Genius bust of Merida, Spain

The Genius is a protective or guardian spirit in ancient Greco-Roman religion and the equivalent of a guardian angel in modern day Christianity. The belief in spirits such as these were held by both Greeks and Romans alike, with the Greeks calling them “daemons”, and seem to have believed in them from the earliest times. The ancient writer Hesiod writes of them and describes them as being 30,000 in number and dwelled on earth as unseen entities by mortals. They were also known as ministers of Almighty Zeus and guardians of the souls of mortal men and justice, as well as the souls of righteous men who lived during the golden age of the world.