Koalemos, the Ancient Greek God of Stupidity

There are many ancient Greek gods in mythology, representing all aspects of human life and various concepts.

There is Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, Apollo, the god of of music and dance, Ares, the god of war, and Poseidon, the god of the sea among many others.

Several of the gods possessed human qualities, traits, and frailties. It as if ancient Greeks created gods as images of themselves, with their good qualities and flaws, virtues, and whims.

The ancient Greek pantheon includes a plethora of gods, but some of them stand out more so than others. Others are demons of all kinds, spirits personifying concepts such as love, justice, or malevolence.

Then there is Koalemos, (Κοάλεμος in Greek, Coalemus in Latin) the god of stupidity and foolishness.

Ancient Greeks had to have a god, or demon, albeit a minor deity, to personify lack of intelligence or slow wit. This was Koalemos.

Koalemos, the Demon?

Demons were minor deities or spirits personifying concepts and human characteristics. Koalemos was one of them, the personification of stupidity. Specifically, Koalemos’ name refers to a “stupid person” or “blockhead.”

There is very little information about the story of Koalemos. It is assumed he was the son of the goddess Nyx, the personification of the night, according to ancient Greeks.

As per Greek mythology, Nyx was a very powerful goddess even when compared to Zeus, the king of the gods. In fact, there are written works that referred to Nyx as one of the cosmic entities feared by Zeus.

She was the goddess of the dark and the daughter of Chaos and was often portrayed as a winged goddess with a dark aureole.

In Greek mythology, Nyx gave birth to other personified gods such as Hypnos for sleep and Thanatos for death. She is thought to have existed since the beginning of creation.

In terms of Koalemos, much like his siblings, he had the power to personify or possess human beings and turn them into idiots or fools, for instance.

The Dumb Greek God in Aristophanes’ Play

There is a mention of Koalemos in the comedic drama The Knights, by Aristophanes:

“Come, take a chaplet, offer a libation to Koalemos the god of stupidity and take care to      fight vigorously.”

In Plutarch’s Life of Cimon, Koalemos appears yet again:

“He had the bad name of being dissolute and bibulous, and of taking after                           his grandfather Cimon, who, they say, because of his simplicity was dubbed Koalemos,       the Stupid-One.”

When people in ancient Greece were being foolish or acting in a stupid, unpleasant way, they were often said to be possessed by Koalemos himself. The same would apply when anyone made an impulsive decision which would lead to dire consequences.