Origins of the name of Satan

Most modern-day dictionaries, describe Satan, as a cloven hoofed, horned creature who was cast out of heaven for his pride. Where did this being actually originate in our human consciousness, and what does the name really mean and represent? This name actually has a rich and varied history throughout the world, and ancient man knew him by many different names.

Perhaps the earliest connection to Satan and "evil" connotation of the name comes from Persia. The majority of people in this area at this time in history belong to pagan societies, and had religions that had many gods. During this time a religion developed which was monotheistic. which required its members to worship one god. This concept, called Zoroasrtianism, was the basis for alot of the stories which were later reflected in the monotheistic religions of Judiasm and Christianity.

Zoroaster was an ancient Iranian prophet, from as early as the 6th century BCE. He founded the beliefs of his own religion named Zoroastrianism. These beliefs would come to dominate over much of the Arabic and middle eastern world. In Ancient Persia during the time of Zoroasrianism, there was a being known as This being was known as Arihman. The name of the word means "Fiendish Spirit". Arihman, was seen as a rebel who fought against the supreme being Ahura Mazda, and the the Spenta Mainyu, the angels who aided Ahura in his domination of the world.[1]

Ahirman was also seen as a seasonal god, directing the changes that came about during the year. In Persian legend, Ahirman lives in a dark place, where all evil people will go to after they die, which is very similar to the Christian concept of Hell. (2) He was also seen as the bringer of disease and illness, and was the creator of the destructive dragon Azi Dahaka. He is often symbolized in Zoroastrianism as the image of the snake, another Christian depiction of Satan is the serpent, such as the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Ariman chose evil instead of good, and by this he created death in the world. This is a familiar scene, as it was the same in the bible when Adam and Eve chose to eat the apple. By doing so, they were punished with death.

These stories are very similar in nature and form, to the modern day definition of "Satan" but my search for the origins of satan was not over yet. I was lead on to study a comparative religion, the Islamic concepts of good and evil.

The Satan of Islam

In modern Islamic belief, Satan is known as Iblis. This is accepted by theologians as a translation from the Greek Diabolus, which means "accuser".(3) The Devil of the modern Islamic qua' ran developed from the earlier Hebrew translation, Shaitan. He appears in the Qu'ran as a supernatural creature known as the djinn, who was cast out of paradise, for not worshipping Adam. To get his revenge Shaitan tempts Adam and brings the fall of mankind. According to modern Islamic legend, Shaipan, (or Shaitan) is the leader of the Shayatin. The Shayatin, come from an earlier, pre-Islamic legend, however.(4)

These legends invariably developed from earlier legends in pre-Islamic Arabia. During the time of the reign of King Solomon, approximately 930 BC, there was a race of devils known as the shayatan. These djinn, were known as beings who gather and keep knowledge, aiding sorcerers and magicans. Solomon employed these djinn to work for him, commanding them to build, and dive. Lead by the djinn Shaipan, (who's name meant "accursed", or rebellious"), they helped to build Solomon's temple. (5)

The Satan of India

In India, and the east, there was a group of people who had fought battles with middle-eastern groups, and these people in India gained quite a reputation for their fighting style. There is a legend of a man in India named Satan-ikas, who formed his own sect of Jainism, in India. Although this information is not entirely verifiable as of yet, Jainism's earliest origins could be from in the 6th cent. BC (6)

This man, who lived in Satana (a city state in Gujarati), fought a war with the peiople known as the Senuas, and the middle eastern group of peoples known as the Zionists. The people of Satan-Ikas's Jainist sect often wore blood-red robes and bull horn head dresses. According to the opinions of the other Jainist sects of the time, they were often seen as demonic or heretical, and they were disliked for their barbaric ways.(7) All these groups of peoples had a hand in creating what is known as the being, Satan. Now.. Let us move on to the Bible, and what it says about Satan in this book.

Satan of the Torah and New Testament

The first recorded works of the bible originated from the Torah. It is said to have been given to Moses from God on Mount Saini in the 5th century BC. Later on, in the 2nd Ct. AD, certain books of the Torah were compiled and used by Christianity, and this compilation was known as the Old Testament, or the Scriptures.(8) The New Testament, is a series of 27 books, dating from the earliest known Christian period.The earliest book, written by St.Paul could dates back as far as 50-60 AD.Other books of the New Testament were written later, from 70-100 AD.(9)

All the scriptures of the New Testament were written from the original Greek language and subsequently translated into other languages, like Latin, Syriac and Coptic.(10) Nearly 1500 years later it was finally translated into old English, and versions of the modern Bible we know of today. If the original documents of the Bible and Torah were Written in Greek, then Greek culture, language and mythology could have played a big part in how the Bible was written. Interestingly enough, the name or title of Satan is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but it is mentioned 32 times in the New Testament. With all this translation throughout many languages and cultures, the true source of Satan's pagan origins have been forgotten and lost in the past.

Satan of Ancient Greece

When I learned of the Bibles Greek origins, my search for the source of this name inevitably lead me to the tales and myths of ancient Greece.In fact, it is very likely that because Greek was its language of origin, the entire mythos, names and symbolic representations of Satan and Hell could have begun in ancient Greece. In these classical tales, from the 2nd millennium BC(11), the concept of good and evil were quite arbitrary, and there was no dualistic attitude of good versus evil, as in monotheistic type religion.

Demons, and spirits were not seen as evil, they were divine helpers to people. In Greek mythos, Plato wrote about the beings known as daimons daimons, who act ed as familiar spirits to soothsayers and poets. These Shaitans would visit these people who called upon them, and they would lend them inspiration for the creation of their works.(12) These divine celestial beings seemed helpful to the people in the classical Greek world, and the daimon represented the connection between humans and the spiritual world. These beings, the daimon was seen as an aspect of the higher self or the divine seat of the soul(13), and were treated with due respect.

The Satyrs

In classical, mythological Greece, there were also a race of beings known as the "Satyrs". These creatures were shown in Greek art to have the upper half of a man, and the legs of a goat and the and tails of a goat or horse. The Roman version of satyrs often were depicted with large ram-horns. The Satyrs spent their time in revel and celebration, enjoying the bounties of life.(14)Some of their pleasures included wine, women, and physical and sexual enjoyment. There were many plays stories and poems told about the playful and poetic nature of these creatures. One of the more famous satyrs in that time, was the God named Pan. He was the Arcadian God of shepherds and the personification of nature in classic Greek literature.(15)

Satan of Arcadia

The Arcadians, who lived in the age of 362 BC,(16) worshipped this being, and offered Pan flowers on his altar in his honor. Arcadian hunters also used to scourge the statue of Pan if their hunt was unsuccessful. Pan, was a god who reveled in drinking dancing, and nymphs. He was portrayed as a being of much sexual prowess, preying on maidens and shepherds. There is no doubt that the modern image of "satan" with his cloven hooves and horns, and innate sexual nature, and love of earthly revelry, developed from these legendary creatures, such as the satyr and Pan.

The Sh'lrlm

Much later in time, in Hebrew folklore, there is a being known as the sh'lrlm, who are known as the "Hairy ones". These were a type of demon beings that inhabited waste places. These beings were nothing more than the demonized version of the Roman and Greek satyr. Pagan Greek gods, were very popular for centuries, and in order to create an evil image of these beings, Christianity "demonized" them, to lure people away from a pagan lifestyle.(17)

Diabolus

The word, devil, did not have an evil connotation in classical Greece. In fact, the Christian word devil, developed from a mistranslate of the Greek definition. The Greek word, "attia", meaning " an accusation" and the Greek word "diabolae" meaning "slanderer", were terms that meant to describe something that is bad or false.(18)

As these terms were used interchangeably in Greek classical literature,it was often ambiguously mistranslated into works of the Torah. This misinterpretation, taken literally within a religious context, often used the name "Satan" in place of the Greek name "shaitan", or "diabolus". Eventually over time, this gave rise to the Christian idealism of an actual spiritual being named "the devil" and "Satan". The word "Satan" and devil, is a descriptive title, and not a reference to an actual being, in the Bible.

Footnotes

[1]    Zoroaster
Age of Zoroastrianism [Zoroaster, c.628 BC-c.551]Encyclopedia.com http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/Z/Zoroaste.asp
Zoroaster Pantheon.org http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/angra_mainyu.html †

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