Demon

The word, written in pre-reform spelling as “bѣs”, is related to Ukrainian. bіs , bulg. besot , Serb. bȉjes - “rage”, Slovene. bė̑s - “evil spirit”, Czech. běs , polish bies . Related lit. baisà - “fear”, baisùs - “disgusting, vile, terrible”, lat. foedus - "vile", Greek. πιθηκος - "monkey." Perhaps dates back to lit. baidýti - “scare” and Russian. “To be afraid” ^[2] .

According to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary , “ pagan Slavs believed that the earth remained under the domination of demons throughout the winter, and thus in Slavic dualistic mythology, demons were the personification of darkness and cold ” ^[3] .

One of the most ancient names of the demon, a synonym for imp, is a little insect ^{[4] [5]} , a little insect ^{[6] [7]} . In the Belarussian superstitions of the Vitebsk province, the head of demonic power was called " Lutsypyr , Anchipyr, Saton diabolsky " ^[8] .

For the first time, the word demon was mentioned in the XI century in “ The Word on Law and Grace ”, and appears in the compilation of the “Tale of Bygone Years” at the beginning of the XII century and in other Russian chronicles, as a name for all pagan deities and spirits, in particular Veles , was synonymous with the word demon ^[1] . The word demon is interchangeable with the devil and the devil ^[9] .

Evils in ancient Russian literature (tales, lives of saints) called evil spirits, demons, and above all - pagan gods, idols. Usually, stories about the temptation of saints and hermits, always ending with the victory of the saint, the reproach and expulsion of the demon, are usually associated with the demon. In ancient Russian tales, demons also cause illness and incite people to sins and vices. All these functions bring the demon of ancient Russian books closer to the folk image of the devil.

- Levkievskaya E. E. Myths of the Russian people. - S. 442-445. ^[10]

In Church Slavonic and synodal translations of the Bible, the word translated Greek. δαίμων ^{[11] [12]} (the word שֵׁדִים [ ^{13] was} used in the Hebrew original) ^[14] . Moreover, in the English and German translation of the Bible, δαίμων is translated as the devil ( English devil ^{[15] [16]} , German teufel ) ^[16] .

According to Christian doctrine, demons can “inhabit” a person, this is called “ demon possession ” or “ demon possession ” ( tracing dr. Greek δαιμονισθείς , δαιμονιζόμεν - instilling demons ). The expulsion of demons by Jesus Christ from people is described in the Gospel , in particular, the words of the exiled demon became the catch phrase " My name is a legion ." Demons who have infiltrated attract a person to harmful excess in behavior and various mental illnesses ^{[17] [18] [19]} . There are demons of seven deadly sins , referring to their expulsion by Christ from Mary Magdalene ^{[20] [21]} . Among them, the demons of gluttony are divided into larynx (Greek lemargia) and gluttony (Greek gastrimargia) ^{[22] [23]} . They also speak of demons of alcoholism and drug addiction ^[24] .

In psychiatry, a psychiatric disorder with symptoms of obsession is called “ cacodemonomania ” ^[25] . Infestation of the demon was also considered a deadly infectious disease “ rabies ” ^[9] .

The theologian A. I. Osipov believes that demons can act in a person and on a person only if he behaves “not in a divine way”, referring to the words of Anthony the Great : “If a person tries to live according to the commandments of God and repentance, then he connects with By the Spirit of God. If, however, he begins to live contrary to the commandments of God, then he is united ”- as the like is combined with the like -“ with the spirits of evil ”. In his opinion, demons do not have complete power over man, otherwise there would be no saints , reverends, and martyrs . ^[26]

• Nikita Besogon , the beater of the demon - a common image in iconography of the apocryphal great martyr , who beats the devil-devil, who tried to turn him away from Christianity and accept paganism.
• “ Monk and the Demon ” is a 2016 film in the genre of science fiction drama with elements of comedy and mysticism, which tells the story of a monk possessed by a demon named Legion. The idea of ​​the film is connected with the stories about the life of the monks of the Nilo-Sorsky desert of the 19th century, and the life of the reverend Archbishop John of Novgorod of the 12th century, who had power over demons and flew in a demon to Jerusalem , as well as with the plot of Alexander Pushkin’s poem “The Monk ” ^{[27 ]} .

Encyclopedic

• Bes / O. V. Belova // Slavic antiquities : Ethnolinguistic dictionary: in 5 volumes / under the general. ed. N. I. Tolstoy ; Institute of Slavic Studies RAS . - M .: Int. Relations , 1995. - T. 1: A (August) - G (Goose). - S. 164-166. - ISBN 5-7133-0704-2 .
• Bes 2 // Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language : in 4 vols / aut. V.I. Dahl . - 2nd ed. - SPb. : Printing house of M.O. Wolf , 1880-1882.
• Bes // "Banquet Campaign" 1904 - Big Irgiz. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2005. - P. 411. - ( Great Russian Encyclopedia : [in 35 vols.] / Ch. Ed. Yu. S. Osipov ; 2004—2017, vol. 3). - ISBN 5-85270-331-1 .
• Demons ; Unclean force, evil spirits / Ivanov V.V. , Toporov V.N. , Shkunaev S.V. // Mythological Dictionary / Ch. ed. E. M. Meletinsky . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. - S. 94-95, 388-389. - ISBN 5-85270-032-0 .
• Ivanov V.V. , Toporov V.N. Anchutka // Slavic mythology. Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M .: Ellis Luck, 1995 .-- S. 35 . - ISBN 5-7195-0057-X .
• Elk Ya. L. Bes // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

Monographs

• Amphitheaters A. Devil in everyday life, legend and literature of the Middle Ages. - M .: Eksmo, 2003 .-- 800 p. - Series "The Great Initiates." - ISBN 5-699-04469-8
• Antonov D.I., Mayzuls M.R. Demons and Sinners in Old Russian Iconography: Semiotics of the Image . - M .: Indrik, 2011.
• Gavrilov D., Nagovitsyn A. “Gods of the Slavs. Paganism. Tradition ”- M .: Refl-Buk, 2002.
• Juan S. Kakodemonomaniya: exorcism, or Obsession with the devil // Oddities of our brain / trans. A. A. Davydov. - M .: Ripol Classic, 2008 .-- ISBN 978-5-386-00749-2 .
• Kalashnikov V. "Gods of the ancient Slavs", - M .: White City, 2003.
• Levkievskaya E. E. Myths of the Russian people. - M .: Astrel, 2000 .-- S. 442-445. - 528 s. - (Myths of the peoples of the world). - ISBN 5-17-002811-3 .
• Maksimov S.V. Devils-Devils // Unclean, Unknown and Religious Power . - SPb. : Partnership R. Golike and A. Vilvorg, 1903. - S. 3-29.
• Nikiforovsky N. Ya. Non-cleaners: Code of common folk tales about evil spirits in Vitebsk Belarus . - Vilna: N. Matz and Co., 1907.
• Popov M. Bestiary. Demons and Devils // World of Fantasy . - No. 7 (71); July 2009 . - S. 126-130 .

Church sources

• Father Superior Nectarius (Morozov). Between friend and foe. Talk about angels and demons: [interview] (neopr.) . pravoslavie.ru (May 20, 2011).
• Demons: a selection of sayings of St. fathers and church bibliography (neopr.) . verapravoslavnaya.ru .
• The opinion of the clergy on demons, demons and reprimand: video (neopr.) . bogistina.info .