The topic that I decided to write about for my term paper was daemons and daemonology. Although my thesis is only in its infancy, I have explored a number of sources that portray how demons are perceived across Greco-Roman antiquity. A problematic but also useful source I have come across is the fifteenth Idyll by Theocritus.
Idyll 15 accounts a mime scene in Alexandria describing Theocritus’s companions in a Festival of Adonis. In this scene, Gorgo pays a visit to Praxinoa with her two-year old child and asks her to attend the Festival of Adonis with her in the palace of Ptolemy II. Hesitant at first, Praxinoa gives in to an insisting Gorgo and they set out to the Festival. After some sundry encounters in the crowded streets, they arrive at the palace and the scene ends with a dirge that describes the setting of the festival.
A significant problem with this primary text is that little is known about the life of Theocritus apart from what can be implied in his writings. He was likely born during the 3rd century BC on the island of Sicily. Interestingly, we know this because he called the cyclops Polyphemus as his countryman. He also may have lived in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II or Syracuse or Cos where he flourished and wrote many of his poems. Additionally, since so little is known about him, we are unsure if we Theocritus even wrote all of the Idylls’. This poses a problem because the very author is disputed, along with the background and setting that may be important to my paper topic.
Apart from the fact that the author of the poem is debated, deciphering various translations of the idyll proved a struggle. I had found two translations of Idyll 15, one by J.M. Edmonds and the other by C.S. Calverley. As a scholar during the late 19th century, Edmonds translated the Idyll into very flamboyant Victorian English that is outdated and difficult to decipher. The second translation by Calverly was part of the Gutenberg Project in which many classical texts were translated and shared digitally. Although a much more contemporary translation that the Edmonds, this translation still contained a few problems. The author attempted to translate the original Greek text into English blank verse. Translating from a Greek verse to English may get rid of some potential meanings of the Greek. This may create inconsistencies between Greek and English versions.
Furthermore, as one may have noticed, the odd scene described in the Idyll contains no mention of any demons or daemons. The only mention of a daemon can be found in the original Greek text which mentions the word “Mormo”. A Mormo was believed to be a phasma or phantom that preyed on children. This word was used by Praxinoa to quell the protests of her two-year old child when she and Gorgo were leaving for the festival. This single line indication of a potential daemon seems to have been completely missed by the English translations. Originally, “I will not take you with me, child. Mormo, the horse, bites!” (Johnston 1995), Edmonds translates the line to “I’m not going to take you, Baby. Horse bogey bites little boys.” Similarly, Calverly translates this line as “Babe, you’ll bide at home. Horses would bite you.” These inconsistencies between translations pose significant problems because only one makes mentions of a daemon. As someone who is unfamiliar with Greek, it is difficult figure out what the original text truly meant without referencing secondary English translations.
This brings me to my final point. Writing on daemons is quite difficult because in primary texts, they are only discussed in passing. Many other sources I have explored are either like Theocritus in which the reference to daemons is mentioned only briefly or they are described in cosmological explanations. Moreover, the short use of Mormo in Theocritus has sparked an entire debate on the origins of a child-killing demon as described in Johnston’s article (1995). With such brief accounts of daemons, it is difficult to figure out how antiquity perceived of them.
After reviewing Theocritus, I have come to realize that the concept of demons and daemons is extremely complicated. The perceptions and beliefs in daemons vary cross-culturally and across time. Not only that, but it may seem that individuals may have had their own personal opinions on daemons. Because of this, I found constructing an argument for my essay was exceptionally tricky and required more critical analysis of my sources.
Sarah Iles Johnston, “Defining the Dreadful: Remarks on the Greek Child-Killing Demon”,
In Ancient Magic and Ritual Power, ed. Marvin Meyer and Paul Mirecki (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995), 359-389.
Theocritus, Idyll XV The Women at the Adonis Festival, Trans. J.M. Edmonds (Cambridge: Loeb
Classical Library, 1912).
Theocritus, Idyll XV The Festival of Adonis, Trans. C.S. Calverly (Cambridge: Project
Gutenberg, 2004).
Oh, I so remember the terrible translations of Theocritus. The old Loeb translation was partially into some fake Scottish dialect that was impenetrable. My strong advice is to use the new Loeb: anything else would be too painful. (The library has an online subscription to the Loeb, so you can access it on the computer.)