Koalemos

Aristophanes' ''The Knights''

In The Knights, a satirical play written by Athenian comic playwright Aristophanes, Demosthenes converses with a sausage seller, saying, "...Continue doing exactly what you do: mix public affairs, and always win the people with flattering words. The other things are most fitting for a demagogue: you have a foul voice, you have a perverse nature, and you are of the market. Inhabiting you are all things necessary for polity. The oracles are in your favor, even that of Delphi; but crown and libate Koalemos"

Many translations add "the god of stupidity" to the near-end of this obviously satirical speech by Demosthenes, but such is not found within the original Greek text.

Plutarch's ''Life of Cimon''

In Life of Cimon, Greek philosopher Plutarch writes, "...He (Cimon) had the bad name of being dissolute and bibulous, and of taking after his grandfather (Cimon Coalemus), who, they say, because of his simplicity, was dubbed Coalemus (the Stupid-One)..."

Based on the context, we can infer that Coalemus was a name given to the grandfather of Cimon, whose name was also Cimon. There is no indication given by Plutarch that Coalemus refers to a deity or daemon.

References

References

1. [[Aristophanes]], ''Knights'' 221: ''καὶ ποικίλως πως καὶ σοφῶς ᾐνιγμένος: ἀλλ᾽ ὁπόταν μάρψῃ βυρσαίετος ἀγκυλοχήλης γαμφηλῇσι δράκοντα κοάλεμον αἱματοπώτην.''
2. "Scaife Viewer {{!}} Cimon".
3. [[Scholia]] on Aristophanes, ''Knights'' 198
4. "The Internet Classics Archive {{!}} The Knights by Aristophanes".