The Devil

Very interesting look at Demon and Satanic history, extremely informative. A fun book as well, many pictures that accompany the information. Recommended to those with an interest in dark fabled history.

Amelia Wilson's illustrated history of the Devil is a wonderful intoduction to the myth of the Archfiend as he appears throughout history and across religions and cultures. The book examines the origins of the concept and idea of "the Devil" in ancient Sumerian/Babylonian myth and its influence on ancient Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Wilson shows that in the Hebrew Bible, contrary to popular belief, Satan appears only as a servant of God, and not as an all powerful individual entity of pure evil. In fact, Satan serves a relatively minor role in ancient Judaism. It is only with the advent of Christianity that Satan takes on such a prominent role in worldly and spiritual affairs, tempting mankind to sin and thus seducing inumerable souls into the firey pit of Hell. It shows briefly how the idea and image of the Devil himself changes over time, from early Christian traditions to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and finally to modern times, where the image of the Devil has largely lost its diabolic element and has been reduced to an advertising ploy and horror film cliche. Wilson also quickly examines the history of Satanism and its impact on history, perceived and real, and the Devil's role in the witchcraze of the 16th and 17th centuries. Overall, a nice and generously illustrated, but ultimately short book that draws essentially on secondary sources. For a much more in depth investigation into the history and mythology of Satan, I recommend Jeffery B. Russell's "The Prince of Darkness", a fantastic book that fleshes out many of the concepts only lightly touched upon here.