Div (mythology)

Div or dev (Persian: Dīv/Dēw: دیو) (with the broader meaning of demons or fiends) are monstrous creatures within Middle Eastern lore. Most of their depictions derive from Persian mythology, integrated to Islam and spread to surrounding cultures including Armenia, Turkic countries and Albania. Despite their Persian origins, they have been adapted according to the beliefs of Islamic concepts of otherworldly entities.^(pp 37) Although they are not explicitly mentioned within canonical Islamic scriptures, their existence was well accepted by most Muslims just like that of other supernatural creatures.^(p 34) They exist along with jinn, peri (fairies) and shayatin (devils) within South and Central Asian demon-beliefs.

They are described as having a body like that of a human, only of gigantic size, with two horns upon their heads and teeth like the tusks of a boar. Powerful, cruel and cold-hearted, they have a particular relish for the taste of human flesh. Some use only primitive weapons, such as stones: others, more sophisticated, are equipped like warriors, wearing armour and using weapons of metal. Despite their uncouth appearance – and in addition to their great physical strength – many are also masters of sorcery, capable of overcoming their enemies by magic and afflicting them with nightmares.

Their origin is disputed, although it may lie in the Vedic deities (devas) who were later demonized in the Persian religion (see daeva). In Ferdowsi's tenth-century Shahnameh, they are already the evil entities endowed with roughly human shape and supernatural powers familiar from later folklore, in which the divs are described as ugly demons with supernatural strength and power, who, nonetheless, may sometimes be subdued and forced to do the bidding of a sorcerer.