SATAN

Satan ,[a] also known as the Devil ,[b] is an
entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces
humans into sin or falsehood. In Christianity
and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen
angel , or a jinni, who used to possess great
piety and beauty, but rebelled against God,
who nevertheless allows him temporary
power over the fallen world and a host of
demons . In Judaism , Satan is typically
regarded as a metaphor for the yetzer hara,
or "evil inclination", or as an agent
subservient to God.
A figure known as "the satan" first appears in
the Tanakh as a heavenly prosecutor , a
member of the sons of God subordinate to
Yahweh , who prosecutes the nation of Judah
in the heavenly court and tests the loyalty of
Yahweh's followers by forcing them to suffer.
During the intertestamental period, possibly
due to influence from the Zoroastrian figure
of Angra Mainyu , the satan developed into a
malevolent entity with abhorrent qualities in
dualistic opposition to God. In the apocryphal
Book of Jubilees , Yahweh grants the satan
(referred to as Mastema ) authority over a
group of fallen angels to tempt humans to sin
and punish them. 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, Satan
appears as a Great Red Dragon , who is
defeated by Michael the Archangel 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 Christianity, Satan is also known as the
Devil and, although the Book of Genesis does
not mention him, he is often identified as the
serpent in the Garden of Eden . In medieval
times, Satan played a minimal role in
Christian theology and was used as a comic
relief figure in mystery plays . During the early
modern period , Satan's significance greatly
increased as beliefs such as demonic
possession and witchcraft became more
prevalent. During the Age of Enlightenment ,
belief in the existence of Satan became
harshly criticized. Nonetheless, belief in
Satan has persisted, particularly in the
Americas . In the Quran, 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 and jinn to sin by infecting
their minds with waswās ("evil suggestions").
Although Satan is generally viewed as evil,
some groups have very different beliefs.
In Theistic Satanism , Satan is considered a
deity who is either worshipped or revered. In
LaVeyan Satanism , Satan is a symbol of
virtuous characteristics and liberty. [6][7]
Satan's appearance is never described in the
Bible, but, since the ninth century, he has
often been shown in Christian art 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, and Bes . Satan appears frequently
in Christian literature , most notably in Dante
Alighieri's Inferno, variants of the Faust
legend, John Milton 's Paradise Lost and
Paradise Regained, and the poems of William
Blake. He continues to appear in film,
television, and music.
Historical development
Hebrew Bible
Balaam and the Angel (1836) by Gustav
Jäger . The angel in this incident is referred
to as a "satan". [8]
The original Hebrew term sâtan ( Hebrew: שָּׂטָן
) is a generic noun meaning "accuser" or
"adversary", [9][10] which is used throughout
the Hebrew Bible to refer to ordinary human
adversaries, [11][10] as well as a specific
supernatural entity. [11][10] The word is
derived from a verb meaning primarily "to
obstruct, oppose". [12] When it is used
without the definite article (simply satan), the
word can refer to any accuser,[11] but when
it is used with the definite article ( ha-satan ),
it usually refers specifically to the heavenly
accuser: the satan. [11]
Ha-Satan with the definite article occurs 13
times in the Masoretic Text , in two books of
the Hebrew Bible: Job ch. 1–2 (10×) [13] and
Zechariah 3:1–2 (3×). [14] Satan without the
definite article is used in 10 instances, of
which two are translated diabolos in the
Septuagint and "Satan" in the King James
Version (KJV):
1 Chronicles 21:1, "Satan stood up against
Israel" (KJV) or "And there standeth up an
adversary against Israel" ( Young's Literal
Translation ) [15]
Psalm 109 :6b "and let Satan stand at his
right hand" (KJV) [16] or "let an accuser
stand at his right hand." ( ESV, etc.)
The word "satan" does not occur in the Book
of Genesis ,[17] which mentions only a talking
serpent [17] and does not identify the serpent
with any supernatural entity. [17] The first
occurrence of the word "satan" in the Hebrew
Bible in reference to a supernatural figure
comes from Numbers 22:22 ,[18] which
describes the Angel of Yahweh confronting
Balaam on his donkey: [8] "Balaam's
departure aroused the wrath of Elohim , and
the Angel of Yahweh stood in the road as a
satan against him." [18] In 2 Samuel 24 ,
Yahweh sends the "Angel of Yahweh" to
inflict a plague against Israel for three days,
killing 70,000 people as punishment for Davi
having taken a census without his
approval. [19] 1 Chronicles 21:1 repeats
this story,[19] but replaces the "Angel of
Yahweh" with an entity referred to as "a
satan". [19]
Some passages clearly refer to the satan,
without using the word itself. [20] 1 Samuel
2:12 describes the sons of Eli as "sons of
Belial "; [21] the later usage of this word
makes it clearly a synonym for "satan". [21]
In 1 Samuel 16:14-23 Yahweh sends a
"troubling spirit" to torment King Saul as a
mechanism to ingratiate David with the
king. [22] In 1 Kings 22:19-25 , the prophet
Micaiah describes to King Ahab a vision of
Yahweh sitting on his throne surrounded by
the Host of Heaven . [21] Yahweh asks the
Host which of them will lead Ahab astray. [21
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". [21]
Book of Job
The Examination of Job (c. 1821) by Willia
Blake
The satan appears in the Book of Job , a
poetic dialogue set within a prose
framework, [23] which may have been written
around the time of the Babylonian
captivity. [23] In the text, Job is a righteous
man favored by Yahweh. [23] Job 1:6-8
describes the " sons of God" ( bənê hāʼĕlōhîm )
presenting themselves before Yahweh. [23]
Yahweh asks one of them, "the satan", where
he has been, to which he replies that he has
been roaming around the earth. [23] Yahweh
asks, "Have you considered My servant
Job?" [23] The satan replies by urging
Yahweh to let him torture Job, promising that
Job will abandon his faith at the first
tribulation. [24] Yahweh consents; the satan
destroys Job's servants and flocks, yet Job
refuses to condemn Yahweh. [24] The first
scene repeats itself, with the satan presenting
himself to Yahweh alongside the other "sons
of God". [25] Yahweh points out Job's
continued faithfulness, to which the satan
insists that more testing is necessary; [25]
Yahweh once again gives him permission to
test Job. [25] In the end, Job remains faithful
and righteous, and it is implied that the satan
is shamed in his defeat. [26]
Book of Zechariah
Zechariah 3:1-7 contains a description of
a vision dated to the middle of February of
519 BC, [27] 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, [28] on trial with
Yahweh as the judge and the satan standing
as the prosecutor . [28] Yahweh rebukes the
satan[28] and orders for Joshua to be given
clean clothes, representing Yahweh's
forgiveness of Judah's sins. [28]
Second Temple period
Map showing the expansion of the
Achaemenid Empire, in which Jews lived
during the early Second Temple Period ,[10]
allowing Zoroastrian ideas about Angra
Mainyu to influence the Jewish conception
Satan[10]
During the Second Temple Period , when Jews
were living in the Achaemenid Empire,
Judaism was heavily influenced by
Zoroastrianism, the religion of the
Achaemenids. [29][10][30] Jewish conception
of Satan were impacted by Angra Mainyu ,[10
[31] the Zoroastrian god of evil, darkness,
and ignorance. [10] In the Septuagint , the
Hebrew ha-Satan in Job and Zechariah is
translated by the Greek word diabolos
(slanderer), the same word in the Greek New
Testament from which the English word
"devil " is derived. [32] Where satan is used to
refer to human enemies in the Hebrew Bible,
such as Hadad the Edomite and Rezon the
Syrian , the word is left untranslated but
transliterated in the Greek as satan, a
neologism in Greek. [32]
The idea of Satan as an opponent of God and
a purely evil figure seems to have taken root
in Jewish pseudepigrapha during the Second
Temple Period, [33] particularly in the
apocalypses . [34] The Book of Enoch , which
the Dead Sea Scrolls have revealed to have
been nearly as popular as the Torah, [35]
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. [36] The leader of the
Watchers is Semjâzâ [37] and another
member of the group, known as Azazel ,
spreads sin and corruption among
humankind. [37] The Watchers are ultimately
sequestered in isolated caves across the
earth [37] and are condemned to face
judgement at the end of time. [37] The Book
of Jubilees , written in around 150 BC, [38]
retells the story of the Watchers' defeat, [39]
but, in deviation from the Book of Enoch,
Mastema , the "Chief of Spirits", intervenes
before they are all sealed away, requesting
for Yahweh to let him keep some of them to
become his workers. [40] Yahweh acquiesces
this request [40] and Mastema uses them to
tempt humans into committing more sins, so
that he may punish them for their
wickedness. [41] Later, Mastema induces
Yahweh to test Abraham by ordering him to
sacrifice Isaac .[41][42]
The Second Book of Enoch , also called the
Slavonic Book of Enoch, contains references
to a Watcher called Satanael. [43] It is a
pseudepigraphic 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 [44] and an evil
spirit who knew the difference between what
was "righteous" and "sinful". [45] In the Book
of Wisdom , the devil is represented as the
being who brought death into the world. [46]
The name Samael, which is used in reference
to one of the fallen angels , later became a
common name for Satan in Jewish Midrash
and Kabbalah . [47]
Judaism
Rabbinical Judaism
The sound of a shofar ( pictured) is believed
to symbolically confuse Satan.
Most Jews do not believe in the existence of
a supernatural omnimalevolent figure. [48]
Traditionalists and philosophers in medieval
Judaism adhered to rational theology,
rejecting any belief in rebel or fallen angels,
and viewing evil as abstract. [49] The Rabbis
usually interpreted the word satan as it is
used in the Tanakh as referring strictly to
human adversaries[50] and rejected all of the
Enochian writings mentioning Satan as a
literal, heavenly figure from the Biblical
canon, making every attempt to root them
out. [33] Nonetheless, the word satan has
occasionally been metaphorically applied to
evil influences, [51] such as the Jewish
exegesis of the yetzer hara ("evil inclination")
mentioned in Genesis 6:5 . [52] Rabbinical
scholarship on the Book of Job generally
follows the Talmud and Maimonides in
identifying "the satan" from the prologue as a
metaphor for the yetzer hara and not an
actual entity. [53] Satan is rarely mentioned in
Tannaitic literature, but is found in
Babylonian aggadah . [34] According to a
narration, the sound of the shofar , which is
primarily intended to remind Jews of the
importance of teshuva , is also intended
symbolically to "confuse the accuser" (Satan)
and prevent him from rendering any litigation
to God against the Jews. [54] In Hasidic
Judaism , the Kabbalah 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. [55] The Hasidic
Jews of the 18th century associated ha-
Satan with Baal Davar . [56]
Modern Judaism
Each 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. [57] Orthodox
Judaism , 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 and certain post-
meal benedictions, as described in
Talmud [58] and the Jewish Code of Law . [59]
In Reform Judaism , Satan is generally seen i
his Talmudic role as a metaphor for the
yetzer hara and the symbolic representation
of innate human qualities such as
selfishness. [60]
Christianity
Main article: Devil in Christianity
Names
The most common English synonym for
"Satan" is " devil ", which descends from
Middle English devel, from Old English dēofol,
that in turn represents an early Germanic
borrowing of Latin diabolus (also the source
of "diabolical"). This in turn was borrowed
from Greek diabolos " slanderer", from
diaballein "to slander": dia- "across, through"
+ ballein "to hurl". [61] In the New Testament,
the words Satan and diabolos are used
interchangeably as synonyms. [62][63]
Beelzebub, 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 the Prince". [64] The Synoptic Gospels
identify Satan and Beelzebub as the
same. [62] The name Abaddon (meaning
"place of destruction") is used six times in
the Old Testament, mainly as a name for one
the regions of Sheol .[65] Revelation 9:11
describes Abaddon, whose name is translated
into Greek as Apollyon, meaning "the
destroyer", as an angel who rules the
Abyss. [66] In modern usage, Abaddon is
sometimes equated with Satan. [65]
New Testament
Gospels, Acts, and epistles
Sixteenth-century illustration by Simo
Bening showing Satan approaching Jes
with a stone
The Temptation of Christ (1854) by Ar
Scheffer
The three Synoptic Gospels all describe the
temptation of Christ by Satan in the desert
( Matthew 4:1-11 , Mark 1:12-13 , and Luke
4:1-13 ). [67] Satan first shows Jesus a stone
and tells him to turn it into bread. [67] He
also takes him to the pinnacle of the Temple
in Jerusalem and commands Jesus to throw
himself down so that the angels will catch
him. [67] 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. [67] Each time Jesus rebukes
Satan[67] and, after the third temptation, he
is administered by the angels. [67] Satan's
promise in Matthew 4:8-9 and Luke 4:6-7 to
give Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth
implies that all those kingdoms belong to
him. [68] The fact that Jesus does not dispute
Satan's promise indicates that the authors of
those gospels believed this to be true. [68]
Satan plays a role in some of the parables of
Jesus , 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 . [69] According to the Parable of the
Sower, Satan "profoundly influences" those
who fail to understand the gospel. [70] The
latter two parables say that Satan's followers
will be punished on Judgement Day , 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". [71] When the Pharisees accused Jesus
of exorcising demons through the power of
Beelzebub, Jesus responds by telling the
Parable of the Strongman, 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" ( Matthew 12:29 ). [72] The strong man
in this parable represents Satan. [73]
The Synoptic Gospels identify Satan and his
demons as the causes of illness, [68]
including fever ( Luke 4:39 ), leprosy ( Luke
5:13 ), and arthritis ( Luke 13:11-16 ),[68]
while the Epistle to the Hebrews describes th
Devil as "him who holds the power of
death" ( Hebrews 2:14 ). [74] The author of
Luke-Acts attributes more power to Satan
than both Matthew and Mark. [75] In Luke
22:31 , Jesus grants Satan the authority to
test Peter and the other apostles . [76] Luke
22:3-6 states that Judas Iscariot betrayed
Jesus because "Satan entered" him[75] and,
in Acts 5:3 , Peter describes Satan as "filling"
Ananias 's heart and causing him to sin. [77]
The Gospel of John only uses the name
Satan three times. [78] In John 8:44 , Jesus
says that his Jewish or Judean enemies are
the children of the Devil rather than the
children of Abraham. [78] The same verse
describes the Devil as "a man-killer from the
beginning"[78] and "a liar and the father of
lying." [78][79] John 13:2 describes the Devil
as inspiring Judas to betray Jesus[80] and
John 12:31-32 identifies Satan as "the
Archon of this Cosmos", who is destined to
be overthrown through Jesus's death and
resurrection. [81] John 16:7-8 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. [82]
Jude 1:9 refers to a dispute between Michael
the Archangel and the Devil over the body of
Moses. [83][84][85] Some interpreters
understand this reference to be an allusion to
the events described in Zechariah 3:1-2 . [84]
[85] The classical theologian Origen
attributes this reference to the non-canonical
Assumption of Moses .[86][87] According to
James H. Charlesworth, there is no evidence
the surviving book of this name ever
contained any such content. [88] Others
believe it to be in the lost ending of the
book. [88][89] The second chapter of the
Second Epistle of Peter, a pseudepigraphical
letter which falsely claims to have been
written by Peter,[90] copies much of the
content of the Epistle of Jude,[90] but omits
the specifics of the example regarding
Michael and Satan, with 2 Peter 2:10–11
instead mentioning only an ambiguous
dispute between "Angels" and "Glories". [90]
Throughout the New Testament, Satan is
referred to as a "tempter" ( Matthew 4:3 ),[10]
"the ruler of the demons" ( Matthew
12:24 ),[91][10] "the God of this Age" ( 2
Corinthians 4:4 ),[92] "the evil one" ( 1 John
5:18 ),[10] and "a roaring lion" ( 1 Peter
5:8 ). [91]
Book of Revelation
St. Michael Vanquishing Satan (1518) by
Raphael , depicting Satan being cast out
heaven by Michael the Archangel, as
described in Revelation 12:7-8
The Book of Revelation represents Satan as
the supernatural ruler of the Roman Empire
and the ultimate cause of all evil in the
world. [93] In Revelation 2:9-10 , as part of
the letter to the church at Smyrna , John of
Patmos refers to the Jews of Smyrna as "a
synagogue of Satan" [94] and warns that "the
Devil is about to cast some of you into priso
as a test [ peirasmos], and for ten days you
will have affliction." [94] In Revelation
2:13-14 , in the letter to the church of
Pergamum, John warns that Satan lives
among the members of the congregation [95]
and declares that "Satan's throne" is in their
midst. [95] Pergamum was the capital of the
Roman Province of Asia [95] and "Satan's
throne" may be referring to the monumental
Pergamon Altar in the city, which was
dedicated to the Greek god Zeus ,[95] or to a
temple dedicated to the Roman emperor
Augustus .[95]
Revelation 12:3 describes a vision of a Great
Red Dragon with seven heads, ten horns,
seven crowns, and a massive tail, [96] an
image which is clearly inspired by the vision
of the four beasts from the sea in the Book of
Daniel [97] and the Leviathan described in
various Old Testament passages. [98] The
Great Red Dragon knocks "a third of the
sun... a third of the moon, and a third of the
stars" out the sky [99] and pursues the
Woman of the Apocalypse. [99] Revelation
12:7-9 declares: " And war broke out in
Heaven . Michael and his angels fought
against Dragon. 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." [100]
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. [101]
In Revelation 20:1-3 , Satan is bound with a
chain and hurled into the Abyss,[102] where
he is imprisoned for one thousand
years . [102] In Revelation 20:7-10 , he is set
free and gathers his armies along with Gog
and Magog to wage war against the
righteous, [102] but is defeated with fire from
Heaven, and cast into the lake of fire. [102]
Some Christians associate Satan with the
number 666 , which Revelation 13:18
describes as the Number of the Beast . [103]
However, the beast mentioned in Revelation
13 is not Satan,[104] and the use of 666 in
the Book of Revelation has been interpreted
as a reference to the Roman Emperor Nero ,
as 666 is the numeric value of his name in
Hebrew. [103]
Patristic era
Lucifer (1890) by Franz Stuck.
Because of Patristic interpretations of
Isaiah 14:12 and Jerome's Latin
Vulgate translation, the name
" Lucifer " is sometimes used in
reference to Satan. [105][106]
Despite the fact that the Book of Genesis
never mentions Satan,[17] Christians have
traditionally interpreted the serpent in the
Garden of Eden as Satan due to Revelation
12:7 , which calls Satan "that ancient
serpent". [101][10] This verse, however, is
probably intended to identify Satan with the
Leviathan,[101] a monstrous sea-serpent
whose destruction by Yahweh is prophesied
in Isaiah 27:1 . [98] The first recorded
individual to identify Satan with the serpent
from the Garden of Eden was the second-
century AD Christian apologist Justin
Martyr ,[107][108] in chapters 45 and 79 of
his Dialogue with Trypho. [108] Other early
church fathers to mention this identification
include Theophilus and Tertullian .[109] 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". [110]
The name Heylel , meaning "morning star" (or
in Latin, Lucifer ), [c] was a name for Attar , the
god of the planet Venus in Canaanite
mythology,[111][112] who attempted to scale
the walls of the heavenly city, [113][111] but
was vanquished by the god of the sun . [113]
The name is used in Isaiah 14:12 in
metaphorical reference to the king of
Babylon. [113] Ezekiel 28:12-15 uses a
description of a cherub in Eden as a polemic
against Ithobaal II , the king of Tyre. [114] The
Church Father Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 –
c. 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 [115] and
must therefore be alluding 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. [116][117]
In his apologetic treatise Contra Celsum ,
however, Origen changed his interpretations
of Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:12-15, now
interpreting both of them as referring to
Satan. [118] 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." [119]
The later Church Father Jerome (c. 347 –
420), translator of the Latin Vulgate , accepted
Origen's theory of Satan as a fallen
angel [120] and wrote about it in his
commentary on the Book of Isaiah. [120] In
Christian tradition ever since, both Isaiah
14:12 [121][122] and Ezekiel 28:12-15 have
been understood as allegorically referring to
Satan. [123][124] For most Christians, Satan
has been regarded as an angel who rebelled
against God. [125][122]
According to the ransom theory of atonement
which was popular among early Christian
theologians, [126][127] Satan gained power
over humanity through Adam and Eve's
sin [126][128] and Christ's death on the cross
was a ransom to Satan in exchange for
humanity's liberation. [126][129] This theory
holds that Satan was tricked by God[126]
[130] because Christ was not only free of sin,
but also the incarnate Deity, whom Satan
lacked the ability to enslave. [130] Irenaeus of
Lyons described a prototypical form of the
ransom theory, [126] but Origen was the first
to propose it in its fully developed form. [126]
The theory was later expanded by theologians
such as Gregory of Nyssa and Rufinus of
Aquileia .[126] In the eleventh century, Anselm
of Canterbury criticized the ransom theory,
along with the associated Christus Victor
theory,[126][131] resulting in the theory's
decline in western Europe. [126][131] The
theory has nonetheless retained some of its
popularity in the Eastern Orthodox
Church. [126]
Most early Christians firmly believed that
Satan and his demons had the power to
possess humans [132] and exorcisms were
widely practiced by Jews, Christians, and
pagans alike. [132] Belief in demonic
possession continued through the Middle
Ages into the early modern period. [133][134]
Exorcisms were seen as a display of God's
power over Satan. [135] 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." [136]
Middle Ages
Medieval miniature depicting Pope Sylve
II consorting with Satan (c. 1460)
Detail of Satan from Hans Memling's
Triptych of Earthly Vanity and Divine
Salvation (c. 1485)
Satan had minimal role in medieval Christian
theology,[137] but he frequently appeared as
a recurring comedic stock character in late
medieval mystery plays , in which he was
portrayed as a comic relief figure who
"frolicked, fell, and farted in the
background". [137] Jeffrey Burton Russell
describes the medieval conception of Satan
as "more pathetic and repulsive than
terrifying" [137][138] and he was seen as little
more than a nuisance to God's overarching
plan. [137] The Golden Legend , a collection of
saints' lives compiled in around 1260 by the
Dominican Friar Jacobus da Varagine ,
contains numerous stories about encounters
between saints and Satan,[139] in which
Satan is constantly duped by the saints'
cleverness and by the power of God. [139]
Henry Ansgar Kelly remarks that Satan
"comes across as the opposite of
fearsome." [140] The Golden Legend was the
most popular book during the High and Late
Middle Ages [141] and more manuscripts of it
have survived from the period than for any
other book, including even the Bible
itself. [141]
The Canon Episcopi , written in the eleventh
century AD, condemns belief in witchcraft as
heretical, [142] but also documents that many
people at the time apparently believed in
it. [142] Witches were believed to fly through
the air on broomsticks ,[142] consort with
demons, [142] perform in " lurid sexual rituals "
in the forests, [142] murder human infants
and eat them as part of Satanic rites, [143]
and engage in conjugal relations with
demons. [144][143] In 1326, Pope John XXII
issued the papal bull Super illius
Specula ,[145] which condemned folk
divination practices as consultation with
Satan. [145] By the 1430s, the Catholic
Church began to regard witchcraft as part of
a vast conspiracy led by Satan himself. [146]
Early modern period
Painting from c. 1788 by Francisco Go
depicting Saint Francis Borgia performin
exorcism. During the early modern peri
exorcisms were seen as displays of Go
power over Satan. [135]
During the early modern period, witches
widely believed to engage in sexually exp
Satanic rituals with demons, [142] such a
one shown in this illustration by Martin
Maële in the 1911 edition of Satanism a
Witchcraft by Jules Michelet .
During the Early Modern Period , Christians
gradually began to regard Satan as
increasingly powerful [144] and the fear of
Satan's power became a dominant aspect of
the worldview of Christians across
Europe. [135][137] 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; [147] Luther
especially recommended music as a
safeguard against temptation, since the Devil
"cannot endure gaiety ." [147] John Calvin
repeated a maxim from Saint Augustine that
"Man is like a horse, with either God or the
devil as rider." [148]
In the late fifteenth century, a series of
witchcraft panics erupted in France and
Germany. [145][146] The German Inquisitors
Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger argued
in their book Malleus Maleficarum , published
in 1487, that all maleficia ("sorcery") was
rooted in the work of Satan. [149] In the mid-
sixteenth century, the panic spread to
England and Switzerland. [145] Both
Protestants and Catholics alike firmly
believed in witchcraft as a real phenomenon
and supported its prosecution. [150][151] In
the late 1500s, the Dutch demonologist
Johann Weyer argued in his treatise De
praestigiis daemonum that witchcraft did not
exist, [152] but that Satan promoted belief in
it to lead Christians astray. [152] The panic
over witchcraft intensified in the 1620s and
continued until the end of the 1600s. [145]
Brian Levack estimates that around 60,000
people were executed for witchcraft during
the entire span of the witchcraft
hysteria. [145]
The early English settlers of North America,
especially the Puritans of New England,
believed that Satan "visibly and palpably"
reigned in the New World .[153] John
Winthrop claimed that the Devil made
rebellious Puritan women give birth to
stillborn monsters with claws, sharp horns,
and "on each foot three claws, like a young
fowl." [154] Cotton Mather wrote that devils
swarmed around Puritan settlements "like the
frogs of Egypt". [155] The Puritans believed
that the Native Americans were worshippers
of Satan[156] and described them as
"children of the Devil". [153] Some settlers
claimed to have seen Satan himself appear i
the flesh at native ceremonies. [155] During
the First Great Awakening , the "new light "
preachers portrayed their "old light" critics as
ministers of Satan.[157] 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, [158]
a role he has largely retained among present
day American fundamentalists .[159]
By the early 1600s, skeptics in Europe,
including the English author Reginald Scot
and the Anglican bishop John Bancroft , had
begun to criticize the belief that demons still
had the power to possess people. [160] This
skepticism was bolstered by the belief that
miracles only occurred during the Apostolic
Age, which had long since ended. [161] Later,
Enlightenment thinkers, such as David Hume ,
Denis Diderot, and Voltaire , attacked the
notion of Satan's existence altogether. [162]
Voltaire labelled John Milton's Paradise Lost
a "disgusting fantasy" [162] and declared that
belief in Hell and Satan were among the
many lies propagated by the Catholic Church
to keep humanity enslaved. [162] By the
eighteenth century, trials for witchcraft had
ceased in most western countries, with the
notable exceptions of Poland and Hungary ,
where they continued. [163] Belief in the
power of Satan, however, remained strong
among traditional Christians. [163]
Modern era
The Genius of Evil (1848) by
Guillaume Geefs
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. [164] In the Book of Moses, Cain is
said to have "loved Satan more than
God"[165] and conspired with Satan to kill
Abel . It was through this pact that Cain
became a Master Mahan . [166] The Book of
Moses also says that Moses was tempted by
Satan before calling upon the name of the
"Only Begotten ", which caused Satan to
depart. Douglas Davies asserts that this text
"reflects" the temptation of Jesus in the
Bible. [167]
Belief in Satan and demonic possession
remains strong among Christians in the
United States[168][169][170] and Latin
America. [171] According to a 2013 poll
conducted by YouGov , fifty-seven percent of
people in the United States believe in a literal
Devil,[168] compared to eighteen percent of
people in Britain. [168] Fifty-one percent of
Americans believe that Satan has the power
to possess people. [168] 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." [154] The Catholic Church
generally played down Satan and exorcism
during late twentieth and early twenty-first
centuries, [171] 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." [171][172] 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." [173]
Bernard McGinn describes multiple traditions
detailing the relationship between the
Antichrist and Satan. [174] In the dualist
approach, Satan will become incarnate in the
Antichrist, just as God became incarnate in
Jesus .[174] However, in Orthodox Christian
thought, this view is problematic because it i
too similar to Christ's incarnation. [174]
Instead, the "indwelling" view has become
more accepted, [174] which stipulates that the
Antichrist is a human figure inhabited by
Satan,[174] since the latter's power is not to
be seen as equivalent to God's. [174]
Islam
Main article: Iblis
See also: Azazel § In Islam
The Arabic equivalent of the word Satan is
Shaitan ( ﺷﻴﻄﺎﻥ, from the root šṭn 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 al-jinn ( ﺍﻟﺠﻦ), but it is also
used in reference to Satan in particular. In
the Quran , Satan's name is Iblis (Arabic
pronunciation: [ˈibliːs] ), probably a derivative
of the Greek word diabolos .[175] Muslims do
not regard Satan as the cause of evil, but as
a tempter, who takes advantage of humans'
inclinations toward self-centeredness. [176]
Quran
Illustration from an Arabic manuscript of the
Annals of al-Tabari showing Iblis refusing to
prostrate before the newly-created Adam
Seven suras in the Quran describe how God
ordered all the angels and Iblis to bow before
the newly-created Adam . [10][177][175] All
the angels bowed, but Iblis refused, [10][177]
[175] claiming to be superior to Adam
because he was made from fire; whereas
Adam was made from clay ( 7:12 ). [175]
Consequently, God expelled him from
Paradise[10][175] and condemned him to
Jahannam. [178][175] Iblis thereafter became
a kafir, "an ungrateful disbeliever", [10] whose
sole mission is to lead humanity astray. [10]
[179] God allows Iblis to do this, [10][180]
because he knows that the righteous will be
able to resist Iblis's attempts to misguide
them. [10] On Judgement Day , while the lot of
Satan remains in question,[181] those who
followed him will be thrown into the fires of
Jahannam. [178][175] After his banishment
from Paradise, Iblis, who thereafter became
known as Al-Shaitan ("the Demon"), [178]
lured Adam and Eve into eating the fruit from
the forbidden tree . [178][175][182]
The primary characteristic of Satan, aside
from his hubris and despair , is his ability to
cast evil suggestions ( waswās ) into men and
women. [183] 15:45 states that Satan has
no influence over the righteous, [184] but that
those who fall in error are under his
power. [184] 7:156 implies that those who
obey God's laws are immune to the
temptations of Satan. [184] 56:79 warns
that Satan tries to keep Muslims from
reading the Quran [185] and 16:98-100
recommends reciting the Quran as an
antidote against Satan. [185] 35:6 refers to
Satan as the enemy of humanity [185] and
36:60 forbids humans from worshipping
him. [185] In the Quranic retelling of the story
of Job , Job knows that Satan is the one
tormenting him. [185]
Islamic tradition
Illustration (c. 1522) of Iblis from
a manuscript of the epic poem
Shahnameh
Affiliation
In the Quran, Satan is apparently an
angel, [175] but, in 18:50 , he is described
as "from the jinns". [175] This, combined with
the fact that he describes himself as having
been made from fire, posed a major problem
for Muslims exegetes of the Quran, [175] who
disagree on whether Satan is a fallen angel
or the leader of a group of evil jinn. [186]
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. [187]
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." [188] The medieval Persian scholar
Abu Al-Zamakhshari states that the words
angels and jinn are synonyms. [189] Another
Persian scholar, Al-Baydawi , instead argues
that Satan hoped to be an angel, [189] but
that his actions made him a jinn. [189] 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. [190]
Concering the fiery origin of Iblis, Zakariya
al-Qazwini and Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad
Ibshīhī [191] 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. [192]
The Muslim historian Al-Tabari , who died in
around 923 AD, [175] writes that, before Ada
was created, earthly jinn made of smokeless
fire roamed the earth and spread
corruption. [193] He further relates that Iblis
was originally an angel named Azazil or Al-
Harith ,[194] from a group of angels, in
contrast to the jinn, created from the fires of
simoom ,[195] who was sent by God to
confront the earthly jinn. [196][175] Azazil
defeated the jinn in battle and drove them
into the mountains, [196] but he became
convinced that he was superior to humans
and all the other angels, leading to his
downfall. [196] In this account, Azazil's group
of angels were called jinn because they
guarded Jannah (Paradise). [197] In another
tradition recorded by Al-Tabari, Satan was
one of the earthly jinn, who was taken
captive by the angels [184][175] and brought
to Heaven as a prisoner. [184][175] God
appointed him as judge over the other jinn
and he became known as Al-Hakam . [184] He
fulfilled his duty for a thousand years before
growing negligent, [175] but was rehabilitated
again and resumed his position until his
refusal to bow before Adam. [175]
Other traditions
A stoning of the Devil from 1942
During the first two centuries of Islam,
Muslims almost unanimously accepted the
historicity of a tradition known as the Satani
Verses. [198] According to this narrative,
Muhammad was told by Satan to add words
to the Quran which would allow Muslims to
pray for the intercession of pagan
goddesses. [199] He mistook the words of
Satan for divine inspiration . [198] Modern
Muslims almost universally reject this story
as heretical, as it calls the integrity of the
Quran into question. [200]
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 . [201]
This ritual is based on the Islamic tradition
that, when God ordered Abraham to sacrifice
his son Ishmael , Satan tempted him three
times not to do it, and, each time, Abraham
responded by throwing seven stones at
him. [201][202]
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. [203] This
doctrine bears some similarities to the
doctrine of original sin . [203] Muslim tradition
holds that only Jesus and Mary were not
touched by Satan at birth. [203] However,
when he was a boy, Muhammad's heart was
literally opened by an angel, who removed a
black clot that symbolized sin. [203]
Angels bow before the newly created
Adam, but Iblis (top right on the
picture) refuses to prostrate
Muslim tradition preserves a number of
stories involving dialogues between Jesus
and Iblis, [196] all of which are intended to
demonstrate Jesus's virtue and Satan's
depravity. [204] Ahmad ibn Hanbal records an
Islamic retelling of Jesus's temptation by
Satan in the desert from the Synoptic
Gospels. [196] 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." [204] Abu Uthman al-Jahiz
credits Jesus with saying, "The world is
Satan's farm, and its people are his
plowmen." [196] Al-Ghazali tells an anecdote
about how Jesus went out one day and saw
Satan carrying ashes and honey; [205] 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." [205] 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 ." [205]
According to Sufi mysticism, Iblis refused to
bow to Adam because he was fully devoted
to God alone and refused to bow to anyone
else. [206][189] For this reason, Sufi masters
regard Satan and Muhammad as the two
most perfect monotheists. [206] Sufis reject
the concept of dualism[206][207] and instead
believe in the unity of existence .[207] In the
same way that Muhammad was the
instrument of God's mercy, [206] Sufis regard
Satan as the instrument of God's wrath. [206]
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. [208] 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. [209]
Bahá'í Faith
In the Bahá'í Faith , Satan is not regarded as
an independent evil power as he is in some
faiths, [210][211] but signifies the lower
nature of humans. [210][211] `Abdu'l-Bahá
explains: "This lower nature in man is
symbolized as Satan — the evil ego within us,
not an evil personality outside." [210][211] All
other evil spirits described in various faith
traditions—such as fallen angels , demons,
and jinns—are also metaphors for the base
character traits a human being may acquire
and manifest when he turns away from
God. [212] Actions, that are described as
"satanic" in some Bahá'í writings, denote
humans deeds caused by selfish
desires. [213]
Satanism
Main article: Satanism
Eliphas Levi 's image of Baphomet is
embraced by LaVeyan Satanists as a
symbol of duality, fertility, and the
"powers of darkness", serving as the
namesake of their primary insignia,
the Sigil of Baphomet . [214]
Theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism, commonly referred to as
"devil worship", [215] views Satan as a deity ,
whom individuals may supplicate to. [216]
[217] It consists of loosely affiliated or
independent groups and cabals, which all
agree that Satan is a real entity. [218]
Atheistic Satanism
Atheistic Satanism, as practiced by the
Satanic Temple and by followers of LaVeyan
Satanism , 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. [219][220][221][222][223] 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". [224]
LaVeyan Satanists embrace the original
etymological meaning of the word
"Satan" ( Hebrew: 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." [225]
Allegations of worship
A depiction of Santa Muerte
The main deity in the tentatively 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. [226][227] Therefore
Christians and Muslims often consider Melek
Taus to be Satan. [226][227] 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 Sufi movement founded by
Shaykh Adi. In fact, there is no entity in
Yazidism which represents evil in opposition
to God; such dualism is rejected by
Yazidis. [228]
In the Middle Ages , the Cathars , practitioners
of a 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 out of heaven and
that Lucifer would return to reward his
faithful. On the other hand, according to
Catharism, the creator-god of the material
world worshipped by the Catholic Church is
actually Satan. [229]
Wicca is a modern, syncretic Neopagan
religion,[230] whose practitioners many
Christians have incorrectly assumed to
worship Satan. [230] In actuality, Wiccans do
not believe in the existence of Satan or any
analogous figure[230] and have repeatedly
and emphatically rejected the notion that they
venerate such an entity. [230] The cult of the
skeletal figure of Santa Muerte, which has
grown exponentially in Mexico, [231][232] has
been denounced by the Catholic Church as
Devil-worship. [233] However, devotees of
Santa Muerte view her as an angel of death
created by God,[234] and many of them
identify as Catholic. [235]
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 . [236][237][238][239] An example is
the Satanic ritual abuse scare of the 1980s —
beginning with the memoir Michelle
Remembers — which depicted Satanism as a
vast conspiracy of elites with a predilection
for child abuse and human sacrifice . [237]
[238] This genre frequently describes Satan
as physically incarnating in order to receive
worship. [239]
In culture
See also: Devil in popular culture
In literature
“ If he was once as handsome as he no
is ugly and, despite that, raised his
brows against his Maker, one can
understand,
how every sorrow has its source in
him!
— Dante in Inferno, Canto XXXI
translation by Allen Mand
“ Here we may reign secure, and in my
choice
to reign is worth ambition though in
Hell:
Better to reign in Hell, than serve in
Heaven.
— Satan in John Milton 's Paradise Lo
I, lines
In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Satan appears as
a giant demon, frozen mid-breast in ice at
the center of the Ninth Circle of Hell . [240]
[241] Satan has three faces and a pair of
bat-like wings affixed under each chin. [242]
In his three mouths, Satan gnaws on Brutus ,
Judas Iscariot, and Cassius , [242] whom
Dante regarded as having betrayed the "two
greatest heroes of the human race": [243]
Julius Caesar, the founder of the new order of
government, and Jesus, the founder of the
new order of religion. [243] 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. [242] Dante
and Virgil climb up Satan's shaggy legs until
gravity is reversed and they fall through the
earth into the southern hemisphere. [243]
Satan appears in several stories from The
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer ,[244]
including "The Summoner's Prologue ", in
which a friar arrives in Hell and sees no
other friars,[245] but is told there are
millions. [245] Then Satan lifts his tail to
reveal that all of the friars live inside his
anus. [245] Chaucer's description of Satan's
appearance is clearly based on Dante's. [245]
The legend of Faust, recorded in the 1589
chapbook The History of the Damnable Life
and the Deserved Death of Doctor John
Faustus ,[246] concerns a pact allegedly mad
by the German scholar Johann Georg Faust
with a demon named Mephistopheles
agreeing to sell his soul to Satan in exchange
for twenty-four years of earthly
pleasure. [246] This chapbook became the
source for Christopher Marlowe 's The
Tragical History of the Life and Death of
Doctor Faustus . [247]
John Milton 's epic poem Paradise Lost
features Satan as its main protagonist. [248]
[249] Milton portrays Satan as a tragic
antihero destroyed by his own hubris. [249]
The poem, which draws extensive inspiration
from Greek tragedy,[250] recreates Satan as
a complex literary character, [251] who dares
to rebel against the "tyranny" of God, [252]
[253] in spite of God's own
omnipotence .[252][254] The English poet and
painter William Blake 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." [255] Paradise Regained, the sequel to
Paradise Lost , is a retelling of Satan's
temptation of Jesus in the desert. [256]
William Blake regarded Satan as a model of
rebellion against unjust authority [162] and
features him in many of his poems and
illustrations, [162] including his 1780 book
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ,[162] 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 .[162] Based on the
Biblical passages portraying Satan as the
accuser of sin, [257] Blake interpreted Satan
as "a promulgator of moral laws." [257]
In visual art
Ancient Roman mosaic showing a
horned, goat-legged Pan holding a
shepherd's crook . Much of Satan's
traditional iconography is apparently
derived from Pan. [258][259]
Satan's appearance is never described in the
Bible or any early Christian writings,[260]
[259] though Paul the Apostle does write that
"Satan disguises himself as an angel of
light" ( 2 Corinthians 11:14 ). [261] The Devil
was never shown in early Christian
artwork [260][259] and first appears in
medieval art of the ninth century, [262] where
he is shown with cloven hooves, hairy legs,
the tail of a goat, pointed ears, a beard, a fla
nose, and a set of horns. [258][259][137]
Some art historians claim that Satan was
depicted earlier 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 angel which
appears to the left hand side of Jesus behind
three goats. [263][264] Satan may have first
become associated with goats through the
Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, recorded
in Matthew 25:31–46 ,[265] in which Jesus
separates sheep (representing the saved)
from goats (representing the damned). [71]
Medieval Christians were known to adapt
previously existing pagan iconography to suit
depictions of Christian figures. [258][259]
Much of Satan's traditional iconography in
Christianity appears to be derived from
Pan ,[258][259] a rustic, goat-legged fertility
god in ancient Greek religion.[258][259] Early
Christian writers such as Saint Jerome
equated the Greek satyrs and the Roman
fauns, whom Pan resembled, with
demons. [258][259] The Devil's pitchfork
appears to have been adapted from the
trident wielded by the Greek god
Poseidon[259] and Satan's flame-like hair
seems to have originated from the Egyptian
god Bes . [259] By the High Middle Ages ,
Satan and devils appear in all works of
Christian art: in paintings, sculptures, and on
cathedrals. [266] Satan is usually depicted
naked, [259] but his genitals are rarely shown
and are often covered by animal furs. [259]
The goat-like portrayal of Satan was
especially closely associated with him in his
role as the object of worship by
sorcerers [267] and as the incubus, a demon
believed to rape human women in their
sleep. [267]
Italian frescoes from the late Middle Ages
onward frequently show Satan chained in
Hell, feeding on the bodies of the perpetually
damned. [268] These frescoes are early
enough to have inspired Dante's portrayal in
his Inferno. [268] 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. [269] Satan
and his demons could take any form in
medieval art,[270] 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. [270] 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
by Charles Gounod . [267]
Detail of Satan from The Last Judgeme
1583) by Jacob de Backer
Satan Summoning his Legions (1790
Thomas Lawrence
Satan and Death with Sin Intervening
1792 or 1802) by Henry Fuseli
The Great Red Dragon and the Wom
Clothed with the Sun (c. 1805) by Will
Blake
Satan Watching the Caresses of Adam
Eve (c. 1808) by William Blake, an illust
of John Milton's Paradise Lost
Satan Arousing the Rebel Angels (c. 18
William Blake, an illustration of John M
Paradise Lost
Job's Evil Dreams (1821) by William
The Temptation of Christ by the Devil (
by Félix-Joseph Barrias
Depiction of Satan (c. 1866) by Gustave
Illustration (1866) for John Milton's Pa
Lost by Gustave Doré, showing Satan'
from heaven
Illustration (1866) by Gustave Doré sh
Satan as the Prince of Hell, as portray
John Milton's Paradise Lost
Illustration (1866) by Gustave Doré sh
the angel Abdiel striking Satan upon
"impious crest", as described in Jo
Milton's Paradise Lost , Book VI
In film and television
Play media
The Haunted Castle (1896)
The Devil is depicted as a vampire bat in
Georges Méliès ' The Haunted Castle
(1896), [271] which is often considered the
first horror film . [272] So-called "Black
Masses" have been portrayed in
sensationalist B-movies since the
1960s. [273] One of the first films to portray
such a ritual was the 1965 film Eye of the
Devil, also known as 13 . Alex Sanders , a
former black magician, served as a
consultant on the film to ensure that the
rituals portrayed in it were depicted
accurately. [274] 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. [273]
The film version of Ira Levin 's Rosemary's
Baby established made Satanic themes a
staple of mainstream horror fiction .[275]
Later films such as The Exorcist (1973), The
Omen (1976) and Angel Heart (1987) feature
Satan as an antagonist. [276]
In music
Tartini's Dream (1824) by Louis-Léopold
Boilly
References to Satan in music can be dated
back to the Middle Ages. During the fifth
century, a musical interval called the tritone
became known as "the devil in Music" and
was banned by the Catholic Church. [277]
Giuseppe Tartini was inspired to write his
most famous work, the 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. [278] Niccolò Paganini was believed to
have derived his musical talent from a deal
with the Devil. [279] Charles Gounod 's Faust
features a narrative that involves Satan. [277]
In the early 1900s, jazz and blues became
known as the "Devil's Music" as they were
considered "dangerous and unholy". [277]
According to legend, blues 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. [280] 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), [277] while Black Sabbath
portrayed the Devil in numerous songs,
including "War Pigs " (1970) and
"N.I.B. " (1970). [281]