When did the image of Satan turn into the horned red devil holding the pitchfork?

Question

Was it always this way? Is that how he's described in the bible? Not that it matters, I was just curious.

Answer 1

You mean he's not that way?

btw..I think that's one heck of a good question...smile

Answer 2

Read Milton's "Paradise Lost". The description with horns and pitchfork is there. It's a poem, it's not Biblical. The Bible says Satan is continually transforming himself into an angel of light.

Answer 3

The image is a composite of traditions rather than something found in the Bible. With no particular description in the Bible, medieval artists were left to their own imaginations. Some scholars point out similarities to pagan gods and suggest the artists were trying to associate them with Satan, but -- IMHO -- it's more likely they were just trying to make him mean and ugly looking.

C.S. Lewis suggests that both angels and devils were given wings to suggest a certain freedom and speed of movement because they are both spiritual beings. Angels got bird wings and devils got bat wings just because we like birds better than bats.

The "pitchfork" is more likely a trident; an ancient symbol of power. And a particularly nasty weapon to boot.

Answer 4

Hypothetically speaking, human souls are a source of energy for evil, AKA Satan. It seems that the true nature of Satan would resemble some type of emaciated blood sucking parasite, or vampire, but evil can present the itself as something beautiful and alluring through the power of illusion.

Answer 5

I believe that the image of Satan and Hell comes from mid evil poetry called Dante's Inferno by a poet named Dante. Satan is one of God's angles in the book of Job. Perhaps, where he starts to go wrong is in arguing with God saying that Job will not stay faithful. He looses a wager on it.

Answer 6

`Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light` 2 Corinthians 11:14.
According to Wikipedia, the hooves imagery is from the greek god Pan.

Answer 7

no he's described as being one of the most beautiful of God angels till he was case out of heaven to earth, where he can take on many forms, but the red horned thing was said to have come form parents trying to scare their children into being good, and they couldn't very well say ,a beautiful angel is going to get you,

Answer 8

lucifer was described in the bible as the most beautiful angel.

the horned red devil and the pitchfork was designed to demonise the pagan gods.

the horned god Cernunnos of the celts. (horns)
the forest lord or oak king, (bottom half goat legs)
the goddess demeter of the harvest(scythe or pitchfork)
ares god of war (red skin)

the modern Satan incorperates many aspects of many gods and was designed to scare people from their native gods and try to force them into Christianity.

Answer 9

that is a visualization used by the generations that has been distorted plenty. Pan become not a demon. even with the undeniable fact that his playfulness did reason issues, and that playfulness interior of your self is generally what gets you into difficulty. This has been distorted as demonic, and justified as academic. seek your heart, have faith interior the lord, you will hit upon the respond.

Answer 10

It was the way the Christian church demonized pagan deities such as Pan, Herm, and Cernunos.

First you turn the indigenous Deities into devils and demons
Second you instill fear
Third you incorporate their holidays into your own as if they had always been there

Answer 11

pretty sure satan was one of gods angels according to the bible

but then people liked to imagine him in other ways