Baphomet
A medieval deity allegedly worshiped in secret by the Knights Templar, Baphomet is known from the fourteenth century or possibly earlier. The name may be a corruption of the Islamic founder and prophet, Mahomet, but its etymology remains unclear. Described by its critics as a source and initiator of evil, some authorities have placed the idol of Baphomet at the center of ini- tiation and other magical rituals once practiced by the Templars. In part it was this tradition that broughtchargesofheresyagainsttheTemplarsat the end of the thirteenth and start of the four- teenth centuries, after which they fell into dis- grace. The precise nature of any idolatory is unknown, though there are unsubstantiated claims that the image was modeled androgy- nously on that of ARTEMIS of Ephesus.