Michelle+Zhao-Lamia

= = ** Lamia ** toc Lamia was a monster of Greek origins whose name comes from the Greek word for gullet, //Laimos, //and is traditionally described as a beautiful young woman from the waist up, but a snake from the waist down. She was transformed into a child-eating daemon by the jealous [|Hera] after having an affair with [|Zeus].

Lamiae is also a term for shape-shifting monsters related to vampires and succubi in folklore, who tempted young men with their beauty and then drank their blood. = **Origins ** =

Lamia was a queen of Libya and the daughter of [|Lybie] and [|Poseidon], though some sources say her father is [|Belus] and she is merely the granddaughter of Poseidon. Zeus fell in love with her, and she produced many children for him. However, Hera learned of their affair and stole away all of Lamia’s children and changed Lamia into a hideous beast. Lamia went insane in her grief and began to drink the blood and devour the flesh of children because she was envious of the mortal mothers.

Another popular story of Lamia is Corinthian in origin and describes her as a shapeshifting daemon, only one of many vampires called //lamiae//. She seduces young men by assuming the form of a dainty young woman. Once she brings them to bed, she feeds off their blood and eats them. The parents of the [|Corinthian Lamia] are not stated in this myth. = **Appearance** =

Before her transformation, Lamia was described as an attractive young woman. After she was turned into a monster, various literary sources stated that she retained her beautiful face and upper torso, but the lower half of her body became a snake’s serpentine tail. Some sources say that she did not become snake-like, but her face was distorted into an ugly mask instead. = **Mythological Stories** =

The Origin of Lamia
Lamia was queen of Libya and was described as a very beautiful woman. Zeus fell in love with her, and she had children with him. Hera discovered the affair and killed all the children except for [|Scylla], whom she turned into a sea monster. Most sources say Hera changed Lamia into a monster, though some say it was because of her horrible deeds. In her anguish, Lamia began to kill other children herself to drink their blood as the original vampire. In order to try to calm her, Zeus gave her the “[|mark of Sibyl]”. She was then cursed by Hera to never shut her eyes so she would never be free from the images of her dead children. Zeus took pity on her and gave her the ability to remove her eyes so she could rest from the grief.

The Corinthian Lamia
In the story of the Corinthian Lamia, a lamia seduced a young, handsome man named Menippos, who was a student of the prophet [|Apollonius]. She appeared to him on a lonely road and told him that she had been in love with him, and invited him to her home to drink and eat with her. He told this tale to Apollonius, who told him that the fine woman was actually a serpent. Menippos believes that the woman loves him, and that they would marry the next day. Apollonius went to the wedding breakfast and met the lamia at her home, which was lavishly decorated in silver and gold and filled with servants. When Apollonius began to question her, the decorations and servants disappeared, proving to be only her illusions. The prophet insisted that she explain what she really was, so the lamia confessed that she was actually a vampire. She had tricked Menippos to coming to the house in order to fatten him up before eating him. Apollonius saved his life because Menippos no longer felt like marrying the woman after her confession. ** Impor ** ** tance **

Mothers often threatened their children with the story of Lamia in order to induce good behavior, like an ancient bogeyman, by saying that Lamia came to eat children that misbehaved. This is similar to Lilith, who has also been described as a serpentine child-eater, and may have inspired the story of Lilith.

[|One archbishop of Reims] listed lamiae as a danger that threatened marriages.

A common expression that arose in modern Greece is “the child has been strangled by the Lamia” to explain the sudden death of young children. This suggests that Lamia may have been created to explain Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. = **Modern References** =

In an episode of the TV series //Merlin// in 2011 called //Lamia//, the villainess is a lamia that can suck away men’s strength and turn into a serpent monster.

Lamia is the name of the main antagonist in the horror film //[|Drag Me To Hell]// in 2009, though her appearance is more of a [|Baphomet]than a serpent. She threatens to pull the main character into Hell after three days of torture.

Lamiae are also a reoccurring enemy in the Final Fantasy video game franchise which are half-woman, half-snake. They are given variations of “Charm” and “Entice” as an attack, alluding to Lamia’s place as a seductress in mythology.

[|John Keats] wrote a narrative poem called //Lamia// in 1819 which is loosely based on the story of the Corinthian Lamia. In the poem, the god Hermes is searching for a beautiful nymph and comes across Lamia in the form of a serpent instead. She reveals the nymph, which was invisible before, to him and he returns her to her human shape. Now a woman once more, she goes off to find a youth of Corinth named Lycius, and is about to marry him when Apollonius reveals her true identity at the wedding. Lamia returns into her serpent form and her lover dies from grief .