Have you ever wondered how the concept of Satan got into our heads? Andy Hamilton, award-winning comedy writer and performer, explores different ideas of how Satan came to be and how he has evolved over time. Throughout history, in pretty well all religions, there has been an opposing force that has tried to force the good into temptation, deception or destruction. Satan, who can be referred to different names such as Lucifer or the devil, is well known as the tempter of humankind. Satan is who awaits you in hell if you have not proven yourself worthy of heaven. But has the devil always been seen as evil?

Andy Hamilton goes way back to the old testament and explores how Satan was in fact not always seen as a force purely for bad. Before the fall, made famous by Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, Satan was an angel of God. He was the figure who was sent to “make you think”, which is what Satan means in hebrew. It wasn’t until God created man that Satan defied him. Knowing he was above the humans God had created, Satan refused to bow before Adam. After being cast from heaven, he led a rebellion of angels against God. Satan took the form of a snake in the Garden of Eden, therefore introducing original sin through Eve and denying people a life in paradise. As the centuries have past, Satan has gone from a figure of utmost fear, to a reason to condemn people of witchcraft, to simply a representation of the evil within individuals or the world as Carl Jung introduced. Andy Hamilton unearths the roots of Satan, how he came about and how he has changed over time.