The Agathos Daimon in Greco Egyptian Religion

The Agathos Daimon, or 'Good Spirit', was a multifaceted deity of ancient Mediterranean religion, usually depicted as a serpent, having its origins in the notion of the household god. The Good Spirit was honoured in both Greek and Roman religions, depicted as a serpent on Roman shrines and lararia, and revered as a harbinger of luck among the Greeks. However, his most developed form flourished in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, where the Agathos Daimon became an exalted deity, far beyond the status of a household god, becoming associated with Shai and Kematef, the Egyptian creator gods, who were similarly depicted as serpents in the extant iconography, as well as taking on solar attributes and becoming conflated with Prê and Helios as a result of late Egyptian theological innovations. This new syncretistic deity is a central figure of the Greek Magical Papyri, wherein numerous rituals, prayers, and theological material directly related to the Agathos Daimon abound.

The full paper is freely available on my Academia page:



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