The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

Ephippas 73
sacrifices to their dead relatives. They are filthy and ugly.
They have the hind ends of asses and wear brazen slippers.
Sometimes they are described as having one brass
leg and one ass leg. They disguise themselves as cows,
bitches, or beautiful girls. In the latter form, they seduce
men. They enter the human body to consume its flesh and
drink its BLOOD.
In The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Philostratus relates
a story—probably highly fictitious—about an empousa
bride. Apollonius, a philosopher and wonder worker of
the first century, was credited with great feats of magic
and the ability to summon spirits and see the future. Philostratus’
biography draws upon the probably fictional
memoirs of one of Apollonius’ disciples, Damis.
The story concerns a young man of Lycia, Menippus,
age 25, smart and handsome. One day as he was walking
along the road to Cenchreae, he was met by an apparition—an
empousa—in the guise of a Phoenician woman.
He fell under her spell and fell in love with her, not realizing
what she really was. They made plans to marry.
Apollonius was skeptical of her. He attended the wedding
and was introduced to her by Menippus. The woman
acknowledged she was the owner of all the gold and silver
trappings in the house and was the mistress of all the
servants. Apollonius told Menippus that his bride was an
empousa who would devour his flesh and drink his blood.
Menippus’ bride was offended at this and ordered Apollonius
to leave, but he had broken her spell, and all the
gold, silver, and servants disappeared.
The woman wept and begged Apollonius not to force
her to confess her true identity, but he did. She admitted
that she was fattening up Menippus for a kill, and that she
loved to dine on young and beautiful bodies because their
blood was pure and strong. Thus, was Menippus saved
from a gruesome fate.
A similar tale, not quite as demonic in nature, is told
by Phlegon of Tralles in Mirabilia 1, ca. 140. Philinnion
is a young bride who dies and returns as a sexually hungry
ghost to visit a man, Machates. Philinnion leaves behind
jewelry and underwear. Machates gives her a ring
and a golden cup. When the family discovers what is going
on, they visit the girl’s tomb, to find her bier empty,
save for Machates’ gifts. The girl herself is lying in the
house where Machates is a guest. A learned prophet says
her corpse should be burned outside the city limits, and
many sacrifices should be made to the chthonic deities.
These acts are carried out, and Machates, in despair, commits
suicide.
FURTHER READING:
McNally, Raymond T. A Clutch of Vampires. New York: Bell,
1984.
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and
Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2002.
Philostratus. The Life of Apollonius of Tyana. Translated by F.
C. Conybeare. London: Heinemann, 1912.
Enepsigos DEMON in the shape of a woman with two
heads. Enepsigos has countless other names and can
shape-shift into a goddess and other forms. Most often,
she takes three forms because she hovers near the Moon
(which has three forms: waxing, full, and new). Enepsigos
is conjured up as Kronos, Greek god of time.
In the Testament of Solomon, Enepsigos is bound by
King SOLOMON with a triple-link chain and is made to
prophesy. She predicts that Solomon’s kingdom will be
divided and the Temple of Jerusalem will be destroyed
by the kings of the Persians, Medes, and Chaldeans. The
tools in the temple will be used to serve other gods. The
vessels used to trap all the demons will be broken by
men, and the freed demons will go throughout the world,
leading men astray until the Son of God is crucified. This
Son shall be born of a virgin and shall be the only one
to hold power over all demons. His name is Emmanuel
(Emmanouel), the letters of whose name add up to the
numbers 644. Solomon does not believe Enepsigos and
has her bound in unbreakable chains. But later he witnesses
the truth of part of her prophecy, when he is led
astray by women to worship pagan gods, and his kingdom
is divided by God.
See INCANTATION BOWL.
FURTHER READING:
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vols. 1 & 2. Edited by
James H. Charlesworth. 1983. Reprint, New York: Doubleday,
1985.
Ephippas Arabian wind DEMON captured by King
SOLOMON.
In the Testament of Solomon, Adarkes, the king of
Arabia, asks Solomon for his help against a vicious wind
demon. The demon appears every morning when a fresh
wind starts and blows until the third hour. It kills man
and beast and cannot be contained. Adarkes asks Solomon
to send someone who can control the demon.
Solomon, however, forgets about the request until he
has a problem with the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem.
The stone that he wishes for a cornerstone is
so heavy that all the artisans and demon laborers cannot
move it. Solomon sends a servant out into the Arabian
desert to capture the wind demon in a leather flask. The
servant places Solomon’s magic ring at the neck of the
flask, which is a wineskin. When the demon blows into
it and fills it up, the servant seals it closed with the ring.
The local Arabs do not believe that the boy has actually
contained the demon, but when the wind does not blow
for three days, they become convinced.
The boy presents the flask to Solomon inside the temple.
Solomon is astonished when the flask has the ability
to move about on its own and takes seven steps, and then
falls on its neck. Speaking from inside, the demon gives
his name as Ephippas and says he is thwarted by “the one
who is going to be born from a virgin and crucified by the
Jews” (JESUS).