DÉMONE. - In Homer d. denotes the nature of the god, his mode of manifestation, his power, whereas θεός (=god) denotes divinity in worship and myth.
The meaning subsequently became broader: d. was used by the tragedians as a synonym for fate and, often, to denote semi-divine beings, superior to man but inferior to the gods: thus, for Hesiod, the heroes of the golden age are d., who serve the gods and protect mortals; for Aeschylus Darius is a d., for Euripides Alcestis. For philosophers, d. was a force that watches over man from birth, guides his will, and inspires him to good and evil; for Socrates it is also conscience. In worship this name was given to lesser divinities, for example Mithra, the Sileni, etc. Popular religion attached great importance to d., in which it saw individual spirits at the lowest rank of the divine hierarchy, protectors or opponents of human activity, personifications of natural forces, and the primary origin of diseases. Maleficent d. (souls of the dead, spirits and spectres in the train of Hecate) brought madness and death to those who saw them.