Agathodaemon (Agathos Daimon or noble spirit) is a household snake god and patron protector of sparkling Alexandria in ancient Egypt. He appears as one entity or a class of beings. From humble beginnings as a minor demon, Agathos rises in power and influence.
Agathos Daimon is originally a lesser deity (daemon) of classical ancient Greek and Graeco-Egyptian religion. In his original form, he serves as a household god. After a meal, he's given libations. His name Agathos Daimon means "good genius" or "benevolent spirit."
In later antiquity Agathodaemon evolves into two related forms. One is a type of household god similar to the Baltic Žaltys; one as the Agathos Daimon a prominent serpentine civic god, revered as the patron protector of Alexandria.
Žaltys is the European Grass Snake, Natrix natrix. It has a strong role in Baltic folklore and is traditionally kept as a house spirit near the hearth or under the bed for fertility. It's extremely bad luck to harm a zaltys.
In Greece, the Agathoi Daimones are also serpentine household gods, individual protectors and fertility spirits of homes in which they're worshipped. In either capacity, people pour several drops of undiluted wine into the ground to honor Agathos at the end of meal.
The opposite of Agathodaimon spiritually is Kakodaimon (bad spirit). Likewise Kakodaimons can appear as one or several. They possess powers of the evil eye.
Prayer to Agathos Daemon
" ... I call to you for favor, my own good spirit, my Agathos Daemon, my companion through life.
From the day of my birth you have walked next to me, turned me from all evil, kept me safe from those who would do me harm ...
"... In days of old, kind spirit, you received offerings of strong wine, you were honored at great banquets and in the home.
Faithful one, unfailing guardian of my luck, I turn to you for counsel when I am in doubt, for direction when I am uncertain.
Mild and helpful spirit, I thank you for your guidance, I thank you for your blessings.
Agathos Daimon, I honor you."
In his capacity as protector spirit of Greco-Roman-Egyptian Alexandria, the hub of the alchemical and philosophical world, Agathos is associated with Meilichios, later Zeus Meilichios, a chthonic snake deity.
Votive reliefs show Meilichios as a serpent, linked to Plutus, bringer of wealth, son of harvest goddess Demeter. He also has the traits of an Erynis, one of a group of vengeful female goddesses.
Meilichios is connected to the mythical river Styx. Sacrifices to this god are holocausts (burnt offerings) in nocturnal rituals. In general lore snakes have a chthonic or underworld aspect and a solar aspect, connected to energies of chaos and creation.
Another god enters the picture by 300 BCE in the form of Serapis, introduced by the Greek Pharoah as a way of uniting Greeks and Egyptians. He usurps Egyptian Osiris and marries Isis, Queen of the Gods, former wife of Osiris. His worship is by Pharaonic decree.
The first statue erected to Serapis shows him as resembling Hades or Pluto, both kings of the Greek underworld. He holds a scepter in his hand to indicate rulership. Three-headed dog Cerberus, gatekeeper of the underworld, rests at his feet.
The statue has a serpent at its base, and this serpent relates to Agathos Daimon who also has underworld connections. The Snake God manifestation of Serapis is Serapis Amun Agathodaemon. Amun is a deity of the Ogdoad, among the first gods of creation.
Agathos Daimon, also called the "good and rich spirit" is spouse or consort of Tyche Agathe (Good Fortune). Their numinous manifestation is a serpent, or a youth with cornucopia and bowl in one hand, poppy and ear of grain in the other.
In late antiquity in Egypt, agathodaemons are seen as bestowing blessings of protection and good fortune. Snake deities and snake worship appear in almost every world culture; even Ireland, where no snakes exist naturally. According to folklore, St. Patrick drives them out.
Snakes are symbols of fertility, healing and medicine (a sign of Greek medicine god Asclepius); sensuality, rebirth, immortality, fertility, wisdom, good luck and wealth. These reptiles represent the primal unconscious and can arouse fears and phobias.
In analytical psychology, the snake is a common symbol of the animal archetype. In mythology and spirituality a snake is seen as the most ancient form of dragon. It represents cycles of birth/death/rebirth.
As Alexandria grows to a hub of alchemy and philosophy, the ouroboros often appears as an alchemical symbol. In a bizarre case of synchronicity, German chemist Friedrich Kekulé discovers the ring structure of benzene in 1865 after a "waking dream" of an ouroboros.
In the Egypt of later antiquity, Agathos becomes part of lion-headed snake Chnum-Agathodaemon-Aion. Chnum (Khnum), an Egyptian god, creates humans and other animals on his potter's wheel.
A Greek Hellenistic deity, Aion appears as a youth. He's associated with time; the orb or circle encompassing the universe; and the zodiac. He represents perpetual, unbounded, ritual, and cyclic time.
In Gnosticism, an active school of mixed theology in post-AD Alexandria, the lion-headed snake is used to portray Yaldabaoth. He is identified as the false god who keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the material universe.
In Gnosticism he has a complex meaning, appearing both as an imperfect creator god and imperfect being of creation born of Sophia (wisdom). He's responsible for the Great Flood. Gnostics who perceive the lion-headed snake as "not all evil" are decried as heretics.
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