Hellenismos question re: Daimones

[Agaliha]

I was wondering if anyone could explain the role of Daimones in Hellenismos. I was looking though Theoi.com and came upon this page: Greek Mythology: SPIRIT PERSONIFICATIONS (http://www.theoi.com/Cat_Daimones.html)

The intro, before the list said:


The Daimones were spirits of the human condition: personifications of various states of existence, emotions, actions and morality. The Daimones of morality were divided into Agathoi (the Good, Virtues) and Kakoi (the Bad, Vices). Daimones of human action and condition were similarly classed as Agathos (Good, Favourable) or Kakos (Bad, Harmful).
Their names were simply capitalised Greek nouns: Hypnos, for example, is just the Greek word for sleep (hypnos) given a capital letter, Eros is love (eros), Nike victory (nike), and so on. The Romans translated the name-words into Latin: Hypnos becomes Somnus, from the Latin word for sleep, Eros Amor, Nike Victoria, etc.
Most of the Daimones were pure personifications with little or no mythology. A few however were were given fuller characterisation by the poets, such as Eris, the Lady of Strife, and Hypnos God of Sleep. Others like the love-god Eros and Nike, Victory personified, achieved cult status with the dedication of minor altars and precincts in historical times.


Are the Daimones seen as deities?
Are they honored (like Nike was) in Hellenismos?
Are they just seen as symbols and what they are (personifications) and nothing more?

I'm just curious how the Greeks and people practicing Hellenismos view them.

[David19]

I don't think i can add much, but i've always thought Daimones were supernatural beings or spirits, inbetween mortals and the gods, and i've heard some were good, some were evil and others could be a mixture.

Not sure if that's right, though, maybe others can help more.

[Agaliha]

Interesting, David. Makes senese.
Though I still wonder how they were viewed.
Nike, Eris, Eros, Tyche, Nemesis, the Moirai, Thanatos, the Charities, Hebe, Dike, Eirene, etc are all on that list...but I thought they were deities.
Just a tad confused.

[David19]

I know, i thought Thanatos was considered a deity and Nike too, maybe they were considered both or something?.

Although this article on Sannion's Sanctuary (http://www.winterscapes.com/sannion/)called 'What is Hellenismos?' (http://www.winterscapes.com/sannion/hellenismos.htm) says:


There are also many nature divinities such as the Nymphs and Satyrs, the Gods of rivers, mountains, springs, and forests, the Titans, as well as the underworld spirits, daimons, angels, heroes, and personifications such as Tyche (chance), the Moirai (fates), Eris (discord), Horai (seasons), Kers (vengeance), and so on.

So, maybe, they're considered both personifications and well as divine beings or gods in their own right, e.g. Eris can both be a god as well as being a concept refering to discord, like i think Gaia is a god, like the other gods, e.g. anthropolic(sp? wow, my spelling does suck tonight doesn't it?!) but also refered to the whole earth (maybe in ancient Greece, the same word could mean different things?).

Not sure if that helped, but i hope it did, hopefully, some Hellenic Pagans can help more :).

[Philosophia]

Try here:
http://www.theowiki.com/index.php/Daimones

[Agaliha]

Thanks Minerva.
It said:



The words Daimon and Theos were more or less used interchangeably so the two terms were hard to separate from each other. Because of it, the Hellenes started using it to address mediators between mortals and Gods...
*
Daimon is used to define spirits (good and evil, nature spirits like Satyrs, Nymphs), but it is also used to define minor Gods but also the physical appearances of a deity like that one of Athena in the Odyssey might be one. This means that minor Gods are Daimones, but that the Gods who show up on Earth might be daimones as well as in their physical appearances.


Intersting.

[David19]

Try here:
http://www.theowiki.com/index.php/Daimones

I tried the link, but it's not working anymore, even though i thought it was when it was posted.

Anyone know what's going on?.

[Agaliha]

I tried the link, but it's not working anymore, even though i thought it was when it was posted.
Anyone know what's going on?.

Hum, I'm not sure about that David. The main site didn't work either. Perhaps they're upgrading or something? Not sure. You can keep trying though.

[Fiamma]

I was wondering if anyone could explain the role of Daimones in Hellenismos. I was looking though Theoi.com and came upon this page: Greek Mythology: SPIRIT PERSONIFICATIONS (http://www.theoi.com/Cat_Daimones.html)

The intro, before the list said:


Are the Daimones seen as deities?
Are they honored (like Nike was) in Hellenismos?
Are they just seen as symbols and what they are (personifications) and nothing more?

I'm just curious how the Greeks and people practicing Hellenismos view them.


I've never seen Hypnos, Eros, Nike etc referred to as daimones.

Eros...wow...Eros was there at the beginning of the world. Eros was the first to come out of Khaos. That's pretty major. I believe in the various named entities as deities, and know folks who worship some of them specifically. There is a temple to Nike on the Parthenon.

[Agaliha]

Well that's why I was confused, I thought many of those listed were deities, not spirits. Though it did say that sometimes some were both.