Since Halloween is just around the corner, I may as well showcase my own interpretation of the Occidental personification of evil, based on the anecdote given in the Abrahamic traditions.
Satan (or the Devil) is typically depicted as a red, horned man with cloven hooves and a pointy tail.
However, in Abrahamic traditions, Satan was once an angel who rebelled against God's authority.
For that, he was banished from Heaven and into the depths of Hell.
In this way,...
God created the Devil!
Hence, in this representation of the traditional story, Satan is represented as a shadowy figure with wings...a far cry from his typical cartoon depiction.
Satan was the original fallen angel!
In the Hebrew Scriptures, Satan is not the name, but rather the title of a heavenly functionary ("the Satan").
"Satan" may have originated from a Semitic word meaning to "obstruct", henceforth Satan is known as the Father of Lies.
By the time Christianity took form (possibly due to Persian influence), Satan evolved into an arch-demonic figure; otherwise known as Beelzebub, or "Lord of the Flies".
That term is believed to have been a derogatory term against the "false gods" of Canaan; a Hebrew-language pun based on the name of the Levantine god Baal.
In Judaism, Sammael (the Angel of Death; the Jewish equivalent of Satan) is said to have rebelled against the creation of humankind.
In Islam, Satan (known as Iblis) refuses to bow down before Adam (of "and Eve" fame)
That is what gets him tossed out of Heaven.
Iblis is said to be one of the Jinn, or Genies (spirits made of fire).
And I just gave genies a bad name...
(Sorry!)
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