Alphito
demonic earth Greek single tradition · 1
Alphito is a supernatural being first recorded in Plutarch's Moralia, where nursemaids told apotropaic tales about her to frighten children into behaving. Her name is related to alphita meaning "white flour" and she was presumably old with white hair the color of flour. In recent scholarship she is classed with spirits or demons that threaten reproduction and child-nurturing.
When
- First attested
- 100 CE
- Attested period
- 100 – 2020
- Historical notes
- First recorded in Plutarch's Moralia (1st-2nd century CE); 19th-century folklorists reinterpreted her as a corn mother or vegetation spirit.
Relationships
- syncretized with
- Demeter, Persephone
Mentioned by
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“Alphito (Ancient Greek: Ἀλφιτώ) is a supernatural being first recorded in the Moralia of Plutarch, where "apotropaic nursery tales" about her are told by nursemaids to frighten little children into behaving.”
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