Week 4 Story: The Fall of Satan

Adam was blessed with extraordinary qualities on the outside and in and led all the angels to envy him. They wanted to kill him and rid him of these qualities, but God protected him at all costs and established a line of peace between them. There was one person who was jealous of Adam most of all, Satan.

Satan was one of the great angels in heaven and possessed other extraordinary qualities just like Adam. God invited all the angels to visit with Adam after he gained a soul to congratulate him. Satan went with a smile on his face to pay his respect too. 

He challenged Adam to a battle of wits to see who was more superior. Satan believed he was the most extraordinary of the angels and therefore he would win. God appeared saying, “I created all the life on this planet, every animal and creature and they shall all come before us for this battle of wits.” God assigned them the tasks of creating places for every animal and creature will inhabit. If they are unable to respect their new assigned habitats by Adam, they are subject to Satan and his ability to place them accordingly. Whoever comes out on top will have a place in God’s garden.

Adam began respecting God for all his creations.

Adam incorrectly assigned homes to the first two animals he was presented, the cow and the ox. God led two others before him, the camel and the donkey, and once again, Adam assigned incorrectly.

God then turned to Satan, questioning if he could correctly execute the task; God gave him clues and framed His questions in a way that Satan could decipher the correct answer. Satan gave the proper homes for the animals and Adam was forced to acknowledge the superiority of the first man.

Adam was outraged and reached for the heavens because he was furious he was beaten by Satan. The angels no longer respected his superiority. Satan was who they now followed because he was the more intelligent of the two. God kept Adam down at earth and let Satan continue to be worshiped by the angels.

Author's Note: I decided to let Satan be the winner in this story. In the real story, Satan fails at assigning names to the animals and it's Adam who comes out on top. God helps Adam correctly assign names and Satan is the one punished down to earth and will forever be enemies with Adam. I decided to have Satan win because he is never shown in a positive light and he should have his moment to be glorious. I also changed the fact that they assigned the animals places to live rather than their names just to change things up a little more. 

The Fall of Satan by Louis Ginzberg

The Fall of Satan. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: The Third Task

The story starts off with a character, Pysche,  reaching for her goal of climbing the mountain and if she doesn't accomplish it, she thinks there is no point to her life anymore. She is climbing a mountain and approaches a dreadful wall that seems difficult and deadly. The walls has spikes and and jags that don't seem to end until the gorge below. On the sides of the walls, snakes pop out and slither down the side. The water is warning her that if she attempts it, she will die. Psyche's entire body becomes stone because she's overwhelmed with the task she is about to accomplish. Suddenly, Jupiter's eagle was there to help with its wings outstretched to aid her. He saw the trouble she was facing and knew he needed to help. He asked her if she really thought she would be able to accomplish the task and get a drop from the water below. He went to fill the vial she was holding for her. He dodged all the obstacles, spikes and serpents, and got the water even though it threatened to harm him. He accomplished the task to help Psyche. 

The Third Task, translated to English by Tony Kline. 

Psyche and the Eagle. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Her Dream

The girl in the beginning of the story seems shaken and is speaking to her mother about how she should forgive her for her misfortune. She explains how her cousin who is three years older than her grew up together and shared many memories. Eventually, they got were engaged to be married. The night before their wedding, he and her and both of their families participated in different ceremonial sacrifices. The girl was held tight by her mom for wants of grandchildren and fear of letting her go. All of the sudden, a gang of men with swords bound through the door. They took the girl out of her mother's arms and nobody fought to get her back. She didn't get to marry her cousin. She saw the images of her wedding and her future ripped away from her. One of the thieves took a big stone and threw it at her future husband killing him in the process. Then, she woke up from her dream. A woman speaks to her saying don't let the dream disturb you. She says the dreams and nightmares have meaning and are usually the opposite of what they seem. The girl learned a lot from this endeavor.

Apuleius: Her Dream, translated to English by Tony Kline.

Woman sleeping. Source: Wikimedia Commons