The words daemon, d�mon, are Latinized spellings of daimon, Greek δαιμων, used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion, good or malevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" (see Plato's Symposium), from the Judeo-Christian usage demon, "a malignant spirit that can seduce, afflict, or possess humans."

Daemons scarcely figure in Greek mythology or Greek art: like keres, they're felt but unseen presence was assumed. There was one exception, the "Good Daemon" Agathos Daemon, who was honored first with a libation in ceremonial wine-drinking, and especially in the sanctuary of Dionysus.

Daemones ("replete with knowledge", "divine power", "fate" or "god") were not necessarily evil. In Plato's Symposium, the priestess Diotima teaches Socrates that love is not a god, but rather a good daemon. In Plato's Trial of Socrates, Socrates claimed to have a daimonion, a small daemon, that warned him against mistakes but never told him what to do or coerced him into following it. He claimed that his daemon exhibited greater accuracy than any of the forms of divination practised at the time.

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