Akephalos
Akephalos ( Greek aképhalos "without a head") refers to a headless demon .
Demons of this kind are known in almost all cultures and are often viewed as ominous. In ancient popular belief, the Akephaloi were still executed criminals who from then on had to go around headlessly. Later in the Greek-Egyptian magical literature, Akephalus was regarded as a god to whom everything is open. In general, however, he is a haunted creature and a murder demon.
He is still invoked for magical purposes in folk medicine of the 15th to 18th centuries.
The German-speaking vernacular made these demons revenants who suffered premature, violent or otherwise unnatural death and who have to walk until they reach the age originally set by God . They are also counted among them who would have deserved death because of their criminal acts, but were never punished for it in their life. They are said to appear as headless demons in the wake of the wild hunt , with the wild hunter himself usually being an Akephalos. A headless shadow is said to bring speedy death to those who see it.
Headless animals, including z. B. Horses, dogs, calves and cats are also manifestations of these spirits. Mostly these are just a transformation of the form-changing Akephaloi.
See also
literature
- Philippe Derchain : Akephalos. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Volume I, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, ISBN 3-447-01670-1 , Sp. 114.
- Leander Petzoldt: Small lexicon of demons and elementals . 3rd edition Munich 2003, pp. 13–15 ISBN 3-406-49451-X .