Explores the many forms and abilities of the devil in stories from around the world
Draws on folk traditions from all over Europe, including Transylvanian Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Switzerland, Italy, France, Scandinavia, and the Baltic countries
Traces the devil's shapeshifting powers back to their Vedic origins in ancient India and looks at his connections with witches and storm magic
Reveals how many of the qualities and magical powers attributed to the devil were once those belonging to pagan gods
Drawing on folk traditions from all over Europe, including Transylvanian Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Switzerland, Italy, France, Scandinavia, Moravia, Bohemia, Lapland, and the Baltic countries, Claude and Corinne Lecouteux explore the many forms and abilities of the devil in stories, tales, and legends throughout the ages. They trace the devil's shapeshifting powers back to their Vedic origins in ancient India and look at his connections with witches, storm magic, and other magical events. They examine the symbolic implications of the appearance of the devil in these tales, such as how he is often either limping or disfigured with the legs or feet of a goat or other animals traditionally linked to the lower powers or passions. They explain how the devil's limp or his goat-like feet reflect the prevalence in world mythology of the sacred nature of crippling injuries.
Peeling back the Christian veneer embedded in many tales and legends about the so-called Evil One, the authors ultimately reveal how many of the qualities and magical powers attributed to the devil were once those belonging to pagan gods, like the Lithuanian thunder god Perknas or the Titan Chronos, as well as to playful woodland spirits and the sometimes helpful, sometimes fearful fauns and satyrs of Greco-Roman mythology.