Religious motifs : Overview. Search. About religious motifs
See also Hell
Keywords:
Evil, hell, supernatural, underground
Evil personified. Hebrew "satan" means opponent. Greek "diabolos" is the word behind "devil". Originally Satan was a helper of Jahve or one of God's sons, but in the antique Judaism he became an independent opponent of God, and he is regarded that way in The New Testament.
One remarkable and amusing description of the devil is in the beginning of the Andersen tale "The Snow Queen".
Example 1:
Now then! We will begin. When the story is done you shall know a great deal more than you do know.
He was a terribly bad hobgoblin, a goblin of the very wickedest sort and, in fact, he was the devil himself. One day the devil was in a very good humor because he had just finished a mirror which had this peculiar power: everything good and beautiful that was reflected in it seemed to dwindle to almost nothing at all, while everything that was worthless and ugly became most conspicuous and even uglier than ever. In this mirror the loveliest landscapes looked like boiled spinach, and the very best people became hideous, or stood on their heads and had no stomachs. Their faces were distorted beyond any recognition, and if a person had a freckle it was sure to spread until it covered both nose and mouth.
"That's very funny!" said the devil. If a good, pious thought passed through anyone's mind, it showed in the mirror as a carnal grin, and the devil laughed aloud at his ingenious invention.
All those who went to the hobgoblin's school-for he had a school of his own-told everyone that a miracle had come to pass. Now, they asserted, for the very first time you could see how the world and its people really looked.
Example 2:
The fiend was so tickled by it all that he laughed till his sides were sore.
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