressed is a genius. Although
the word is not used here, in later literature it is identified as one.[11]

Horace describes the genius as "the companion which controls the natal
star; the god of human nature, in that he is mortal for each person, with a
changing expression, white or black".[12]

Imperial genii[edit]

Genius of Domitian
Octavius Caesar on return to Rome after the final victory of the Roman Civil
War at the Battle of Actium appeared to the Senate to be a man of great
power and success, clearly a mark of divinity. In recognition of the prodigy
they voted that all banquets should include a libation to his genius. In
concession to this sentiment he chose the name Augustus, capturing the
numinous meaning of English "august." This line of thought was probably
behind the later vote in 30 BC that he was divine, as the household cult of
the Genius Augusti dates from that time. It was propitiated at every meal
along with the other household numina.[13] The vote began the tradition of
the divine emperors; however, the divinity went with the office and not the
man. The Roman emperors gave ample evidence that they personally were
neither immortal nor divine.

Inscription on votive altar to the genius of Legio VII Gemina by L. Attius

Macro (CIL II 5083)
If the genius of the imperator, or commander of all troops, was to be
propitiated, so was that of all the units under his command. The provincial
troops expanded the idea of the genii of state; for example, from Roman
Britain have been found altars to the genii of Roma, Roman aeterna,
Britannia, and to every legion, cohors, ala and centuria in Britain, as well as
to the praetorium of every castra and even to the vexillae.[14] Inscriptional
dedications to genius were not confined to the military. From Gallia Cisalpina
under the empire are numerous dedications to the genii of persons of
authority and respect; in addition to the emperor's genius principis, were the
geniuses of patrons of freedmen, owners of slaves, patrons of guilds,
philanthropists, officials, villages, other divinities, relatives and friends.
Sometimes the dedication is combined with other words, such as "to the
genius and honor" or in the case of couples, "to the genius and Juno."[15]

Surviving from the time of the empire hundreds of dedicatory, votive and
sepulchral inscriptions ranging over the entire territory testify to a floruit of
genius worship as an official cult. Stock phrases were abbreviated: GPR,
genio populi Romani ("to the genius of the Roman people"); GHL, genio
huius loci ("to the genius of this place"); GDN, genio domini nostri ("to the
genius of our master"), and so on. In 392 AD with the final victory of
Christianity Theodosius I declared the worship of the Genii, Lares and
Penates to be treason, ending their official terms.[16] The concept, however,
continued in representation and speech under different names or with
accepted modifications.

Roman iconography[edit]
Coins[edit]
The genius of a corporate social body is often a cameo theme on ancient
coins: a denarius from Spain, 7675 BC, featuring a bust of the GPR (Genius
Populi Romani, "Genius of the Roman People") on the obverse;[17] an
aureus of Siscia in Croatia, 270275 AD, featuring a standing image of the
GENIUS ILLVR (Genius Exercitus Illyriciani,[18] "Genius of the Illyrian Army")
on the reverse;[19] an aureus of Rome, 134138 AD, with an image of a
youth holding a cornucopia and patera (sacrificial dish) and the inscription
GENIOPR, genio populi Romani, "to the genius of the Roman people," on the
reverse.[20]
udaemon (mythology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the ancient Arabian city, see Eudaemon. For other uses, see Eudaemon
(disambiguation).

Winged daemon depicted in ancient Corinthian plate.

Eudaemon, eudaimon, or eudemon (Greek: ) in Greek mythology
was a type of daemon or genius, which in turn was a kind of spirit.[1] A
eudaemon was regarded as a good spirit or angel, and the evil cacodaemon
was its opposing spirit.[2]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Characteristics
2.1 Other definitions
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
Etymology[edit]
The word eudaimon in Greek means having a good attendant spirit, happy.
It is composed of the words eu, which means "well" or "good" and
daimon, which means "divinity, spirit, divine power, fate, or god."[2][3][4]

Also daimon is the Greek derivative for the term demon, in which case
"demon" means "replete with knowledge".[4][5] Sometimes eudaimon is
incorrectly taken to mean literally "good spirit".[2]

Moreover Eudaimon is as well an ancient proper noun, in particular it was

the Greek name of a priest of Zeus and father of P. Aelius Aristeides, a
notorious rhetorician of the second century AD.[6]

Characteristics[edit]
Eudaemons in Greek mythology included deified heroes. They were
regarded intermediary spirits between gods and the men. Eudaemons, the
good daemons, were understood as guardian spirits, bestowing protection
and guidance to ones they watched over.[4][5]

As a counselor, the eudaemon whispered advice and opinions in one's ear.

Such person escorted by the eudaemon was considered fortunate. It was
said that Socrates during his lifetime had a daemon that always warned him
of threats and bad judgment, but never directed his actions. According to
Socrates, his daemon was more accurate than the respected forms of
divination at that time, such as either reading the entrails or watching the
flights of birds.[4][5]

Fresco from shrine at a house in Pompeii showing an offering to Agathos, a

benevolent daemon, which appears in form of serpent about the altar in a
garden, 1st century A.D.
A worshiped good daemon was Agathodaemon in whose honor the first
libation to the god Dionysus was dedicated.[7]

Other definitions[edit]
Under philosophic views such as those by Aristotle, a happy person is one
who is eudaemon, but still in a literal manner one possessing a good or
fortunate daemon. And for Heraclitus, the mans character is his guardian
daemon.[7]

Once in a while the good daemon may also stand for the souls of the
deceased. For example, the heroine Alcestis in 438 BCE Athenian tragedy by
the Greek Euripides, is reported as a "blessed daemon" subsequent to her
death.[7]

According to psychologist Carl Jung there is not eudaemon or else

cacodaemon but only the daemon, which is a unique independent spirit
neither good nor bad, living in everyone.[5]

In mystical approaches eudaemon is sometimes defined as a symbol of

"higher self", or the individual in the "causal body." As well it is a symbol of
intelligence on the "buddhic plane" and higher esoteric planes, which assists
evolution and is related to the higher thoughts and emotions.[5]
Lares Familiares
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bronze Lar Familiaris[citation needed] from the 1st century CE (M.A.N.,

Madrid).

Household altar in Herculaneum (Italy).

Lares Familiares ("Family Guardians" in Latin) were household tutelary
deities of ancient Roman religion. The singular form is Lar Familiaris.

The Lar Familiaris was a domestic guardian spirit who cared for the welfare
and prosperity of a household. A household's lararium, a shrine to the Lar
Familiaris, usually stood near the hearth or in a corner of the atrium. A
lararium often had the appearance of a cupboard or a niche containing a
small statue, a niche painted on a wall, or a small freestanding shrine.
Sometimes the Genius of the head of the household, pictured as a bearded
or crested snake, or as a man with the fold of his toga covering his head, is
depicted with the Lar.

References to domestic religious practice often pair the Lares together with
the Penates. Penates, although also domestic guardian spirits, were more
specifically protectors of the master of the household and his immediate
family. The Lar Familiaris, on the other hand, protected all household
members, free or slave, and was associated with a particular place, thus did

not accompany a family who moved. Tradition holds that a family's Lar
would generously help those who honored him by devotionals and sacrifices,
but would turn his back to those who would not offer him thanks or
neglected him.

A story about these spirits occurs in the Aulularia of Plautus (Lines 1-36). In
the tale, a grandfather begs his Lar to hide the family gold, so the Lar buries
it in the hearth. When the grandfather dies, the Lar did not show the son
where the gold was hidden because the son had never remembered to
honor the Lar. The Lar kept the gold hidden until Euclio, the man's grandson,
had a daughter who was ready for marriage, yet hadn't enough money for a
dowry. Euclio, a dreadful miser, also neglected the Lar. But his daughter was
of a more pious disposition, and had become pregnant by a man whose
name she did not know. So the spirit sets in motion a complicated chain of
events whereby Euclio finds the gold, but ultimately sees the error of his
miserly ways and bestows it on his daughter for a dowry. Plautus describes
the Lar Familiaris as a young, slender figure clad in high boots, short tunic,
and a belted undergarment. Garlands adorn his head, and he is lithe,
graceful and nimble.
Lares Familiares
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bronze Lar Familiaris[citation needed] from the 1st century CE (M.A.N.,

Madrid).

Household altar in Herculaneum (Italy).

Lares Familiares ("Family Guardians" in Latin) were household tutelary
deities of ancient Roman religion. The singular form is Lar Familiaris.

The Lar Familiaris was a domestic guardian spirit who cared for the welfare
and prosperity of a household. A household's lararium, a shrine to the Lar
Familiaris, usually stood near the hearth or in a corner of the atrium. A
lararium often had the appearance of a cupboard or a niche containing a
small statue, a niche painted on a wall, or a small freestanding shrine.
Sometimes the Genius of the head of the household, pictured as a bearded
or crested snake, or as a man with the fold of his toga covering his head, is
depicted with the Lar.

References to domestic religious practice often pair the Lares together with
the Penates. Penates, although also domestic guardian spirits, were more
specifically protectors of the master of the household and his immediate
family. The Lar Familiaris, on the other hand, protected all household
members, free or slave, and was associated with a particular place, thus did
not accompany a family who moved. Tradition holds that a family's Lar
would generously help those who honored him by devotionals and sacrifices,
but would turn his back to those who would not offer him thanks or
neglected him.

A story about these spirits occurs in the Aulularia of Plautus (Lines 1-36). In
the tale, a grandfather begs his Lar to hide the family gold, so the Lar buries
it in the hearth. When the grandfather dies, the Lar did not show the son
where the gold was hidden because the son had never remembered to
honor the Lar. The Lar kept the gold hidden until Euclio, the man's grandson,
had a daughter who was ready for marriage, yet hadn't enough money for a
dowry. Euclio, a dreadful miser, also neglected the Lar. But his daughter was
of a more pious disposition, and had become pregnant by a man whose
name she did not know. So the spirit sets in motion a complicated chain of
events whereby Euclio finds the gold, but ultimately sees the error of his
miserly ways and bestows it on his daughter for a dowry. Plautus describes
the Lar Familiaris as a young, slender figure clad in high boots, short tunic,
and a belted undergarment. Garlands adorn his head, and he is lithe,
graceful and nimble.
Terafn

Fresco de Giovanni Battista Tiepolo representando a Raquel sentada sobre

un terafn.
Terafn (en hebreo: teraph, plural: teraphim) es una palabra hebrea
de la Biblia, que slo se encuentra en plural y es de etimologa incierta. A
pesar de ser plural, terafn tiene, en ocasiones, el significado de un singular,
usando el hebreo plural de excelencia.1
La palabra terafn es explicada en la literatura rabnica clsica con un
sentido de cosas vergonzosas o alusiones despectivas2 (aunque rechazada
por los etimlogos actuales). En muchas traducciones de la Biblia en taliano
se traduce como dolos, o dios o dioses domsticos, aunque se desconoce
con precisin su significado exacto. En el Antiguo Testamento se hace
referencia al panten de los dioses semticos que datan del nomadismo de
los hebreos, como as lo atestiguan las versiones griegas y su utilizacin en
las Sagradas Escrituras.
Segn Gnesis 31, Raquel tom los terafines que pertenecan a su padre
Laban cuando su marido Jacob escap. Los oculta en una albarda de la

montura de su camello y se sienta sobre ellos cuando Labn los est

buscando, y le dice que no puede levantarse porque est con la
menstruacin. De todo esto se deduce que eran pequeos, tal vez entre 30
y 35 mm.,3 aunque tambin se tiene constancia de otros ms grandes.
Este tipo de figurillas son las que se han encontrado en grandes cantidades
en multitud de excavaciones en el Cercano Oriente, muchas de ellas
desnudas, lo que poda indicar un amuleto con simbolismo de fertilidad, en
otras, de buena suerte y en fin, para contestar simblicamente a preguntas
cuando se les peda consejos. En determinados casos, se les consideraba
como elementos de hechicera.
En las excavaciones arqueolgicas entre 1925 y 1930 de Nuzi, en
Mesopotamia, se descubri mediante escritos en tablillas de arcilla en
cuneiforme que la posesin de los terafines, en ciertas circunstancias,
garantizaban a su poseedor el derecho a los bienes de su padre cuando ste
muriera. Por eso probablemente, Labn tena tanto inters en recuperarlos.
Di Penates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

O: Two jugate heads of Di Penates

DPP
R: Soldiers with spears pointing at lying sow
CSV(LP)ICICF
Reverse depicts scene from Aeneid. According prophecy in the place where
white sow casts 30 piglets under oak tree Ascanius shall build new city after
30 years (Alba Longa).
Silver serrate denarius struck by C. Sulpicius C. f. Galba in Rome 106 BC.
ref.: Sulpicia 1., Sydenham 572., Crawford 312/1

Aeneas and the Penates, from a 4th-century manuscript

In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates or Penates (/pnetiz/) were
among the dii familiares, or household deities, invoked most often in
domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire
on the hearth for the Penates.[1] They were thus associated with Vesta, the
Lares, and the Genius of the paterfamilias in the "little universe" of the
domus.[2]

Like other domestic deities, the Penates had a public counterpart.[3]

Function[edit]
An etymological interpretation of the Penates would make them in origin
tutelary deities of the storeroom, Latin penus, the innermost part of the
house, where they guarded the household's food, wine, oil, and other
supplies.[4] As they were originally associated with the source of food, they
eventually became a symbol of the continuing life of the family.[5] Cicero
explained that they "dwell inside, from which they are also called penetrales
by the poets".[6] The 2nd-century AD grammarian Festus defined penus,
however, as "the most secret site in the shrine of Vesta, which is surrounded
by curtains."[7] Macrobius reports the theological view of Varro that "those
who dig out truth more diligently have said that the Penates are those
through whom we breathe in our inner core (penitus), through whom we
have a body, through whom we possess a rational mind."[8]

Public Penates[edit]
The Penates of Rome (Penates Publici Populi Romani) had a temple on the
Velia near the Palatine. Dionysius of Halicarnassus says it housed statues of
two youths in the archaic style.[9]

The public cult of the ancestral gods of the Roman people originated in
Lavinium,[10] where they were also closely linked with Vesta. One tradition
identified the public Penates as the sacred objects rescued by Aeneas from
Troy and carried by him to Italy.[11] They, or perhaps rival duplicates, were
eventually housed in the Temple of Vesta in the Forum. Thus the Penates,
unlike the localized Lares, are portable deities.[12]

Archaeological evidence from Lavinium shows marked Greek influence in the

archaic period, and Aeneas was venerated there as Father Indiges.[13] At
the new year, Roman magistrates first sacrificed to Capitoline Jupiter at
Rome, and then traveled to Lavinium for sacrifices to Jupiter Indiges and
Vesta, and a ceremonial visit to the "Trojan" Penates.[14]
Penates

Altar de Penates en las ruinas de Herculano.

Di Penates o en forma abreviada Penates eran, en la mitologa romana,
originalmente genios protectores del almacn del hogar. Posteriormente, se

convierten en dioses de los hogares brindando proteccin a toda la casa

(penates familiares o menores), existiendo tambin los protectores del
estado (penates pblicos o mayores). Estaban emparentados con los Lares,
Genios y Larvae. Los Penates son mencionados por Propercio (iv.i).
El nombre se deriva de penus, la despensa o almacn de la casa.1 Se
encargaron, inicialmente, de proteger las despensas, para luego extenderse
a toda la casa. Se les ofrendaba una parte de la comida diaria, que deba ser
colocada en el corazn de la figura que los representaba.
Los magistrados de la ciudad prestaban juramento ante los Penates
pblicos. Algunas veces los Penates eran representados como un par de
jvenes. En la colina Velia en Roma exista un templo dedicado a ellos.
Genius loci
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En la mitologa romana un genius loci es el espritu protector de un lugar,
frecuentemente representado como una serpiente. Entre los pueblos de
Europa del Este existe el Domovi o Domovik (ucraniano: ,
Domovk), (ruso: o, Domovoy) es la deidad del hogar, que cuida de
la vida de toda la familia que vive en la casa. Literalmente significa el
espritu de la casa en el folclore eslavo. En la actualidad, este trmino se
refiere generalmente a los aspectos caractersticos o distintivos de un lugar
y no necesariamente a un espritu guardin.
Alexander Pope hizo del Genius loci un principio importante en el diseo
paisajstico y de jardn en la Epstola IV, a Richard Boyle, conde de
Burlington. Este principio consiste en la adaptacin de los diseos al
contexto en que se ubican.
En la teora de la arquitectura moderna, el genius loci tiene profundas
implicaciones en la proyectacin de espacios pblicos y est vinculada a la
rama filosfica de la fenomenologa. Este mbito del discurso arquitectnico
es desarrollado principalmente por el terico Christian Norberg-Schulz en su
libro, Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture.
Domovik

Mercadera y Domovik. Cuadro de Boris Kustodiev, 1922.

Domovoi.
Domovoi (ucraniano: , Domovk), (ruso: o, Domovoy) es la
deidad del hogar, que cuida de la vida de toda la familia que vive en la casa.
Literalmente significa el espritu de la casa en el folclore eslavo.
ndice [ocultar]
1 Cristianismo
2 Caractersticas del Domovoi
3 Tradicin Ucraniana
4 Ritos para atraer, mantener, echar o llevarse un Domovoi
5 Lugar de alojamiento
6 Creencias populares sobre el Domovoi
6.1 El Domovoi y los animales
6.2 Manifestaciones del Domovoi
7 La leyenda del Nio de Domovik
8 Domovoi en la poca sovitica
9 Variaciones de su nombre
10 Repercusin en la Cultura Pupular
11 Vase tambin
12 Enlaces externos
13 Literatura
Cristianismo[editar]
Con la abolicin del paganismo el ao 988, el cristianismo lo convierte en un
ente negativo.1 Tambin se le considera que en los tiempos primitivos el
Domovi era el dios del fuego del hogar, y probablemente dios benvolo que
se opona al diablo.2
En la cristiandad el Domovoi adquiere una apariencia esquiva, y se empieza
a percibir como una fuerza impura y que puede ser daina en la casa. Se
convierte en la fuente de problemas y confusiones domsticas.
No se han conservado nombres especiales para los dioses Domovoi, pero
algunos de ellos parecen ser Chur (), Tsur () y Pek (). Son voces
que originan las palabras eslavas orientales de seguridad, peligro.3

Caractersticas del Domovoi[editar]

En Ucrania se considera al Domovoi como el espritu que vive al lado del
fuego, defiende a la familia pero su disgusto trae mala suerte y el gafe al
hogar.
Se dice que el Domovoi parece un nio, con pies de cabra, pantalones rojos,
sombrero en forma de cuerno con un tubo largo.
Los Domovois (la forma plural correcta es Domovye) son masculinos,
pequeos, muchas veces estn totalmente cubiertos de pelo. De acuerdo
con algunas tradiciones, el Domovoy toma el aspecto de los actuales o
antiguos habitantes de la casa, y tiene una barba gris, unas veces con cola,
otra con cuernos.
En algunas leyendas se dice haber visto al dueo de la casa en el jardn,
aunque de hecho estuviese el dueo real dormido en su cama. En algunas
tradiciones lo describen como un perro o un gato, pero la descripcin ms
extendida no es esta.
No le gustan los espejos ni la gente que duerme cerca de las puertas. A
veces se oye, por la noche, como hace algunos trabajos de la casa. La gente
respeta a Domovik, y cuando alguien habla de l, le llaman
respetuosamente abuelo o dueo.
Tradicin Ucraniana[editar]
En la tradicin ucraniana se considera el Domovoi como un reputado
antepasado de la familia, con un aspecto bonachn, que remarca el carcter
de comodidad y bienestar. Los campesinos crean en l, viviendo el Domovoi
en las chispas, ayudando a las personas en el manejo de la casa. Hay
leyendas en las que los habitantes obtenan Domovois para ellos mismos:
tomando un pequeo huevo de gallina, colocarlo debajo de un ratn, y
llevarlo durante 9 das. El dcimo el nuevo Domovoi ser un sirviente de la
voluntad del dueo de la casa, as como llevndose los demonios que
acechan a los nios, y quemndolos en una vieja estufa.
La tradicin dice que toda casa tiene un Domovoi. No se convierte en
demonio a menos que se le disgusta con un mal mantenimiento de la casa,
un lenguaje soez o descuidado. Se ve al Domovoi como el guardin de la
casa, y que algunas veces ayuda con pequeas reparaciones.
Tradicionalmente se le trata como un miembro de la familia, aunque
ninguno le vea, y se le dejan regalos por la noche, como leche y galletas en
la cocina.
Ritos para atraer, mantener, echar o llevarse un Domovoi[editar]
Para atraer al Domovoi, se sale fuera de la vivienda vistiendo las mejores
ropas, y se dice en voz alta Dedushka Dobrojot (benvolo abuelo), por favor
entra en mi casa y ayuda a los tuyos. Para librarse de un Domovoi rival, hay

que golpear las paredes con un haz, gritando abuelo Domovoi, aydame a
echar el intruso. En caso de mudanza, se dice Domovoi, Domovoi, no
permanezcas aqu y ven nuestra la familia!
Cuando una nueva casa es construida, la tradicin polaca atrae un Domovoi
colocando un trozo de pan debajo de la estufa o cocina, mientras que en la
tradicin rusa se invita al antiguo Domovoi de la casa que ha acompaado a
la familia con el ofrecimiento de una bota vieja como lugar para alojarse en
la casa nueva. En la tradicin ucraniana, cuando una familia cambia de
casa, dicen que la ltima noche antes de cambiarse, hay que dar a Domovik
de comer y beber, y pedirle que vaya con todos la nueva vivienda, ya que la
economa domstica depende de l.
Un pan salado envuelto en una tela blanca sirve apara apaciguar al espritu,
y la colocacin de un lino blanco y limpio en la habitacin, es una invitacin
a que coma con la familia. Colgar botas viejas en el patio, es otra forma de
honrarlo.
Lugar de alojamiento[editar]
El lugar favorito para vivir estos espritus es debajo de la puerta o debajo de
la estufa o cocina. El centro de la casa es su domino tambin. El domovoi
mantiene la paz y el orden, y disfruta con una casa bien ordenada. Los
campesinos lo alimentan por la noche como pago a la proteccin de su casa.
Creencias populares sobre el Domovoi[editar]
El Domovoi era tambin un orculo, y su conducta poda indicar o prevenir
sobre el futuro. El Domovoi le tirara del pelo a la mujer para prevenirla de
un hombre cruel. Aullara o gemira para advertir de los problemas que
vienen. Si el Domovoi se deja ver, es un anuncio de una muerte, y si solloza,
se dice que habr una muerte en la familia. Si se re, se esperan buenos
tiempos, si frota un peine, habr una boda en el futuro.
El Domovoi tiene un lado mas malicioso. Aunque cuando uno posee un
Domovoi, se le considera un aliado, el Domovoi de una casa vecina trae
infelicidad. El folclore ruso dice que el Domovoi puede molestar a los
caballos en el establo toda la noche, as como robar grano al vecino para
alimentar sus propios caballos. Tambin el Domovoi puede hacerse amigo
de otro, y se dice que para organizar ruidosas veladas invernales.
El Domovoi y los animales[editar]
La tradicin indica que en la casa permanecen nicamente los animales que
el Domovoi quiere, atormentando a los que rechaza.
En invierno vive al lado de la estufa, pero si el dueo tiene caballos o cuadra
pasa el invierno all. Si le gusta el caballo, le cuidar, le har trenzas de su
crin y rabo, le dar comida y si no le gusta lo har sufrir (a veces hasta
puede matarlo).

Manifestaciones del Domovoi[editar]

Si el Domovoi se vuelve infeliz, le juega malas pasadas a los miembros de la
casa. Esto incluye el movimiento de pequeos objetos, rotura de platos,
ensuciando con pequeas manchas de barro, causando el crujido de las
paredes de la casa, golpeando ollas o gimiendo. Si la familia puede
determinar la causa del descontento del Domovoi, pueden rectificar la
situacin volviendo las cosas a la situacin normal. En caso contrario, la
actuacin del espritu se incrementar en intensidad. Lo habitual es que la
familia viva en armona con el espritu, y no ocurran problemas. Si quiere a
alguien le hace trenzas en el pelo y si tiene antipata le da pellizcos, hasta
cardenales. Tambin puede asustar por la noche se echa encima de la
persona, mientras esta duerme y empieza a apretarla.
La leyenda del Nio de Domovik[editar]
La tradicin dice que cuando se escucha llorar a un bebe, pero no hay bebes
en casa, lo que se est escuchando es al beb de Domovik. En este caso,
hay que cubrir el sitio del que sale la voz con un pauelo y la madre del nio
te dar respuesta a cualquier pregunta, con tal de que quites el pauelo a
su hijo.
Domovoi en la poca sovitica[editar]
Despus de la Revolucin de Octubre, los bolcheviques organizaron una
campaa de organizacin de los Comits de la Vivienda (algo como una
Comunidad de Vecinos), en todas las casas de apartamentos. Esto gener
numerosos comentarios jocosos, siendo el Comit Domovoi (Comit de la
vivienda) referido como el comit de los Domovois.
Variaciones de su nombre[editar]
bielorruso: i (damavik)
blgaro: (stopanyn)
croata: Domai
checo: Ddek
polaco: Domowoj, domowik
ruso: (domovoj)
serbio: (domai)
esloveno: Domovoj
eslovaco: Domovik
ucraniano: (domovyk)
Repercusin en la Cultura Pupular[editar]

en el juego de cartas Cabals:The Card Game, Domovoi es una de las cartas

jugables.
En Artemis Fowl, Domovoi es el nombre del fiel guardaespaldas de Artemis,
conocido solo como "Butler". Su nombre completo es Domovoi Butler. Su
nombre completo es revelado en el libro tres.
En el juego de PC Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness, un Domovoi se
ve envuelto en una de las bsquedas secundarias necesarias para
completar el juego y solo se le encuentra cuando es de noche y en la
posada.
En un episodio de la serie de dibujos animados The Real Ghostbusters.
Domoviye aparece en "The Spirit of Aunt Lois",
En la serie de juegos de PS2 Shadow Hearts, el Domovoi aparece como un
monstruo.
En el juego de PS2 Culdcept y su secuela para Xbox 360, Culdcept Saga,
Domovoi es una carta de monstruo jugable. Y tiene la habilidad de escudar
a otras criaturas de recibir dao de hechizos.
En el MMORPG Final Fantasy XI Domoviye es visto como una lucha de jefe
opcional, "Burning Circle Notorious Monster".
Un Domovoi aparece en la mini-serie de comics Hellboy: Darkness Calls, de
(2008) hecho por Mike Mignola y Duncan Fegredo. El habita una casa que ha
quedado desierta al irse sus ocupantes.
Domoviye o Domai aparece en la popular historia Croata de Ivana BrliMaurani (uma Striborova).
En Cambios, una novela de la serie de novelas The Dresden Files por Jim
Butcher, el hada de los dientes, un Polevoi o Menudo, es confundido con un
Domovoi por Sanya el soldado ruso de la cruz.
La bailarina Karina Smirnoff explicaba en un episodio de la serie por cable
Celebrity Ghost Stories de The Biography Channel que ella cree que fue
atacada de pequea por el Domovoi de la casa de una amiga cuando ella
intento dormir en una habitacin que pertenecia al tio perdido de su amiga.
En el juego social Ravenwood Fair, de Lolapps, Inc. El Domovoi es un
Personaje no jugador que trata de incordiar y retrasar al jugador.
En el juego "Super scribblenaut" puede invocarse desde el cuaderno.
En el show, "Russian Dolls", a Diana y a Anastasia se les dice que hay un
Domovoi en su apartamento.
En el libro de Jaime Alfonso Sandoval "Las dos muertes de Lina Posada" los
domovoi son poderosos espritus guardianes adems de tener diferentes
funciones como mover escaleras y calentar calderas.

Vase tambin[editar]
Tomte (Escandinavo)
Kobold (Alemn)
Zashiki-warashi (japons)
Lares (mitologa)
Manes (mitologa)
Genius loci
Penates
Brownie (mitologa)
Duende
Duende
Para otros usos de este trmino, vase Duende (desambiguacin).

Duende Martinico en el grabado "Duendecillos" de los Caprichos de

Francisco de Goya.
Los duendes son criaturas mitolgicas fantsticas de forma humanoide pero
del tamao de un nio pequeo que estn presentes en el folclore de
muchas culturas. La etimologa de su nombre proviene de la expresin
"duen de casa" o "dueo de casa", por el carcter entrometido de los
duendes al "apoderarse" de los hogares y encantarlos,1 o bien del rabe
"duar de la casa" ("que habita, habitante").2
En Castilla la palabra duende define a un tipo de ser sobrenatural de la
cultura popular equivalente al goblin de otros folclores europeos (del francs
normando gobelin, nombre originado en el de un fantasma que se deca
asol el pueblo de Evreux en el siglo XII),3 de naturaleza maliciosa hacia los
humanos.
ndice [ocultar]
1 Historia
2 Denominaciones en diferentes partes del mundo
3 Duendes regionales de Espaa
3.1 Los duendes castellanos
3.2 Los duendes cntabros

3.3 Las lamias

4 San Patricio y los duendes
5 Duendes en la literatura
6 Duendes en la televisin y el cine
7 Vase tambin
8 Referencias bibliogrficas
8.1 Notas al pie
8.2 Bibliografa de Espaa
8.3 Bibliografa de Mxico
8.4 Bibliografa de Bolivia
Historia[editar]
Los duendes tal y como son conocidos, son criaturas mgicas, fericas
(relacionadas en algn caso con las hadas) y se los describe fsicamente
como no mayores a un metro, de aspecto humanoide, orejas largas y en
punta y de piel verdosa, se caracterizan por ser seres elementales,
cuidadores de la naturaleza y el bosque y por ser escurridizos. En una
definicin amplia para la Mitologa de cualquier cultura, se le describe como
de aspecto humanoide y muy baja estatura, con algn tipo de poder o
conocimiento sobrenatural y provisto de un tpico espritu bromista o
malicioso, por el cual se le culpa de todo tipo de daos menores en el
entorno domstico o rural; siendo as, entraran en la categora genrica del
duende los gnomos, los trasgos, el leprechaun irlands o el poltergeist
alemn.

Cubierta del libro La princesa y el duende, de George MacDonald.

Este tipo de supersticiones ligadas a los hogares fueron difundidas por todo
el Imperio romano, ya que su religin pagana afirmaba que haba unos
dioses menores, los lares o genius loci, que habitaban una casa a la que
estaban ligados con la funcin de protegerla. A veces estaban asociados a la
familia que construy la casa o que la habit desde que fue construida, esto
explicara su frecuente relacin con los fuegos del altar familiar u hogar, los
pucheros o las alacenas. A esto habra que sumar una nocin semejante por
parte de los druidas, quiz todava presente en la creencia germnica en los
Kobold. Pero esta tradicin se presenta tambin en el folklore de todas las
naciones eslavas, donde son llamados domovik, e incluso en el japons,
donde unas criaturas en todo semejantes se denominan zashiki-warashi. Por
lo dems, los djinn de los pueblos semticos poseen caractersticas muy
parecidas. La supersticin, por otra parte, podra tener una etiologa

bastante elemental: una justificacin maravillosa o imaginativa de los ruidos

desconocidos que se producen en las alacenas, stanos o cuevas
subterrneas cerradas de las casas, casi siempre debidos a la presencia de
pequeos roedores o depredadores en busca de alimento.
Es ms, aparte de su origen supersticioso, la leyenda de la llamada "gente
pequea", como los denominaba en su famoso manuscrito el prroco
escocs Robert Kirk,4 o "duendes", est tan arraigada en unos lugares
concretos de Europa (islas britnicas) que algunos han llegado a teorizar la
posible existencia de un pueblo humano de pequea estatura ya
desaparecido en estas ubicaciones, lo que ha convertido en ms probable el
descubrimiento reciente del hombre de Flores y el ya conocido pueblo
pigmeo en frica.[cita requerida]
El primero en proponer esta explicacin fue David MacRitchie (1861-1925),
un folclorista escocs, en su obra The Testimony of Tradition; este tipo de
leyendas (y muchas otras) se habran fundado en la existencia histrica de
un pueblo que habitara en cuevas o que sera subterrneo en las Islas
Britnicas, resto de gentes antiqusimas de tecnologa muy primitiva, quizs
neoltica, quienes, ante la llegada de pueblos ms civilizados y mejor
armados, se habran ocultado en la oscuridad. Esta teora habra sido
completada en The Witch-Cult in Western Europe (1921) por la doctora
Margaret Murray (1863-1963).
El alquimista y mdico suizo Paracelso (1493-1541) escribi sobre
numerosos tipos de criaturas ni humanas ni divinas en su grimorio
Philosophia Occulta (1570), a los que llama genricamente elementales y
denomin gnomos (elemento tierra), ondinas (elemento agua), silfos o
slfides (elemento aire) y salamandras (elemento fuego):
No pueden clasificarse entre los hombres, porque algunos vuelan como los
espritus, no son espritus, porque comen y beben como los hombres. El
hombre tiene un alma que los espritus no necesitan. Los elementales no
tienen alma y, sin embargo, no son semejantes a los espritus, stos no
mueren y aqullos s mueren. Estos seres que mueren y no tienen alma
son, pues, animales? Son ms que animales, porque hablan y ren. Son
prudentes, ricos, sabios, pobres y locos igual que nosotros. Son la imagen
grosera del hombre, como ste es la imagen grosera de Dios Estos seres
no temen ni al agua ni al fuego. Estn sujetos a las indisposiciones y
enfermedades humanas, mueren como las bestias y su carne se pudre como
la carne animal, y son virtuosos y viciosos, puros e impuros, mejores o
peores.
Los duendes corresponderan a los gnomos y silfos y habitan mundos
propios no muy alejados del nuestro, aunque invisibles para nosotros porque
nuestros sentidos son poco sutiles y poco desarrollados y por tanto no aptos
para observarlos. Sin embargo todas esas criaturas, segn Paracelso, tienen
en comn ser seres interdimensionales y atemporales, viven en
comunidades jerarquizadas, son invisibles para los hombres, pero no para

algunos animales y nios, son juguetones y tramposos y enormemente

interesados en algunos aspectos sexuales de los humanos, a quienes a
veces raptan cuando son nios; viven muchos ms aos que los hombres,
pero sin llegar a ser inmortales: 500 aos o ms, ticamente neutros,
inteligentes, y les aterroriza el hierro y el acero. Poseen tres grandes
festividades: la del mes de mayo, la del 24 de junio (solsticio de verano) y la
del mes de noviembre.
Siguiendo la terminologa de C. S. Lewis en su ensayo The Discarded
Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1964),
traducido al espaol como La imagen del mundo, cabra identificarlos con
los longaevi o longevos, espritus que, cuando Lucifer se levant contra
Dios, no se pusieron de parte ni de este ni de aquel. Dios habra suspendido
su sentencia hasta el da del Juicio Final, y mientras tanto estos seres
circularan por el orbe infranatural, es decir, por debajo de la rbita de la
Luna, pues por encima estara lo sobrenatural. Algunos habran cado a la
Tierra y por eso habitaran en cuevas o subterrneos. No son exactamente
demonios ni ngeles: son los duendes, hadas, etc. de que se ha hablado
anteriormente, de ah su ambigedad moral. En otro ensayo, el poeta
Heinrich Heine llama a toda esta gente "dioses en el exilio", porque
antiguamente eran los diosecillos paganos menores que detentaban algunas
funciones religiosas y ahora han sido arrojados al margen, por lo que
aparecen ridiculizados por la tradicin religiosa dominante. Su aspecto por
ello ha sido desfigurado como risible y slo tienen importancia para los
nios impresionables, gracias a los cuales, sin embargo, perdura su
recuerdo ms o menos deturpado.
Denominaciones en diferentes partes del mundo[editar]
Existen muchas variantes de duendes en varios pases y culturas del
mundo, aunque universalmente los ms populares son los de los pases
clticos:
Europa:
Irlanda: Leprechauns.
Escocia: Hobgoblins y Puck.
Cornualles: Pixies.
Suecia: Tomtar (plural de tomte).
Dinamarca: Nisser (plural de nisse).
Finlandia: Tonttu.
Inglaterra, Gales, Alemania y Pases bajos (pueblos sajones): goblins.
Francia: Lutins.

Alemania: Kobolde.
Romaa: Mazapgul.
Espaa: Trasgos, Martinicos, Diaos, Gnomos, Hadas, Encantadas,
Trastolillus, Trentis, Tentirujus, Nuberus, Trasnos en Galicia, Follets en
Catalua, Iratxoak (y otros nombres) en el Pas Vasco y Navarra, Trasgus en
Asturias, Menutos o Menudos en Valle de Hecho y en otras partes del Alto
Aragn, Mengues (Sur de Espaa).
Asia:
Turqua: Cin.
Norteamrica:
Estados Unidos: "elves" (tambin usada para los Elfos), goblins.
Mxico: Chaneques, Aluxes y Duendes.
Sudamrica: tambin existen duendes en el folclore local de esos pases:
Paraguay: Pombero, Yasy Yater y Kurup (seres mitolgicos de la cultura
guaran).
Argentina: Se denominan duendes. Adems hay seres mitolgicos de las
culturas originarias que son similares a los duendes (Pombero, Yasy Yater y
Kurup en el nordeste, rea culturalmente guaran; y Coquena en el
noroeste).
Chile (En la cultura Mapuche son conocidos como Laftraches); y en el
folklore chileno igualmente se denominan duendes.
Colombia Su nombre es variado segn su grupo tnico.
Ecuador: El Tin tn (duende flico de la costa), Chuzalongo (duende flico de
la serrana).
Venezuela: Momoyes.
Per: Muqui (duende minero de los Andes peruanos), Chullachaqui,
Chinchilico, Shapishico, (en la amazona del Per).
Brasil: Duende.
Bolivia: Particularmente en el Departamento de Santa Cruz en esta regin es
curioso observar como muchas personas aseguran haber tenido una
experiencia en su niez con este ser. Por otro lado en la regin occidental se
los denomina como anchancho en aymar y como muki en quechua en la
zona de los valles5
Centroamrica:

Honduras: se les llama duendes.

Cuba: cucumi.
Costa Rica: tambin llamados duendes o enanos. La leyenda ms conocida
es la de los duendes del bacn.
Panam tambin se les llama duendes, En la Comarca Ngbe-Bugl se les
denomina Mgra seres pequeos de aspecto verdoso.
Puerto Rico: Duendes o Enanos.
Repblica Dominicana: tambin llamados duendes.
Nicaragua: Gnomos o duendes.
El Salvador: Duendes
Duendes regionales de Espaa[editar]
Los duendes castellanos[editar]
Cabe distinguir entre los duendes castellanos a martinicos, diaos, trasgos,
gnomos, encantadas, hadas y elfos. Los martinicos, llamados bestiones en
la Edad Media, y grabados en algunos de los Caprichos de Goya, son enanos
cabezones (representados como cabezudos en las fiestas populares) de
grandes manos que se suelen disfrazar con hbito franciscano, hacen ruido
en las alacenas, mueven y pierden objetos cuando no los ven y gastan
crueles chascos y bromas. Los gnomos habitan en las cavidades de la tierra
y la primera mencin de un elfo en la literatura espaola se hace en el
Cantar de mo Cid, cuando se habla de los "caos de Elfa", esto es, la cueva
de Elfa.6 El primero en tratar por extenso de los duendes fue el demonlogo
fray Antonio de Fuentelapea en El ente dilucidado: discurso nico novsimo
que muestra que hay en naturaleza animales irracionales invisibles y quales
sean (1676). Se comentaba que todos los duendes desaparecieron con la
bula de la Santa Cruzada. Posteriormente, en el siglo XVIII, el preilustrado
benedictino padre Benito Jernimo Feijoo se embuti en una lucha sin
cuartel contra estas supersticiones en su Teatro crtico universal.
Por otra parte, en el contexto cultural flamenco se denomina duende al
carcter inexplicable y misterioso que ese arte y sus intrpretes adquieren
en ciertas ocasiones, un poder misterioso que todos sienten y ningn
filsofo explica.7
Los duendes cntabros[editar]
Son de muchos tipos: los trastolillos, los enanos, los busgosos, los trentis,
los nuberos, los ventolines, los tronantes y las anjanas, entre otros.
Las lamias[editar]

Las lamias espaolas tienen correspondencia con las lamiak vasconavarras

y las lainas aragonesas. Tienen cara y cuerpo de bellas mujeres y patas
palmeadas de nade (ganso, pato, oca...). Habitan en lugares cercanos al
agua, o en los mismos lagos, ibones y barrancos.
San Patricio y los duendes[editar]
La tradicin irlandesa refiere que san Patricio, tras haber fundado su primera
iglesia, invit a los celtas paganos a convertirse al cristianismo. Tras llevar a
cabo varios milagros, la fe cristiana comenz a ganar adeptos en Irlanda.
Los druidas vieron esto con alarma. Invocaron una tropa de duendes y la
enviaron a la iglesia con tal de hacer la vida imposible a San Patricio y a los
apstatas ya cristianos. Los feligreses comenzaron a quejarse de que los
duendes no los dejaban rezar y cometan un sinfn de desmanes
desbaratando el templo, por lo que San Patricio, habiendo averiguado que
era obra de los druidas, decidi hacerles frente. Una vez dentro del templo,
se les encar con las siguientes palabras: En nombre de Dios Todopoderoso
yo los expulso, espritus impuros, y fue as como San Patricio desterr a los
duendes de la iglesia. Por eso en Irlanda la imagen de san Patricio es muy
utilizada para realizar exorcismos de duendes y para protegerse contra
ellos, ya que no soportan la imagen del hombre que los desterr de la casa
de Dios.
Su hbitat general son los bosques, aunque algunos habitan en los jardines
y los fondos de ciertas casas, propicias para ello, ya que a estos alguna vez
simpticos hombrecillos les agrada la compaa de los nios, as como a las
hadas (por su pureza de corazn), para jugar con ellos. Son de buen
carcter; estando por lo tanto casi siempre de buen humor. Aunque tambin
existen duendes malvados, capaces de hacerle dao a los humanos, si stos
los enojan. Por ese motivo es conveniente evitar ofenderlos, por ejemplo,
dudando de su existencia, de sus poderes o burlndose de su apariencia.
Duendes en la literatura[editar]
Segn la mitologa celta britnica, el rey de los duendes y elfos responde al
nombre de Lord Obern, y se le menciona en Macbeth y dems obras del
poeta ingls William Shakespeare, adems que tambin se le hace mencin
en el Fausto de Goethe junto con un coro de silfos que invoca Mefistfeles
con tal de seducir al doctor Fausto.
Segn la historia de Fausto, Lord Obern contrae matrimonio con la reina de
las hadas, Lady Titania, para as consagrar la unin de ambos reinos
elementales de la naturaleza. Obern tiene un consorte que lo acompaa a
todos lados, Puck, un duende menor erudito en la magia, prolongando as la
dualidad clsica de la literatura Rey - Mago, tal como Arturo y Merln.
En los cuentos tradicionales infantiles, la figura del duende suele asociarse a
pequeos seres bonachones, que acostumbran a ayudar en secreto a los
humanos, recompensando las buenas acciones y castigando a las personas

egostas y deshonestas. Representativo es el clsico de El zapatero y los

duendes, de los Hermanos Grimm.
Herederos de esa tradicin son muchos de los cuentos contemporneos
sobre duendes, como Un duende a rayas, de Mara Puncel, Los Duendes de
Cristal, de Yolanda Lleonart, Los duendes de colonia-Estrella, de Augusto
Kopish, o Los duendes de Navalcarnero, de Rubn Serrano.
En la triologa libros de "El seor de los anillos", as como en "El Hobbit" de
J.R.R Tolkien, se emplean los trminos goblin (duende) y orco como
sinnimos. Estos seres seran de la altura de un ser humano, lo cual sirvi
como referencia para otras obras posteriores de fantasa.
Tambin existe la literatura ferica de terror, tal es el caso de las novelas
Extraa Simiente y Cuento Infantil de T.M. Wright y Cuento De Hadas de
Raymond E. Feist, en estas historias, los duendes, hadas y dems fauna
elemental se convierten en malvados dejando a un lado el prototipo
bondadoso que muestran los cuentos para nios.
En ocasiones los duendes muestran una enemistad hacia los gnomos y los
trolls que puede compararse con la que hay entre elfos y orcos. En el libro
Crnicas de Spiderwick de Tony DiTerlizzi y Holly Black se dice que los
duendes se convierten en gnomos cuando se enojan (esto es, se vuelven
ms robustos y amenazadores, y sus dientes se hacen ms largos y
puntiagudos).
Y ms recientemente, en la serie Harry Potter, los seores de la banca
mgica Gringotts son duendes, el ms famoso es Griphook.
Duendes en la televisin y el cine[editar]
En la pelcula Merln con Sam Neill, durante su trayecto hacia los dominios
de la Reina Mab, Merln es espiado por duendes y dems seres elementales
que siguen discretamente al aprendiz de mago hacia su nuevo hbitat.
En la pelcula Los ojos del gato basada en la novela de Stephen King, Drew
Barrymore interpreta a una nia que es atacada por un duende de la raza
Kobold que roba el aliento y mata a los nios, siguiendo con la tradicin de
las leyendas alemanas de los duendes que roban la vitalidad de las
personas mientras duermen, ya sea bajo su forma original o bajo la de un
animal.
Tambin est la saga de pelculas Leprechaun, en la que su protagonista
principal es un duende irlands vestido de verde, adorador del oro y del
whisky y bastante malvado, con extraordinarios poderes mgicos y solo
vulnerable al hierro forjado, aparte que su magia es ineficaz en contra del
trbol de cuatro hojas.
En la serie animada Grgolas, Goliath, Angela y Elisa Maza se enfrentan en
una ocasin a Lord Obern en la isla de valon tras su batalla contra la

Banshee en Irlanda, la cual ganaron gracias al despertar de Cuchulain y a la

ayuda de este con su lanza dorada en la pelea. Adems, en una ocasin
Puck, hacindose pasar por Owen, el ayudante de David Xanatos, toma a su
hijo beb y tras introducir su alma en el cuerpo de Lexington, le ensea las
artes mgicas siendo su primera prctica la transmigracin de almas, cosa
que Goliath descubre al final.
Vase tambin[editar]
Duendes navideos
Enano (mitologa)
Kobold
Laftrache
Yasy Yater
Genio
Gnomo
Seres mitolgicos
Hada
Hada

Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies,
Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful
Things por Sophie Anderson (1823-1903).
Un hada (del latn fatum: hado, destino) es una criatura fantstica y etrea.
En la mitologa griega y romana las llaman Hados, pero generalmente en
forma de mujer hermosa, que segn la tradicin son protectoras de la
naturaleza, producto de la imaginacin, la tradicin o las creencias y
perteneciente a ese fabuloso mundo de los elfos, gnomos, duendes, sirenas
y gigantes que da color a las leyendas y mitologas de todos los pueblos
antiguos. Se puede provocar el contacto con ellas desarrollando la visin
etrea segn las leyendas. La mayora de ellas se representan con alas. Se
conoce de un caso en el que Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creador de Sherlock
Holmes, fue engaado por unas nias que se fotografiaron con figuras de
papel en forma de hadas, a las que el consagrado escritor atribuy
autenticidad.
ndice [ocultar]
1 Caractersticas
2 Clases de hadas

3 Vase tambin
4 Bibliografa
5 Enlaces externos
Caractersticas[editar]
Las leyendas celtas hablan del reino de los es Sdhe (pronunciado Os Shi)
tambin conocido en idioma ingls como Fairy Folk, y donde la mejor
traduccin a nuestro idioma sera Hadas, si bien es importante recalcar que
no se habla de la concepcin victoriana de la Hadas, esos seres diminutos
con alas de mariposa, las cuales son en realidad pixies. Los es Sdhe, son
seres semidivinos que viven entre este y el otro mundo, con conexiones
importantes con la naturaleza y las deidades, la mayora de los relatos los
representan como gente no muy alta, pero de aspecto y altura humana, de
tez blanca, ojos claros y pelo muy negro.
En los relatos medievales, las hadas (a veces llamadas El Buen Pueblo o
La Buena Gente) aparecen relacionadas con encantamientos y hechizos,
conocedoras del poder y las virtudes de las palabras, las leyendas y las
hierbas, que les permitan mantenerse jvenes y bellas, y acumular grandes
riquezas.
En algunos libros, se menciona que las hadas hacen todas las cosas
inocentemente, aunque su comportamiento pueda llegar a ser perverso. En
muchos escudos herldicos de esta poca se refleja el mundo de las hadas.
Muchos aristcratas queran hacer ver que provenan de un linaje de las
hadas.
En la mitologa cntabra se las llama anjanas, entre las que estn las Ijanas
del Valle de Aras, cuya caracterstica es que tienen pechos descomunales y
son feas, pero pueden cambiar de apariencia a voluntad. Este mismo tipo de
hadas se encuentra en la isla de Gotland, en Suecia. En Galicia se llaman
fadas, en Asturias reciben el nombre de xanas, en Catalua adems de
fada, se le llaman goljas y en Baleares Dames d'aigua.
La mitologa nrdica y la griega -encarnada en las ninfas y drades de
Homero y Ovidio- influyeron en el concepto que los primeros bardos se
formaron de las hadas, pero andando el tiempo los escoceses, irlandeses,
galeses y otros pueblos europeos llegaron a poseer un cuerpo lleno vivo de
tradiciones, fundado principalmente en las leyendas celtas.

Baile de las hadas, por Nils Blommr (1816-1853).

Inicialmente se atribuyeron a las hadas proporciones humanas, pero las
diminutas y etreas criaturas de Shakespeare influyeron poderosamente en
las concepciones posteriores de los poetas ingleses.

Varios rasgos comunes caracterizan a estos habitantes del ultramundo en

todos los pases: se clasifican en benficas y perversas, precisan
ocasionalmente de apoyo humano, sus rdenes deben cumplirse
estrictamente so pena de terribles castigos, etc.
Algunas de ellas son hadas convertidas en tales pero que antes haban sido
mujeres humanas. Estas se convirtieron en hadas a causa de alguna
infraccin contra la naturaleza (ya que es el sitio en donde viven), siendo
castigadas por ello a tener tal apariencia, incluso a vivir en el mundo de las
hadas. Pueden ser desencantadas de diversas maneras en fechas concretas
del ao, como en La noche de San Juan y por ejemplo cuando se asoman a
las aguas cristalinas y piden ser desencantadas. Para las que se convertan
en hadas o cruzaban el lmite existente entre el mundo humano y el de las
hadas, el tiempo en el espacio cambiaba ya que un da o un mes poda ser
un ao o un siglo.
Hay varias hadas con poderes nocivos que lo llegan a utilizar contra los
humanos, la mayora de las veces por maltratar la naturaleza (talar un
bosque sera una autntica catstrofe para su mundo). Llegaban a raptar a
nios para cambiarlos por seres fericos totalmente iguales a los nios
raptados. As intentaban crear una estirpe entre humanos y hadas, aunque
los nios moran al poco tiempo, ya que eran plidos y enclenques. En la
Edad Media a todos aquellos nios que estaban plidos y delgados se les
consideraba que eran hijos de las hadas y haban ocupado el lugar del
verdadero hijo.
Otras veces engatusaban a un hombre de noble estirpe transformndose en
mujeres de belleza inigualable para quedarse embarazadas de estos y dar a
luz un ser mitad humano y mitad ferico. Para que el ser sobreviviera el
marido no deba de rezar nunca y jams deberan ver a las hadas desnudas
por completo.
Este conjunto de supersticiones, derivadas de las creencias anmicas de
todos los pueblos antiguos, ha inspirado a notables literatos sus fabulosos
cuentos de hadas.
La variedad de labores que llevan a cabo las hadas es casi infinita adems
de cantar y bailar, ayudan a los hombres en el campo, ejercen su control
sobre el tiempo protegiendo las cosechas. Durante muchos meses ellas
esperan impacientes la llegada de la primavera. Tambin saben el da
exacto en que brotaran las primeras flores pero prefieren mantener el
secreto.
Tambin hablan las leyendas del mundo que las hadas suelen tener poderes
psquicos o mgicos que, podan hacer felices a los seres humanos, tambin
se crea que eran hechizadas por las brujas de los siglos XVII y XVIII para
que vigilaran a sus vctimas, por otro lado, tambin se deca que eran
ngeles en su forma femenina, aunque a veces se vean hadas macho.
Segn la mitologa Celta, las hadas gustan de los rboles del Tilo o Sauces.

Clases de hadas[editar]
Hay muchas clases de hadas, pero todas ellas independientes de la
mitologa celta en la que tienen origen, siendo todas ellas especulaciones y
mezclas de distintas mitologa. Estas clasificaciones y asociaciones con los
elementos son contemporneas, creadas por los creyentes de esoterismo y
espiritismo. Algunas de estas clasificaciones son:
Lamias, hadas de la mitologa vasca. Poseen largos cabellos que peinan con
peines de oro que son muy preciados. Sus pies son palmeados, como los de
un pato, exceptuando a las Itxaslamiak, las lamias marinas, semejantes a
sirenas.
Ninfas, hadas de la mitologa griega que pueden ser:
Nyades: ninfas que pueblan los ros, a veces son hijas de stos, por
ejemplo, Eurdice;
Nereidas: ninfas del mar Mediterrneo, hijas de Nereo. A veces son descritas
como mujeres con cola de pez. Destacan Anfitrite y Tetis;
Ocenides: ninfas del ocano, hijas de ste. Destacan Metis (madre de
Atenea) y Doris (madre de las nereidas);
Drades: ninfas de los bosques, a veces asociadas a los robles;
Hamadrades: ninfas ligadas a un rbol concreto de tal modo que si ste era
cortado, la ninfa mora con l;
Melades: ninfas de los fresnos, nacen de la sangre de Urano (dios del Cielo).
Son las ninfas ms antiguas.
Slfides, hadas de los vientos; Paracelso es el primero en citarlas, y son,
segn l, los seres elementales del aire.
Salamandras, hadas del fuego.
Drinfas, hadas de la tierra.
Vase tambin[editar]
Cuento de hadas
Ferico
Hada madrina
Melusina
Las hadas de Cottingley
Melusina

El descubrimiento del Secreto de Melusina, de Le Roman de Mlusine. Es

una de las diecisis pinturas hechas hacia 1410 por Guillebert de Mets (n.
1390 1391 - f. despus de 1436). La original se conserva en la Biblioteca
Nacional de Francia.

Pg. 2 de la edicin de Johann Bmler:

Das abenterlich buch beweyset vns
von einer frawen genandt Melusina.
Augsburgo. 1474.
Melusina es un personaje del universo imaginario medieval representado en
la iconografa y en el arte de la poca en su forma ferica de mujer
serpiente.
Historia[editar]
Melusina entra en la historia al final del siglo XIV, por Jean DArras que
escribi una novela titulada La Noble Historia de Lusignan o La historia de
Melusina en prosa. Sin embargo, Melusina es un hada muy vieja nacida en
un pasado muy remoto. Algunos ven en ella una deidad celta protectora de
la Font de S (Fuente de la Sed), otros creen que fue una superviviente de la
Meluciena de los escitas. Los historiadores encuentran en ella la
personificacin de autnticas heronas como la Reina Sibila. Michelet la
reconoce sobre los rasgos de Leonor de Aquitania.
La familia Lusignan rein durante mucho tiempo en el Poitou. La familia
explot el mito haciendo de Melusina o mejor de la Mre Lusigne (la mre
des Lusignan) la fundadora de su lnea genealgica. La recuperacin de las
hadas por parte de las familias aristocrticas era algo habitual en los siglos
XI y XII. En el Pas de Poitou estas criaturas habitualmente nocturnas,
llamadas lucirnagas, damas blancas o hadas se aparecan en distintos
lugares a diferentes personas.
Melusina es de origen real. Su madre, el Hada Presina haba encantado a su
padre Elinas, rey de Escocia, no sin hacerle prometer que nunca ira a ver
mientras dorma. Elinas, incumpli su promesa y Presina tuvo que refugiarse
con sus tres hijas Melusina, Mlior y Palestina en la isla perdida de valon.
Cuando las nias crecieron usaron sus poderes de hada y decidieron
encerrar a su padre en la montaa mgica de Northumberland. Presina las
acusa entonces de ser unas malas hijas y de carecer de corazn, y envo a
Melusina un sortilegio:
T Melusina que eres la ms mayor, la ms sabia y la culpable, por este
encantamiento te convertirs en serpiente todos los sbados de cintura
para abajo (....)

Si Melusina encontraba un hombre para desposarse, ste nunca deba

descubrir su secreto, si l lo desconoca Melusina podra vivir el resto de la
semana como una mujer normal pero si lo haca estara condenada a sufrir
ese tormento hasta el da del juicio final Melusina no tard en encontrar a
Raimondn. Cuando se hallaba cazando un jabal en el bosque de
Coulombiers y accidentalmente mat a su to Aimery Conde de Poitiers.
Raimondn se par para calmarse en la Font de S. Melusina se le apareci
en todo su esplendor danzando en medio de otras hadas. Gracias a su
extraordinario poder logr que Raimondn pareciera inocente y acept
casarse con l. Ella le hizo prometer no tener ninguna duda acerca de sus
orgenes y de nunca buscarla en sbado. A cambio ella le ofreci su fortuna
y una numerosa y larga descendencia. De su Unin nacieron diez hijos Urien
lleg a ser rey de Chipre:
y estaba bien formado salvo que tena un ojo rojo y el otro garzo y las orejas
ms grandes jams vistas en un nio.
Durante el primer ao de su matrimonio, Melusina emprendi la
construccin de varios castillos y fortalezas (Tiffauge, Talmont, Partenay)
que contribuyeron a la pujanza y el esplendor de la familia Lusignan iglesias
como Saint-Paul-en-Gtine surgieron de pronto en medio de la campia,
tambin erigi las torres de la guardia en La Rochelle y la ciudad de
Lusignan. Sin embargo el hada pareca ms ducha en el arte de construir
que en el de engendrar: Guion tena un ojo ms alto que otro, Antoine
llevaba en las mejillas una garra de len, Geoffroy naci con un diente ms
grande que un pulgar, Fromont que se hizo monje tena sobre la nariz una
pequea mancha peluda. Un sbado empujado por los celos de su hermano
el Conde de Forez, Raimondin transgredi la regla y haciendo con su espada
un agujero en la slida puerta de hierro, fue esto lo que encontr:
Melusina se baaba en una gran cuba de mrmol, metamorfoseada como
sirena: mujer hasta el ombligo peinndose los cabellos y del ombligo para
abajo con una gran cola de serpiente como la de un gran arenque y la mova
con tanto brio que salpicaba hasta el otro extremo de la estancia.
Traicionada la sirena tuvo que huir y nunca ms su marido volvi a verla con
forma humana. La leyenda cuenta que Melusina volva tres das cuando
alguna de las fortalezas que haba construido cambiaba de dueo, y que se
apareca gritando desconsolada cada vez que alguno de sus descendientes
estaba a punto de morir.
Recepcin[editar]
El hada Melusina ha sido recreada en nuestro tiempo en varias formas.
El logo corporativo de Starbucks Coffee hace referencia a una Melusina.
En la literatura, Manuel Mujica Lanez en su novela El Unicornio.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal le dedic un hermoso poema

En el webcomic Eerie Cuties aparecen numerosas Melusinas.

El compositor escocs Flix Mendelssohn en su Obertura, "The Fair
Melusina" (Op. 32)
La agrupacin de metal sinfnico, metal gtico y folk/viking Leaves' Eyes
present una cancin titulada "Melusine" en su cuarto lbum en estudio:
Meredead.
Hada madrina

El hada madrina se aparece a Cenicienta para ayudarla a ir al baile, segn el

cuento de Charles Perrault.
El hada madrina es un ser mstico y mgico que puede conceder deseos o
cambiar algo con el uso de la magia. Su presencia suele ser beneficiosa y ha
sido representada como un hada con rasgos que muestran madurez y
experiencia.
Las hadas madrinas han sido parte de pelculas de dibujos animados y de
animacin por computadora, basados en relatos originales de la literatura
infantil.
Varios elementos sobrenaturales constituyen un patrn en los cuentos de
hadas; entre ellos, la aparicin de diferentes tipos de animales
personificados o el auxilio ofrecido por el fantasma de una madre muerta.
Kobold
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kobold es una palabra de origen alemn, empleada para duende. Dio
origen a la palabra para designar al cobalto.
ndice [ocultar]
1 Generalidades
2 Cultura popular
2.1 Juegos de rol
2.2 Videojuegos

3 Referencias
4 Enlaces Externos
Generalidades[editar]
En la mitologa germana, un kobold era un tipo de espritu menor que
habitaba en cuadras, cuevas y casas. Se dedicaba a las labores domsticas
cuando sus dueos se ausentaban de la casa, es decir, iba a por agua,
parta la lea, daba de comer al ganado. A cambio de su trabajo exiga un
poco de leche y los restos de comida, pero si al dueo de la casa se le
olvidaba alimentarlo, se vengaba de ellos haciendo toda clase de maldades
y pilleras.
En la Edad Media era voz derivada del trmino utilizado por los mineros de
Sajonia para describir a un mineral de cobalto. Los mineros consideraban
entonces este metal sin valor, ya que eran buscadores de plata y tenan la
creencia que un duende haba robado la plata.1 En el diccionario castellano
del siglo XVIII aparece como cobalt.
Los mineros dieron el nombre de Kobold al mineral de cobalto que extraan y
que, aunque se pareca al mineral de plata, no podan extraer nada de l.
Los mineros pensaron que el mineral contena un demonio de la tierra.
Zashiki-warashi
Zashiki Warashi (Japons: , zashiki warashi) es un tipo de fantasma
en la mitologa japonesa. Protege las casas y a sus habitantes de cualquier
peligro, proporcionando felicidad y prosperidad. Segn la mitologa podra
ser un antepasado de la familia y se le representa como una nia de corta
edad vestida a la manera tradicional del Japn, con pelo corto y kimono. Un
Zashiki-warashi es un ykai japons de la prefectura de Iwate similar a
domovoi.
ndice [ocultar]
1 Etimologa
2 Caractersticas
3 Conducta
4 En la Cultura Popular
5 Referencias
Etimologa[editar]
El nombre proviene de zashiki, haciendo referencia a un cuarto japons
tpico (tatami) y de warashi, trmino regional arcaico que se le da a un nio.
Caractersticas[editar]

El aspecto de ste espritu es el de un nio de unos 5 o 6 aos con el cabello

ondulado y un rostro rojizo. El nio puede ser de sexo masculino o femenino,
aunque actualmente se lo considera femenino. Un Zashiki-warashi se lo
puede encontrar en casa viejas y preferentemente grandes.
Conducta[editar]
Se dice que un Zashiki-warashi al habitar una casa, trae a la residencia
buena fortuna, pero si se va de all, el lugar declina totalmente. Para
mantener a tal ykai en el hogar, ste debe sentirse apreciado y cuidado de
la misma manera en que un adulto criara a un nio. El Zashiki-warashi es
un infante por naturaleza, propenso a jugar de manera inofensiva pero de
vez en cuando a causar alguna travesura. Puede ser que se sienten en el
asiento de un husped, gire las almohadas de la gente y hasta realizar
sonidos similares a la msica del kagura. Dejan a veces pequeas huellas
como si fuera ceniza. Hay diversas variaciones en cuanto a quin puede ver
el Zashiki-warashi; esto se limita generalmente a los habitantes de la casa,
a veces a los nios. El Ryokufs en Kindaichi-Onsen es famoso por su
Zashiki-warashi. Similar al zashiki-warashi en otras partes de Japn incluye
el makuragaeshi en la prefectura de Ishikawa, el kurabokko en la prefectura
de Tokushima y el akashaguma que vive en el Kotohira Shrine.
En la Cultura Popular[editar]
En Pokemon el personaje Snorunt est basado en uno de estos.
En xxxHOLiC, manga del grupo CLAMP, una Zashiki-Warashi se enamora del
protagonista, Kimihiro Watanuki, y la misma Zashiki-Warashi cuenta con una
escolta de Karasu Tengu que siempre la protege.
El autor Kenji Miyazawa escribi dos historias acerca del Zashiki-warashi:
"Matasaburo of the Wind" (Matasaburo del viento) y "The Story of the
Zashiki-Bokko" (La historia del Zashiki-Bokko).
Uno de los ms prominentes ykai en Jigoku sensei Nb es un pequeo
Zashiki-warashi que puede dar buena y mala suerte.
En los primeros dos episodios de "El vendedor de medicina" en Mononoke
encuentra un grupo de Zashiki-warashi en el cuarto de hotel de una mujer
embarazada.
En el segundo episodio del anime Sayonara Zetsub-sensei una nia
hikikomori es confundida con un Zashiki-warashi.
Un Zashiki-warashi aparece en el segundo captulo del manga Eerie Queerie
de Shuri Shiozu.
En el manga "La tragedia de P" de Rumiko Takahashi aparece un Zashikiwarashi en el captulo final.

En un captulo de la serie Shin Chan aparece un "Zashiki Warashi" que juega

con Shinnosuke y su amigos, se lo menciona en espaol como el "Espritu
del Saln".
En la Serie de Live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, en el Acto 27
"Aparece Sailor Luna", Makoto Kino confunde a la gatita con una Zashikiwarashi al verla en forma de nia.
En la serie "Kaidan Restaurant" aparece un Zashiki-Warashi en la casa de la
protgonista Ako Ozora, con la apariencia de un hombre adulto. (Aunque solo
deja ver su sobretodo y sus grandes pisadas de ceniza.)
En la serie "Kimi Ni Todoke" la protagonista principal, Sawako Kuronuma, era
apodada Zashiki-warashi por ayudar a todo el saln de clase a sacar buenas
notas.
En la pelcula El verano de Coo un Zashiki-warashi le transmite una
informacin importante al kappa protagonista.
En el anime de Hetalia: Axis Powers, captulo 30, Inglaterra ve una ZashikiWarashi en la casa de Japn.
En el manga Ao no Exorcist el personaje de shiemi es llamada ZashikiWarashi por su madre en el captulo 7.
Brownie (mitologa)

Una representacin de un brownie.

Un brownie/brounie o urisk (en escocs) o bien brnaidh, ruisg o gruagach
(en galico escocs) es una criatura legendaria, popular en el folklore de
Escocia e Inglaterra (especialmente en el norte, aunque es ms comn que
los hobs cumplan este rol). Es la contraparte escocesa y nor-inglesa del
nisse escandinavo, el domovik eslavo y los heinzelmnnchen germanos.
Existe una distincin entre el brownie ingls, que vive en casas, y el ruisg o
urisk escocs, que viven en los arroyos y cascadas y son menos propensos a
ofrecer ayuda en los quehaceres domsticos.1
Yasy Yater

Yasy Yater.
El Yasy Yater, Yacyyater o Jasy Jatere (en la actual ortografa del avae')
es una especie de duende o gnomo de la mitologa guaran. Su creencia se
extiende por todo el territorio del Paraguay y noreste de Argentina.

ndice [ocultar]
1 Etimologa
2 Caractersticas
3 Vase tambin
4 Bibliografa
5 Enlaces externos
Etimologa[editar]
Algunas fuentes sostienen que Yasy Yater es una derivacin o deformacin
del nombre original que significara "fragmento de luna" en guaran. De all
que inicialmente este personaje tuviera el cabello de color blanco o plateado
y fuera un personaje nocturno. Sin embargo actualmente se lo considera un
personaje ms bien diurno.
Caractersticas[editar]
Muchas de las caractersticas de este personaje se confunden con las del
Pombero. El Yasy Yater suele ser representado como un enano o un nio
pequeo, desnudo, hermoso, de cabellos dorados, (en algunas variantes
barbudo), con un sombrero de paja y un bastn de oro donde residen sus
poderes mgicos [1].
Suele recorrer el monte a la hora de la siesta, atrayendo a los nios con un
silbido hipntico que imita al de un ave. Se dice que aparece sobre todo
durante la poca del avatiky (cosecha del choclo o maz tierno) que gusta
comer. [2]
El Yasy Yater se vale de su silbido o de su bastn mgico para atraer a los
nios, a los que rapta. Los lleva al monte donde los retiene un tiempo para
jugar con ellos y alimentarlos con miel y frutas. Luego los abandona o los
deja enredados en un ysypo (liana).
Antes de abandonarlos, el Yasy Yater los lame o los besa, dejndolos tontos
o idiotas (tavy: ak tavy), mudos (e' engu) o sordomudos. Sin embargo,
stos se recuperan despus de un cierto tiempo. En algunas zonas se cree
que al cumplirse un ao del rapto, el nio tiene un "ataque" con
convulsiones (epilepsia).[3]
En otras versiones, si el Yasy Yater se cansa del nio, puede llevarlo al ro
donde lo ahoga [4].
Una forma de volver inofensivo a este personaje es quitndole su bastn
dorado, sin el cual se carece de poderes. Entonces el Yasy se pone a llorar
como un nio pequeo. Para conseguir esto, basta con embriagarlo con
caa (aguardiente), bebida a la que es muy aficionado.

Otra forma de congraciarse con l es ofrecindole pencas de tabaco, que se

dejan en zonas aledaas a la casa o bien en los caminos de entrada al
monte.
En la versin de Rosicrn de la mitologa guaran, Yasy Yater es el cuarto
hijo de Ta (espritu del mal) y de Keran (diosa del sueo).
Vase tambin[editar]
Trauco
Pombero
Caipora
Gnomo
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Para otros usos de este trmino, vase Gnomo (desambiguacin).

Gnomo de jardn (2011).

Diversidad de gnomos de jardn.

Iigo.Segn la mitologa de Europa del Norte, y ciertas doctrinas
cabalsticas, los gnomos o nomos1 son enanos fantsticos o elementales de
la Tierra, en cuyas entraas moran, trabajando en minas, custodiando
tesoros subterrneos y cuidando de los metales y piedras preciosas.
Tambin se dice que les roban a las personas ambiciosas.
Los gnomos forman un pueblo sobrenatural de seres muy pequeos e
invisibles, dotados de singular astucia.
Son unos seres fantsticos que aparecen en cuentos, dibujos animados, etc.
Suelen estar representados en cermica en los jardines de algunas casas,
predominando sobre todo en los Estados Unidos.
Una gnmida es la mujer del gnomo, que al contrario de ste, se supona
dotada de gran belleza. 2

ndice [ocultar]
1 Etimologa
2 Origen de la leyenda
2.1 Otro origen
3 Tipos de gnomos
4 Los gnomos y la filosofa
5 Los gnomos y la msica
6 Cuentos populares
7 Los gnomos y los videojuegos
8 Los gnomos y las redes sociales
9 Vase tambin
10 Referencias
11 Enlaces externos
Etimologa[editar]
La etimologa del trmino no es clara. Para algunos proviene de la raz
griega gnosein, que significa conocer. Para otros, derivara del griego
genoms, que quiere decir terrestre.
Probablemente la palabra gnomo procede de una simple mala traduccin en
la que se unen la raz del latn medieval gnomus y el verbo griego
conocer. Tambin se deriva o es una equivocada traduccin de una
palabra griega que significa del mar o procedente del mar, podra muy
bien pensarse que significaba de la tierra. De todos modos, el nombre
resultante se emple probablemente referido a una raza de gente menuda
que se encuentra en las ms remotas regiones del Hemisferio Norte y
singularmente en los Montes Crpatos. Estas gentes, hace ya muchos siglos,
solan minar las canteras rocosas de las montaas y de ah que la leyenda
popular pudiera decir de ellas que en realidad habitaban en las entraas de
la tierra ms bien que a la manera de los enanos o los aldaboneros. Tambin
se dice que estaban ntimamente relacionados con los lugares donde hay
metales y piedras preciosas.
Sin embargo, es probable que la teora ms verosmil sea la de que la
palabra gnomo vino a ser empleada en el idioma ingls a travs de los
escritos de Paracelso, el alquimista suizo del siglo XVI. A Paracelso se le ha
considerado diversamente como un sabio, un mago y un pcaro, pero
evidentemente al hombre no le caba duda sobre sus facultades, pues se
llamaba a s mismo Paracelso para proclamar su superioridad sobre Aulius

Cornelius Celsus, el autor de De medicina. Una de las obras de Paracelso,

Liber de numphis, sylphis, pygmaeis et salamandris et caeteribus spiritibus,
expone la teora de la existencia de cuatro seres espirituales: los silfos del
aire, las salamandras del fuego, las ninfas del agua y los pigmeos de la
tierra. Como escriba en latn, tambin denominaba a los pigmeos gnomi,
cuyo singular es gnomus. Los gnomo de Paracelso podan desplazarse
libremente por la tierra como los peces por el agua o los pjaros por el aire.
Sin embargo, se desconoce si l mismo cre la palabra gnomo o
sencillamente la tom de los escritos de un autor anterior.
Origen de la leyenda[editar]
La leyenda de los gnomos naci de la fantasa de los cabalistas hebreos.
El trmino gnomus (en latn medieval) fue utilizado por el alquimista suizo
Paracelso en su Lber de nymphis, sylphis, pygmaeis et salamdris, et de
caeteribues spiritibus (de 1566).
Los gnomos posean la presciencia, conocan los secretos de la Tierra y eran
el alma de sta. Los cabalistas aseguraban que el aire, la tierra, el agua y el
fuego se agitaban merced a los seres invisibles que animaban estos
elementos. Segn los cabalistas, el dios hebreo Yahv asign el imperio del
fuego a la salamandra, el del aire a los silfos, el del agua a las ondinas y el
de la tierra no en la superficie sino en el interior a los gnomos. Estos
moraban en las figuras metlicas del globo, en el interior de las grutas,
llenas de estalactitas de maravilloso efecto. Eran los guardianes de las
minas de oro y plata.
Los gnomos, aunque no pertenecen propiamente a la mitologa sino a la
supersticin, recuerdan a los telquines y a los cabiros, genios que
representan el trabajo en los metales adorados por los griegos en
localidades de naturaleza volcnica. Sin embargo, los mitlogos nada han
dicho hasta ahora que sepamos de que pudiese haber relacin entre esos
personajes mticos de Grecia y los gnomos. Estos se repartieron con la
filosofa pitagrica por todo el globo y aunque sufrieron varias
modificaciones, segn se fueron acomodando a las distintas culturas de los
pueblos, siempre conservaron el carcter de dueos del imperio de la tierra
y de guardianes de sus minas. La estatura de estos pequeos genios iba en
progresin descendente hasta la ms diminuta.
Otro origen[editar]
En el ao 1200, un noruego llamado Frederik Ugarph encontr una escultura
de madera en la casa de un pescador pobre en Trondheim. Frederik Ugarph
le compr la escultura, hecha de una madera muy dura, ms fuerte que el
roble, y con una altura de 15 cm (sin contar con el pedestal). En la base
estaba escrito Nisse, riktig storrelse, que significa gnomo, estatura real.
Tipos de gnomos[editar]

Los gnomos del bosque: son los ms comunes. Viven en los bosques
ayudando a todos los animales, usan una tnica azul que les llegan hasta
las rodillas, un pantaln del mismo color con tirantes y un gorro rojo grande
y puntiagudo que nunca se quitan, ya que sin gorro no es un gnomo, ellos
mismos lo dicen. El sexo femenino usa una tnica de colores verde y blanco
que le llega hasta la cintura, una falda de color verde y un gorro verde
grande y puntiagudo; si se casan usan un pauelo que le cubre el pelo, si no
estn casadas usan el pelo suelto.
Gnomos siberiano: son los ms altos de todos los gnomos, usa ropas
abrigadas y es ms malhumorado.
Gnomos de las selvas: son los ms pequeos, tienen la piel tostada y est
semidesnudo por el calor. Usa un arco y flechas para alcanzar las frutas de
los rboles.
Existen cuatro ms, iguales al gnomo del bosque, pero con algunas
diferencias:
Gnomos de los desiertos: se diferencian en que son un poco ms altos y los
colores de sus prendas son ms claros.
Gnomos de las granjas: ayudan a los animales de la granja.
Gnomos de los jardines: ayudan a crecer las plantas.
Gnomo de las casas: le gusta vivir en casas grandes y amplias, prefiriendo
los stanos por encontrarse all ms tranquilo. Repara todo lo roto.
Los gnomos y la filosofa[editar]
El pueblo de los gnomos se acomoda al sistema de Ren Descartes en
cuanto a la inteligencia de los brutos. Segn dicho filsofo, la vida, la
facultad de moverse y trasladarse de un punto a otro y hasta los mismos
apetitos de los animales, no son otra cosa que el efecto de una actividad
que se agita por cierto tiempo como un reloj insensible. De igual modo, los
cabalistas pretendan que todas las bestias, desde el mastodonte hasta los
seres microscpicos, estaban animados por gnomos. De aqu que el
cartesianismo dijera que en cada rbol, en cada planta y en cada flor viva
un gnomo y que cuando un vegetal mora era porque el gnomo se haba ido
de l. Cada gnomo se haca, segn su preferencia, elefante, cndor, pjaro,
mosca, etc.
Los gnomos y la msica[editar]
Adems de un extraordinario odo musical los gnomos fabrican sus propios
instrumentos musicales inimaginables. No desdean los creados por los
humanos, sino que los hacen a su manera. Estos son algunos ejemplos de
sus instrumentos preferidos: el violn de ocho cuerdas, la flauta travesera, el
timpal, la trompa o corno francs, el arpa de boca, la krotta (arpa) con la
que acompaan sus canciones.

Manes (mitologa)

Tumba con inscripcin D.M.: Dis manibus

Los Manes, en plural siempre, en la mitologa romana, eran unos dioses
familiares y domsticos o caseros por lo general asociados a otros llamados
Lares o dioses familiares y Penates o dioses de la despensa. Eran espritus
de antepasados, que oficiaban de protectores del hogar. El pater familias o
padre cabeza de familia, era su sacerdote y oficiaba sus ceremonias
religiosas y ofrendas en las viviendas.
Los antiguos daban el nombre de manes a las almas de los muertos que
suponan errante de un lugar a otro a manera de sombras y a las cuales
tributaban en ciertas ocasiones una especie de culto religioso. Los antiguos
decan que eran hijos de la diosa Mania y Hesiodo supone que tuvieron por
padres a los hombres que vivieron durante el siglo o edad de plata pero
Bauier opina que su verdadero origen naci de la idea de que el mundo
estaba lleno de genios, unos para los vivos, otros para los muertos: unos
buenos y otros malos, etc. Los antiguos no tenan ideas enteramente
estables o fijas relativas a los manes: as es que tan pronto los tomaban por
las almas separadas de los cuerpos, tan pronto por los dioses infernales o
simplemente por los dioses o los genios tutelares de los difuntos.
De todos los autores antiguos, Apuleyo es el que en su libro De Deo Socratis
habla con ms claridad de la doctrina de los manes:
El espritu del hombre despus que ha salido del cuerpo pasa a ser o se
trasforma en una especie de demonio que los antiguos latinos llamaban
lemures. Las almas de aquellos difuntos que haban sido buenos y tenan
cuidado y vigilancia sobre la suerte de sus descendientes, se llamaban lares
familiares pero las de aquellos otros inquietos, turbulentos y malficos que
espantaban los hombres con apariciones nocturnas se llamaban laruce y
cuando se ignoraba la suerte que le haba cabido al alma de un difunto, es
decir, que no se saba si haba sido trasformada en lar o en larva, entonces
la llamaban mane.
De muchos autores antiguos resulta que estos atribuan o suponan a las
almas de los difuntos una especie de cuerpos muy sutiles de la misma
naturaleza del aire, pero no obstante, organizado y en disposicin de ejercer
varias funciones de la vida humana como ver, hablar, entender, comunicar,
pasar de un lugar a otro, etc.
Aunque los antiguos no deificaban todos los muertos, no obstante crean
que todas las almas de los hombres de bien pasaban a ser una especie de
divinidades, por cuya razn solan grabar sobre los sepulcros estas tres
letras iniciales D. M. S. Dis manibus sacrum, consagrada a los dioses manes.
ndice [ocultar]

1 Adoracin fuera de Roma

2 Simbolismo
3 Etimologa y contexto
4 Vase tambin
5 Referencias
Adoracin fuera de Roma[editar]
Los persas, los egipcios, los fenicios, los asirios y todas las otras naciones de
Asia veneraban las sombras de los muertos. Los bitinios al enterrar los
muertos les suplicaban que no los abandonasen enteramente y que
volviesen alguna vez a verles; cuyo culto se halla an en lo interior del
frica y en muchos otros pueblos primitivos.
Orfeo fue el primero que introdujo entre los griegos la costumbre de evocar
los manes. El culto de estos dioses se extendi por el Peloponeso y los
invocaban en las calamidades pblicas. Homero nos dice que Ulises les
ofreci un sacrificio para obtener un feliz retorno a sus estados.
De todos los sacerdotes griegos, los tesalios eran los que ms conocimiento
tenan en el arte de evocar a los manes. Despus que los espartanos
hubieron hecho perecer a Pausanias en el templo de Minerva, se vieron
precisados a enviar a buscar sacerdotes a Tesalia para aplacar su sombra.
En un campo cerca de Maratn se vean las tumbas de los guerreros
atenienses que murieron peleando contra los persas. Pausanias dice que en
su tiempo se crea que alguna que otra vez salan de ellas unos gritos
penetrantes que espantaban a los viajeros. Otras veces, aade, no se crea
percibir ms que un ruido sordo parecido al que hacen muchos hombres que
combaten: aquellos que ponan el odo para escuchar eran castigados por
los manes; pero los pasajeros que sin querer penetrar la causa y origen de
aquellas voces lastimeras, seguan su camino sin pararse a averiguar
aquello con una criminal curiosidad, no experimentaban ningn mal
resultado.
Algunas veces para aplacar la sombra irritada de aquel a quien un homicidio
u otro accidente funesto le haba quitado la vida, le inmolaban vctimas
humanas o le erigan una estatua. As es que deseando los foros satisfacer
o acallar los manes de Pausanias, le erigieron estatuas de bronce delante de
las cuales ofrecan sacrificios todos los aos.
Los habitantes de Platea tributaban un culto religioso a los que moran. Les
ofrecan sacrificios sobre los sepulcros y la vctima, coronada de mirto y de
ciprs, se inmolaba al son de flautas y otros instrumentos los ms lgubres.
Celebraban asimismo una fiesta general, en la cual todos los magnates
montados en carros cubiertos de negro iban a los sepulcios a ofrecer
incienso a los dioses de los infiernos. El primero constituido en dignidad

entre ellos sacrificaba en seguida un toro negro, suplicando a los manes que
saliesen de sus moradas para beber la sangre de aquella vctima.
Era opinin generalmente recibida en los tiempos heroicos que los manes
de aquellos que haban muerto en un pas extranjero iban errantes
procurando retornar a su patria. Los griegos y romanos invocaban a los
manes como divinidades, les erigan altares y les ofrecan toros para
obligarles a que protegiesen sus campos y espantasen a los que iban a
robar los frutos cuya invocacin o frmula nos ha conservado Catn. De
Roma pas el culto de los manes a todas las regiones de Italia. Por todas
partes se les elev altares y se pusieron bajo su proteccin los sepulcros,
cuyos epitafios principiaban siempre Dis manibus. Los lugares destinados a
la sepultura de los muertos dedicados a los dioses de abajo Dis inferis, eran
llamados loca religiosa mientras que los dedicados a los dioses de arriba,
Dis superis, se llamaban loca sacra.
Aquellos fanticos que tenan una devocin particular por los manes y que
queran tener con ellos relaciones o un comercio ntimo, se quedaban a
dormir sobre los sepulcros a fin de tener sueos profticos por medio de las
apariciones de las almas de los difuntos.
Los altares que erigan a los manes en la Lucania, en la Etruria y en la
Calabria eran siempre de dos en dos, puestos el uno al lado del otro. Solan
circuirlos de ramas de ciprs y se tena cuidado de no inmolar la vctima
hasta el momento en que tena la vista fija en la tierra. Sus entraas,
conducidas tres veces entorno del lugar sagrado eran enseguida echadas al
fuego, en el cual haba de consumirse toda la vctima. Estas ceremonias no
se comenzaban nunca sino a la entrada de la noche.
Simbolismo[editar]
El ciprs era el rbol consagrado a los dioses manes. Se les representaba en
los monumentos unas veces sosteniendo un rbol funerario, otras dando
hachazos y esforzndose en derribar un ciprs porque este rbol no da
renuevos una vez cortado y para indicar que despus que la muerte nos ha
herido no debemos esperar renacer sino milagrosamente. El nmero nueve
les estaba dedicado como el ltimo trmino de la progresin numrica por
cuya razn era mirado como el emblema del trmino de la vida. Las habas
que segn la creencia de los antiguos se parecen a las puertas de los
infiernos, les estaban asimismo consagradas.
El sonido del bronce y del hierro les era inaguantable y les ahuyentaba lo
mismo que a las sombras infernales, pero la vista del fuego les era grata.
Por esta razn, casi todos los pueblos de Italia solan poner en las urnas o
sepulcros una lmpara. Las personas ricas dejaban en su testamento un
caudal destinado para la conservacin de estas lmparas y manutencin de
uno o ms esclavos para cuidar de ellas. Era un crimen el mayor apagar
estas lmparas que castigaban rigurosamente las leyes romanas lo mismo
que a los que violaban el sagrado de los sepulcros. Sobre algunos

monumentos antiguos los dioses manes son llamados tan pronto Dii sacri,
dioses sagrados, tan pronto Dii patrii, dioses protectores de la familia.
Etimologa y contexto[editar]
Los manes tambin eran llamados Di Manes (Di significa "dioses"), y las
lpidas romanas a menudo incluan las letras D. M., que representaban dis
manibus, o dedicado a los dioses manes. La palabra tambin se utilizaba
como una metfora para referirse al Averno.
El vocablo manes (espritus de los muertos) deriva del protoindoeuropeo
*men-, "pensar". Son palabras relacionadas el griego antiguo menos ("vida,
fuerza") y el avstico mainyu ("espritu").
Lares (mitologa)
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Para otros usos de este trmino, vase Lares (desambiguacin).

Lar de bronce del siglo I (M. A. N., Madrid).

Los lares eran deidades romanas hijos de Lara (o Larunda),1 una de las
nyades, y el dios Mercurio (algunas fuentes mencionan a Jpiter) 1 cuyo
origen se encuentra en los cultos etruscos a los dioses familiares.
La religin de la antigua Roma presentaba dos vertientes: por un lado, los
cultos pblicos o estatales y, por otro, los cultos privados o domsticos.
Dentro de esta segunda vertiente se sita la adoracin de los llamados dii
familiaris o dioses de la familia. Entre estos se encuentran los lares loci,
cuya funcin primordial era velar por el territorio en que se encontraba la
casa familiar. Tanto es as, que antes de que la propiedad privada fuese
regulada por el derecho, eran los dioses lares los encargados de evitar que
los extraos se adentrasen en tierras ajenas mediante, segn la creencia
popular, la amenaza de enfermedades que podan llegar a ser mortales.
Las familias romanas sentan una gran veneracin por los lares, que
representaban en forma de pequeas estatuas. stas se colocaban tanto
dentro como fuera de la casa en pequeos altares llamados lararia (sg.
lararium), donde se realizaban ofrendas o se les renda oracin. En la casa
(sg. domus), el larario sola situarse en el atrio, lo ms cerca posible de la

puerta principal. En el caso de los apartamentos (pl. insulae), el lararium se

colocaba cerca de la cocina, aunque en una misma casa podan existir
varios y no era extrao que se encontrasen en los dormitorios. Lo que era
importante, sin embargo, es que no estuviesen en lugares poco transitados
o escondidos, con el fin de que no fuesen ignorados u olvidados.
En los primeros tiempos romanos cada casa tena al menos una estatuilla,
ms adelante surge cierta confusin entre stas y las de los manes, almas
de los antepasados muertos.
ndice [ocultar]
1 Evolucin histrica
2 Tipos de Lares
3 Vase tambin
4 Referencias
Evolucin histrica[editar]
Si bien el culto a los lares ha desaparecido, todava pueden observarse
algunos vestigios en ciertas costumbres o tradiciones aparentemente
cristianas.
Mientras el cristianismo fue perseguido y hasta castigado con la muerte
existi una clara distincin entre ste y el mundo pagano. Con el Edicto de
Miln, promulgado por Constantino I en 313 d. C., se admiti al cristianismo
entre las religiones lcitas con una visin tolerante hacia el paganismo y
otras formas de eleccin de conciencia. Pero, a partir de Teodosio I el
Grande , comenz un ataque abierto contra la antigua religin, muy
arraigada an entre el pueblo. Obligados a profesar una nica religin
oficial, muchas personas continuaron con sus prcticas anteriores, pero
dndoles un tinte "cristiano". De esta forma el larario mantuvo su posicin
cercana a la puerta de entrada, pero conteniendo una imagen de Jess, de
un santo o hasta de la Virgen. Los lares urbanos fueron cambiados por los
santos patronos, el lar personal o genio por el ngel de la guarda y as por el
estilo. Es un ejemplo interesante de cmo interactan dos culturas
diferentes cuando se relacionan entre s o una de ellas desplaza a la otra.
Tipos de Lares[editar]
Lares Compitales: de las encrucijadas.1
Lares Domestici: del hogar.
Lares Familiares: de la familia.1
Lares Permarini: del mar.
Lares Rurales: de la tierra.

Lares Viales: de los viajeros o que presidan los caminos. 1

Lares Urbanos: protectores de las ciudades.1
Lares Personales o genio: cuidaba a una persona desde su nacimiento.

Ananke (mythology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the mythological figure. For Jupiter's irregular moon, see
Ananke (moon).

Greek deities
series
Titans and Olympians
Aquatic deities
Chthonic deities
Mycenaean deities
Personified concepts
Other deities
Primordial deities
Aether
Ananke
Chaos
Chronos
Erebus
Eros
Gaia
Hemera
Nyx
Phanes
Pontus
Tartarus
Thalassa
Uranus
vte
In Greek mythology, Ananke (/nki/), also spelled Anangke, Anance, or
Anagke (Greek: , from the common noun , "force, constraint,
necessity"), was the personification of destiny, necessity and fate, depicted
as holding a spindle. She marks the beginning of the cosmos, along with
Chronos. She was seen as the most powerful dictator of all fate and
circumstance which meant that mortals, as well as the Gods, respected her
and paid homage. Considered as the mother of the Fates according to one

version, she is the only one to have control over their decisions[1] (except,
according to some sources, also Zeus[2]).

According to the ancient Greek traveller Pausanias, there was a temple in

ancient Corinth where the goddesses Ananke and Bia (meaning violence or
violent haste) were worshipped together in the same shrine. Her Roman
counterpart was Necessitas ("necessity").[3]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Ananke in literature
3 Ananke in popular culture
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Etymology[edit]
"Ananke" is derived from the common Ancient Greek noun (Ionic:
anankai), meaning "force, constraint or necessity." The common
noun itself is of uncertain etymology.[4] Homer uses the word meaning
necessity ( , "t is necessary to fight") or force (
, "by force").[5] In Ancient Greek literature the word is also used
meaning "fate" or "destiny" ( , "fate by the daemons or by
the gods"), and by extension "compulsion or torture by a superior."[6] The
word is often personified in poetry, as Simonides does: "Even the gods dont
fight against ananke".[7]

In the philosophical sense it means "necessity," "logical necessity,"[8] or

"laws of nature."[9]

Ananke in literature[edit]

Ananke as represented by a modern illustration of Plato's Republic.

The word "Ananke" is featured in Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame of Paris,
written upon a wall of Notre-Dame by the hand of Dom Claude Frollo. In his

Toute la Lyre, Hugo also mentions Ananke as a symbol of love. Here is what
Hugo had to write about it in 1866.

Religion, society, nature; these are the three struggles of man. These three
conflicts are, at the same time, his three needs: it is necessary for him to
believe, hence the temple; it is necessary for him to create, hence the city;
it is necessary for him to live, hence the plow and the ship. But these three
solutions contain three conflicts. The mysterious difficulty of life springs
from all three. Man has to deal with obstacles under the form of superstition,
under the form of prejudice, and under the form of the elements. A triple
ananke (necessity) weighs upon us, the ananke of dogmas, the ananke of
laws, the ananke of things. In "Notre Dame de Paris" the author has
denounced the first; in "Les Misrables" he has pointed out the second; in
this book (Toilers of the Sea) he indicates the third. With these three
fatalities which envelop man is mingled the interior fatality, that supreme
ananke, the human heart.
Hautevillk House, March, 1866 VH. Victor Hugo, Toilers of the Sea, 1866, p.
5[10]
Sigmund Freud in "Civilization and Its Discontents" (W. W. Norton, New York:
1961, p. 104) said: "We can only be satisfied, therefore, if we assert that the
process of civilization is a modification which the vital process experiences
under the influence of a task that is set it by Eros and instigated by Ananke
-- by the exigencies of reality; and that this task is one of uniting separate
individuals into a community bound together by libidinal ties."

She is also the title of a science fiction short story by Stanisaw Lem, in the
series of the Tales of Pirx the Pilot. Ananke, used in the meaning of force and
obsession (Anankastic personality disorder), is the key to the solution of a
disastrous spaceship accident.

Ananke in popular culture[edit]

There is reference to Ananke early in John Banville's novel The Infinities. In
explaining how the gods fashioned humans so that they would procreate,
the narrator (Hermes) says that the gods gave humans lust, "Eros and
Ananke working hand in hand". Norbert Wiener, in his book Cybernetics: Or
Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, presents
Ananke as the personification of scientific determinism, contrasted with
Tyche as the personification of quantum indeterminacy, in the often-quoted
sentence: "The chance of the quantum theoretician is not the ethical
freedom of the Augustinian, and Tyche is as relentless a mistress as
Ananke."

In Kelly McCullough's Ravirn series, Ananke is a prominent figure in all the

books under the guise of Necessity. In Philip K. Dick's novel VALIS, Ananke is
mentioned as "blind necessity or blind chance, according to some
experts...blind chance: chaos, in other words". Described alongside the term
'Noos' as the overwhelming chaos which reason, Noos, tries to constrain.

In Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's comic book series The Wicked + The
Divine, Ananke is the immortal caretaker of the Gods of The Recurrence.

See also[edit]
Mother Goddess

Virtude
Origem: Wikipdia, a enciclopdia livre.

Personificao da virtude (em grego: ) na Biblioteca de Celso em

feso, Turquia
Virtude (latim: virtus; em grego: ) uma qualidade moral particular.
Virtude uma disposio estvel em ordem a praticar o bem; revela mais
do que uma simples caracterstica ou uma aptido para uma determinada
ao boa, trata-se de uma verdadeira inclinao.
Virtudes so todos os hbitos constantes que levam o homem para o bem,
quer como indivduo, quer como espcie, quer pessoalmente, quer
coletivamente.
A virtude, no mais alto grau, o conjunto de todas as qualidades essenciais
que constituem o homem de bem. Segundo Aristteles, uma disposio
adquirida de fazer o bem,e elas se aperfeioam com o hbito.
ndice [esconder]
1 A virtude na doutrina catlica
2 Ver tambm
3 Referncias
4 Ligaes externas
A virtude na doutrina catlica[editar | editar cdigo-fonte]

Segundo a doutrina da Igreja Catlica, e especialmente Gregrio de Nissa, a

virtude "uma disposio habitual e firme para fazer o bem", sendo o fim
de uma vida virtuosa tornar-se semelhante a Deus 1 . Existem numerosas
virtudes que se relacionam entre si tornando virtuosa a prpria vida. No
Catolicismo, existem 2 categorias de virtudes:
as virtudes teologais, cuja origem, motivo e objeto imediato so o prprio
Deus. Os cristos acreditam que elas so infundidas no homem com a graa
santificante, e que elas tornam os homens capazes de viver em relao com
a Santssima Trindade. Elas fundamentam e animam o agir moral do cristo,
vivificando as virtudes humanas. Para os cristos, elas so o penhor da
presena e da ao do Esprito Santo nas faculdades do ser humano 2 . As
virtudes teologais so trs:
F: atravs dela, os cristos crem em Deus, nas suas verdades reveladas e
nos ensinamentos da Igreja, visto que Deus a prpria Verdade. Pela f, "o
homem entrega-se a Deus livremente. Por isso, o crente procura conhecer e
fazer a vontade de Deus, porque a f opera pela caridade (Gal 5,6)".
Esperana: por meio dela, os crentes, por ajuda da graa do Esprito Santo,
esperam a vida eterna e o Reino de Deus, colocando a sua confiana
perseverante nas promessas de Cristo.
Caridade (ou Amor): atravs dela, "como amamos a Deus sobre todas as
coisas e ao prximo como a ns mesmos por amor de Deus. Jesus faz dela o
mandamento novo, a plenitude da lei". Para os crentes, a caridade o
vnculo da perfeio (Col 3,14), logo a mais importante e o fundamento das
virtudes 3 . So Paulo disse que, de todas as virtudes, "o maior destas o
amor" (ou caridade) 4 . O Amor tambm visto como uma "ddiva de si
mesmo" e "o oposto de usar" 5 .
as virtudes humanas que so perfeies habituais e estveis da inteligncia
e da vontade humanas. Elas regulam os atos humanos, ordenam as paixes
humanas e guiam a conduta humana segundo a razo e a f. Adquiridas e
reforadas por atos moralmente bons e repetidos, os cristos acreditam que
estas virtudes so purificadas e elevadas pela graa divina 6 . Entre as
virtudes humanas so constantemente destacadas as virtudes cardeais, que
so consideradas as principais por serem os apoios volta dos quais giram
as demais virtudes humanas:
a prudncia, que "dispe a razo para discernir em todas as circunstncias o
verdadeiro bem e a escolher os justos meios para o atingir. Ela conduz a
outras virtudes, indicando-lhes a regra e a medida", sendo por isso
considerada a virtude-me humana.
a justia, que uma constante e firme vontade de dar aos outros o que lhes
devido;
a fortaleza que assegura a firmeza nas dificuldades e a constncia na
procura do bem;

a temperana que "modera a atraco dos prazeres, assegura o domnio da

vontade sobre os instintos e proporciona o equilbrio no uso dos bens
criados", sendo por isso descrita como sendo a prudncia aplicada aos
prazeres 7 .

Para contrariar e opr-se aos sete pecados capitais, existe tambm um

outro tipo de organizao das virtudes, que baseada nas chamadas sete
virtudes: castidade, generosidade, temperana, diligncia, pacincia,
caridade e humildade.
Ver tambm[editar | editar cdigo-fonte]
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