“Daimonie, this very very notable word here.” This sigh by my late teacher P. Alan Pointl (1) still in mind I did some research — more than 30 years later. Here I willingly share the links I studied, each complemented with a short description.
Monographs on daimon
At the bottom of this page you find the quotation of the thesis of Elisabeth Brunius-Nielsson from 1955, with a summary in French by Louis Deroy.
A Pragmatic and Sociolinguistic Account of δαιµόνιε in Early Greek Epic, a very challenging reading, by H. Paul Brown (3), introduced to me the sophisticated use of this word.
Compilations and etymology on daimon
With this link you will be guided to a compilation of different dictionaries explaining daimon, in English, German, Greek, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian.
Further details on the etymology of the word daimon, and you have to scroll down for while.
I got to know this very distinguished channel on YouTube by Reading Classics, and in this particular video she refers to Perseus for further reading and studies on daimon (2). Perseus itself is a place, where you will start and will never find an end on ancient greek words and literature.
Finally, I wondered myself if there is a connex to this verb daizein.
Closing
What I like most is the ambiguity of this word’s meaning. Outstanding it’s way of being used in the thrilling “way of admiration” (2, → „Show lexicon entry in … Middle Liddell“).
XAIPE, SteVe.
2019-09-08
Further readings and quotations
(1) with regards to the touching moments of ILIAD’s sixth song.
(2) Follow the particular link in this video.
(3) Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 498–528.
(4) „Tashi lächelte. … ‚Dämonen sind nämlich sehr launische Geschöpfe.'“ daimon in a complete different context. Sabriye Tenberken, Tashis neue Welt, Cecilie Dressler Verlag, Hamburg, 2000, p. 13. — I insert this reference because of this very nice story about Tashi, and the extraordinary biography of S. Tenberken. Further, the outstanding photographs of Olaf Schubert.
(5) One could also be interested in reading about Ikigai and Eudaimonia.
Foto credit
Drawing and picture by the author himself.
