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, 1909), appears to represent the '' Hetaira ''. Though the lower body of Draper's Lamia is human, he alludes to her serpentine history by draping a snake skin about her waist.]] The Lamia of Greek Mythology was a monstrous serpent with the head and torso of a woman. APPETITES Named after the gullet (Greek, ''laimos''), she had an appetite for children’s flesh. In '' Ars Poetica '' (l. 340), Horace imagined the impossibility of retrieving the living children whom Lamia had swallowed. Roman mothers threatened their children with this story. In ''Against Valentinius '', Chapter 3, Tertullian refers to a nurse's tale of Lamia in her tower. Further references to Lamia are made by Plutarch (''On Curiosity'' 2); Strabo (i. II. 8); and Aristotle , ''Ethics'', vii. 5. Lamia likewise had an erotic appetite for men. Karl Kerényi asserts that harlots might be named "Lamia" (Kerényi, 1951, p. 40), and, according to Plutarch (''Life of Demetrius'' xxv. 9), Aelian (''Varia Historia'' XII. xvii. 1), and Athenaeus ('' Deipnosophistae '' III. lix. 29), the connection between Demetrius Of Phaleron and a musically talented courtesan named Lamia was notorious ORIGIN According to Diodorus Siculus (xx. 41), Lamia was the daughter of Poseidon and Lybie (a personification of Libya ). In ''Peace',' Aristophanes relates how, as a queen of Libya, Lamia attracted Zeus 's love. MONSTROUS NATURE The myths differ as to how Lamia became a monster. According to one version, Zeus’ jealous wife, Hera , turned her into a serpent woman. However, other myths claim that, as a daughter of Hecate , she was born as such. Still another explanation declares that she became a monster as a result of Hera’s murdering all of Lamia’s children except Scylla ; Lamia‘s grief turned her into a monster. ABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES Lamia could remove her eyes and put them back into their sockets. This ability identified her as a Sibyl who possessed the Second Sight , as did the Graeae and the Norn s. Later, mythmakers serving the interests of a paternalistic society claimed that Lamia’s ability was actually a gift from Zeus. Moreover, it was added, Lamia was "cursed" with the inability to close her eyes so that she'd be ever mindful of her dead children. In the modern Greek folk tradition, Lamia has retained many of her traditional attributes. John Cuthbert Lawson states that "the chief characteristics of the Lamiae, apart from their thirst for blood, are their uncleanliness, their gluttony, and their stupidity" (''Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion: A Study in Survivals''). The contemporary Greek proverb, "τίς Λάμιας τά σαρώματα" ("the Lamia's sweeping"), epitomizes slovenliness; and the common expression, "τό παιδί τό ἔπνιξε ἠ Λάμια" ("the child has been strangled by the Lamia"), explains the sudden death of young children (ibid). As in Bulgarian folklore and Basque legends, the Lamia in Greece is often associated with caves and damp places. LATER STORIES Many lurid details were conjured up by later writers. These additions to the growing body of myth concerning her were assembled in Suidas , expanded upon in Renaissance poetry, and collected by Bulfinch and appeared in Brewer's ''Dictionary of Phrase and Fable''. According to these stories, Lamia, envious of other mothers, ate their children. CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE In Renaissance Emblem s and in the image of Hypocrisy , she was depicted as having a serpent’s body and a woman's head and breasts. Although she was usually characterized as a female, Aristophanes suggests that she was a Hermaphrodite , perhaps to heighten her monstrosity (''Peace'' l. 758). Blood-drinking female . The 19th century editors of '' Lempriere's Dictionary '' believed that Lamia is the model for Lamiae, small African monsters whose hisses were pleasing but who destroyed children. Today, these creatures are called Lemure s. However, modern mythographers find no connection. In '' Lamia And Other Poems '', John Keats portrayed the Lamia as being of various colors, basing his description on Burton's description of her in '' Anatomy Of Melancholy ''. REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINK Lamia in ''' Bulgaria n''' short stories and folk tales, is a mysterious creature with several heads, which can grow over and over again if cut, feeding on people's blood or (more often) killing young women. This monster often tortures villages and is to be found in caves or underground. In some tales, it has wings, in others, its breath is on fire. A Lamia has no gender but is usually perceived as a female. A Lamia (plural '''lamiak''') in ''' Basque Legend ''' is a water sprite that lives in caves. In the Basque Country , there are many places named after these creatures. Sometimes they Take The Form of beautiful women and attract men. The only way to tell they are not women is to look at their feet which are the feet of a duck. In some other legends they are half human and half fish. Most of time, they are seen combing their hair with golden combs. The only way to anger them is to steal one of their combs. The rest of the time they are kind. Other Basque legends say they are just the goddess Mari . On the other side of the Pyrenees the comparable dangerous water nymph, sharing many of the same details, is Melusine . OTHER USES OF "LAMIA"
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