Ever since the creation of the Bible, the Devil has been a figure that fascinates people and artists alike. This fascination has particularly blown up in the Medieval ages that were marked by religious-inspired art pieces, but the interest in the unholy remains strong to this day. In this blog post, we’ll chronologically present the ways the portrayals of the Devil changed from the ancient mosaics to modern films and TV shows.
Devil as a Fallen Angel
Early Christian authors including St Augustine, for instance, depicted the Devil as a fallen angel. Considering that he wasn’t a physical being, he could take on any form whatsoever and become a woman, a holy ghost, or any other creature depending on his goals and desires. However, in order to convey the message about the brutality of the Devil better, artists usually depicted Devils as scarier as they could.
The first visual depiction of the Devil can be traced back to the 6th century and a Roman mosaic found in The Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, in Italy. In the mosaic, Jesus is separating sheep, which represent the souls of the saved, and goats (the souls of the damned). Satan stands above the goats, depicted as an angel wearing a halo, much different from the terrifying portrayals that we are used to. Interestingly, here Satan is represented as the blue angel…
