Demogorgon, although often ascribed to Greek mythology, is actually an invention of Christian scholars, imagined as the name of a pagan god or demon, associated with the underworld and envisaged as a powerful primordial being, whose very name had been taboo. The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the telling of stories created by the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Heathen redirects here. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... St. ... // In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. ... . ...

Derivation and history

Demogorgon is first mentioned by a Christian scholiast of ca 350 - 400 CE, who was writing glossary annotations into the margins of Statius's Thebaid. This unidentified scribbler is misidentified with various Christian authors by enthusiastic modern demonologists. Prior to this, there is no mention of the supposed "Demogorgon" anywhere by any writer, pagan or Christian. Scholium (tr~bXtoe), the name given to a grammatical, critical and explanatory note, extracted from existing commentaries and inserted on the margin of the manuscript of an ancient author. ... A Gloss–Margin text, is a note or notation (even 1-word), but often phrases, or sentences-(paragraph) found in documents, manuscripts, etc. ... Publius Papinius Statius, (c. ... The Thebaid was an Ancient Greek epic poem of uncertain authorship (see Cyclic poets) sometimes attributed by early writers to Homer. ... Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. ...

By the late Middle Ages, nevertheless, the reality of a primordial "Demogorgon" was so well fixed in the European imagination that "Demogorgon's son Pan" became a bizarre variant reading for "Hermes' son Pan" in one manuscript tradition of Boccaccio's Genealogie Deorum ("Genealogies of the Gods":1.3-4 and 2.1), misreading a line in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (June 16, 1313 – December 21, 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including On Famous Women, the Decameron and his poetry in the vernacular. ... Engraved frontispiece of George Sandyss 1632 London edition of Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC – Tomis, now Constanţa AD 17), a Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women and mythological transformations. ... // Cover of George Sandyss 1632 edition of Ovids Metamorphosis Englished The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world in terms according to Greek and Roman points of view. ...

"Though a "primal" god mentioned in quite a few Renaissance texts, and impressively glossed "Demon-Gorgon," i.e., "Terror-Demon" or "God of the Earth," Demogorgon was quite possibly brought into existence by way of a garbled scholium on Statius' Thebais 4.516 (often linked to Lucan 6.744-49), where most scholars like Seznec, for instance, now spot an allusion to the Demiurge ("Craftsman" or "Maker") of Plato's Timaeus. For a remarkable early text actually identifying Ovid's Demiurge (1/1, here) as "sovereign Demogorgon," see the paraphrase of Metamorphoses I in Abraham France, The third part of the Countesse of Pembrokes Yuychurch (London, 1592), sig. A2v."^[1]

The origins of the name Demogorgon are uncertain, partly because the figure itself was of imaginary coinage. Various theories suggest that the name is derived from the Greek words daemon ('spirit' given the Christian connotations of 'demon' in the early Middle Ages)— or, less likely demos ('people')— and Gorgon or gorgos ('grim'). Another, less accepted theory claims that it is derived from a variation of 'demiurge'. The early Christian obsession with Satan and the vivid inhabitants of Hell are of Persian origin, while the magical context in which such imaginings thrive was Egyptian and Syrian. A Gloss–word, phrase, (or syllable), is the dictionary entry for that word. ... Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (November 3, AD 39-April 30, 65), better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, and is one of the outstanding figures of the Silver Latin period. ... Jean Seznec (March 19, 1905 - November 22, 1983) was a historian and mythographer whose most influential book, for English-speaking readers, has been The Survival of the Pagan Gods: Mythological Tradition in Renaissance Humanism and Art, published in 1953. ... The Demiurge, The Craftsman or Creator, in some belief systems, is the deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Timaeus is a theoretical treatise of Plato in the form of a Socratic dialogue, written circa 360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world. ... The term Daemon has several meanings: Daemon (mythology) - see also Demon Daemon (computer software), a background process Dæmon (His Dark Materials) in the Philip Pullman trilogy of novels His Dark Materials Daemon (Warhammer) Daemon (Warcraft) Daemon Sadi (SaDiablo) is a character in the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. ... The soul, acording to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self-aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... See also Gorgona, for the Colombian/Italian islands. ... The Demiurge, The Craftsman or Creator, in some belief systems, is the deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe. ...

In literature

Demogorgon was taken up by Christian writers as a demon of Hell:

"Orcus and Ades, and the dreaded name
Of Demogorgon."
— John Milton, Paradise Lost II. 966. For other persons named John Milton, see John Milton (disambiguation). ... Title page of the first edition (1667) Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. ...

Note, however, Milton does not refer to the inhabitants of Hell itself, but of an unformed region where Chaos rules with Night. In Milton's epic poem Satan passes through this region while traveling from Hell to Earth.

Demogorgon's name was earlier invoked by Faustus in Scene III of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (1590) when the eponymous Doctor summons Mephistopheles with a Latin incantation. Faust is the protagonist of a popular German tale that has been used as the basis for many different fictional works. ... Christopher (Kit) Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564 – 30 May 1593?) was an English dramatist, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. ... Doctor Faustus could refer to: The character of Faust Christopher Marlowes The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus Thomas Manns Doktor Faustus Ferruccio Busonis opera Doktor Faust A 1967 film directed by Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill, see Doctor Faustus (movie) This is a disambiguation page — a... For other uses, see Mephistopheles (disambiguation). ...

According to Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Demogorgon has a splendid temple palace in the Himalaya mountains where every five years the fates and genii are all summoned to appear before him and give an account of their actions. They travel through the air in various strange conveyances, and it is no easy matter to distinguish between their convention and a Witches' Sabbath. When elements of Ariosto's poem supplied Philippe Quinault's libretto for Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera Roland, performed at Versailles, 8 January 1685, Demogorgon was king of the fairies and master of ceremonies. Statue of the poet in Reggio Emilia. ... Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. ... In Christian folk lore the Sabbath (or witch Sabbath to some people) is the name given to gatherings supposed to have been celebrated by Satanists, witches and warlocks to honor the Devil, offend God, Jesus, the sacraments, the cross, and perform unholy rites. ... Philippe Quinault (June 3, 1635 - November 26, 1688), French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris on the 3rd of June 1635. ... Jean-Baptiste de Lully, originally Giovanni Battista di Lulli (November 28, 1632 – March 22, 1687), was an Italian-born French composer, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. ... The Château de Versailles, or Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles, France. ...

Edmund Spenser mentioned him briefly in The Faerie Queene: Edmund Spenser Spenser redirects here. ... Una and the Lion by Briton Rivière The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser, published first in three books in 1590, and later in six books in 1596. ...

A bold bad man, that dar'd to call by name
Great Gorgon, Prince of darknesse and dead night,
At which Cocytus quakes, and Styx is put to flight. (Canto I, stanza 37) In Greek mythology, Cocytus, meaning river of wailing (Greek kokutos, lamentation) was the river in the underworld on the banks of which the dead who could not pay Charon wandered, according to most accounts, for one hundred years. ... In Greek mythology, Styx (Στυξ) is the name of a river which formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, Hades. ...

In Moby-Dick, Starbuck describes the white whale as Ahab's demogorgon. Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ... The name Starbuck is used in a number of circumstances: Starbuck is the name of the first mate of the ship Pequod in Herman Melvilles novel Moby-Dick. ... Ahab or Achav (אַחְאָב Brother of the father, Standard Hebrew Aḥʼav, Tiberian Hebrew ʼAḥăʼāḇ, ʼAḫʼāḇ) was King of the province of Samaria in the greater Kingdom of Israel, and the son and successor of Omri (1 Kings 16:29-34). ...

Demogorgon is also a character in Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound. In this lyrical drama, Demogorgon is the offspring of Jupiter and Thetis who eventually dethrones Jupiter. It is never mentioned whether Demogorgon is male or female and it is instead portrayed as a dark, shapeless spirit. The theory of Demogorgon's name originating from Greek "demos" and "gorgos" is possibly at work in this text as an allusion to a politically active and revolutionary populace. Shelley's allusions to the French Revolution further support this. Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyrical poets of the English language. ... There are two plays named Prometheus Unbound. ... Jupiter et Thétis - by Jean Ingres, 1811. ... This article is about the Greek sea nymph. ...

He is also the protagonist of an opera by Vincenzo Righini (1786) with a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Lorenzo da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (March 10, 1749–August 17, 1838) was an Italian librettist born in Ceneda (now Vittorio Veneto). ...

Demogorgon is the title of a poem by Álvaro de Campos, in which the writer is afraid of becoming mad by learning the true nature and unveiling the mystery of life. Biographical Overview: One of Fernando Pessoas heteronyms, widely known by his powerful and wraithful writing style. ...

Demogorgon also appears in the book Olympos by Dan Simmons, where it is also described as a dark and shapeless mass. It is portrayed as being neither good nor evil, but all-knowing. The Roman bath in Olympos - Turkey Olympos is a valley at the south coast of Turkey, 90 km southwest of Antalya city near the Town of Kemer. ...

Popular Culture

In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Demogorgon is considered Prince of Demons, though this title doesn't grant him absolute authority. This article is about the role-playing game. ... In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Demogorgon is a powerful demon prince, also known the Prince of Demons. ...

Demogorgon also appears as the final enemy of the Commodore 64 game Forbidden Forest and its sequel, Beyond the Forbidden Forest. The Commodore 64 is the best-selling single personal computer model of all time. ... Forbidden Forest can refer to: An area by Hogwarts in Harry Potter A novel by Mircea Eliade An early 1980s computer game for the Commodore 64, followed by one sequel. ...

Notes

He is also mentioned in Hunter S. Thompson's The Rum Diary. The character Moberg describes a book he is writing as one Demogorgon would write. Full of $h!t and terror.

References

• P.van de Woestijne, "Les scholies à la Thébaïde de Stace: remarques et suggestions," L'Antiquité Classique n.s. 19 (1950), pp 149-63], dates the scholiast of Statius to ca 350 - 400 CE.
• Dr Daniel Kinney, "Ovid Illustrated: The Renaissance Reception of Ovid in Image and Text"
• Varda's Demogorgon page