Martin, John - Satan presiding at the Infernal Council - 1824

Pandæmonium is the capital of Hell in John Milton's

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

'' Paradise Lost''. "Pandæmonium" (in some versions of

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"Pandemonium") stems from the

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"παν", meaning "all" or "every", and "δαιμόνιον", a diminutive form meaning "little spirit", "little angel", or, as Christians interpreted it, "little daemon", and later, " demon". It thus roughly translates as "All Demons", but can also be interpreted as Παν-δαιμον-ειον, Pandemoneios or "all-demon-place". John Milton invented the name for the capital of Hell, "the High Capital, of Satan and his Peers", built by the fallen angels at the suggestion of

Mammon Mammon in the New Testament of the Bible is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke both quote Jesus us ...

at the end of Book I of '' Paradise Lost'' (1667). It was designed by the architect Mulciber, who had been the designer of palaces in Heaven before his fall. (In Roman times, Mulciber was another name for the Roman god

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.) Book II begins with the debate among the " Stygian Council" in the council-chamber of Pandæmonium. The demons built it in about an hour, but it far surpassed all human palaces or dwellings; it was probably quite small, however, as its spacious hall is described as being very crowded with the thronging swarm of demons, who were taller than any human man, until at a signal they were shrunk from their titanic size to less than "smallest dwarfs". It was also reputed to be made of solid gold.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pandaemonium (Paradise Lost) Fictional populated places Hell (Christianity)

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