A Glossary of Exotiká

The following is a list of creatures from folklore of the Greek lands. I would appreciate any development people would like to do.

• Aeriká - A generic name for supernatural beings that fly or reside in the air.
• Charos - In antiquity Charon was in charge of ferrying the souls of the dead across the River Styx. Charos is now the personification of death. the prcoess of dying is conceived to be a struggle with him.
• Daoútis - A goat-formed demon that couples with flocks, causing the animals to swell up and die.
• Drákoi - Ogres of immense strength who live in mountain caves, often forty in number. They sometimes menance a community by blocking its water supply or else by stealing young women and demanding a tribute of one youth per year.
• Emboúsa - An ancient Greek female demon that could assume many forms. She was a servant of Hecate (cf. Aristophanes, Frogs 1.293).
• Gelló (pl. Gellúdes) - Female demons that prey upon very young children, either strangling them or sucking their blood. They are often confused with lámies and stríngles.
• Gorgónes - Half-woman, half-fish, they are the bane of fishermen and sailors. According to tradition, the gorgónes are the sisters of Alexander the Great. When they seize a ship they ask if King Alexander is alive. If the sailors respond, "He lives and rules!" the ship may pass unharmed.
• Kallikántzaroi - A sort of goblin, they are extremely ugly, possessing a long tail and horns. They are known for spending the twelve days of Christmas playing pranks. At Epiphany they are chased away by the blessing of the water.
• Lámia - A female creature, often very beautiful, but with feet that do not match (e.g., one cow's, one goat's). Lámies are often very large with huge breasts. They are found near water sources where they attack people, especially young men.
• Moíra - Fate personified as an old woman. There are usually three moíres. They come to a house just before a child is born or sometimes take three days after the birth. Special precuations are taken, such as laying out sweets, so that they will be well disposed toward the child.
• Neráïdes - Beautiful women often dressed in white and seen dancing in outlying places. They frequently harm young people. Anyone who encounters them risks losing their voice or being driven insane.
• Panoúkla - A disease-bearing woman who chiefly attacks livestock.
• Peirasmoí - A general name for the exotiká. It means "the bothersome ones."
• Phandásmata - Akin to our word "phantasm," these are the ghosts of dead people who return to earth in various forms, animal and human.
• Sphantakhtá - Demons that appear at night in many forms, such as that of a dog, wild beast or old man. Found mainly in the islands.
• Smerdáki - A small demonic character said to be a metamorphosis of children born out of wedlock. It attacks a shepherd's flocks.
• Stoikheiá - Each locality has its own stoikheió. They are the spirits that inhabit places or onjects such as houses, trees, wells and rivers. The related stoikheiá means "elements."
• Stríngla - A frightening old woman, she is able to transform herself into a bird (strix, a type of owl). She is said to drink the blood of children, eat their entrails and kill their parents.
• Vrykólakas - A revenant. One of the signs that a person has become a vrykólakas is if the flesh is undecayed upon exhumation four to six years after burial. It is said that this is the result of some grave crime that the person committed or perhaps the effect of an unrescinded curse. The vrykólakas often returns to haunt his close family.

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Last modified: Mon Dec 14, 1998