Worship of the Malevolent Dead

Chapter V.

Πρώτη δὲ ψυχὴ Ἐλπήνορος ἦλθεν ἐταίρου,
Οὐ γάρ πω ἐτέθαπτο ὑπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης.

Odyssey, xi. 51, 52.

These deified ghosts and saints whom we have been discussing, though occasionally touchy and sensitive to insult or disrespect, are, as a rule, benevolent. But there is another class of beings at whose feet the rustic lies in grievous and perpetual bondage. These are the malevolent dead.