Satan: Genesis, Names, Depictions & Fears
Known for his evil seduction of humans through temptation, sin and deception, the existence of Satan or the Devil has been deeply embedded amongst the Abrahamic religions.
Early Record of Satan
Satan’s first appearance came in the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis in the form of a serpent whose temptation of Eve and later Adam, led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, dooming their offspring to mortality, suffering and death.
According to the New Testament, Jesus and his disciples warned their followers to stay vigilant to Satan’s cunning yet damning enticements, while during Christ’s 40 days and nights in the desert, the Devil offered him riches and glory if he would “fall down and worship him.”
Different Names and Depictions of Satan
Known by a number of names in the Christian tradition, including Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Baphomet, Lord of the Flies, Moloch and more.
In the Islamic holy book, the Quran, the devil is known as Shaitan or Iblis, the fallen angel or jinn, who was cast out of paradise for his rebellion against God.
In Judaism, on the other hand, “satan” is a verb disassociated from a physical being, generally referring to difficulties and temptations that humans must learn to overcome. Popularized in the Middle Ages by Dante’s Divine Comedy, including Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, over time, Satan has taken on the appearance of a horned, trident-wielding figure with hooves and a long tail, whose presence continues to fill human minds with fear, punishment, negativity and immorality.
Fear and Paranoia of the Devil
In 16th and 17th Europe and America, fear of Satan reached new heights of despair when Protestant and Catholic leaders accused heretical parishioners of practicing witchcraft and making deals with the devil, reaching its zenith with the now infamous Salem Witch Trials in Salem Massachusetts, which accused some 200 Puritans of practicing witchcraft and devil worshipping from 1692 to 1693, leading to the execution of 20 people before Satan’s colonial hysteria came to an end.
In more recent times, audiences have been made numb by Satan’s mythical hold over human behavior, in such blockbuster films as The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby and more, making Satan, a lasting embodiment of evil in fearful minds everywhere.