Cacodemon
Louis Le Breton's illustration of a cacodemon from the Dictionnaire Infernal (1863)
GroupingEvil spirit
Sub groupingDemon
Other name(s)Cacodaemon

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 κακοδαίμων kakodaimōn, meaning an "evil spirit", whereas daimon would be a neutral spirit in Greek. It is believed to be capable of shapeshifting.[1] A cacodemon is also said to be a malevolent person.

In psychology, cacodemonia (or cacodemonomania) 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 1593. In William Shakespeare's Richard III Act 1 Scene 3, Queen Margaret calls Richard a "cacodemon" for his foul deeds and manipulations.[2] In John Fletcher's The Knight of Malta, Norandine calls Mountferrat, the play's villain, a "cacodemon" in the final scene.[3] In The Arbatel de Magi Veterum, written in 1575, the word Cacodemon is described as one of the Seven.

In astrology, the 12th house was once called the Cacodemon for its association with evil.[4][5] Defined it as "a noise-making devil", Jane Davidson has noted an illustrated example of a cacodemon in editions of Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Monstrum Historia (Story of Monsters) as late as 1696.[6]

  • In the book and TV series The Magicians by Lev Grossman the main characters each have a Cacodemon magically implanted into their backs.
  • Kelley Armstrong's Women of the 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".
  • Nunslaughter's second full album, Goat, contains a song called "As the Cacodemons Feast".
  • There is a painting by Paul Klee called Cacodaemonic (1916).[7]
  • 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.
  • There's a Cacodemon in the sewers of Wormy's lair in the Wormy comics for Dragon Magazine (124) by David A. Trampier. It is never shown, but when Grumble and Snaggly escape from Boon and Irvin in the sewers with half the payroll, Irvin says to Boon to lock the grate back as the treasure now belongs to the Cacodemon that lives in the sewers, the reason why Wormy kept it locked up.
  • There are multiple cacodemons in the book The Sun and the Star where Nyx, the goddess of the night, creates multiple cacodemons out of the negative thoughts of Nico di Angelo. After Nico, Will, Bob, and Small Bob escape Nyx, the cacodemons live with Nico and he affectionately calls them his 'Cocoa Puffs'.

Games

See also

References

  1. Spence, Lewis (2003) [1920]. An Encyclopædia of Occultism. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc. p. 84. ISBN 0-486-42613-0.
  2. Shakespeare, William. "Act 1, Scene 3". The Life and Death of Richard the Third. Retrieved 19 February 2020 via shakespeare.mit.edu.
  3. Francis, Beaumont; John, Fletcher (1647). Comedies and Tragedies. London: Printed for Humphrey Robinson, at the three Pidgeons, and for Humphrey Moseley at the Princes Armes in St Paul's Church-yard. p. 95.
  4. Wilson, James (1819). A Complete Dictionary of Astrology, in which Every Technical and Abstruse Term Belonging to the Science Is Minutely and Correctly Explained, and the Various Systems and Opinions of the Most Approved Authors Carefully Collected and Accurately Defined. London: Printed for William Hughes, Islington Green, and sold by Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, Paternoster-Row, and by all other booksellers. p. 13.
  5. de Vore, Nicholas (2005) [1947]. Encyclopedia of Astrology. Abingdon, Maryland: Astrology Classics. p. 36. ISBN 1-933303-09-3.
  6. Early Modern Supernatural: The Dark Side of European Culture, 1400-1700(California: Praeger), 2012. p. 44
  7. "Cacodemonic, 1916 - Paul Klee". WikiArt. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  8. Stafford, Greg; Richard, Jeff; Petersen, Sandy (2014). Guide to Glorantha. Vol. I. Moon Design Publications. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-9777853-7-7.
  9. id Software (10 December 1993). Doom (1993 video game) (MS-DOS). Level/area: Deimos Anomaly.
  10. id Software (10 October 1994). Doom II (MS-DOS). Level/area: The Waste Tuennels.
  11. "Eudemons & Cacodemons". Demonology 101. Kelley Armstrong. Archived from the original on 6 April 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2006.
  12. "Daemon, Cacodaemon". Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2. Illustrated by Tyler Walpole (1st ed.). Paizo Publishing, LLC. December 2010. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-60125-268-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. Stewart, Todd (2011). "About Daemons". Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Book of the Damned. Vol. 3. Paizo Publishing, LLC. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-60125-373-6.
  14. "Ymir". Official Smite Wiki. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  15. "Dread Cacodemon". Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast LLC. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  16. "Cacodemon - CrawlWiki". crawl.chaosforge.org. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

Further reading

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