The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Are there vampires in Greek mythology? I guess it all depends on how broad your definition of a vampire is. If you define a vampire strictly as a cadaverous (pun intended), aristocratic man with oversize fangs, a Romanian accent, and dark sexual charisma, who can be warded off with garlic
and, should worse come to worst, a stake through the heart, then, no, there are no vampires in Greek mythology. However, if you dare think outside the coffin... eh, the box, then you may recognize prototypical vampire-like demons, ur-vampires, if you will, in ancient Greek myths.

Lamia is probably the best-known Greek precursor to the modern vampire. Lamia was queen of Libya when she had an affair with Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus' wife, Hera, found out and exacted her revenge on Lamia by killing her children. Lamia's grief was so devastating, that she transformed into a monster, half-woman and half-snake, that murdered children by drinking their blood. Maybe that had been her destiny all along: The name Lamia derives from the word laimos, which is Greek for "gullet": Lamia the devourer; Lamia the bloodsucker; Lamia the vampire.