#lamiai

30 creatures of greek mythology ↳ lamiai

TW: Sexual Content, Assualt, Violence

Species: Lamia (singular), lamiai (plural)

Not all half-humanoid half-serpent species are lamiai, they have particular behaviors and characteristics!

Locations: Libya and Greece (as spirits in physical world), Arcadia (in Faerie)

Habitat: Caves in natural areas especially on coastlines or at beaches. Caves are ideal because the right balance of heat and wetness in a warm, damp environment is perfect for lamiai. Environments that are too hot, too cold, or too wet can really aggravate them.

Personality: Seductive, predatory, aggressive, playful, manipulative, serpentine

Features: All lamiai have a humanoid upper-half, lower-half of a snake, usually female, forked tongue, fangs, and claws. Having a forked-tongue with a Jacobson’ organ gives them an incredibly good sense of smell. Purebred lamiai cannot close their eyes and sleep with them wide open.

They appear to be extremely beautiful to whoever sees them and usually have a very feminine appearance with long hair. Lamiai are shapeshifters to a small extent since they can also walk around with a humanoid-lower half with two legs, this is also a part of their regular shedding process. Without a tail, lamiai may be able to pass themselves off as human spirits or be mistaken for vampires, succubi, or sirens.

Some lamiai also have wings and some have stingers or rattles on the end of their tails - these differing features might be unique to hybrids, but I’m not sure of this. Hybrid lamiai can have a wide variety of extra features in addition to or instead of the typical characteristics.

Not to be confused with other “snake ladies” like Medusa, who is a Gorgon, purebred lamiai do not have snakes for hair nor can they turn people to stone with their eyes. Perhaps a lamia-gorgon hybrid would, but not purebred lamiai. 

Reproduction & Gender: Lamiai are only known to only be female, and the noun lamia in Ancient Greek is a feminine form. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of male lamiai just because anything is possible, but I highly doubt they exist. Lamiai appear female and identify as such, but are generally pansexual and have no qualms about mating or coupling with spirits of many different species. They are also hermaphroditic, so they can reproduce with each other and become pregnant or impregnate others as desired. This occurs by having an egg laid within them or within others.

Origins & Populations: Lamiai originate from Libya in Africa, and some made their way to parts of Greece, becoming fantastic legends of Greek mythology.   I’m unsure whether or not all lamiai are fae or not, but there is definitely a population of lamiai currently living in Arcadia, one of the fae realms, who consider themselves to be fae. My theory is that because lamiai tend to reproduce often and quickly, some choose to breed with fae species and subsequently, some lamiai and their lamiai-fae offspring immigrated to Arcadia in Faerie. So some lamiai are definitely fae, but perhaps not all lamiai are fae so make sure to ask before assuming one way or the other.

Diet: Lamiai are vampiric and will drink the blood of or entirely consume altogether (like a snake) any spirits whom they deem desirable for food. Typically this includes lesser fae, lesser nature spirits, and human spirits - especially children and men. As a predatory species, lamiai feel an urge to hunt and feed on a regular basis. In this way, lamiai tend to feel an affinity with other serpentine species and vampiric species as well as with predators in general.

Behaviors: Lamiai hunt by being seductresses much like sirens and some vampiric species. Lamiai dance and charm potential prey by wiggling or rolling their bodies in a snake-like way (has some resemblance to belly dancing). They appear very naturally beautiful and can easily seduce and attract others using both physical and magical characteristics.

Lamiai have a very, very high sex drive and have a need to mate as well as feed on a regular basis. In lamia culture, sexual behavior can be an expression of fondness towards other spirits or lamiai, but it can also be combined with hunting or feeding as an act of aggression. 

Lamiai usually hunt alone rather than in groups with each other, but will sometimes hunt with other spirit species. Some fae lamiai are known members of the Unseelie Host and participate in the Wild Hunt. This compatibility with the Host also makes sense because lamiai are typically nocturnal and hunt at night much more often than in the daytime. They sometimes appear in dreams and lure prey from their beds.

Lamiai rarely attack each other, and interbreeding and forming relationships (lasting or temporary) with each other is common. Family units typically live in their own caves or a cave system, but there are not usually formal or organized social groups of lamiai. Lamiai have a very strong sense of maternal instinct and do not always engage in sexual behavior to reproduce, but happily and frequently reproduce and raise their own offspring whether hybrid or purebred. It is not particularly unusual for some lamiai to form long-term or life-long relationships, but they are never exclusive due to hunting and breeding habits and polyamory is also common.

Hybrids: Since lamiai can breed with other lamiai, there are still purebred lamiai. However, due to lamiai’s high sexual drive and pansexuality there are also a great deal many lamia hybrid species such as a wide variety of fae-lamiai. Since lamia genes are strong and tend to be very dominant in lamia hybrids, most hybrids have all the same primary characteristics as an ordinary lamia with a few lost and a few extra characteristics added from the other species in that hybrid. Usually vampiric fangs, predatory nature, high level of lust, and the ability to shift into a serpentine tail remain in a half-lamia hybrid. Purebred lamiai don’t tend to look down on lamiai hybrids, and usually see them as one of their own since the lamiai traits usually dominate.

Magical Powers: Lamiai are able to easily seduce and attract others for romantic purposes or as their primary hunting technique. I think this ability must be somewhat magical in nature as it is too powerful and universal to be completely due to their appearence. Dream manipulation and hypnotizing prey seem to be innate powers of lamiai as well. Lamiai may also be gifted in other magical respects depending on the individual spirit, which can be enhanced in the case of hybrids. 

My Personal Connections to Lamiai

I felt inspired to write about the lamia species because I found out that I my own spirit is a lamia-fae hybrid (mixed with sluagh sidhe). Since then, I’ve understood myself much better than before and met other lamiai who have helped me research and find out more about the species. Spiritionary primcon @alynnafoxie is a shapeshifting fae fox with a lamia form who also contributed to some of the information in this post!

As a hybrid, my astral/fae form has all the regular lamia features except that I can close my eyelids and I have a stinger at the end of my tail. I also have pointed ears and wings from my sluagh sidhe side. I personally know other fae lamiai living in Arcadia who are members of the Host, and I have interacted with the Wild Hunt myself.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, and I might write more posts about lamiai, fae lamiai, and the Unseelie Host in particular in the future!

~ Mod Fire

---> Have questions? Send them to us at SpiritFAQ!

Ahaha of course you can Alison \(^o^)/!

Girugamesh

Favorite Album: MUSIC and Girugamesh (I can’t pick-love both albums ;A;)

Favorite Song: shining and puzzle

Seen Them Live: Yes! Back in 2011 when they came to London. Hopefully seeing them again this year ^^!

Have Any Merch: European edition of ‘MUSIC’ and their ‘Here We Go! 2011 World Tour T-Shirt’

Infinite

Favorite Album: Infinitize

Favorite Song: The Chaser

Seen Them Live: Yes! Last year in November ;u; ~ such a beautiful live ahh~!

remap—the—soul: Double-check whether they had any...

women of mythology - empousai and lamiai

dark daughters of hecate, daimones of the underworld, released onto the unsuspecting and unprepared earth as their mother rose from the depths of hades.

enticing and luring men, disguising themselves as beautiful women, hiding their true form of blood thirsty monsters that devour their prey. they hunt and haunt at night, nightmares that move on serpentine tails and mismatched legs of metal and mammal.