Greek Word Devil

The devil is suggested a couple of times (and I may have missed more instances). Once by the woman at the bar talking to James Vane: "They say he has sold himself to the devil for a pretty face" (Wilde 160). I think the more important reference was by Basil Hallward in viewing the painting the night Dorian killed him: "Christ! What a thing I must have worshipped! It has the eyes of a devil" (Wilde 131).

In the stories “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” the devil was depicted very differently. In Tom Walker, the devil was perceived as a man that tested Walker in his faith and tricked him into acting like a “christian man” on the outside and made him make deals with him as payment for helping him. “...dressed in a rude, half Indian garb, and had a red belt or sash swathed round his body, but his face was neither black nor copper colored.” (Irving, 1824, pg.4). In Daniel Webster, the devil was perceived as a man “Old Scratch” that Jabez Stone sold his soul to. “The stranger came up through the lower field, switching his boots with a cane- they were handsome black boots…” (Benét, 1937, pg.12). Each author had their own interpretation of the devil for each story.

The Antichrist, Satan, Lucifer… he has many names, and even more roles in our everyday lives. The devil is a way for us as humans to recognize our own flaws, sins, temptations, and our hidden dark side. He is a scapegoat for the carnal nature of humans, and makes our God appear to be a less wicked creator by contrast. An extremely important figure in everything from literature and movies, the devil is necessary for helping humans differentiate from good and evil, whether or not you believe in him as a real, physical being, or as a metaphor. Humans naturally feel compelled to project our own evil onto a seperate, outside entity, as it was deemed unnatural, and the devil is the perfect candidate.

Satan again reverses roles, portraying himself as good and God as evil. Many people fall for this lie. For example, many see Satan as noble liberator in the garden of Eden but judge God as a stingy jailer – instead of seeing God as providing an idyllic environment, while selfish man just had to have one more tree despite the abundant orchards! Man, imitating Satan, said "I will be like God" and rebelled against his benevolent Creator – a Creator Who in turn humbly took the form of a man to be crucified for the willful sins of His own creation so that a way of redemption could be open to all by simply trusting the Rescuer. To regard someone as 'evil' that dies on your behalf is the height of deception.

Satan was originally an angel of the Lord. He was kicked out of Heaven for disobeying and challenging God. The word Lucifer comes from the Hebrew word “helel”, meaning brightness (AllAboutGOD.com). Ironically, as Satan is being who is often called the prince of darkness, Lucifer can be interpreted in English as "morning star", "star of the morning", or "bright star". In Ezekiel 28 the author is telling us what the Lord said to him. God wants him to lament to the King of

This levy of good vs. evil carried on throughout the poem with the interaction of Satan and his fallen angels with God and his son in Heaven. The common representation of sin and evil came from the lead character in the battle against God, which was Satan. His name means "enemy of God." He was a former high angel from Heaven named Lucifer, meaning, "light bearer". Satan became jealous in Heaven of God's son and formed an allegiance of angels to battle against God, only for God to cast them out of Heaven into Hell.

In Paradis Lost, Milton wrote that Satan used to be an angel of God. The devil believed that he was equal to the Lord and he wanted to be greater than him. For this, God banished him to hell. Milton 's physical description of Satan is interesting. Since he used to be an angel, he still had wings, his eyes were blazed and he had a scaly skin. Satan was also an immense creature; the usual giant, 21 feet tall. It is noted that Satan had only one head, but Milton 's depiction of him was this basic

First, to prove that Satan must be something more than a mere “favored” angel, some kind of divine being, let us consider Adam’s longing for a companion (as I think the concept here holds basis): he reasons with God as to why it is appropriate for him to have an equality alongside, and of course, God, “not displeased,” grants Adam’s request, that is to become, Eve. Now imagine God in the shoes of Adam, that is

Satan’s definitions include the advocate of God, a personification of evil, the fallen angel, a spirit created by God, and also the accuser. People see Satan differently, some know of his existence, others think of him as just a myth, and there are those that just ignore him. John Milton's Paradise Lost tells of Satan's banishment from Heaven and his gain of earth. He and his brigade have plotted war against God and are now doomed to billow in the fiery pits of hell. Satan is a complex character with many different qualities. God is a character who we, as Christians, know about but do not completely understand. We also do not completely understand Satan. Some may think they know Satan but when asked “Is Satan divine?”

Both Hawthorne and King used the Devil’s appearance in their stories to develop the effect of evil on the protagonists. In Hawthorne’s story, the Devil was portrayed as a human-like and friendly character, despite his evil intentions. The Devil appeared to be “in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown,” and he could have been mistaken as a relative to Goodman Brown (Hawthorne 2). The Devil’s similarities to Goodman Brown established the Devil as a man, not so much a monster, which is a possible explanation as to why Goodman Brown had agreed to meet the Devil. Although he remained as a human figure throughout the story, the Devil seemed dark and evil. The Devil’s staff “bore the likeness of a great black snake,” which describes the nature of the Devil (2). The description of the staff applies to the Devil himself as an evil, manipulative liar. Hawthorne also used phrases such as “the dark figure” and “gleamed darkly” to develop the evil nature and appearance of the Devil in his story (7).

The devil at the dawn of Christianity bore little resemblance to the ruler of hell, the antichrist and agent of evil that he is known as in present day. Satan makes few overt or implied appearances in the Old Testament. For the important role of God’s greatest adversary, early Christians had to flesh out great parts of Satan’s story in order to develop him into his present, fearsome persona. The Christian story of the Devil is heavily influenced by earlier Greek mythology, and early Christian writings about the Devil co-opted local mythology in order to gain new converts and discredit popular pagan beliefs.

Greek Mythology has influenced many “monsters” we reference in various works of current literature. Anywhere from 3 headed dogs to women with snakes for locks of hair, all of these deformed common things originated from Mythology. Not only do we still reference the monsters themselves in all forms of art today but also we implement the qualities the monsters posses unto characters in our stories.

Oftentimes, the devil is depicted as an evil deity sitting in the depths of a burning pit, plotting the demise of mankind and creating all the evils that are in the world. However, in The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis, using a series of letters from an experienced tempter to his protégé, makes the case that this is false. He portrays the devils as a perverted spirit, the opposite of a guardian angel. Unlike God who truly loves man and embraces his individuality, the devil’s main objective is to cultivate humans for food, consuming their uniqueness. “We want cattle who can finally become food… we want to suck in… we are empty and would be filled”[i] Screwtape, the demonic mentor of Wormwood, writes bluntly in his letter in Chapter 8. In their

iii. (Devil): They believe in a god, which also means they believe in the devil. They are not necessarily devil worshipers like everyone thinks, but they do what they believe he wants.

incarnation of the devil, or more likely, what the devil represents (Rauer 33). The first dragon from The