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Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...
, and sometimes also called Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...
in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, is an entity
An entity is something that exists as itself, as a subject or as an object, actually or potentially, concretely or abstractly, physically or not. It need not be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually ...
in the Abrahamic religions
The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran.
Jewish tradition ...
that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, typically regarded as a metaphor for the ''yetzer hara
In Judaism, ''yetzer hara'' ( he, יֵצֶר הַרַע ''yēṣer haraʿ'') is the congenital inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. The term is drawn from the phrase "the imagination of the heart of man sevil" (, ''yetzer lev-ha ...
'', or "evil inclination." In Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said ...
or jinn
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
who has rebelled against God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. In the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, Shaitan, also known as Iblis, is an entity made of fire who was cast out of Heaven because he refused to bow before the newly created Adam and incites humans to sin by infecting their minds with ''waswās'' ("evil suggestions").
A figure known as ''ha-satan'' ("the satan") first appears in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' prosecutor, subordinate to
The
The satan appears in the Book of Job, a poetic dialogue set within a prose framework, which may have been written around the time of the Babylonian captivity. In the text,
During the Second Temple Period, when Jews were living in the Achaemenid Empire, Judaism was heavily influenced by
Most Jews do not believe in the existence of a supernatural omnimalevolent figure. Traditionalists and philosophers in medieval Judaism adhered to rational theology, rejecting any belief in rebel or fallen angels, and viewing
The most common English synonym for "Satan" is "
The three Synoptic Gospels all describe the
Google books link
/ref> Others believe it to be in the lost ending of the book. The second chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter, a pseudepigraphical letter which falsely claims to have been written by Peter, copies much of the content of the Epistle of Jude, but omits the specifics of the example regarding Michael and Satan, with instead mentioning only an ambiguous dispute between "Angels" and "Glories". Throughout the New Testament, Satan is referred to as a "tempter" (), "the ruler of the demons" (), "the God of this Age" (), "the evil one" (), and "a roaring lion" ().
describes a vision of a Great Red Dragon with seven heads, ten horns, seven crowns, and a massive tail, an image which is likely inspired by the vision of the four beasts from the sea in the
The name ''Heylel'', meaning "morning star" (or, in Latin, ''
Mormonism developed its own views on Satan. According to the Book of Moses, the Devil offered to be the redeemer of mankind for the sake of his own glory. Conversely, Jesus offered to be the redeemer of mankind so that his father's will would be done. After his offer was rejected, Satan became rebellious and was subsequently cast out of heaven. In the Book of Moses, Cain and Abel, Cain is said to have "loved Satan more than God" and conspired with Satan to kill Cain and Abel, Abel. It was through this pact that Cain became a Master Mahan. The Book of Moses also says that Moses was tempted by Satan before calling upon the name of the "Monogenēs, Only Begotten", which caused Satan to depart. Douglas Davies asserts that this text "reflects" the temptation of Jesus in the Bible.
Belief in Satan and demonic possession remains strong among Christians in the United States and Latin America. According to a 2013 poll conducted by YouGov, fifty-seven percent of people in the United States believe in a literal Devil, compared to eighteen percent of people in Britain. Fifty-one percent of Americans believe that Satan has the power to possess people. W. Scott Poole, author of ''Satan in America: The Devil We Know'', has opined that "In the United States over the last forty to fifty years, a composite image of Satan has emerged that borrows from both popular culture and theological sources" and that most American Christians do not "separate what they know [about Satan] from the movies from what they know from various ecclesiastical and theological traditions." The Catholic Church generally played down Satan and exorcism during late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, but Pope Francis brought renewed focus on the Devil in the early 2010s, stating, among many other pronouncements, that "The devil is intelligent, he knows more theology than all the theologians together." According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', liberal Christianity tends to view Satan "as a [figurative] mythological attempt to express the reality and extent of evil in the universe, existing outside and apart from humanity but profoundly influencing the human sphere."
Bernard McGinn (theologian), Bernard McGinn describes multiple traditions detailing the relationship between the Antichrist and Satan. In the dualist approach, Satan will become incarnate in the Antichrist, just as Incarnation (Christianity), God became incarnate in Jesus. However, in Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Christian thought, this view is problematic because it is too similar to Christ's incarnation. Instead, the "indwelling" view has become more accepted, which stipulates that the Antichrist is a human figure inhabited by Satan, since the latter's power is not to be seen as equivalent to God's.
In the Quran, Satan is apparently an angel, but, in , he is described as "from the jinns". This, combined with the fact that he describes himself as having been made from fire, posed a major problem for Tafsir, Muslims exegetes of the Quran, who disagree on whether Satan is a fallen angel or the leader of a group of evil jinn. According to a hadith from Ibn Abbas, Iblis was actually an angel whom God created out of fire. Ibn Abbas asserts that the word ''jinn'' could be applied to earthly jinn, but also to "fiery angels" like Satan.
Hasan of Basra, an eminent Muslim theologian who lived in the seventh century AD, was quoted as saying: "Iblis was not an angel even for the time of an eye wink. He is the origin of Jinn as Adam is of Mankind." The medieval Persian scholar Al-Zamakhshari, Abu Al-Zamakhshari states that the words ''angels'' and ''jinn'' are synonyms. Another Persian scholar, Al-Baydawi, instead argues that Satan ''hoped'' to be an angel, but that his actions made him a jinn. Abu Mansur al-Maturidi who is reverred as the founder of Maturidiyyah Sunnism, Sunni orthodoxy (''kalam'') argued that since angels can be blessed by God, they are also put to a test and can be punished. Accordingly Satan became a devil (''shaiṭān'') or jinn after he refused to obey. Other Islamic scholars argue that Satan was a jinn who was admitted into Paradise as a reward for his righteousness and, unlike the angels, was given the choice to obey or disobey God. When he was expelled from Paradise, Satan blamed humanity for his punishment. Concerning the fiery origin of Iblis, Zakariya al-Qazwini and Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ibshihi state that all supernatural creatures originated from fire but the angels from its light and the jinn from its blaze, thus fire denotes a disembodiment origin of all spiritual entities. Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi argued that only the angels of mercy are created from light, but Zabaniyya, angels of punishment have been created from fire.
The Muslim historian Al-Tabari, who died in around 923 AD, writes that, before Adam was created, earthly jinn made of smokeless fire roamed the earth and spread corruption. He further relates that Iblis was originally an angel named ''Azazil'' or ''Al-Harith'', from a group of angels, created from the ''Samūm, fires of simoom'', sent by God to confront the earthly jinn. Azazil defeated the jinn in battle and drove them into the mountains, but he became convinced that he was superior to humans and all the other angels, leading to his downfall. In this account, Azazil's group of angels were called ''jinn'' because they guarded Jannah (Paradise). In another tradition recorded by Al-Tabari, Satan was one of the earthly jinn, who was taken captive by the angels and brought to Heaven as a prisoner. God appointed him as judge over the other jinn and he became known as ''Al-Hakam''. He fulfilled his duty for a thousand years before growing negligent, but was rehabilitated again and resumed his position until his refusal to bow before Adam.
During the first two centuries of Islam, Muslims almost unanimously accepted the traditional story known as the Satanic Verses as true. According to this narrative, Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad was told by Satan to add words to the Quran which would allow Muslims to pray for the intercession of pagan goddesses. He mistook the words of Satan for divine inspiration. Modern Muslims almost universally reject this story as heretical, as it calls the integrity of the Quran into question.
On the third day of the Hajj, Muslim pilgrims to Mecca throw seven stones at a pillar known as the ''Jamrah al-’Aqabah'', symbolizing the stoning of the Devil. This ritual is based on the Islamic tradition that, when God ordered Abraham in Islam, Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael in Islam, Ishmael, Satan tempted him three times not to do it, and, each time, Abraham responded by throwing seven stones at him.
The hadith teach that newborn babies cry because Satan touches them while they are being born, and that this touch causes people to have an aptitude for sin. This doctrine bears some similarities to the doctrine of original sin. Muslim tradition holds that only Jesus in Islam, Jesus and Mary in Islam, Mary were not touched by Satan at birth. However, when he was a boy, Muhammad's qalb, heart was literally opened by an angel, who removed a black Thrombus, clot that symbolized sin.
Muslim tradition preserves a number of stories involving dialogues between Jesus and Iblis, all of which are intended to demonstrate Jesus's virtue and Satan's depravity. Ahmad ibn Hanbal records an Islamic retelling of Jesus's temptation by Satan in the desert from the Synoptic Gospels. Ahmad quotes Jesus as saying, "The greatest sin is love of the world. Women are the ropes of Satan. Wine is the key to every evil." Al-Jahiz, Abu Uthman al-Jahiz credits Jesus with saying, "The world is Satan's farm, and its people are his plowmen." Al-Ghazali tells an anecdote about how Jesus went out one day and saw Satan carrying ashes and honey; when he asked what they were for, Satan replied, "The honey I put on the lips of backbiters so that they achieve their aim. The ashes I put on the faces of orphans, so that people come to dislike them." The thirteenth-century scholar Sibt ibn al-Jawzi states that, when Jesus asked him what truly broke his back, Satan replied, "The neighing of horses in the cause of Allah."
Muslims believe that Satan is also the cause of deceptions originating from the mind and desires for evil. He is regarded as a cosmic force for separation, despair and spiritual envelopment. Muslims do distinguish between the satanic temptations and the murmurings of the bodily lower self (''nafs''). The lower self commands the person to do a specific task or to fulfill a specific desire; whereas the inspirations of Satan tempt the person to do evil in general and, after a person successfully resists his first suggestion, Satan returns with new ones. If a Muslim feels that Satan is inciting him to sin, he is advised to seek refuge with God by reciting: "In the name of Allah, I seek refuge in you, from Satan the outcast." Muslims are also obliged to "seek refuge" before reciting the Quran.
Theistic Satanism, commonly referred to as "devil worship", views Satan as a deity, whom individuals may supplicate to. It consists of loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals, which all agree that Satan is a real entity.
The main deity in the tentatively Proto-Indo-European religion, Indo-European pantheon of the Yazidis, Melek Taus, is similar to the devil in Christian and Islamic traditions, as he refused to bow down before humanity. Therefore, Christians and Muslims often consider Melek Taus to be Satan.Drower, E.S. ''The Peacock Angel. Being Some Account of Votaries of a Secret Cult and Their Sanctuaries''. London: John Murray, 1941
/ref> However, rather than being Satanic, Yazidism can be understood as a remnant of a pre-Islamic Middle Eastern Indo-European religion, and/or a ghulat Sufism, Sufi movement founded by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, Shaykh Adi. In fact, there is no entity in Yazidism which represents evil in opposition to God; such Dualistic cosmology, dualism is rejected by Yazidis. In the
pp. 694–695
/ref>''Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media'', by Bill Ellis, University Press of Kentuck
p. 125
In discussing myths about groups accused of Satanism, "...such myths are already pervasive in Western culture, and the development of the modern "Satanic Scare" would be impossible to explain without showing how these myths helped organize concerns and beliefs". Accusations of Satanism are traced from the Witch-hunt, witch hunts, to the Illuminati, to the Satanic Ritual Abuse panic in the 1980s, with a distinction made between what modern Satanists believe and what is believed about Satanists. An example is the Satanic ritual abuse scare of the 1980s—beginning with the memoir ''Michelle Remembers''—which depicted Satanism as a vast conspiracy theory, conspiracy of elites with a predilection for child abuse and human sacrifice. This genre frequently describes Satan as physically incarnating in order to receive worship.
Satan's appearance does not appear in the Bible or in early Christian writings, though Paul the Apostle does write that "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (). The Devil was never shown in Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian artwork and may have first appeared in the sixth century in one of the mosaics of the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. The mosaic "Christ the Good Sheppard" features a blue-violet angel at the left hand side of Christ behind three goats; opposite to a red angel on the right hand side and in front of sheep. Depictions of the devil became more common in the ninth century, where he is shown with cloven hooves, hairy legs, the tail of a goat, pointed ears, a beard, a flat nose, and a set of horns. Satan may have first become associated with goats through the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, recorded in , in which Jesus separates sheep (representing the saved) from goats (representing the damned); the damned are thrown into an "everlasting fire" along with Satan and his angels.
Medieval Christians were known to adapt previously existing pagan iconography to suit depictions of Christian figures. Much of Satan's traditional iconography in Christianity appears to be derived from Pan, a rustic, goat-legged fertility god in ancient Greek religion. Early Christian writers such as Jerome, Saint Jerome equated the Greek satyrs and the Roman fauns, whom Pan resembled, with demons. The Devil's pitchfork appears to have been adapted from the Trident of Poseidon, trident wielded by the Greek god
References to Satan in music can be dated back to the Middle Ages. Giuseppe Tartini was inspired to write his most famous work, the Violin Sonata in G minor (Tartini), Violin Sonata in G minor, also known as "The Devil's Trill", after dreaming of the Devil playing the violin. Tartini claimed that the sonata was a lesser imitation of what the Devil had played in his dream. Niccolò Paganini was believed to have derived his musical talent from a deal with the Devil. Charles Gounod's ''Faust (opera), Faust'' features a narrative that involves Satan.
In the early 1900s, jazz and blues became known as the "Devil's Music" as they were considered "dangerous and unholy". According to legend, blues musician Tommy Johnson (musician), Tommy Johnson was a terrible guitarist before exchanging his soul to the Devil for a guitar. Later, Robert Johnson claimed that he had sold his soul in return for becoming a great blues guitarist. Satanic symbolism appears in rock music from the 1960s. Mick Jagger assumes the role of Lucifer in the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), while Black Sabbath portrayed the Devil in numerous songs, including "War Pigs" (1970) and "N.I.B." (1970).
in JSTOR
* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: II. Satan in Extra-Biblical Apocalyptical Literature", ''The Biblical World'', Vol. 41, No. 2 (Feb., 1913), pp. 98–10
in JSTOR
* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: III. In the New Testament", ''The Biblical World'', Vol. 41, No. 3 (Mar., 1913), pp. 167–17
in JSTOR
* * * * * * * Empson, William. ''Milton's God'' (1966) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ‘’The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, An illustrated Encyclopedia’’;ed. Buttrick, George Arthur; Abingdon Press 1962 * * Jacobs, Joseph, and Ludwig Blau. "Satan," ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906
online
pp 68–71 * * * * Kent, William. "Devil." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1908) Vol. 4
* * * * * * * * Osborne, B. A. E. "Peter: Stumbling-Block and Satan," ''Novum Testamentum,'' Vol. 15, Fasc. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp. 187–19
in JSTOR
on "Get thee behind me, Satan!" * * * * * * * * * Rebhorn Wayne A. "The Humanist Tradition and Milton's Satan: The Conservative as Revolutionary," ''SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900,'' Vol. 13, No. 1, The English Renaissance (Winter, 1973), pp. 81–9
in JSTOR
* * * Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'' (1987a
excerpt and text search
* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Satan: The Early Christian Tradition'' (1987b
excerpt and text search
* * Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World'' (1990
excerpt and text search
* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History'' (1992
excerpt and text search
* Schaff, D. S. "Devil" in ''New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'' (1911), Mainline Protestant; vol 3 pp. 414–41
online
* Scott, Miriam Van. ''The Encyclopedia of Hell'' (1999
excerpt and text search
comparative religions; also popular culture * * * * * * * * * * * * Wray, T. J. and Gregory Mobley. ''The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots'' (2005
excerpt and text search
The Devil
BBC Radio 4 discussion with Martin Palmer, Alison Rowlands and David Wootton (''In Our Time'', Dec. 11, 2003) {{Authority control Satan, Angels in Christianity Angels in Judaism Classes of angels Demons in Christianity Demons in Judaism Demons in Islam Fallen angels New religious movement deities People in the canonical gospels People in the Pauline epistles Jinn Book of Job Book of Zechariah Articles containing video clips Devils Demons Book of Jubilees
'' prosecutor, subordinate to
Yahweh
Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...
(God), who prosecutes the nation of Judah in the heavenly court and tests the loyalty of Yahweh's followers. During the intertestamental period
The intertestamental period (Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century ...
, possibly due to influence from the Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
figure of Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of th ...
, the satan developed into a malevolent entity with abhorrent qualities in dualistic opposition to God. In the apocryphal Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
, Yahweh grants the satan (referred to as Mastema
Mastema ( he, מַשְׂטֵמָה ''Mastēmā''; gez, መሰቴማ ''Mesetēma''), or Mansemat, is the fallen archangel who appears in the Book of Jubilees. He pleads with God to permit the demon spirits of the dead Nephilim remain on earth so ...
) authority over a group of fallen angels, or their offspring, to tempt humans to sin and punish them.
Although the Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
does not mention him, Christians often identify the serpent in the Garden of Eden as Satan. In the Synoptic Gospels, Satan tempts Jesus in the desert and is identified as the cause of illness and temptation. In the Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
, Satan appears as a Great Red Dragon, who is defeated by Michael the Archangel
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
and cast down from Heaven. He is later bound for one thousand years, but is briefly set free before being ultimately defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire.
In the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Satan played a minimal role in Christian theology and was used as a comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
figure in mystery plays
Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...
. During the early modern period, Satan's significance greatly increased as beliefs such as demonic possession and witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
became more prevalent. During the Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, belief in the existence of Satan was harshly criticized by thinkers such as Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
. Nonetheless, belief in Satan has persisted, particularly in the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
.
Although Satan is generally viewed as evil, some groups have very different beliefs. In theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural entit ...
, Satan is considered a deity who is either worshipped or revered. In LaVeyan Satanism
LaVeyan Satanism is a nontheistic religion founded in 1966 by the American occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey. Scholars of religion have classified it as a new religious movement and a form of Western esotericism.
LaVey established his m ...
, Satan is a symbol of virtuous characteristics and liberty. Satan's appearance is never described in the Bible, but, since the ninth century, he has often been shown in Christian art
Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media.
Images of Jesus and narrati ...
with horns, cloven hooves, unusually hairy legs, and a tail, often naked and holding a pitchfork. These are an amalgam of traits derived from various pagan deities, including Pan, Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
, and Bes BES or Bes may refer to:
* Bes, Egyptian deity
* Bes (coin), Roman coin denomination
* Bes (Marvel Comics), fictional character loosely based on the Egyptian deity
Abbreviations
* Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a degree
* Banco Espírito ...
. Satan appears frequently in Christian literature
Christian literature is the literary aspect of Christian media, and it constitutes a huge body of extremely varied writing.
Scripture
While falling within the strict definition of literature, the Bible is not generally considered literature. Ho ...
, most notably in Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''Inferno
Inferno may refer to:
* Hell, an afterlife place of suffering
* Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire
Film
* ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film
* Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker
* Inferno (1973 fi ...
'', all variants of the classic Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
story, John Milton's '' Paradise Lost'' and ''Paradise Regained
''Paradise Regained'' is a poem by English poet John Milton, first published in 1671. The volume in which it appeared also contained the poet's closet drama ''Samson Agonistes''. ''Paradise Regained'' is connected by name to his earlier and ...
'', and the poems of William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
. He continues to appear in film, television, and music.
Historical development
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
term ''śāṭān'' ( he, שָׂטָן) is a generic noun meaning "accuser" or "adversary", and is derived from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct, oppose". In the earlier biblical books, e.g. 1 Samuel 29:4, it refers to human adversaries, but in the later books, especially Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
1-2 and Zechariah 3, to a supernatural entity. When used without the definite article (simply ''satan''), it can refer to any accuser, but when it is used with the definite article (''ha-satan''), it usually refers specifically to the heavenly accuser, literally, ''the'' satan.
The word with the definite article
An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.
In English, both "the" and "a(n)" a ...
''Ha-Satan'' ( he, הַשָּׂטָן ''hasSāṭān'') occurs 17 times in the Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
, in two books of the Hebrew Bible: Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
ch. 1–2 (14×) and Zechariah 3:1–2 (3×).Coogan, Michael D.; ''A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context'', Oxford University Press, 2009 It is translated in English bibles mostly as 'Satan'.
The word without the definite article is used in 10 instances, of which two are translated ''diabolos'' in the Septuagint. It is generally translated in English Bibles as 'an accuser' (1x) or 'an adversary' (9x as in Book of Numbers
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and c ...
, 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...
). In some cases, it is translated as 'Satan':
* 1 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
21:1, "Satan stood up against Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
" (KJV) or "And there standeth up an adversary against Israel" (Young's Literal Translation
Young's Literal Translation (YLT) is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of '' Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible'' and ''Concise Critical Comments on the New Te ...
)
* Psalm 109
Psalm 109 is a psalm in the Book of Psalms. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 108. It is attributed to King David and noted for containing ...
:6b "and let Satan stand at his right hand" (KJV) or "let an accuser stand at his right hand." ( ESV, etc.)
The word does not occur in the Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
, which mentions only a talking serpent and does not identify the serpent with any supernatural entity. The first occurrence of the word "satan" in the Hebrew Bible in reference to a supernatural figure comes from , which describes the Angel of Yahweh confronting Balaam
Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah ( Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son o ...
on his donkey: "Balaam's departure aroused the wrath of Elohim, and the Angel of Yahweh stood in the road as a satan against him." In , Yahweh sends the "Angel of Yahweh" to inflict a plague against Israel for three days, killing 70,000 people as punishment for David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
having taken a census without his approval. repeats this story, but replaces the "Angel of Yahweh" with an entity referred to as "a satan".
Some passages clearly refer to the satan, without using the word itself. describes the sons of Eli as "sons of Belial
Belial ( he, , ''Bəlīyyaʿal'') is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament which later became personified as the devilSee the reference to "Beliar" in ''The Ascension of Isaiah'', at EarlyChristianWritings.com', specifically at ...
"; the later usage of this word makes it clearly a synonym for "satan". In Yahweh sends a "troubling spirit" to torment King Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...
as a mechanism to ingratiate David with the king. In , the prophet Micaiah
Micaiah ( he, ''Mīḵāyəhū'' "Who is like Yah?"), son of Imlah, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He is one of the four disciples of Elijah and not to be confused with Micah, prophet of the Book of Micah.
Prophecy
The events leading up ...
describes to King Ahab
Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bib ...
a vision of Yahweh sitting on his throne surrounded by the Host of Heaven
Heavenly host ( he, צבאות ''sabaoth'' or ''tzva'ot'', "armies") refers to the army () of angels mentioned both in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, as well as other Jewish and Christian texts.
The Bible gives several descriptions of angels ...
. Yahweh asks the Host which of them will lead Ahab astray. A "spirit", whose name is not specified, but who is analogous to the satan, volunteers to be "a Lying Spirit in the mouth of all his Prophets".
Book of Job
The satan appears in the Book of Job, a poetic dialogue set within a prose framework, which may have been written around the time of the Babylonian captivity. In the text, Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
is a righteous man favored by Yahweh. describes the "sons of God
Sons of God ( he, בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm, literally: "sons of the Elohim") is a phrase used in the Tanakh or Old Testament and in Christian Apocrypha. The phrase is also used in Kabbalah where ''bene elohim'' ...
" (''bənê hāʼĕlōhîm'') presenting themselves before Yahweh. Yahweh asks one of them, "the satan", where he has been, to which he replies that he has been roaming around the earth. Yahweh asks, "Have you considered My servant Job?" The satan replies by urging Yahweh to let him torture Job, promising that Job will abandon his faith at the first tribulation. Yahweh consents; the satan destroys Job's servants and flocks, yet Job refuses to condemn Yahweh. The first scene repeats itself, with the satan presenting himself to Yahweh alongside the other "sons of God". Yahweh points out Job's continued faithfulness, to which the satan insists that more testing is necessary; Yahweh once again gives him permission to test Job. In the end, Job remains faithful and righteous, and it is implied that the satan is shamed in his defeat.
Book of Zechariah
contains a description of a vision dated to the middle of February of 519 BC, in which an angel shows Zechariah a scene of Joshua the High Priest dressed in filthy rags, representing the nation of Judah and its sins, on trial with Yahweh as the judge and the satan standing as the prosecutor. Yahweh rebukes the satan and orders for Joshua to be given clean clothes, representing Yahweh's forgiveness of Judah's sins.Second Temple period
During the Second Temple Period, when Jews were living in the Achaemenid Empire, Judaism was heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
, the religion of the Achaemenids. Jewish conceptions of Satan were impacted by Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of th ...
, the Zoroastrian god of evil, darkness, and ignorance. In the Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...
, the Hebrew ''ha-Satan'' in Job and Zechariah is translated by the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word ''diabolos'' (slanderer), the same word in the Greek New Testament Greek New Testament refers to the New Testament in Koine Greek.
It may also refer to the following texts:
* ''Novum Instrumentum omne''
* ''Textus Receptus'', the basis of the King James Bible
* '' Novum Testamentum Graece'', a critical edition of ...
from which the English word "devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
" is derived. Where ''satan'' is used to refer to human enemies in the Hebrew Bible, such as Hadad the Edomite Hadad the Edomite is a character mentioned in the First Book of Kings who was an adversary of King Solomon after Solomon turned to idols. Some scholars believe the text should read Hadad the Aramean.
According to the account in 1 Kings, Hadad wa ...
and Rezon the Syrian, the word is left untranslated but transliterated in the Greek as ''satan'', a neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
in Greek.
The idea of Satan as an opponent of God and a purely evil figure seems to have taken root in Jewish pseudepigrapha
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pse ...
during the Second Temple Period, particularly in the ''apocalypses
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imagery ...
''. The Book of Enoch, which the Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...
have revealed to have been nearly as popular as the Torah, describes a group of 200 angels known as the " Watchers", who are assigned to supervise the earth, but instead abandon their duties and have sexual intercourse with human women. The leader of the Watchers is Semjâzâ and another member of the group, known as Azazel
In the Bible, the name Azazel (; he, עֲזָאזֵל ''ʿAzāʾzēl''; ar, عزازيل, ʿAzāzīl) appears in association with the scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during ...
, spreads sin and corruption among humankind. The Watchers are ultimately sequestered in isolated caves across the earth and are condemned to face judgement at the end of time. The Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...
, written in around 150 BC, retells the story of the Watchers' defeat, but, in deviation from the Book of Enoch, Mastema
Mastema ( he, מַשְׂטֵמָה ''Mastēmā''; gez, መሰቴማ ''Mesetēma''), or Mansemat, is the fallen archangel who appears in the Book of Jubilees. He pleads with God to permit the demon spirits of the dead Nephilim remain on earth so ...
, the "Chief of Spirits", intervenes before all of their demon offspring are sealed away, requesting for Yahweh to let him keep some of them to become his workers. Yahweh acquiesces this request and Mastema uses them to tempt humans into committing more sins, so that he may punish them for their wickedness. Later, Mastema induces Yahweh to test Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
by ordering him to sacrifice Isaac.
The Second Book of Enoch
The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...
, also called the Slavonic Book of Enoch, contains references to a Watcher called Satanael. It is a pseudepigraphic
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...
text of an uncertain date and unknown authorship. The text describes Satanael as being the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven and an evil spirit who knew the difference between what was "righteous" and "sinful". In the Book of Wisdom
The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two ...
, the devil is taken to be the being who brought death into the world, but originally the culprit was recognized as Cain. The name Samael
Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...
, which is used in reference to one of the fallen angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said ...
s, later became a common name for Satan in Jewish Midrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
and ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
.
Judaism
Most Jews do not believe in the existence of a supernatural omnimalevolent figure. Traditionalists and philosophers in medieval Judaism adhered to rational theology, rejecting any belief in rebel or fallen angels, and viewing evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
as abstract. The rabbis usually interpreted the word ''satan'' lacking the article ''ha-'' as it is used in the Tanakh as referring strictly to ''human'' adversaries. Nonetheless, the word ''satan'' has occasionally been metaphorically applied to evil influences, such as the Jewish exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
of the ''yetzer hara
In Judaism, ''yetzer hara'' ( he, יֵצֶר הַרַע ''yēṣer haraʿ'') is the congenital inclination to do evil, by violating the will of God. The term is drawn from the phrase "the imagination of the heart of man sevil" (, ''yetzer lev-ha ...
'' ("evil inclination") mentioned in . The Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
ic image of Satan is contradictory. While Satan's identification with the abstract ''yetzer hara'' remains uniform over the sages' teachings, he is generally identified as an entity with divine agency. For instance, the sages considered Satan to be an angel of death that would later be called Samael
Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...
, since God's prohibition on Satan killing Job implied he was even capable of doing so, yet despite this syncretization with a known heavenly body, Satan is identified as the ''yetzer hara'' in the very same passage. Satan's status as a 'physical' entity is strengthened by numerous other rabbinical anecdotes: one tale describes two separate incidents where Satan appeared as a woman in order to tempt Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir ( he, רַבִּי מֵאִיר) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139-163). He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishn ...
and Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...
into sin. Another passage describes Satan taking the form of an ill-mannered, diseased beggar in order to tempt the sage Peleimu into breaking the mitzvah of hospitality.
Rabbinical scholarship on the Book of Job generally follows the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
and Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...
in identifying "the satan" from the prologue as a metaphor for the ''yetzer hara'' and not an actual entity. Satan is rarely mentioned in Tannaitic
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the M ...
literature, but is found in Babylonian aggadah
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...
. According to a narration, the sound of the shofar
A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying ...
, which is primarily intended to remind Jews of the importance of ''teshuva
Repentance ( he, תשובה, literally, "return", pronounced ''tshuva'' or ''teshuva'') is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism. Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in th ...
'', is also intended symbolically to "confuse the accuser" (Satan) and prevent him from rendering any litigation to God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
against the Jews. Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
presents Satan as an agent of God whose function is to tempt humans into sinning so that he may accuse them in the heavenly court. The Hasidic Jews
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
of the eighteenth century associated ha-Satan with ''Baal Davar''.
Each modern sect of Judaism has its own interpretation of Satan's identity. Conservative Judaism generally rejects the Talmudic interpretation of Satan as a metaphor for the ''yetzer hara'', and regard him as a literal agent of God. Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...
, on the other hand, outwardly embraces Talmudic teachings on Satan, and involves Satan in religious life far more inclusively than other sects. Satan is mentioned explicitly in some daily prayers, including during Shacharit
''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers.
Different traditions identify different primary components o ...
and certain post-meal benedictions, as described in the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
and the Jewish Code of Law. In Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
, Satan is generally seen in his Talmudic role as a metaphor for the ''yetzer hara'' and the symbolic representation of innate human qualities such as selfishness.
Christianity
Names
The most common English synonym for "Satan" is "devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
", which descends from Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
''devel'', from Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''dēofol,'' that in turn represents an early Germanic borrowing of Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''diabolus'' (also the source of "diabolical"). This in turn was borrowed from Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''diabolos'' " slanderer", from ''diaballein'' "to slander": ''dia-'' "across, through" + ''ballein'' "to hurl". In the New Testament, the words ''Satan'' and ''diabolos'' are used interchangeably as synonyms. Beelzebub
Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Can ...
, meaning "Lord of Flies", is the contemptuous name given in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament to a Philistine god whose original name has been reconstructed as most probably "Ba'al Zabul", meaning "Baal
Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...
the Prince". The Synoptic Gospels identify Satan and Beelzebub as the same. The name Abaddon
The Hebrew term Abaddon ( he, אֲבַדּוֹן ''’Ăḇaddōn'', meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon ( grc-koi, Ἀπολλύων, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of de ...
(meaning "place of destruction") is used six times in the Old Testament, mainly as a name for one of the regions of Sheol
Sheol ( ; he, ''Šəʾōl'', Tiberian: ''Šŏʾōl'') in the Hebrew Bible is a place of still darkness which lies after death. Although not well defined in the Tanakh, Sheol in this view was a subterranean underworld where the souls of the ...
. describes Abaddon, whose name is translated into Greek as ''Apollyon'', meaning "the destroyer", as an angel who rules the Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
. In modern usage, Abaddon is sometimes equated with Satan.
New Testament
Gospels, Acts, and epistles
The three Synoptic Gospels all describe the temptation of Christ
The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the ti ...
by Satan in the desert (, , and ). Satan first shows Jesus a stone and tells him to turn it into bread. He also takes him to the pinnacle of the Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
in Jerusalem and commands Jesus to throw himself down so that the angels will catch him. Satan takes Jesus to the top of a tall mountain as well; there, he shows him the kingdoms of the earth and promises to give them all to him if he will bow down and worship him. Each time Jesus rebukes Satan and, after the third temptation, he is administered by the angels. Satan's promise in and to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth implies that all those kingdoms belong to him. The fact that Jesus does not dispute Satan's promise indicates that the authors of those gospels believed this to be true.
Satan plays a role in some of the parables of Jesus
The parables of Jesus are found in the Synoptic Gospels and some of the non-canonical gospels. They form approximately one third of his recorded teachings. Christians place great emphasis on these parables, which they generally regard as the wo ...
, namely the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Weeds, Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, and the Parable of the Strong Man. According to the Parable of the Sower, Satan "profoundly influences" those who fail to understand the gospel. The latter two parables say that Satan's followers will be punished on Judgement Day
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
, with the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats stating that the Devil, his angels, and the people who follow him will be consigned to "eternal fire". When the Pharisees accused Jesus of exorcising demons through the power of Beelzebub, Jesus responds by telling the Parable of the Strong Man, saying: "how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house" (). The strong man in this parable represents Satan.
The Synoptic Gospels identify Satan and his demons as the causes of illness, including fever
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...
(), leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
(), and arthritis (), while the Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament.
The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...
describes the Devil as "him who holds the power of death" (). The author of Luke-Acts attributes more power to Satan than both Matthew and Mark. In , Jesus grants Satan the authority to test Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and the other apostles. states that Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...
betrayed Jesus because "Satan entered" him and, in , Peter describes Satan as "filling" Ananias's heart and causing him to sin. The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
only uses the name ''Satan'' three times. In , Jesus says that his Jewish or Judean enemies are the children of the Devil rather than the children of Abraham. The same verse describes the Devil as "a man-killer from the beginning" and "a liar and the father of lying." describes the Devil as inspiring Judas to betray Jesus and identifies Satan as "the Archon of this Cosmos", who is destined to be overthrown through Jesus's death and resurrection. promises that the Holy Spirit will "accuse the World concerning sin, justice, and judgement", a role resembling that of the satan in the Old Testament.
refers to a dispute between Michael the Archangel
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
and the Devil over the body of Moses. Some interpreters understand this reference to be an allusion to the events described in . The classical theologian Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...
attributes this reference to the non-canonical Assumption of Moses. According to James H. Charlesworth, there is no evidence the surviving book of this name ever contained any such content.James Charlesworth ''Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'', p. 76Google books link
/ref> Others believe it to be in the lost ending of the book. The second chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter, a pseudepigraphical letter which falsely claims to have been written by Peter, copies much of the content of the Epistle of Jude, but omits the specifics of the example regarding Michael and Satan, with instead mentioning only an ambiguous dispute between "Angels" and "Glories". Throughout the New Testament, Satan is referred to as a "tempter" (), "the ruler of the demons" (), "the God of this Age" (), "the evil one" (), and "a roaring lion" ().
Book of Revelation
TheBook of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
represents Satan as the supernatural ruler of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
and the ultimate cause of all evil in the world. In , as part of the letter to the church at Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
, John of Patmos
John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, accordin ...
refers to the Jews of Smyrna as "a synagogue of Satan
In the letters to the early Christian churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, reference is made to a synagogue of Satan ( gr, συναγωγή τοῦ Σατανᾶ, ''synagoge tou satana''), in each case referring to a g ...
" and warns that "the Devil is about to cast some of you into prison as a test 'peirasmos'' and for ten days you will have affliction." In , in the letter to the church of Pergamum
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...
, John warns that Satan lives among the members of the congregation and declares that "Satan's throne" is in their midst. Pergamum was the capital of the Roman Province of Asia
The Asia ( grc, Ἀσία) was a Roman province covering most of western Anatolia, which was created following the Roman Republic's annexation of the Attalid Kingdom in 133 BC. After the establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus, it was th ...
and "Satan's throne" may be referring to the monumental Pergamon Altar
The Pergamon Altar () was a monumental construction built during the reign of the Ancient Greek King Eumenes II in the first half of the 2nd century BC on one of the terraces of the acropolis of Pergamon in Asia Minor.
The structure was 35.64 ...
in the city, which was dedicated to the Greek god Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
, or to a temple dedicated to the Roman emperor Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
.
describes a vision of a Great Red Dragon with seven heads, ten horns, seven crowns, and a massive tail, an image which is likely inspired by the vision of the four beasts from the sea in the Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...
and the Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
described in various Old Testament passages. The Great Red Dragon knocks "a third of the sun... a third of the moon, and a third of the stars" out the sky and pursues the Woman of the Apocalypse
The Woman of the Apocalypse (or the woman clothed with the sun, el, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον; Latin: ) is a figure, traditionally believed to be the Virgin Mary, described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelati ...
. declares: " And war broke out in Heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon. The Dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in Heaven. Dragon the Great was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called Devil and Satan, the one deceiving the whole inhabited World – he was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him." Then a voice booms down from Heaven heralding the defeat of "the Accuser" (''ho Kantegor''), identifying the Satan of Revelation with the satan of the Old Testament.
In , Satan is bound with a chain and hurled into the Abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
, where he is imprisoned for one thousand years. In , he is set free and gathers his armies along with Gog and Magog to wage war against the righteous, but is defeated with fire from Heaven, and cast into the lake of fire. Some Christians associate Satan with the number 666
666 may refer to:
* 666 (number)
* 666 BC, a year
* AD 666, a year
* The number of the beast, a reference in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament
Places
* 666 Desdemona, a minor planet in the asteroid belt
* U.S. Route 666, an America ...
, which describes as the Number of the Beast. However, the beast mentioned in Revelation 13 is not Satan, and the use of 666 in the Book of Revelation has been interpreted as a reference to the Roman Emperor Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
, as 666 is the numeric value of his name in Hebrew.
Patristic era
Despite the fact that the Book of Genesis never mentions Satan, Christians have traditionally interpreted the serpent in the Garden of Eden as Satan due to , which calls Satan "that ancient serpent". This verse, however, is probably intended to identify Satan with theLeviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
, a monstrous sea-serpent whose destruction by Yahweh is prophesied in . The first recorded individual to identify Satan with the serpent from the Garden of Eden was the second-century AD Christian apologist Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher.
Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...
, in chapters 45 and 79 of his ''Dialogue with Trypho
The ''Dialogue with Trypho,'' along with the First and Second Apologies, is a second-century Christian apologetic text, usually agreed to be dated in between AD 155-160. It is seen as documenting the attempts by theologian Justin Martyr to show ...
''. Other early church fathers to mention this identification include Theophilus
Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...
and Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
. The early Christian Church, however, encountered opposition from pagans such as Celsus, who claimed in his treatise ''The True Word'' that "it is blasphemy... to say that the greatest God... has an adversary who constrains his capacity to do good" and said that Christians "impiously divide the kingdom of God, creating a rebellion in it, as if there were opposing factions within the divine, including one that is hostile to God".
The name ''Heylel'', meaning "morning star" (or, in Latin, ''Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...
''), was a name for Attar (god), Attar, the god of the planet Venus in Canaanite mythology, who attempted to scale the walls of the heavenly city, but was vanquished by the Shamash, god of the sun. The name is used in in metaphorical reference to the king of Babylon. uses a description of a Ezekiel's cherub in Eden, cherub in Eden as a polemic against Ithobaal II, the king of Tyre.
The Church Fathers, Church Father Origen, Origen of Alexandria ( 184 – 253), who was only aware of the actual text of these passages and not the original myths to which they refer, concluded in his treatise ''On the First Principles'', which is preserved in a Latin translation by Tyrannius Rufinus, that neither of these verses could literally refer to a human being. He concluded that Isaiah 14:12 is an allegory for Satan and that Ezekiel 28:12–15 is an allusion to "a certain Angel who had received the office of governing the nation of the Tyrians," but was hurled down to Earth after he was found to be corrupt. In his apologetic treatise ''Contra Celsum'', however, Origen interprets both Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:12–15 as referring to Satan. According to Henry Ansgar Kelly, Origen seems to have adopted this new interpretation to refute unnamed persons who, perhaps under the influence of Zoroastrian radical dualism, believed "that Satan's original nature was Darkness." The later Church Father Jerome ( 347 – 420), translator of the Latin Vulgate, accepted Origen's theory of Satan as a fallen angel and wrote about it in his commentary on the Book of Isaiah. In Christian tradition ever since, both Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:12–15 have been understood as allegorically referring to Satan. For most Christians, Satan has been regarded as an angel who rebelled against God in Christianity, God.
According to the ransom theory of atonement, which was popular among early Christian theologians, Satan gained power over humanity through Adam and Eve's sin and Crucifixion of Jesus, Christ's death on the cross was a ransom to Satan in exchange for humanity's liberation. This theory holds that Satan was tricked by God because Christ was not only free of sin, but also the incarnate Deity, whom Satan lacked the ability to enslave. Irenaeus, Irenaeus of Lyons described a Prototype, prototypical form of the ransom theory, but Origen was the first to propose it in its fully developed form. The theory was later expanded by theologians such as Gregory of Nyssa and Tyrannius Rufinus, Rufinus of Aquileia. In the eleventh century, Anselm of Canterbury criticized the ransom theory, along with the associated Christus Victor theory, resulting in the theory's decline in western Europe. The theory has nonetheless retained some of its popularity in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Most Early Christianity, early Christians firmly believed that Satan and his demons had the power to possess humans and exorcisms were widely practiced by Jews, Christians, and pagans alike. Belief in demonic possession continued through the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
into the early modern period. Exorcisms were seen as a display of God's power over Satan. The vast majority of people who thought they were possessed by the Devil did not suffer from hallucinations or other "spectacular symptoms", but "complained of anxiety, religious fears, and evil thoughts."
Middle Ages
Satan had minimal role in medieval Christian theology, but he frequently appeared as a recurring comedic stock character in late medieval mystery plays, in which he was portrayed as acomic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
figure who "frolicked, fell, and farted in the background". Jeffrey Burton Russell describes the medieval conception of Satan as "more pathetic and repulsive than terrifying" and he was seen as little more than a nuisance to God's overarching plan. The ''Golden Legend'', a collection of saints' lives compiled in around 1260 by the Dominican Friar Jacobus de Voragine, contains numerous stories about encounters between saints and Satan, in which Satan is constantly duped by the saints' cleverness and by the power of God. Henry Ansgar Kelly remarks that Satan "comes across as the opposite of fearsome." The ''Golden Legend'' was the most popular book during the High and Late Middle Ages and more manuscripts of it have survived from the period than for any other book, including even the Bible itself.
The ''Canon Episcopi'', written in the eleventh century AD, condemns belief in witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
as heretical, but also documents that many people at the time apparently believed in it. Witches were believed to Broom#Magic, fly through the air on broomsticks, consort with demons, perform in "Black Mass, lurid sexual rituals" in the forests, murder human infants and eat them as part of Satanic rites, and engage in Sexual intercourse, conjugal relations with demons. In 1326, Pope John XXII issued the papal bull ''Super illius Specula'', which condemned folk divination practices as consultation with Satan. By the 1430s, the Catholic Church began to regard witchcraft as part of a Conspiracy theory, vast conspiracy led by Satan himself.
Early modern period
During the Early Modern Period, Christians gradually began to regard Satan as increasingly powerful and the fear of Satan's power became a dominant aspect of the worldview of Christians across Europe. During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther taught that, rather than trying to argue with Satan, Christians should avoid temptation altogether by seeking out pleasant company; Luther especially recommended music as a safeguard against temptation, since the Devil "cannot endure Happiness, gaiety." John Calvin repeated a maxim from Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustine that "Man is like a horse, with either God or the devil as rider." In the late fifteenth century, a series of witchcraft panics erupted in France and Germany. The German Inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger argued in their book ''Malleus Maleficarum'', published in 1487, that all ''Maleficium (sorcery), maleficia'' ("sorcery") was rooted in the work of Satan. In the mid-sixteenth century, the panic spread to England and Switzerland. Both Protestants and Catholics alike firmly believed in witchcraft as a real phenomenon and supported its prosecution. In the late 1500s, the Dutch demonologist Johann Weyer argued in his treatise ''De praestigiis daemonum'' that witchcraft did not exist, but that Satan promoted belief in it to lead Christians astray. The panic over witchcraft intensified in the 1620s and continued until the end of the 1600s. Brian Levack estimates that around 60,000 people were executed for witchcraft during the entire span of the witchcraft hysteria. The early English settlers of North America, especially the Puritans of New England, believed that Satan "visibly and palpably" reigned in the New World. John Winthrop claimed that the Devil made rebellious Puritan women give birth to Stillbirth, stillborn monsters with claws, sharp horns, and "on each foot three claws, like a young fowl." Cotton Mather wrote that devils swarmed around Puritan settlements "like the Plagues of Egypt, frogs of Egypt". The Puritans believed that the Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans were worshippers of Satan and described them as "children of the Devil". Some settlers claimed to have seen Satan himself appear in the flesh at native ceremonies. During the First Great Awakening, the "Old and New Light, new light" preachers portrayed their "old light" critics as ministers of Satan. By the time of the Second Great Awakening, Satan's primary role in American evangelicalism was as the opponent of the evangelical movement itself, who spent most of his time trying to hinder the ministries of evangelical preachers, a role he has largely retained among present-day Christian fundamentalism#In the United States, American fundamentalists. By the early 1600s, skeptics in Europe, including the English author Reginald Scot and the Anglican bishop John Bancroft (bishop), John Bancroft, had begun to criticize the belief that demons still had the power to possess people. This skepticism was bolstered by the belief that miracles only occurred during the Apostolic Age, which had long since ended. Later, Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers, such as David Hume, Denis Diderot, andVoltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
, attacked the notion of Satan's existence altogether. Voltaire labelled John Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' a "disgusting fantasy" and declared that belief in Hell and Satan were among the many lies propagated by the Catholic Church to keep humanity enslaved. By the eighteenth century, trials for witchcraft had ceased in most western countries, with the notable exceptions of Poland and Hungary, where they continued. Belief in the power of Satan, however, remained strong among traditional Christians.
Modern era
Mormonism developed its own views on Satan. According to the Book of Moses, the Devil offered to be the redeemer of mankind for the sake of his own glory. Conversely, Jesus offered to be the redeemer of mankind so that his father's will would be done. After his offer was rejected, Satan became rebellious and was subsequently cast out of heaven. In the Book of Moses, Cain and Abel, Cain is said to have "loved Satan more than God" and conspired with Satan to kill Cain and Abel, Abel. It was through this pact that Cain became a Master Mahan. The Book of Moses also says that Moses was tempted by Satan before calling upon the name of the "Monogenēs, Only Begotten", which caused Satan to depart. Douglas Davies asserts that this text "reflects" the temptation of Jesus in the Bible.
Belief in Satan and demonic possession remains strong among Christians in the United States and Latin America. According to a 2013 poll conducted by YouGov, fifty-seven percent of people in the United States believe in a literal Devil, compared to eighteen percent of people in Britain. Fifty-one percent of Americans believe that Satan has the power to possess people. W. Scott Poole, author of ''Satan in America: The Devil We Know'', has opined that "In the United States over the last forty to fifty years, a composite image of Satan has emerged that borrows from both popular culture and theological sources" and that most American Christians do not "separate what they know [about Satan] from the movies from what they know from various ecclesiastical and theological traditions." The Catholic Church generally played down Satan and exorcism during late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, but Pope Francis brought renewed focus on the Devil in the early 2010s, stating, among many other pronouncements, that "The devil is intelligent, he knows more theology than all the theologians together." According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', liberal Christianity tends to view Satan "as a [figurative] mythological attempt to express the reality and extent of evil in the universe, existing outside and apart from humanity but profoundly influencing the human sphere."
Bernard McGinn (theologian), Bernard McGinn describes multiple traditions detailing the relationship between the Antichrist and Satan. In the dualist approach, Satan will become incarnate in the Antichrist, just as Incarnation (Christianity), God became incarnate in Jesus. However, in Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Christian thought, this view is problematic because it is too similar to Christ's incarnation. Instead, the "indwelling" view has become more accepted, which stipulates that the Antichrist is a human figure inhabited by Satan, since the latter's power is not to be seen as equivalent to God's.
Islam
The Arabic equivalent of the word ''Satan'' is '' Shaitan'' (شيطان, from the triliteral root š-ṭ-n شطن). The word itself is an adjective (meaning "astray" or "distant", sometimes translated as "devil") that can be applied to both man ("al-ins", الإنس) and jinn#Islamic beliefs, ''al-jinn'' (الجن), but it is also used in reference to Satan in particular. In theQuran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, Satan's name is Iblis (), probably a derivative of the Greek word ''diabolos''. Muslims do not regard Satan as the cause of evil, but as a tempter, who takes advantage of humans' inclinations toward self-centeredness.
Quran
Seven suras in the Quran describe how God in Islam, God ordered all the Islamic view of angels, angels and Iblis to bow before the newly created Adam. All the angels bowed, but Iblis refused, claiming to be superior to Adam because he was made from fire; whereas Adam was made from clay (). Consequently, God expelled him from Jannah, Paradise and condemned him to Jahannam. Iblis thereafter became a ''kafir'', "an ungrateful disbeliever", whose sole mission is to lead humanity astray. (Q17:62) God allows Iblis to do this, because he knows that the righteous will be able to resist Iblis's attempts to misguide them. On Islamic eschatology, Judgement Day, while the lot of Satan remains in question, those who followed him will be thrown into the fires of Jahannam. After his banishment from Paradise, Iblis, who thereafter became known as ''Al-Shaitan'' ("the Demon"), lured Adam and Eve into Taboo#In religion and mythology, eating the forbidden fruit. The primary characteristic of Satan, aside from his hubris and despair, is his ability to cast evil suggestions (''waswās'') into men and women. states that Satan has no influence over the righteous, but that those who fall in error are under his power. implies that those who obey God's laws are immune to the temptations of Satan. warns that Satan tries to keep Muslims from reading the Quran and recommends reciting the Quran as an antidote against Satan. refers to Satan as the enemy of humanity and forbids humans from worshipping him. In the Quranic retelling of the story of Job in Islam, Job, Job knows that Satan is the one tormenting him.Islamic tradition
Affiliation
In the Quran, Satan is apparently an angel, but, in , he is described as "from the jinns". This, combined with the fact that he describes himself as having been made from fire, posed a major problem for Tafsir, Muslims exegetes of the Quran, who disagree on whether Satan is a fallen angel or the leader of a group of evil jinn. According to a hadith from Ibn Abbas, Iblis was actually an angel whom God created out of fire. Ibn Abbas asserts that the word ''jinn'' could be applied to earthly jinn, but also to "fiery angels" like Satan.
Hasan of Basra, an eminent Muslim theologian who lived in the seventh century AD, was quoted as saying: "Iblis was not an angel even for the time of an eye wink. He is the origin of Jinn as Adam is of Mankind." The medieval Persian scholar Al-Zamakhshari, Abu Al-Zamakhshari states that the words ''angels'' and ''jinn'' are synonyms. Another Persian scholar, Al-Baydawi, instead argues that Satan ''hoped'' to be an angel, but that his actions made him a jinn. Abu Mansur al-Maturidi who is reverred as the founder of Maturidiyyah Sunnism, Sunni orthodoxy (''kalam'') argued that since angels can be blessed by God, they are also put to a test and can be punished. Accordingly Satan became a devil (''shaiṭān'') or jinn after he refused to obey. Other Islamic scholars argue that Satan was a jinn who was admitted into Paradise as a reward for his righteousness and, unlike the angels, was given the choice to obey or disobey God. When he was expelled from Paradise, Satan blamed humanity for his punishment. Concerning the fiery origin of Iblis, Zakariya al-Qazwini and Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ibshihi state that all supernatural creatures originated from fire but the angels from its light and the jinn from its blaze, thus fire denotes a disembodiment origin of all spiritual entities. Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi argued that only the angels of mercy are created from light, but Zabaniyya, angels of punishment have been created from fire.
The Muslim historian Al-Tabari, who died in around 923 AD, writes that, before Adam was created, earthly jinn made of smokeless fire roamed the earth and spread corruption. He further relates that Iblis was originally an angel named ''Azazil'' or ''Al-Harith'', from a group of angels, created from the ''Samūm, fires of simoom'', sent by God to confront the earthly jinn. Azazil defeated the jinn in battle and drove them into the mountains, but he became convinced that he was superior to humans and all the other angels, leading to his downfall. In this account, Azazil's group of angels were called ''jinn'' because they guarded Jannah (Paradise). In another tradition recorded by Al-Tabari, Satan was one of the earthly jinn, who was taken captive by the angels and brought to Heaven as a prisoner. God appointed him as judge over the other jinn and he became known as ''Al-Hakam''. He fulfilled his duty for a thousand years before growing negligent, but was rehabilitated again and resumed his position until his refusal to bow before Adam.
Other traditions
During the first two centuries of Islam, Muslims almost unanimously accepted the traditional story known as the Satanic Verses as true. According to this narrative, Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad was told by Satan to add words to the Quran which would allow Muslims to pray for the intercession of pagan goddesses. He mistook the words of Satan for divine inspiration. Modern Muslims almost universally reject this story as heretical, as it calls the integrity of the Quran into question.
On the third day of the Hajj, Muslim pilgrims to Mecca throw seven stones at a pillar known as the ''Jamrah al-’Aqabah'', symbolizing the stoning of the Devil. This ritual is based on the Islamic tradition that, when God ordered Abraham in Islam, Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael in Islam, Ishmael, Satan tempted him three times not to do it, and, each time, Abraham responded by throwing seven stones at him.
The hadith teach that newborn babies cry because Satan touches them while they are being born, and that this touch causes people to have an aptitude for sin. This doctrine bears some similarities to the doctrine of original sin. Muslim tradition holds that only Jesus in Islam, Jesus and Mary in Islam, Mary were not touched by Satan at birth. However, when he was a boy, Muhammad's qalb, heart was literally opened by an angel, who removed a black Thrombus, clot that symbolized sin.
Muslim tradition preserves a number of stories involving dialogues between Jesus and Iblis, all of which are intended to demonstrate Jesus's virtue and Satan's depravity. Ahmad ibn Hanbal records an Islamic retelling of Jesus's temptation by Satan in the desert from the Synoptic Gospels. Ahmad quotes Jesus as saying, "The greatest sin is love of the world. Women are the ropes of Satan. Wine is the key to every evil." Al-Jahiz, Abu Uthman al-Jahiz credits Jesus with saying, "The world is Satan's farm, and its people are his plowmen." Al-Ghazali tells an anecdote about how Jesus went out one day and saw Satan carrying ashes and honey; when he asked what they were for, Satan replied, "The honey I put on the lips of backbiters so that they achieve their aim. The ashes I put on the faces of orphans, so that people come to dislike them." The thirteenth-century scholar Sibt ibn al-Jawzi states that, when Jesus asked him what truly broke his back, Satan replied, "The neighing of horses in the cause of Allah."
Muslims believe that Satan is also the cause of deceptions originating from the mind and desires for evil. He is regarded as a cosmic force for separation, despair and spiritual envelopment. Muslims do distinguish between the satanic temptations and the murmurings of the bodily lower self (''nafs''). The lower self commands the person to do a specific task or to fulfill a specific desire; whereas the inspirations of Satan tempt the person to do evil in general and, after a person successfully resists his first suggestion, Satan returns with new ones. If a Muslim feels that Satan is inciting him to sin, he is advised to seek refuge with God by reciting: "In the name of Allah, I seek refuge in you, from Satan the outcast." Muslims are also obliged to "seek refuge" before reciting the Quran.
Islamic mysticism
According to Sufism, Sufi mysticism, Iblis refused to bow to Adam because he was fully devoted to God alone and refused to bow to anyone else. For this reason, Sufi masters regard Satan and Muhammad as the two most perfect monotheists. Sufis reject the concept of Dualistic cosmology, dualism and instead believe in the unity of opposites, unity of existence. In the same way that Muhammad was the instrument of God's mercy, Sufis regard Satan as the instrument of God's wrath. For the Muslim Sufi scholar Ahmad Ghazali, Iblis was the paragon of lovers in self sacrifice for refusing to bow down to Adam out of pure devotion to God Ahmad Ghazali's student Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir was among the Sunni Muslim mystics who defended Iblis, asserted that evil was also God's creation, Sheikh Adi argued that if evil existed without the will of God, then God would be powerless and powerlessness can't be attributed to God. Some Sufis assert, since Iblis was destined by God to become a devil, God will also restore him to his former angelic nature. Attar of Nishapur, Attar compares Iblis's damnation to the Biblical Benjamin: Both were accused injustly, but their punishment had a greater meaning. In the end, Iblis will be released from hell. However, not all Muslim Sufi mystics are in agreement with a positive depiction of Iblis. Rumi's viewpoint on Iblis is much more in tune with Islamic orthodoxy. Rumi views Iblis as the manifestation of the Seven deadly sins, great sins of pride, haughtiness and envy. He states: "(Cunning) intelligence is from Iblis, and love from Adam."Baháʼí Faith
In the Baháʼí Faith, Satan is not regarded as an independent evil power as he is in some faiths, but signifies the ''lower nature'' of humans. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains: "This lower nature in man is symbolized as Satan—the evil ego within us, not an evil personality outside." All other evil spirits described in various faith traditions—such asfallen angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said ...
s, demons, and jinns—are also metaphors for the base character traits a human being may acquire and manifest when he turns away from God. Actions, that are described as "satanic" in some Baháʼí writings, denote humans deeds caused by selfish desires.
Satanism
Theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism, commonly referred to as "devil worship", views Satan as a deity, whom individuals may supplicate to. It consists of loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals, which all agree that Satan is a real entity.
Atheistic Satanism
Atheistic Satanism, as practiced by the Satanic Temple and by followers ofLaVeyan Satanism
LaVeyan Satanism is a nontheistic religion founded in 1966 by the American occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey. Scholars of religion have classified it as a new religious movement and a form of Western esotericism.
LaVey established his m ...
, holds that Satan does not exist as a literal anthropomorphic entity, but rather as a symbol of a cosmos which Satanists perceive to be permeated and motivated by a force that has been given many names by humans over the course of time. In this religion, "Satan" is not viewed or depicted as a hubristic, irrational, and fraudulent creature, but rather is revered with Prometheus-like attributes, symbolizing liberty and individual empowerment. To adherents, he also serves as a conceptual framework and an external metaphorical projection of the Satanist's highest personal potential. In his essay "Satanism: The Feared Religion", the current High Priest of the Church of Satan, Peter H. Gilmore, further expounds that "...Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. The reality behind Satan is simply the dark evolutionary force of entropy that permeates all of nature and provides the drive for survival and propagation inherent in all living things. Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshiped, rather a reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will".
LaVeyan Satanists embrace the original etymological meaning of the word "Satan" (Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: שָּׂטָן ''satan'', meaning "adversary"). According to Peter H. Gilmore, "The Church of Satan has chosen Satan as its primary symbol because in Hebrew it means adversary, opposer, one to accuse or question. We see ourselves as being these Satans; the adversaries, opposers and accusers of all spiritual belief systems that would try to hamper enjoyment of our life as a human being."
Post-LaVeyan Satanists, like the adherents of The Satanic Temple, argue that the human animal has a natural altruistic and communal tendency, and frame Satan as a figure of struggle against injustice and activism. They also believe in bodily autonomy, that personal beliefs should conform to science and inspire nobility, and that people should atone for their mistakes.
Allegations of worship
The main deity in the tentatively Proto-Indo-European religion, Indo-European pantheon of the Yazidis, Melek Taus, is similar to the devil in Christian and Islamic traditions, as he refused to bow down before humanity. Therefore, Christians and Muslims often consider Melek Taus to be Satan.Drower, E.S. ''The Peacock Angel. Being Some Account of Votaries of a Secret Cult and Their Sanctuaries''. London: John Murray, 1941/ref> However, rather than being Satanic, Yazidism can be understood as a remnant of a pre-Islamic Middle Eastern Indo-European religion, and/or a ghulat Sufism, Sufi movement founded by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, Shaykh Adi. In fact, there is no entity in Yazidism which represents evil in opposition to God; such Dualistic cosmology, dualism is rejected by Yazidis. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the Catharism, Cathars, practitioners of a Dualistic cosmology, dualistic religion, were accused of worshipping Satan by the Catholic Church. Pope Gregory IX stated in his work ''Vox in Rama'' that the Cathars believed that God had erred in casting Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...
out of heaven and that Lucifer would return to reward his faithful. On the other hand, according to Catharism, the Creator deity, creator god of the material world worshipped by the Catholic Church is actually Satan.
Wicca is a modern, syncretism, syncretic Modern Paganism, Neopagan religion, whose practitioners many Christians have incorrectly assumed to worship Satan. In actuality, Wiccans do not believe in the existence of Satan or any analogous figure and have repeatedly and emphatically rejected the notion that they venerate such an entity. The cult of the skeletal figure of Santa Muerte, which has grown exponentially in Mexico, has been denounced by the Catholic Church as Devil-worship. However, devotees of Santa Muerte view her as an angel of death created by God, and many of them identify as Catholic.
Much modern folklore about Satanism does not originate from the actual beliefs or practices of theistic or atheistic Satanists, but rather from a mixture of medieval Christian folk beliefs, political or sociological conspiracy theories, and contemporary urban legends.''Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, Updated and Expanded Edition'', by Jan Harold Brunvand, ABC-CLIO, 31 Jul 201pp. 694–695
/ref>''Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media'', by Bill Ellis, University Press of Kentuck
p. 125
In discussing myths about groups accused of Satanism, "...such myths are already pervasive in Western culture, and the development of the modern "Satanic Scare" would be impossible to explain without showing how these myths helped organize concerns and beliefs". Accusations of Satanism are traced from the Witch-hunt, witch hunts, to the Illuminati, to the Satanic Ritual Abuse panic in the 1980s, with a distinction made between what modern Satanists believe and what is believed about Satanists. An example is the Satanic ritual abuse scare of the 1980s—beginning with the memoir ''Michelle Remembers''—which depicted Satanism as a vast conspiracy theory, conspiracy of elites with a predilection for child abuse and human sacrifice. This genre frequently describes Satan as physically incarnating in order to receive worship.
In culture
In literature
InDante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''Inferno
Inferno may refer to:
* Hell, an afterlife place of suffering
* Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire
Film
* ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film
* Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker
* Inferno (1973 fi ...
'', Dante's Satan, Satan appears as a giant demon, frozen mid-breast in ice at the center of the Inferno (Dante)#Ninth Circle (Treachery), Ninth Circle of Hell. Satan has three faces and a pair of bat-like wings affixed under each chin. In his three mouths, Satan gnaws on Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger, Brutus, Judas Iscariot, and Gaius Cassius Longinus, Cassius, whom Dante regarded as having betrayed the "two greatest heroes of the human race": Julius Caesar, the founder of the new order of government, and Jesus, the founder of the new order of religion. As Satan beats his wings, he creates a cold wind that continues to freeze the ice surrounding him and the other sinners in the Ninth Circle. Dante and Virgil climb up Satan's shaggy legs until gravity is reversed and they fall through the earth into the southern hemisphere.
Satan appears in several stories from ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer, including "The Summoner's Tale#Sources, The Summoner's Prologue", in which a friar arrives in Hell and sees no other friars, but is told there are millions. Then Satan lifts his tail to reveal that all of the friars live inside his anus. Chaucer's description of Satan's appearance is clearly based on Dante's. The legend of Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
, recorded in the 1589 chapbook ''Historia von D. Johann Fausten (chapbook), The History of the Damnable Life and the Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus'', concerns a pact allegedly made by the German scholar Johann Georg Faust with a demon named Mephistopheles agreeing Deal with the Devil, to sell his soul to Satan in exchange for twenty-four years of earthly pleasure. This chapbook became the source for Christopher Marlowe's ''Doctor Faustus (play), The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus''.
John Milton's Epic poetry, epic poem '' Paradise Lost'' features Prince of Darkness (Satan), Satan as its main protagonist. Milton portrays Satan as a tragic antihero destroyed by his own hubris. The poem, which draws extensive inspiration from Greek tragedy, recreates Satan as a complex literary character, who dares to rebel against the "tyranny" of God, in spite of God's own omnipotence. The English poet and painter William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
famously quipped that "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true poet and of the Devils party without knowing it." ''Paradise Regained
''Paradise Regained'' is a poem by English poet John Milton, first published in 1671. The volume in which it appeared also contained the poet's closet drama ''Samson Agonistes''. ''Paradise Regained'' is connected by name to his earlier and ...
'', the sequel to ''Paradise Lost'', is a retelling of Satan's temptation of Jesus in the desert.
William Blake regarded Satan as a model of rebellion against Tyrant, unjust authority and features him in many of his poems and illustrations, including his 1780 book ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'', in which Satan is celebrated as the ultimate rebel, the incarnation of human emotion and the epitome of freedom from all forms of reason and orthodoxy. Based on the Biblical passages portraying Satan as the accuser of sin, Blake interpreted Satan as "a promulgator of moral laws."
In visual art
Satan's appearance does not appear in the Bible or in early Christian writings, though Paul the Apostle does write that "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (). The Devil was never shown in Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian artwork and may have first appeared in the sixth century in one of the mosaics of the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. The mosaic "Christ the Good Sheppard" features a blue-violet angel at the left hand side of Christ behind three goats; opposite to a red angel on the right hand side and in front of sheep. Depictions of the devil became more common in the ninth century, where he is shown with cloven hooves, hairy legs, the tail of a goat, pointed ears, a beard, a flat nose, and a set of horns. Satan may have first become associated with goats through the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, recorded in , in which Jesus separates sheep (representing the saved) from goats (representing the damned); the damned are thrown into an "everlasting fire" along with Satan and his angels.
Medieval Christians were known to adapt previously existing pagan iconography to suit depictions of Christian figures. Much of Satan's traditional iconography in Christianity appears to be derived from Pan, a rustic, goat-legged fertility god in ancient Greek religion. Early Christian writers such as Jerome, Saint Jerome equated the Greek satyrs and the Roman fauns, whom Pan resembled, with demons. The Devil's pitchfork appears to have been adapted from the Trident of Poseidon, trident wielded by the Greek god Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
and Satan's flame-like hair seems to have originated from the Egyptian god Bes BES or Bes may refer to:
* Bes, Egyptian deity
* Bes (coin), Roman coin denomination
* Bes (Marvel Comics), fictional character loosely based on the Egyptian deity
Abbreviations
* Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a degree
* Banco Espírito ...
. By the High Middle Ages, Satan and devils appear in all works of Christian art: in paintings, sculptures, and on cathedrals. Satan is usually depicted naked, but his genitals are rarely shown and are often covered by animal furs. The goat-like portrayal of Satan was especially closely associated with him in his role as the object of worship by sorcerers and as the incubus, a demon believed to rape human women in their sleep.
Italian frescoes from the late Middle Ages onward frequently show Satan chained in Hell, feeding on the bodies of the perpetually damned. These frescoes are early enough to have inspired Dante's portrayal in his ''Inferno''. As the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Satan is often shown as a snake with arms and legs as well the head and full-breasted upper torso of a woman. Satan and his demons could take any form in medieval art, but, when appearing in their true form, they were often shown as short, hairy, black-skinned humanoids with clawed and bird feet and extra faces on their chests, bellies, genitals, buttocks, and tails. The modern popular culture image of Satan as a well-dressed gentleman with small horns and a tail originates from portrayals of Mephistopheles in the operas ''La damnation de Faust'' (1846) by Hector Berlioz, ''Mefistofele'' (1868) by Arrigo Boito, and ''Faust (opera), Faust'' by Charles Gounod.
Illustrations of Satan/Iblis in Islamic paintings often depict him black-faced, a feature which would later symbolize any satanic figure or heretic, and with a black body, to symbolize his corrupted nature. Another common depiction of Iblis shows him wearing a special head covering, clearly different from the traditional Islamic turban. In one painting, however, Iblis wears a traditional Islamic head covering. The turban probably refers to a narration of Iblis' fall: there he wore a turban, then he was sent down from heaven. Many other pictures show and describe Iblis at the moment, when the angels prostrate themselves before Adam. Here, he is usually seen beyond the outcrop, his face transformed with his wings burned, to the envious countenance of a devil. Iblis and his cohorts (''div'' or ''shayatin'') are often portrayed in Turko-Persian art as bangled creatures with flaming eyes, only covered by a short skirt. Similar to European arts, who took traits of pagan deities to depict devils, they depicted such demons often in a similar fashion to that of Hindu deities.
In film and television
The Devil is depicted as a vampire bat in Georges Méliès' ''The Haunted Castle (1896 film), The Haunted Castle'' (1896), which is often considered the first horror film. So-called "Black Masses" have been portrayed in sensationalist B-movies since the 1960s. One of the first films to portray such a ritual was the 1965 film ''Eye of the Devil'', also known as ''13''. Alex Sanders (Wiccan), Alex Sanders, a former black magician, served as a consultant on the film to ensure that the rituals portrayed in it were depicted accurately. Over the next thirty years, the novels of Dennis Wheatley and the films of Hammer Film Productions both played a major role in shaping the popular image of Satanism. The Rosemary's Baby (film), film version of Ira Levin's ''Rosemary's Baby (novel), Rosemary's Baby'' established made Satanic themes a staple of mainstream horror fiction. Later films such as ''The Exorcist (film), The Exorcist'' (1973), ''The Omen'' (1976), ''Angel Heart'' (1987) and ''The Devil's Advocate (1997 film), The Devil's Advocate'' (1997) feature Satan as an antagonist.In music
References to Satan in music can be dated back to the Middle Ages. Giuseppe Tartini was inspired to write his most famous work, the Violin Sonata in G minor (Tartini), Violin Sonata in G minor, also known as "The Devil's Trill", after dreaming of the Devil playing the violin. Tartini claimed that the sonata was a lesser imitation of what the Devil had played in his dream. Niccolò Paganini was believed to have derived his musical talent from a deal with the Devil. Charles Gounod's ''Faust (opera), Faust'' features a narrative that involves Satan.
In the early 1900s, jazz and blues became known as the "Devil's Music" as they were considered "dangerous and unholy". According to legend, blues musician Tommy Johnson (musician), Tommy Johnson was a terrible guitarist before exchanging his soul to the Devil for a guitar. Later, Robert Johnson claimed that he had sold his soul in return for becoming a great blues guitarist. Satanic symbolism appears in rock music from the 1960s. Mick Jagger assumes the role of Lucifer in the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968), while Black Sabbath portrayed the Devil in numerous songs, including "War Pigs" (1970) and "N.I.B." (1970).
See also
* Cernunnos * Hades * Hel (being), Hel * Man of sin * Prince of Darkness (Satan) * Prince of Darkness (Manichaeism) * ''World of Darkness (Mandaeism), saṭani'' * Set (deity)Notes
References
Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: I. In the Old Testament", ''The Biblical World'', Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1913), pp. 29–3in JSTOR
* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: II. Satan in Extra-Biblical Apocalyptical Literature", ''The Biblical World'', Vol. 41, No. 2 (Feb., 1913), pp. 98–10
in JSTOR
* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: III. In the New Testament", ''The Biblical World'', Vol. 41, No. 3 (Mar., 1913), pp. 167–17
in JSTOR
* * * * * * * Empson, William. ''Milton's God'' (1966) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ‘’The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, An illustrated Encyclopedia’’;ed. Buttrick, George Arthur; Abingdon Press 1962 * * Jacobs, Joseph, and Ludwig Blau. "Satan," ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906
online
pp 68–71 * * * * Kent, William. "Devil." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1908) Vol. 4
* * * * * * * * Osborne, B. A. E. "Peter: Stumbling-Block and Satan," ''Novum Testamentum,'' Vol. 15, Fasc. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp. 187–19
in JSTOR
on "Get thee behind me, Satan!" * * * * * * * * * Rebhorn Wayne A. "The Humanist Tradition and Milton's Satan: The Conservative as Revolutionary," ''SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900,'' Vol. 13, No. 1, The English Renaissance (Winter, 1973), pp. 81–9
in JSTOR
* * * Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'' (1987a
excerpt and text search
* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Satan: The Early Christian Tradition'' (1987b
excerpt and text search
* * Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World'' (1990
excerpt and text search
* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History'' (1992
excerpt and text search
* Schaff, D. S. "Devil" in ''New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'' (1911), Mainline Protestant; vol 3 pp. 414–41
online
* Scott, Miriam Van. ''The Encyclopedia of Hell'' (1999
excerpt and text search
comparative religions; also popular culture * * * * * * * * * * * * Wray, T. J. and Gregory Mobley. ''The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots'' (2005
excerpt and text search
External links
The Devil
BBC Radio 4 discussion with Martin Palmer, Alison Rowlands and David Wootton (''In Our Time'', Dec. 11, 2003) {{Authority control Satan, Angels in Christianity Angels in Judaism Classes of angels Demons in Christianity Demons in Judaism Demons in Islam Fallen angels New religious movement deities People in the canonical gospels People in the Pauline epistles Jinn Book of Job Book of Zechariah Articles containing video clips Devils Demons Book of Jubilees