Dennis Quinn: Evil daemons in Firmicus Maternus

This short communication explores the concept of “evil daemon” in the two known works of the fourth century pagan astrologer turned Christian apologist, Iulius Firmicus Maternus: Matheseos Libri VIII and De errore profanarum religionum. Based on an analysis of the roles of exorcists, I will show how deception by evil daemons became a significant theme in these two sources. The need for discernment of evil daemons masquerading as beneficent gods was felt, not only by Christians, but also by some important pagan thinkers. To show this, I situate Firmicus alongside such Neoplatonist works as Porphyry’s De Abstinentia and Iamblichus’ De Mysteriis.  Both these works stress avoidance of evil daemons but stress proper theurgy and avoidance of animal sacrifice as the key to keep evil daemons at bay. Christian claims of power over evil daemons was instrumental in Firmicus’ conversion to Christianity and emphasize the methods by which Christians were able to capture the imaginations of fourth century Romans who were seeking remedies against malicious invisible beings believed to be all around them. For, as Firmicus insists, “among us the lashes of exorcistic words flagellate your gods when they start to do harm to men” (De errore 13.6).