Holy Daimon

A man could not control whether he was the subject of a good or an evil daimon, which made for fortune or misfortune. This is how the terms ‘good’ and ‘evil’ daimon, the agathodaimon and kakodaimon, need to be understood. Originally they did not refer to different categories of spiritual beings, but rather the effects, for better or worse, that the

Serve the gods and you will experience how they are looking after you and that they are sending you mentors. – Socrates, Mem.I 4.18, in Volquardsen, 18

Plato makes it clear that this light which helps us see, or these ideas which help us remember, come from the immortal part of our soul; all other parts of it vanish at our death. Both metaphors illustrate how the nous surpasses both the material and human realms.

Being under the influence of a daimon was to be in a certain state. Just as we distinguish the states of trance and gnosis from the state of the normal waking mind, so the ancient Greeks used the word daimon to indicate a specific state of being that was different from normal everyday consciousness.

Because just as your holy daimon believes in you, so do I.

The most interesting aspect of Socrates’ daimonion, which has been widely researched, is that it would never encourage him towards any action, but only warn and restrain him.

The unexamined life is not worth living. – Socrates

the thumos is a critical part of the ancient Greek understanding of our soul. The word can best be translated in English as ‘spiritedness’ or ‘courage.’

The logos, therefore – the charioteer in the analogy – was of utmost importance. This was where intellect had its throne, and from which reason and logic emerged. Whereas the horses pulled in the directions of social status and biological needs, the logos desired nothing but learning and wisdom. Only by means of this mental function was the soul ab

Someone once said to me, ‘It is in the nature of our holy daimon to, from the day of our birth, constantly pray down to us. We can meet it halfway, though, by starting to pray upwards to it.’ We can still hear the echo of Plato’s thoughts in this analogy, Plato who described humans as ‘plants of heaven on earth.’13 The intricate connection of the h