This thesis is concerned with the ancient Greek conceptualization of fate and
death, as explored through the figure of the daimon in literature from Homer and Hesiod
to Plato and Euripides. Filling a gap in scholarship, I elucidate the spectrum of meaning
inherent in the word daimon, and how it shifts over time. From the Archaic to the
Classical period the word daimon is found as a synonym for theos, “god”, as a vocative
address, or in reference to “fate” and the generalized “will of heaven.” At the same time,
a particular group of divine personifications, including Thanatos, Moira, Ker, and Erinys
are counted as daimones. We also find the term used to designate unnamed but
individuated lesser divinities, guardian spirits, and demonic possessors, and even as the
divine aspect of the self. In the early Archaic poets these latter categories are only
nascent. The individuated daimon becomes the focus of the lyric poets and pre-Socratic
philosophers; in the later pre-Socratics the daimon begins to be internalized, moving from
possessive spirit to psychic force. Tragedy meanwhile focuses on the daimon as a force of
retribution, as curse or afflicting demon. It is Plato who explores and expands upon all of
these categories, crystallizing the notion of the internalized daimon, as reconceived in the
context of his philosophical eschatology. Chapters 1 and 2 provide surveys of the word
daimon diachronically in each of these genres, mapping the expanding continuum of
meaning. Chapter 3 explores the personifications of fate, doom, and death, and their place
in this daimonic framework. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/16132 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Binder, Jason |
| Contributors | Corner, Sean, Classics |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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