Editing Lamia (section)

{{Short description|Figure in Greek mythology}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:The knight and the mermaid.jpg|thumb|''The Kiss of the Enchantress'' ([[Isobel Lilian Gloag]], {{circa|1890}}), inspired by Keats's "[[Lamia (poem)|Lamia]]", depicts Lamia as half-serpent, half-woman]]

'''Lamia''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|eɪ|m|i|ə|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-lamia.wav}}; {{langx|grc|Λάμια|Lámia}}), in ancient [[Greek mythology]], was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "[[daimon]]".

In the earliest [[Myth|myths]], Lamia was a beautiful queen of [[ancient Libya]] who had an affair with [[Zeus]] and gave birth to his children. Upon learning of this, Zeus's wife [[Hera]] robbed Lamia of her children, either by kidnapping them and hiding them away, killing them outright, or forcing Lamia to kill them.<ref name="diodorus" /> The loss of her children drove Lamia insane, and she began hunting and devouring others' children.<ref>[[Duris of Samos]] (d. 280 B. C.), ''Libyca'', quoted by {{harvp|Ogden|2013b|p=98}}</ref> Either because of her anguish or her [[human cannibalism|cannibalism]], Lamia was transformed into a horrific creature. Zeus gifted Lamia the power of [[prophecy]] and the ability to take out and reinsert her eyes, possibly because Hera cursed her with [[insomnia]] or the inability to close her eyes.<ref>Bell, Robert E., ''Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary'' (New York: Oxford UP, 1991), s.v. "Lamia" (drawing upon Diodorus Siculus 22.41; Suidas "Lamia"; Plutarch "On Being a Busy-Body" 2; Scholiast on Aristophanes' ''Peace'' 757; Eustathius on ''Odyssey'' 1714).</ref>

The '''''lamiai''''' ({{langx|grc|λάμιαι|lámiai}}) also became a type of phantom, synonymous with the [[empusa]]i who seduced young men to satisfy their sexual appetite and fed on their flesh afterward. An account of [[Apollonius of Tyana]]'s defeat of a lamia-seductress inspired the poem "[[Lamia (poem)|Lamia]]" by [[John Keats]].

Lamia has been ascribed serpentine qualities, which some commentators believe can be firmly traced to mythology from antiquity; they have found analogues in ancient texts that could be designated as ''lamiai'', which are part-[[snake]] beings. These include the half-woman, half-snake beasts of the "Libyan myth" told by [[Dio Chrysostom]], and the monster sent to [[ancient Argos|Argos]] by [[Apollo]] to avenge [[Psamathe (daughter of Crotopus)|Psamathe, daughter of King Crotopos]].

In previous centuries, Lamia was used in Greece as a [[bogeyman]] to frighten children into obedience, similar to the way parents in Spain, Portugal and Latin America used the [[Coco (folklore)|Coco]].