# Satan — Paradise Lost character guide > Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton. **Role:** major **Also known as:** the Arch-Fiend, the Fiend, The Fiend, the guileful Tempter, The Tempter, Lucifer **First appearance:** 0000-book-i ## Snapshot The fallen archangel whose ruined glory still commands legions, who trades Heaven for a throne in Hell and turns his envy of mankind into a campaign of exquisite destruction. ## Who they are Once the brightest of the seraphim, Satan now lies thunderstruck on a burning lake, rallying his shattered host with rhetoric that makes defeat sound like defiance. His tragedy is that he cannot stop being himself: even as he flies toward Eden, he feels Hell within him, and his soliloquy to the sun is a confession that pride and ambition have made gratitude impossible. He matters because he is the engine of the poem's action, the tempter whose inward torment is more vivid than any fire, and whose war against God will be fought not with armies but with a single whispered word. ## Relationships ### [God the Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/god_the_father) _rivalry_ God and Satan are eternal adversaries, with Satan rebelling against divine authority and waging a cosmic war of pride versus omnipotence. ### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/adam) _rivalry_ Satan tempts Adam through Eve, making Adam his unwitting enemy and victim in the rebellion against God. ### [Michael](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/michael) _rivalry_ Michael is the archangel who leads Heaven's forces against Satan in battle and later expels him from Paradise. ### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/eve) _psychological_ Satan manipulates Eve through flattery and deception, using the serpent to seduce her into eating the forbidden fruit. ### [Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/death) _family_ Death is Satan's son, born from his union with Sin, and together they form a monstrous family bound by mutual hatred and necessity. ### [The Serpent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/the_serpent) _psychological_ Satan possesses and uses the serpent as a tool to tempt Eve, embodying his deceitful and manipulative nature. ### [God the Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/god_the_father) _rivalry_ God and Satan are eternal adversaries, with Satan rebelling against divine authority and waging a cosmic war of pride versus omnipotence. ### [The Serpent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/the_serpent) _psychological_ Satan possesses and uses the serpent as a tool to tempt Eve, embodying his deceitful and manipulative nature. ### [Adam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/adam) _rivalry_ Satan tempts Adam through Eve, making Adam his unwitting enemy and victim in the rebellion against God. ### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/eve) _psychological_ Satan manipulates Eve through flattery and deception, using the serpent to seduce her into eating the forbidden fruit. ### [Michael](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/michael) _rivalry_ Michael is the archangel who leads Heaven's forces against Satan in battle and later expels him from Paradise. ### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/eve) _psychological_ Satan manipulates Eve through flattery and deception, using the serpent to seduce her into eating the forbidden fruit. ## In the story ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-i) The Arch-Fiend, leader of the fallen angels, who after nine days of lying stunned on the burning lake rises and rallies his legions with speeches of defiance and ambition. ### [Book II: The Council of Hell and Satan's Journey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-ii) Presides over the infernal council, volunteers for the quest to the new world, and journeys to Hell's gates. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-iii) Flies toward the new world, lands on the outermost orb, and deceives Uriel to find Man's dwelling. ### [Book IV: Satan's Soliloquy and the Temptation in Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-iv) Experiences internal conflict (fear, envy, despair) but resolves to pursue evil; enters Paradise in disguise; tempts Eve in a dream; confronts Gabriel. ### [Book V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-v) Described as the former Archangel who, driven by pride and envy, resolves to rebel against God and leads a third of Heaven's host. ### [Book VI: The War in Heaven](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-vi) Defies Michael, is wounded but healed, and rallies his forces in the war. ### [Book VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-vii) Satan's fall from Heaven is referenced as the impetus for creation. ### [Book IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-ix) Returns to Paradise in a mist, enters the Serpent, and tempts Eve. ### [Book X: The Judgment, the Bridge, and the Reconciliation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/chapters/book-x) Returns to Hell boasting of his success, but is transformed into a serpent along with his audience. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters/satan - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/paradise_lost_se/characters