Satan

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For the Magatama of the same name, see Satan (Magatama).

Satan is a Demon in the Megami Tensei franchise.

Profile

Origin

Satan is a figure in all three major Abrahamic religions. The term "Satan" comes from the Hebrew word meaning "opposer" or "adversary."^[a]^[1] In the earliest section of the Hebrew Bible, the term was a generic noun used to refer to human adversaries, for example in the Book of Samuel, the Philistines refer to King David as a satan.^[2] A figure known as Ha-Satan("the satan")^[b] later appears in the Book of Job and the Book of Zechariah as the title of a heavenly prosecutor or accuser and as an agent of God. Possibly due to the influence of the Zoroastrian figure of evil, Angra Mainyu, the idea of Satan changed into an enemy of God.

In Judaism, Satan is seen as a representation of the sinful impulse of man, the yetzer hara^[c], not as a literal being. At the same time however Satan is shown to also be depicted as a divine being, often times an angel. In the Exodus Rabbah, Satan is seen as an angel of death called Sama’el, one of the names commonly used in Kabbalistic texts to refer to Satan. Belial, the angel of lawlessness, is identified as Satan in the Ascension of Isaiah. Additionally, in the apocryphal Book of Jubilees, the angel Mastema takes on a role similar to that of a Satan.

In Christianity, Satan, also called the Devil^[d] (meaning "slanderer," which originates as a Greek translation of the word Satan in the Septuagint), is a fallen angel who disobeyed God and tempts humanity to sin. Satan is identified with the serpent in the Garden of Eden who tempted Eve to sin (Revelation 12:9),^[e] which, under the doctrines of original sin and ancestral sin, is the reason why people sin. In the Book of Revelation, Satan is depicted as a great fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, wearing seven diadems; additionally, Revelation says that, in the end times, Satan will himself be cast down into hell (Revelation 20:10). The Christian version of Satan is occasionally called Lucifer, which comes from an interpretation of Isaiah 14:12.

In Islam, an Arabic cognate of the term Satan (Shaytan) is used to describe demons in general, but Iblis can be called ash-Shaytan ("the Shaytan"). Iblis is a jinnī who disobeyed God's order to bow down before Adam. Like the Christian Satan, Iblis tempts mankind to sin.

Design

Satan's design in Shin Megami Tensei II has six arms, six wings, six breasts, and six fingers on each hand; the former three are a reference to 666, the number of the beast in the Book of Revelation.^[3]

In Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, Satan's design draws upon Satan's description as the great red dragon in the Book of Revelation. The hands and legs are a reference to his imprisonment in hell.^[4]

Gameplay

For complete gameplay information, see Gameplay:Satan.

Compendium

Compendium Entries
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse	The prince of darkness in Judeo-Christian lore, known for his role as the snake that tempted Adam and Eve at Eden. It is also said he is sent by God to test man's piety.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance	A Judeo-Christian angel of darkness with a name that means "adversary." Also known as the evil serpent that tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the Book of Job, he is depicted as a servant of God who tests Job, a man of faith, and is said to be the accuser angel sent from the heavens to judge mankind.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin	King of all demons in Christianity. Also known as Lucifer.
Persona 3 Reload	The prince of darkness in Judeo-Christian lore, known for his role as the snake that tempted Adam and Eve at Eden. It is also said that he is sent by God to test man's piety.
Persona 4	The prince of darkness in Judeo-Christian lore, known for his role as the snake that tempted Adam and Eve at Eden. It is also said he is sent by God to test man's piety.
Persona 5	The Judeo-Christian prince of darkness, he is known for his role as the snake that tempted Adam and Eve in Eden. It is also said that he was sent by God to test man's piety.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth	The prince of darkness in Judeo-Christian lore, known for his role as the snake that tempted Adam and Eve in Eden. It is also said he is sent by God to test man's piety.
Devil Children Black Book and Red Book	世界を大きな　闇の力で　破壊しようと　たくらむ　とても悪い天使 Translation: A very evil angel who seeks to destroy the world with its mighty dark power.
Devil Children White Book	セカイをおおきな　ヤミのチカラで　はかいしようと　たくらむ　とてもわるい　テンシ Translation: A very evil angel who seeks to destroy the world with its mighty dark power.
Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book	This epitome of evil uses its dark power to dominate or destroy all life forms.
Devil Children Fire Book and Ice Book	大きな闇の力で　世界を　ハカイ　しようとたくらむ　とても　強く　とても　悪い　神にさからう天使 Translation: A very strong and evil God-defying angel who seeks to destroy the world with its mighty dark power.

Game Appearances

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II

Shin Megami Tensei II

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

Satan is the instrument of God's wrath, brought forth when Seth combines with his other half. According to Lucifer, when he awakens, everything will be destroyed, including the demons of the Expanse. It is later revealed that Zayin is half of Satan, and merges with Seth to take on his true identity. On the Neutral and Chaos routes, he then casts Aleph out of Eden, and makes preparations to fire the Megiddo Ark. On the Law route, he instead joins Aleph's party.

After Lucifer's death, the Kuzuryu immediately awakens and starts to wreak havok, forcing Satan to quickly teleport the party to the Ark and launch it out of orbit, saving it from destruction. With no one left to stop him, he uses the Ark's "Erase" function, which unleashes a massive wave of energy that cleanses the Earth of every living being on it. Him and the party are then called to make an audience with YHVH in his realm, where despite congratulating him, Satan reveals his intention to betray him and the party does battle with the enraged god. After YHVH's death, Satan proclaims Aleph as the true savior and Hiroko as the new holy mother and bids them farewell, crumbling into dust as a result of completing his mission.

On the Neutral and Chaos routes, Aleph infiltrates the Ark and confronts Satan, whose attitude towards Aleph changes depending on the route. If Aleph is Chaos, Satan is enraged with him and Lucifer and tells them to burn in hell for all eternity.

If Aleph is Neutral, Satan is a lot more calmer and briefly assumes the appearance of his former self Zayin to explain why the situation escalated to this state: God had abandoned Tokyo Millennium. Despite their cries for a savior, God never sent one to humanity because it was never His intention to do so; He knew that so long as humanity held knowledge, they would continue to turn away from Him, and so when the Archangels took matters into their own hands and started the Messiah Project, He gave the fifth and final member of the project, Zayin, the soul of Satan, so that he would judge and punish all who were not chosen to be part of the new world. He expresses sadness that Aleph refused to help him bring the new world to fruition, but notes it is far too late for him to change his mind. Regardless of if Aleph is Neutral or Chaos, with their goals in opposition, he transforms into his demonic form and demands that the party accepts his judgement and die. As he is defeated and dying, however, he questions what the one who escapes even God's judgement will do next.

End of spoilers.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

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Trivia

Datamines suggest Satan was originally meant to appear in Shin Megami Tensei V before being scrapped.^[5]
Satan's reasoning for his actions in the Law route in Aeon Genesis's English translation patch of Shin Megami Tensei II are not part of the original script; it was added in by Aeon Genesis in an attempt to clarify his reasoning.^[6]
In Shin Megami Tensei II, Satan's race when he is in his humanoid form is Herald. Upon transforming into his demonic form however, his race is changed to Godly.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	サタン Satan	Satan
Simplified Chinese	撒旦 Sādàn	Satan
Traditional Chinese	撒旦 Sādàn	Satan
Korean	사탄 Satan	Satan
Brazilian Portuguese	Satã	Satan

Gallery

Concept art 1 by Masayuki Doi for Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Concept art 2 by Masayuki Doi for Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Render from Soul Hackers 2
Render for Persona 5
Render from Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Model from Persona 4 Golden
Sprite from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Animated sprite from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II
Sprite of humanoid form from Shin Megami Tensei II
Sprite from Shin Megami Tensei II
Animated sprite from Shin Megami Tensei II

Notes

↑ Hebrew: שָׂטָן, romanized: śāṭān
↑ Hebrew: הַשָּׂטָ, romanized: hasSāṭān
↑ Hebrew: יֵצֶר הַרַע, romanized: yēṣer haraʿ
↑ Greek: διάβολος, romanized: diábolos
↑ While the most common Christian interpretation of this verse is that the ancient serpent mentioned is the one from the Garden of Eden, biblical scholars have come up with other possibilities, such as alluding to Leviathan.

References

↑ Do Jews Believe in Satan? | My Jewish Learning. Retrieved December 2, 2023. My Jewish Learning.
↑ 1 Samuel 29:4. Retrieved April 14, 2024. Bible Gateway.
↑ Translation: "Kaneko: That is entirely true, but I chose to design a Satan that stood out in particular. That is why I polished the design this time, but I think I can do something more with it next time. But I was pretty particular about the number six: 6 wings, 6 breasts and 6 arms. (laughs)" Shin Megami Tensei Fanbook: Jakyō-no-Yakata Club (1995), Famitsu Editorial Department. Published by Aspect. Translation by dijeh. ISBN-13: 978-4-89366-358-0.
↑ Translation: "I’ve been thinking for a long time that I’d like to see a demon illustration of Satan as the red dragon described by John in the Book of Revelation. I never thought I’d actually be the one to draw him, but this was a good opportunity, so I took it as a challenge. I didn’t want him to be mistaken for the Beast of the Harlot, so I only used the description of its head and emphasised the rest as a demon design. The details on his hands and legs are vestiges of his imprisonment in Hell. To me, this design is my biggest wish fulfilled." Shin Megami Tensei IV Final Kōshiki Settei Shiryōshū + Shinwa Sekai e no Tabi (2016). Translation by Dijeh. ISBN-13: 978-4-7580-1495-3.
↑ Faz on X: "SMT V Unused DLC/Demon mentions DLC: Satan Krishna Dagda Maitreya (found by @regularpanties) Demons: Ardha Astarte Shesha" / X. Published November 26, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2024. Twitter.
↑ "サタン：……神よ　私の裁きは未だ　終わっておりません最後に　裁かれる者は…… 唯一にして　最高の神　我が創造主 Y　H　V　H Satan: ...God, my judgment is not yet finished. The last one to be judged is.... The one and only supreme God, my Creator, YHVH. Satan: “...O Lord, my judgement is not yet complete. There is one more not amongst the chosen that must be judged… One that has committed the grave sin of genocide… Yes, Lord, the one I must now judge… ...is the one, highest god, my creator… You, YHVH!”" [1]. Published September 19, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2024. Tumblr.

[1] Hebrew: שָׂטָן, romanized: śāṭān

[4] Hebrew: הַשָּׂטָ, romanized: hasSāṭān

[5] Hebrew: יֵצֶר הַרַע, romanized: yēṣer haraʿ

[6] Greek: διάβολος, romanized: diábolos

[7] While the most common Christian interpretation of this verse is that the ancient serpent mentioned is the one from the Garden of Eden, biblical scholars have come up with other possibilities, such as alluding to Leviathan.

[myjewishlearning-2] Do Jews Believe in Satan? | My Jewish Learning. Retrieved December 2, 2023. My Jewish Learning.

[biblegateway-3] 1 Samuel 29:4. Retrieved April 14, 2024. Bible Gateway.

[8] Translation: "Kaneko: That is entirely true, but I chose to design a Satan that stood out in particular. That is why I polished the design this time, but I think I can do something more with it next time. But I was pretty particular about the number six: 6 wings, 6 breasts and 6 arms. (laughs)" Shin Megami Tensei Fanbook: Jakyō-no-Yakata Club (1995), Famitsu Editorial Department. Published by Aspect. Translation by dijeh. ISBN-13: 978-4-89366-358-0.

[9] Translation: "I’ve been thinking for a long time that I’d like to see a demon illustration of Satan as the red dragon described by John in the Book of Revelation. I never thought I’d actually be the one to draw him, but this was a good opportunity, so I took it as a challenge. I didn’t want him to be mistaken for the Beast of the Harlot, so I only used the description of its head and emphasised the rest as a demon design. The details on his hands and legs are vestiges of his imprisonment in Hell. To me, this design is my biggest wish fulfilled." Shin Megami Tensei IV Final Kōshiki Settei Shiryōshū + Shinwa Sekai e no Tabi (2016). Translation by Dijeh. ISBN-13: 978-4-7580-1495-3.

[10] Faz on X: "SMT V Unused DLC/Demon mentions DLC: Satan Krishna Dagda Maitreya (found by @regularpanties) Demons: Ardha Astarte Shesha" / X. Published November 26, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2024. Twitter.

[11] "サタン：……神よ　私の裁きは未だ　終わっておりません最後に　裁かれる者は…… 唯一にして　最高の神　我が創造主 Y　H　V　H Satan: ...God, my judgment is not yet finished. The last one to be judged is.... The one and only supreme God, my Creator, YHVH. Satan: “...O Lord, my judgement is not yet complete. There is one more not amongst the chosen that must be judged… One that has committed the grave sin of genocide… Yes, Lord, the one I must now judge… ...is the one, highest god, my creator… You, YHVH!”" [1]. Published September 19, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2024. Tumblr.

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