1. Definition and subject
The Greek word daímon refers to a supernatural being. Demonology is the study of such beings. In the Renaissance, the philosopher Marsilio Ficino (De triplici vita, Florence 1469; “On the Threefold Life”), whose interest in Neoplatonism (Platonism) and other ancient philosophies shaped his understanding of demons as beings capable of transmitting celestial influences, was the chief theorist of demo…