Image Details

Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

ON THE COVER: Lucifer—identified by his green color and peacock’s crest—appears as a confused member of a celestial band, in a detail from an altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald. Conventionally, Lucifer is just another name for Satan. Artistically, he’s often depicted with wings, harking back to the traditional understanding of Lucifer as a vainglorious angel who was cast out of heaven for rebelling against God. Author Ronald Youngblood, in “Fallen Star,” points out that this interpretation of Lucifer has no biblical roots. He traces the evolution of Lucifer to its source in a mocking prophecy directed by Isaiah at the king of Babylon.