How the 'Seven Princes of Hell' fell from the grace

Hell, the eternal destination of sinners, has different presentations in different religions. But a few things are common- a place for punishment, suffering, and pain. 

But humans are not the only dwellers of hell. Besides humans, there are demons. And among them are the most powerful seven demons. They are the main attraction of our discussion today.

The seven princes of hell, presentation of the seven deadly sins, are the ruling body of hell in the Abrahamic underworld. 'Abrahamic' unofficially means the religion originated from the biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 

The seven princes did not always belong to hell. Actually, they were the dwellers of heaven before the war in heaven. They are the forsaken fallen angels who were thrown to hell. Now, we know this myth does not go hand in hand with all the Abrahamic traditions and religions.

The seven princes of hell are the strongest of all demons. These demons established their authority in hell with the leadership of Lucifer, who consequently became the supreme leader of hell. 

Lucifer formed this governing body called 'Seven Princes' with his most loyal follower Beelzebub, by his side. Wondering how their journey began? In heaven, Lucifer defied God. Other angles rebelled along with him. This caused the war of heaven. Lucifer and his followers were thrown to hell and transformed into monstrous creatures, i.e., demons.

At this point, it's bound to talk about the war of heaven, the origin of all this chaos. This war or rebellion is described differently in different religions. 

For our literary discussion, we are focusing on the details in John Milton's 'Paradise Lost'. We all know how John Milton believed in freedom of speech and free thinking, which often created obstacles to the publication of his works. Being a hater of monarchy, he presented Lucifer in more of a sympathetic way. 

Lucifer or Satan ( found interchangeably in different sources) started to think of himself as higher than his peer group, even the successor of God at times. When God created man and put him in a place higher than any other creations, it hurt Lucifer's pride. He refused to respect this feeble creation and refused to obey God's order. 

This angered God, and the war of heaven broke out. The demons lost miserably. They found themselves in a deep pit of fire. The fire didn't radiate light; instead, it radiated darkness, the exact opposite of the bright and cheerful heaven. 

Lucifer wanted to strike again, but Beelzebub was against it, showing him how little chance they had of winning. Seeing no way of returning from there, the demons accepted their evil nature and made a ruling body comprising the strongest demons for their survival in hell. 

Lucifer is the leader, the demon of pride; Satan is the executioner, the demon of wrath; Beelzebub is Lucifer's right hand, the demon of gluttony; Mammon, the demon of greed; Asmodeus, the demon of lust; Leviathan, the demon of envy; and Belphegor, the demon of sloth. Surprisingly, this ruling body was very democratic, and everyone had a say in decision-making.

This time, the demons decided to conduct war indirectly. God has many favourite creatures. The demon decided to corrupt them. Winning a war in heaven was not possible. So this time, the war was going to happen in a place between heaven and hell, the earth. 

Unlike angels, who always took out God's order, man had the power of free will. This power can bring damnation into a man's life. 

Lucifer started hatching plots to subdue mankind, and the first step was to make humans fall from his grace. Lucifer being exiled, the existence of Adam and Eve in heaven angered him and made him jealous.

From here on, we all know what happened in the Garden of Eden. The version of the story may be different, but all align to this point that evil lurks on earth, trying to deviate people from their goal. 

The silent battle between God and Demons persists on earth throughout our lives, and victory depends on the consciousness of mankind, which God provided.

safrinakabir@iut-dhaka.edu