The Devil

Evil has been personified in every religion and culture, and Christianity in particular developed a highly graphic view of him from its earliest period. Sometimes grotesque, sometimes beautiful, sometimes threatening, sometimes seductively helpful, sometimes comical, Satan has played a variety of roles in human existence. Feared and frightening adversary of humankind during the Middle Ages, supposed master and friend of witches during the 16th century, and seducer of the devout during the 17nth, he was gradually explained away as the 19th century started to lose its faith at home and export him in all his traditional aspects to the Empire. Satan made a startling and vicious comeback during the 20th century as a focus of renewed admiration and even worship. This book follows the Devil through his various and sometimes surprising incarnations from the ancient world to the present, and shows that his significance is by no means over, even in the West.