lamiai

Lamiai, the plural of lamia, are beings in ancient Greek and Roman folklore and literature. They are typically depicted as female entities that prey on humans, often interpreted as dangerous demons or supernatural spirits. Across sources, lamiai are described as seductive and cunning, with powers such as shapeshifting, and they are commonly associated with blood-drinking and, in many tales, the taking of children. Some accounts picture them as beautiful women who lure victims, while others depict them with serpentine or monstrous features, or as shape-shifters who assume human form to approach prey.

In classical myth, a specific figure named Lamia is sometimes described as a Libyan queen who incurred Hera’s wrath. In some traditions, the loss of her children or Hera’s curse transformed her into a night-demon who feeds on children, contributing to the broader reputation of lamiai as child-eating monsters. Other traditions treat lamiai as a broader category of demonesses rather than a single person. The imagery and attributes of lamiai vary by author and era, but the motif of dangerous female power and nocturnal predation is common.

The term lamiai derives from Greek and Latin sources, where lamia (singular) and lamiai (plural) denote multiple such beings in myth and folklore. Over time, lamiai became a literary trope associated with vampiric predation and the dangers of nocturnal seduction, influencing later vampire folklore and appearing in modern fantasy as monsters or shapeshifting antagonists.