Demoni

Demoni are supernatural beings that appear in many cultures as malevolent spirits capable of harming humans, influencing events, or inhabiting people. The word demoni is the Italian plural of demone; in English-language writing the term is usually translated as demons.

Historically, the concept originates in ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman thought with the Greek daimons, which could be benevolent or harmful. In Jewish and Christian traditions, daimones became largely malignant beings associated with temptation, possession, and the fallen angels. In Islam, jinn are a separate class of intelligent beings with free will.

During the Middle Ages and early modern period, demonology became an organized field in theology. Exorcism rites in Christianity sought to expel demons from individuals; lists of named demons and hierarchies appeared in grimoires such as the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Lesser Key of Solomon, and in royal treatises such as James VI's Daemonologie.

In culture, demoni appear in literature, art, and film as antagonists, objects of fascination, or allegorical figures of temptation. Dante and other medieval authors employed demons in depictions of the afterlife; modern works continue to reuse demon figures to explore moral and psychological themes.