Lamia was queen of Libya, loved by Zeus. Jealous Hera killed her children (or forced her to kill them). Unable to sleep — cursed by Hera with open eyes forever — Lamia went mad with grief and began to hunt the children of other mothers, eating them in vengeance or despair.
Over centuries the name Lamia became generic for a class of child-eating demons in Greek folklore, with pluralised lamiai appearing as vampiric seductresses in Hellenistic texts.
In her oldest form a beautiful woman who becomes monstrous when hungry — eyes she cannot close, mouth that unhinges. Later tradition gives her a serpent's lower body. In some accounts she can remove her eyes to sleep.
Preys on infants, drinking their blood or devouring them. Seduces young men (in the Hellenistic vampiric version) and drains their vitality. Cannot close her eyes — cursed to eternal sleeplessness.
Weaknesses
- conditionSleep deprivation makes her weaker, not stronger — she is already cursed with it
Wards
- symbolAmulets of the evil eye (mati) at cribs
- ritualKeep a light burning in the nursery until dawn
- [1]Greek Myths. Graves, Robert. 1955. The Greek Myths. Penguin.literary
- [2]The Lamia in Greek Folklore. Lawson, John Cuthbert. 1910. Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion. Cambridge University Press.academic