Haborym (Hebrew) Another name
for Satan. A Duke of Hell, commander of twenty-six legions. He is
the demon of fire and holocausts. Depicted as a three-headed
monster - a cat, a man and a snake - sitting astride a viper and
brandishing a torch.
Hagenti A great president, appears in the shape of a
gigantic bull with the wings of a griffin, but will duly put on
human form. He gives wisdom, transmutes metals into gold, and turns
wine into water.
Halpas A great earl, appears in the form of a stockdove,
speaking with a hoarse voice. He 'burns towns,' visits the wicked
with the sword, and can send men to fields of war or to other
places.
Ham According to Norwegian legend, Ham was a storm-fiend in
the shape of an eagle with black wings, sent by Helgi to engulf
Frithjof as he sailed for the island of Yarl Angantyr. This story
is told in the Saga Grettir.
Hantu Penyardin The Malayan vampire.
Hantu Pusaka A Malay demon.
Hariti A monstrous demon from India, who abducted little
children and devoured them, until the Great Buddha converted her.
She then became Kishimo-jin, the patron goddess of little
children.
Hecate (Greek) Goddess of Underworld and Sorcery. Queen of
Witches. The Greeks often called Hecate, Agriope, which means
'savage face.' She is said to have three faces, which symbolized
her powers over the underworld, earth, and air. She is known as the
lady of the underworld, of chthonic rites, and of black magic. Her
Hebrew name was Sheol, and the Egyptians knew her as Nepthys. She
was the daughter of the titan Perses and of Asteria, although
sometimes it is said that Zeus himself fathered her.
The Thracians were the first people to worship her in the
moon-goddess aspect, though soon her worship spread to the Greeks,
who linked her with the moon-goddesses Artemis and Selene. She was
also associated with Lucina and Diana. At times she was benign and
motherly and would act as midwife, wet-nurse, and foster-mother,
while keeping an eye on flocks and crops.
Greek kings asked for her help in administering justice, knowing
that with Hecate on their side they would attain victory and glory
in battle.
But the other side of her nature, most apparent when the moon was
dark, gradually superseded her kinder side.
Although Homer did not mention her in his poems, by the time
Hesiod was chronicling the events of his world, her powers were
already very great. She had become an infernal deity, a snake
goddess with three heads: a dog's, a horse's, and a lion's. She was
portrayed with her three bodies, back to back, carrying a spear, a
sacrificial cup, and a torch.
Having witnessed the rape of Persephone, torch-bearing Hecate was
sent by Zeus to help Demeter find her. When they found Persephone
in Hades, Hecate remained there as her companion. During her stay
in the underworld, Hecate wore a single brazen sandal, and she was
the protector and teacher of sorceresses and enchanters. Her high
priestess was Medea, who was worthy of her mistress, and cruelly
murdered her own two children after her husband left her for
another woman.
Hecate's influence was long lasting, and the medieval witches
worshipped the willow tree which was sacred to her. The same root
word which gave 'willow' and 'wicker,' also gave 'witch' and
'wicked.'
Thus Hecate became key-holder of hell and queen of the departed,
dispatching phantops from the underworld. At night she left Hades
and would roam on earth, bringing terror to the hearts of those who
heard her approach. She was accompanied by her hounds and by the
bleak souls of the dead. She appeared as a gigantic woman bearing a
sword and a torch, her feet and hair bristling with snakes, her
voice like that of a howling dog. Her favourite nocturnal retreat
was near a lake called Amarantiam Phasis, 'the lake of
murders.'
To placate her, the people erected statues at crossroads. There,
under the full moon, feasts called 'Hecate's suppers' were served.
Dogs, eggs, honey, milk, and particularly black ewes were
sacrificed at that time.
The most powerful magic incantations of antiquity were connected
with Hecate, and her rites were described at length by Apollonius
Rhodus in his Argonautica:
...and he kindled the logs, placing the fire beneath, and poured over them the mingled libations, calling on Hecate Brimo to aid him in the contest,In one of her incarnations she was Hecuba, the wife of Priam, King of Troy, and mother of Cassandra, Hector, Helenus, and Paris.
And when he had called on her he drew back: and she heard him, the dreaded goddess, from the uttermost depths and came to the sacrifice of Aeson's son; and round her horrible serpents twined themselves among the oak boughs; and there was the gleam of countless torches; and sharply howled around her the hounds of hell.
All the meadows trembled at her step, and the nymphs that haunt the marsh and the river shrieked, all who dance round that meadow of Amarantiam Phasis.'
'...and let them not fall in their helplessness into Charybdis lest she swallow them at one gulp, or approach the hideous lair of Scylla, Ausonian Scylla, Scylla the deadly, whom night-wandering Hecate, who is called Crataeis, bare to Phorcys...'The extent of her powers can be judged by the great numbers of animals, plants and emblems that were sacred to her.