Table of Contents



Nature and significance










Because man is a being much concerned with boundaries—i.e., what makes him different from other animate beings, what makes his community (and thus his world) different from other communities (and other worlds)—his view of the cosmos has influenced his understanding of what are called angels and demons. The cosmos may be viewed as monistic, as in Hinduism, in which the cosmos is regarded as wholly sacred or as participating in a single divine principle (Brahman, or Being itself). The cosmos may also be viewed as dualistic, as in Gnosticism (an esoteric religious dualistic belief system, often regarded as a Christian heretical movement, that flourished in the Greco-Roman world in the 1st and 2nd centuries ad), in which the world of matter was generally regarded as evil and the realm of the spirit as good. A third view of the cosmos, generally found in the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islām, centred on a tripartite universe: celestial, terrestrial, and subterrestrial. This third view has influenced Western man’s concepts of angels and demons as well as his scientific and metaphysical concepts.

Relationship to views of a tripartite cosmos

In the biblical, Hellenistic (Greco-Roman cultural), and Islāmic worlds of thought, the terrestrial realm was a world in which man was limited by the factors of time, space, and cause and effect. The celestial realm, generally composed of seven heavens or spheres dominated by the seven then-known planets, was the realm of the divine and the spiritual. The subterrestrial realm was the area of chaos and the spiritual powers of darkness. At the highest level of the celestial sphere was the ultimate of the sacred or holy: e.g., Yahweh, the God of Judaism, whose name was so holy it should not even be spoken; Bythos, the unknowable beginning beyond beginnings of Gnosticism; the heavenly Father of Christianity, known through his Logos (the divine Word, or Reason, Jesus Christ); and Allāh, the powerful, the almighty, and the sublime God of Islām.

In order to reveal the purpose and destiny of man—the highest being of the terrestrial realm—the ultimate of the celestial sphere enabled man, according to such views, to come to a knowledge of who he is, what is his origin, and what is his destiny through celestial messengers—angels. The message, or revelation, was usually focussed on the identity of the source of the revelation—i.e., the ultimate being—and on the destiny of man according to his response. Because of a cosmic rift in the heavenly sphere prior to the creation of the world or the announcement of the revelation, angels, depending on their relationship to the Creator, might attempt to deceive man with a false revelation or to reveal the truth about man’s true nature (or identity), origin, and destiny. Angels who attempted to pervert the message of the ultimate celestial being in order to confuse man’s understanding of his present boundary situation as a terrestrial being or his destiny as a supraterrestrial being—though not always termed demons—are malevolent in function. Included among such malevolent angels are the devil of Christianity and Judaism or Iblīs (the Devil) of Islām, who, in the form of a serpent in the biblical story of the Garden of Eden—according to later interpretations of the story—attempted to disrupt man’s understanding of his creaturely boundaries, or limitations. He did this by tempting man to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil so that he might become like God (or the divine beings of the heavenly court). In Zoroastrianism, the Evil Spirit (Angra Mainyu, later Ahriman) attempted—through subservient spirits such as Evil Mind, the Lie, and Pride—to deceive terrestrial man so that he would choose a destiny that was subterrestrial—punishment in a chasm of fire.

In the aftermath of the 16th-century Copernican revolution (based on the theories of the Polish astronomer Copernicus), in which man’s view of the cosmos was radically altered—i.e., the Earth was no longer seen as the centre of the cosmos but, instead, merely as a planet of a solar system that is a very small part of a galaxy in an apparently infinite universe—the concepts of angels and demons no longer seemed appropriate. The tripartite cosmos—heaven above, Earth in the middle, and hell below—appeared to be an anachronism.

With the emergence of modern Western psychology and psychoanalytical studies in the 19th and 20th centuries, however, the underlying principles of beliefs in angels and demons have taken on new meanings. Many Christian theologians have found some of the concepts of psychoanalysis helpful in reinterpreting the meanings underlying primitive and traditional beliefs in angels and demons. The tripartite cosmos was re-mythologized into a tripartite structure of the personality—the superego (the restrictive social regulations that enable man to live as a social being), the ego (the conscious aspects of man), and the id, or libido (a “seething, boiling cauldron of desire that seeks to erupt from beneath the threshold of consciousness”). Thus, demons—according to this reinterpretation—might well be redefined as projections of the unregulated drives of man that force him to act only according to his own selfish desires, taking no account of their effects on other persons. From a social point of view, demons might also be defined as the environmental and hereditary forces that cause man to act, think, and speak in ways that are contrary to the well-being of himself and his community. A modern French writer, Denis de Rougemont, has maintained in his book The Devil’s Share that the devil and the demonic forces that plague the modern world can be well documented in modern man’s return to barbarism and man’s inhumanity to man. In the 2nd century ad, Clement of Alexandria, a Christian philosophical theologian, pointed toward a psychological interpretation of demonic forces by stating that man was often captivated by the inner appetitive drives of his passions and bodily desires. The Freudian “myth” of the human personality and other psychological studies have thus initiated a new dimension in the study of angels and demons. Medieval iconography, which graphically depicted angels and demons as hybrid creatures that often defied even the most vivid imaginations of the persons who viewed them, has been supplanted by psychological, psychoanalytical, and modern mythological symbolism coupled with theological reflection.

Relationship to views of a dualistic cosmos

In religious traditions that have viewed the cosmos in a dualistic fashion, such as Gnosticism, angels were believed to be celestial beings who controlled certain spheres through which a soul was to pass as it freed itself from the shackles of its material existence. Knowledge of these angels and their names was a necessary prerequisite for achieving eventual union with the ultimate spiritual reality. Included among various lists of the seven angels ruling the seven planetary spheres are Gabriel, Adonai (Lord), Aariel (lion of God), and others. The angel of the creation of the world of matter, Yahweh (sometimes called the Demiurge, the Creator), was evil, in the Gnostic view, not only because he was the Creator but also because he tried to keep spiritual men from knowing their true origin, nature, and destiny.

Manichaeism, a dualistic religion founded in the 3rd century ad by Mani, an Iranian prophet, like Gnosticism divided the world into two spheres—Goodness (Light) and Evil (Darkness). These two principles are mixed in the world of matter, and the object of salvation is to unmix the material and the spiritual so that one may achieve a state of absolute goodness. Highest in the celestial hierarchy are the 12 light diadems of the Father of Greatness and the Twelve Aeons, the “firstborn”—angelic figures that are divided into groups of threes, surrounding the Supreme Being in the four quarters of the heavens. Because the Devil, the Prince of Darkness, desires the advantages of the Kingdom of Light, in an ensuing battle between the celestial forces Light and Darkness are mixed, and the world of matter and spirit is created. Unaware of his spiritual nature and constantly tempted by the demons of the Prince of Darkness, man is eventually led to understand his true nature through the activity of angelic beings called the Friends of the Lights and the Living Spirit and his five helpers: Holder of Splendour, King of Honour, Light of Man, King of Glory, and Supporter.

Relationship to views of a monistic cosmos

Those who view the cosmos as basically monistic—such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism—generally have no belief in angels, who function mainly as revealers of the truth. This function is performed by other beings, such as avatāras (incarnations of the gods) in Hinduism, tīrthaṅkaras (saints or prophets) in Jainism, or bodhisattvas (Buddhas-to-be) in Buddhism. Because such personages generally are viewed more in terms of exemplifiers of the holy life than as conduits of a revelation (except in the case of several avatāras and bodhisattvas), they are not to be regarded in terms of the typical Western conceptions of angelic beings. These religions do, however, have widespread beliefs in demons.

Belief in demons as common to all religious or mythological views about the cosmos

Belief in demons is not connected with any particular view of the cosmos. Demons have a very wide geographical and lengthy historical role as spiritual beings influencing man in his relationship to the sacred or holy. They may be semihuman, nonhuman, or ghostly human beings who, for various reasons, generally attempt to coerce man into not attaining his higher spiritual aspirations or not performing activities necessary for his well-being in the normal course of living. The ancient Assyrian demon rabiṣu apparently is a classic prototype of a supernatural being that instilled such a fear in men that their hair literally raised from their bodies when confronted with knowledge of the rabiṣu’s presence.

In 17th-century Europe, various demons were cataloged according to their powers to entice men to indulge in what were called their basic instincts or desires. Included in such lists were nightmare demons, demons formed from the semen of copulation, and demons who deceived persons into believing that they could perform transvections (nocturnal flights to sites of sabbats, alleged rites of witchcraft). According to some authorities in the 20th century (as well as early Christian polemicists), the alleged demons noted by the prevailing religions of the world are the former gods or spiritual beings that succumbed to or were overpowered by the dominant doctrinal views of a conquering people. Thus, the Teutonic, Slavic, Celtic, or Roman gods either were reduced to demonic antagonists of Christ, his saints, or his angels or were absorbed by the cults of Christian saint figures. Followers of the ancient but no longer influential deities were often subjected to persecution as advocates of witchcraft, especially in Christian Europe (see also witchcraft).

Types of angels and demons

Angels and demons, as noted earlier, have been categorized as benevolent, malevolent, or ambivalent or neutral beings that mediate between the sacred and profane realms.

Benevolent beings

“Annunciation, The” [Credit: SCALA/Art Resource, New York]“Annunciation, The”SCALA/Art Resource, New YorkBenevolent beings, usually angels but sometimes ghosts of ancestors or other spiritual beings that have been placated by sacrifices or other rituals, assist man in achieving a proper rapport with God, other spiritual beings, or man’s life situations. Angels, for example, not only act as revealers of divine truths, but they also are believed to be efficacious in helping man to attain salvation or special graces or favours. Their primary function is to praise and serve God and do his will. This is true of angels in both Christianity and Zoroastrianism, as well as in Judaism and Islām. As functional extensions of the divine will, they sometimes intervene in human affairs by rewarding the faithful and punishing the unjust or by saving the weak, who are in need of help, and destroying the wicked, who unjustly persecute their fellow creatures. In the intertestamental book of Tobit (an apocryphal, or “hidden,” book that is not accepted as canonical by Jews and Protestants), the archangel Raphael (God Heals), for example, helps the hero Tobias, the son of Tobit, on a journey and also reveals to him magic formulas to cure his father’s blindness and to counteract the power of the demon Asmodeus.

Angels also have been described as participants in the creation and the providential continuance of the cosmos. Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, stated that they functioned as the movers of the stars and controlled the four elements—earth, air, fire, and water. Many angels are believed to be guardians over individuals and nations. The view that there are guardian angels watching over children has been a significant belief in the popular piety of Roman Catholicism. Angels are also regarded as the conductors of the souls of the dead to the supraterrestrial world. In the procreation of men, angels are believed to perform various services. This is especially noticeable in the instances of angels announcing the births of divine figures or special religious personages, such as Jesus and John the Baptist in the New Testament.

Though the function of angels is of primary significance, theological reflection and popular piety have placed much emphasis on the nature of angels. In early Judaism angels were conceived as beings in human form: the angel who wrestled with the patriarch Jacob, as recorded in the book of Genesis, was in the form of a man. In Judaism of the Hellenistic period (3rd century bc to 3rd century ad), however, angels were viewed as noncorporeal spiritual beings who appeared to man in an apparitional fashion. Their spiritual nature had been emphasized earlier by Old Testament prophets, such as Ezekiel and Isaiah, in their visionary descriptions. The cherubim and seraphim, two superior orders of angels, are described as winged creatures that guard the throne of God. The use of wings attached to various beings symbolizes their invisible and spiritual nature, a practice that can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians, who represented the battling sun-god Horus of Edfu as a winged disk. In Christian iconography the spiritual nature of angels has been almost universally represented—until the 20th century—by winged human figures. Their spirituality and, therefore, their noncorporeality led to various kinds of speculation among theologians and common people about the nature of the appearances of angels, which has been recorded in both Scripture and legends based on popular piety. Some theologians, such as Augustine in the 4th and 5th centuries, stated that angels, who have ethereal bodies, may be able to assume material bodies. This problem, however, has not been solved to the satisfaction of later theologians.

Malevolent beings

Malevolent beings—demons, fallen angels, ghosts, goblins, evil spirits in nature, hybrid creatures, the daevas of Zoroastrianism, the nārakas (creatures of hell) of Jainism, the oni (attendants of the gods of the underworld) in Japanese religions, and other such beings—hinder man in achieving a proper relation with God, the spiritual realm, or man’s life situations. Some angels are believed to have fallen from a position of proximity to God—such as Lucifer (after his fall called Satan by early Church Fathers) in Judaism, Christianity, and Islām—because of pride or for attempts to usurp the position of the Supreme Being. In their fallen condition they then attempt to keep man from gaining a right relationship with God by provoking men to sin. Some medieval scholars of demonology ascribed to a hierarchy of seven archdemons the seven deadly sins: Lucifer (Pride); Mammon (Avarice); Asmodeus (Lechery); Satan (Anger); Beelzebub (Gluttony); Leviathan (Envy); and Belphegor (Sloth). Besides tempting men to sin, the fallen angels, or devils, were believed to cause various types of calamities, both natural and accidental. Like the demons and evil spirits of nature in primitive religions, the fallen angels were viewed as the agents of famine, disease, war, earthquakes, accidental deaths, and various mental or emotional disorders. Persons afflicted with mental diseases were considered to be “demon possessed.”

Though the functions of demonic figures, like those of fallen angels, is of major significance, the nature of demons has been of concern to theologians and persons infused with popular piety. Like angels, demons are regarded as spiritual, noncorporeal beings, but they have been depicted in religious iconography as hybrid creatures with horrifying characteristics or as caricatures of idols of an opposing religion. In the early church, for example, there was a belief that pagan idols were inhabited by demons. The horrifying aspects of demons have been represented in the woodcuts of medieval and Reformation artists and in the masks of shamans, medicine men, and priests of primitive religions—either to frighten the believer into behaving according to accepted norms or to ward off ritualistically the power of the demonic forces loose in the terrestrial or profane realm.

Ambivalent or neutral beings

Ambivalent or neutral spiritual beings are usually not found in Western religions, which usually divide the inhabitants of the cosmos into those who are either allied with or in opposition to the Supreme Being. Islām, however, classifies spiritual beings into angels (malā’ikah), demons (shāyaṭīn), and djinni, or genies. This last category includes spiritual beings that might be either benevolent or malevolent. According to legend, the djinni were created out of fire 2,000 years before the creation of Adam, the first man. Capable of both visibility and invisibility, a djinni could assume various forms—either animal or human—and could be either a help or a hindrance to man. By cunning, a superior use of intellect, or magic, a man might be able to manipulate a djinni for his own benefit.

Various minor nature spirits—such as the spirits of water, fire, mountains, winds, and other spirits recognized in primitive religions—are generally neutral, but, in order to keep them that way or to make them beneficial to man, proper sacrifices and rituals must be performed.

What made you want to look up angel and demon?
(Please limit to 900 characters)
Please select the sections you want to print
Select All
MLA style:
APA style:
angel and demon. (2016). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from
Harvard style:
angel and demon. 2016. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 06 February, 2016, from
Chicago Manual of Style:
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "angel and demon", accessed February 06, 2016,


We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles.
angel and demon
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Harvard
  • Chicago
You have successfully emailed this.
Error when sending the email. Try again later.

Or click Continue to submit anonymously: