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Lamia

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A figure from Greek myth transformed by Hera into a child-devouring demon, symbolizing maternal grief turned monstrous.

Detailed Definition
Lamia, once a beautiful queen loved by Zeus, was cursed by Hera to eat her own children and then to prey on others’. She became a bogeyman figure. In poetry, especially Romantic works, she symbolizes corrupted beauty, maternal grief turned monstrous, and the destructive power of jealousy.
Example
Example in poetry:
Lamia, once a queen loved by Zeus, is transformed into a child-devouring monster in Philostratus’s Life of Apollonius; Keats’s poem “Lamia” reimagines her as a tragic enchantress; In Diodorus Siculus, Lamia represents maternal grief turned monstrous; Ovid alludes to Lamia in Metamorphoses as a night-haunting fiend; Renaissance demonology cites Lamia as a succubus figure; Modern feminist poetry reclaims Lamia as a victim of Hera’s jealousy.
Additional Notes
Lamia, once a queen loved by Zeus, was transformed into a child-devouring monster by Hera’s jealousy; she represents maternal perversion and seductive danger—Keats’ Lamia explores illusion vs. reality—useful in Gothic or feminist poetry examining monstrous femininity and victimhood.
Also Known As
Child-Stealing Demon Libyan Queen Turned Monster Lamía Lamya
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