Do demons exist? The question has remained open for centuries. The ancestors of modern man were sure that there was a certain infernal entity that was able to come to people in dreams and make love with them.
Deity or demon in the mythology of different peoples
The mythical creature "Mara" is found in the mythology of ancient Hindus, Scandinavians, Germans and Slavs. The most interesting thing is that the name and appearance of this character practically does not change and reaches up to the 16th century.
However, let's start to understand in order.
For the first time the name "Mara" is mentioned in the "Vedas". According to the idea of ancient Hindus, this is a lower demon who feeds on fears and lust of people, penetrating into their dreams. The demon pestered only the stronger sex. Sometimes the creature took the guise of a beautiful girl and came to young guys in a borderline state between sleep and reality, in order to be given carnal pleasures in sweet dreams, along with its victim. At the same time, the demon began to feed on the life forces of his victim, which could lead to the death of the latter.
In ancient China, there was an opinion about how a certain demon "Mala" seduced the Buddha, assuming the guise of young girls, interfering with him, thereby striving for enlightenment, trying to saturate himself with the vital energy "Qi" of this great holy man. As the ancient Buddhist scrolls describe, the demon most often appeared in the form of a beautiful girl, with bright red hair and green eyes. As the Buddha told his disciples, just before the appearance of the demon, he always heard cheerful laughter, and only then this infernal creature appeared in the form of a beautiful young girl.
The subsequent mention of "Mara" is found in Germanic mythology. This is no longer a demon, but a companion of the goddess Frigga, who has a very cheerful character and sticks to young guys in dreams in order to stupefy the latter and force them to commit suicide. In the surviving descriptions, she appears as a beautiful young girl with an infectious cheerful laugh, blue or green eyes, and red hair.
Promotional video:
Further, in the representation of the Scandinavian tribes, she already appears as a beautiful dryad, which quite often accompanies the goddess Freya. “Mara”, in the Scandinavians' view, was not very interested in young guys, she liked mature warriors who had gone through more than one battle. It was believed that only the bravest and strongest warriors were able to share a bed with her. And all subsequent events took place exclusively in reality. The description tells us that the demon looked like a young girl, whose eyes had a bright green tint, and her hair had a bright red or light shade.
The last mention of this demon in mythology can be found among the Slavs. In the view of our distant ancestors, "Mara" is already a full-fledged goddess. She is engaged in penetrating people in dreams and, after taking possession of the victim's dream, begins to choke her. Descriptions of the appearance of this deity have also been preserved. The goddess "Mara" has blonde hair, blue or green eyes.
It turns out that various peoples of the world believed in one infernal essence and described it in almost the same way. This information has allowed scientists to put forward several interesting theories.
Ancient connections
Professor A. V. Tvorogov and Alekseev A. A. suggest that such a "continuity" of the cult of Mary is a vivid evidence of the possibility of cultural exchange between different peoples. The description of the appearance of the goddess or, in some cases, the demon, his habits, are so identical that they seem to be simply copied from one image.
Most likely "Mara", as an infernal creature, entered the ancient Indian pantheon, and then migrated to China, and from there spread to Western and Eastern Europe. And what is most interesting, the cult of this goddess has undergone only some changes. So "Mara" turned from a lower demon into an independent goddess. There is no logical explanation for this phenomenon. Only long-term studies of this issue will allow to find at least some answers regarding the mystery of the cult of Mary.
Christian view of the demon Mara
Various Christian writers mention in their treatises the demon Mara. However, Christian theologians do not always agree among themselves as to what this demon did to people and what effect he had on them.
The demon Mara entered the Christian tradition as a seductress, exclusively of the stronger sex. Medieval authors describe this demon as a beautiful young girl who visits young men at night and forces them into sexual intercourse. The demon takes the form of a red-haired woman who has beautiful green eyes, sometimes referred to as webbed wings, clawed feet and small horns.
So, the famous Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas writes that the demon Mara can transfer the seed of a young man after he commits a sinful act with him into the womb of a woman who has copulated with another demon. Thomas was interested in the question, who in this case will be the father of the child? After long reflections, the theologian came to the conclusion that in such situations it is necessary to recognize a young man as a father, whose seed fell into a woman, for demons are sterile and cannot produce offspring.
Another famous theologian of the 5th century Augustine of Ipponis, in his essay "On the City of God," mentioned the demon Maru, who takes the form of young girls and inclines young Christians to sinful pleasures in order to corrupt their souls and take possession of them.
In 1597, the work of King James I was published, which was called "Demonology". This book confirms the existence of the demon Mara. The treatise is important in that it not only provides an external description of the demon, but also tells how the demon appears in front of young men, what he says, how he behaves, how he inclines his victim to sin. In addition, the book describes various techniques how not to be at the mercy of this demon. You can resist the attack of an infernal entity as follows:
• turn to God in prayer to protect a person from the attacks of evil spirits;
• use various cult attributes that can scare away evil creatures, namely crucifixion, holy water, consecrated oil, the Bible;
• resort to mystical Christian practices, namely attending worship services, accepting confessions;
• avoid complete loneliness;
• it is necessary to settle in a monastery for some time so that experienced confessors can protect a person from the attacks of evil spirits;
• spend the night in the temple, because demons cannot visit a holy place and sprinkle holy water on the bed.
This book also details other demons that are capable of taking the likeness of a person and attacking people in various places.
In 1487 the Catholic inquisitors Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Institoris published their book on demonology, The Hammer of the Witches. The materials collected in this manual on hunting demons, witches, sorcerers are truly unique and subject to comprehensive scientific study.
So, the inquisitors came to the conclusion that Mara is a real demon who can really take the likeness of a woman and come to men to desecrate them. Their work contains detailed descriptions of how the process of desecrating a Christian takes place. Moreover, many witches who were interrogated and tortured admitted that they had sexual intercourse not only with Satan, but also with the demon Mara, who appeared in the guise of a beautiful girl with sexual characteristics of both sexes. So, during interrogation, a witch from a small German town named Teresa admitted that she had sexual intercourse with this demon. The details are not worth describing, but if the desire arises, you can find them in the book "Hammer of the Witches".
Thus, we can conclude the following that the demon Mara is an ancient, intelligent creature that was known at the dawn of the development of human civilization. In various cultures, this creature has been represented as a beautiful girl who seduces guys. The nature of this demon remains a mystery, perhaps it is one of the archangels who followed Satan and is now trying to drag as many people as possible into hell, or maybe this creature has an even more ancient origin. We will not get the answer to this question, but the belief in the existence of the demon Mara has lived in people for several millennia, so it is very difficult to dismiss this fact.