Milton, Boccaccio, and Demogorgon.

The article focuses on the figure of Demogorgon, tracing his origins from a probable scribal error of the term "demiurgus" in a late antique commentary on Statius' *Thebaid* to his elevation as the ancestor of pagan gods in Boccaccio's *Genealogy of the Pagan Gods*. It highlights John Milton’s skeptical treatment of Demogorgon, who in *Paradise Lost* appears only as a minor member of Chaos’ court rather than a supreme deity, contrasting with his more prominent and fearsome portrayals in Renaissance epics by Boiardo, Ariosto, and Spenser. The article also surveys Renaissance and early modern scholars who doubted Demogorgon’s authenticity due to his absence in ancient sources and who proposed correcting the name to "demiurgus," the creator god in Platonic philosophy. Milton’s nuanced engagement with these sources reflects his critical stance toward mythographic traditions and his broader polemical approach to classical and Renaissance authorities.