Note 10 — Chapter II · EARLIER CHILDHOOD.

There is a possibility of recovering some of them by a careful collection of the ναναρίσματα of the modern Greeks, which in many cases doubtless correspond to their forerunners the βαυκαλήματα of the old Greeks. Stories of Mormo and Gorgo and the Empousa are still current to frighten children, as are also (about Arachova) songs about Charos (the old Charon), the ruthless genius of death. The belief in Lamia is still so common that ἔπνιξεν ἡ Λάμια—Lamia choked it—is a common expression when a child dies suddenly. Cf. Βενίζελος, “On the Private Life of the Old Greeks,” Athens, 1873.