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Satan, the beast crunching sinners' bones in his subterranean lair.
撒旦，一个在地下巢穴啃食罪人骨头的怪物。
Lucifer, the fallen angel raging against the established order.
路西法，一个与现存制度激烈反抗的堕落天使。
Mephistopheles, the trickster striking deals with unsuspecting humans.
梅菲斯特，一个与单纯人类打交道的骗子。
These three divergent devils are all based on Satan of the Old Testament, an angelic member of God's court who torments Job in the Book of Job.
这三个迥异的恶魔都是以《圣经旧约》中的撒旦为基础的，在约伯记中，撒旦是上帝宫廷中的天使，折磨约伯。
But unlike any of these literary devils, the Satan of the Bible was a relatively minor character, with scant information about his deeds or appearance.
但是与上述文学作品中的恶魔不同，《圣经》中的撒旦只是一个不怎么重要的角色，书中基本上没有关于撒旦的事迹和外貌的叙述。
So how did he become the ultimate antagonist, with so many different forms?
那么拥有这么多形态的撒旦是如何成为最大的反派的呢？
In the New Testament, Satan saw a little more action: tempting Jesus, using demons to possess people, and finally appearing as a giant dragon who is cast into hell.
在《新约》里，撒旦变得活跃起来：怂恿耶稣，用恶魔去控制人类，最后以被抛入地狱的巨龙形态现身。
This last image particularly inspired medieval artists and writers, who depicted a scaled, shaggy-furred creature with overgrown toenails.
书中最后的图像对中世纪的艺术家和作家影响深远，这幅图描绘了一个有鳞片、全身毛茸茸、脚趾甲很长的生物。
In Michael Pacher's painting of St. Augustine and the Devil, the devil appears as an upright lizard -- with a second miniature face glinting on his rear and.
在迈克尔·帕切尔一幅关于圣奥斯丁和恶魔的画作里，恶魔被画成一只直立的蜥蜴--并且在臀部那里有它的第二张缩小版的脸。
The epitome of these monster Satans appeared in Italian poet Dante Alighieri's "Inferno."
撒旦形象的典型代表出现在意大利诗人但丁·阿利吉耶里的诗集《地狱》里。
Encased in the ninth circle of hell, Dante's Satan is a three-headed, bat-winged behemoth who feasts on sinners.
在诗集中的第九狱里，但丁所描述的撒旦是一个有三个头、蝙蝠翅膀、以罪人为食的巨兽。
But he's also an object of pity: powerless as the panicked beating of his wings only encases him further in ice.
但这个恶魔也是一个令人同情的对象：正如它惊慌拍打的翅膀一般，它的力量很弱，被困在冰里。
The poem's protagonist escapes from hell by clambering over Satan's body,
诗里的主人公踏过撒旦的身体逃出了地狱，
and feels both disgust and sympathy for the trapped beast -- prompting the reader to consider the pain of doing evil.
他对这只被困住的怪兽感到既厌恶又同情--激起读者思考这只恶魔所承受的痛苦。
By the Renaissance, the devil started to assume a more human form.
到文化复兴时期，恶魔的形象逐渐向人类靠近。
Artists painted him as a man with cloven hooves and curling horns inspired by Pan, the Greek god of the wild.
艺术家们将它画成有蹄子和弯曲的犄角的人，艺术家们是受到了希腊牧神潘的启发。
In his 1667 masterpiece "Paradise Lost," English poet John Milton depicted the devil as Lucifer, an angel who started a rebellion on the grounds that God is too powerful.
1667年，在史诗《失乐园》里英国诗人约翰·弥尔顿将恶魔描述成了路西法，一个因上帝权势过高而发起反抗的天使。
Kicked out of heaven, this charismatic rebel becomes Satan, and declares that he'd rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.
它被驱逐出了天堂，于是这个魅力超凡的反派变成了撒旦，这个角色宁愿当地狱的主宰也不会再服务于天堂。
Milton's take inspired numerous depictions of Lucifer as an ambiguous figure, rather than a purely evil one.
弥尔顿的作品启发了之后一系列的文学作品，其中路西法不再是一个纯粹的角色，不单单是一个纯恶的恶魔。
Milton's Lucifer later became an iconic character for the Romantics of the 1800s,
弥尔顿创作的路西法成为了19世纪浪漫主义时期的标志人物形象，
who saw him as a hero who defied higher power in pursuit of essential truths, with tragic consequences.
被视为不畏强权追求真理的英雄，虽然结局令人扼腕。
Meanwhile, in the German legend of Doctor Faust, which dates to the 16th century, we get a look at what happens when the devil comes to Earth.
同时，在德国民间传说《浮士德》里，这个传说可追溯到16世纪，我们可以得知当恶魔降生时所发生的事情。
Faust, a dissatisfied scholar, pledges his soul to the devil in exchange for bottomless pleasure.
感到迷茫和不满的学者浮士德将自己的灵魂向恶魔换取无尽的快乐。
With the help of the devil's messenger Mephistopheles, Faust quickly seizes women, power, and money -- only to fall into the eternal fires of hell.
在恶魔信使梅菲斯特的帮助下，浮士德立即拥有了女人、权力以及金钱--最后将自己陷入到了永恒的地狱之火中。
Later versions of the story show Mephistopheles in different lights.
后世的版本用不同的视角对梅菲斯特进行了展示。
In Christopher Marlowe's account, a cynical Doctor Faustus is happy to strike a deal with Mephistopheles.
在克里斯托弗·马洛的描述中，愤世嫉俗的学者浮士德非常乐意与梅菲斯特做交易。
In Johann Wolfgang van Goethe's version, Mephistopheles tricks Faust into a grisly deal.
在约翰·沃尔夫冈·范·歌德的版本中，梅菲斯托引诱着浮士德去达成一个可怕的交易。
Today, a Faustian bargain refers to a trade that sacrifices integrity for short-term gains.
现在，浮士德式交易则代表着那些为了短期利益而牺牲掉正直精神的交易。
In stagings of Goethe's play, Mephistopheles appeared in red tights and cape.
在歌德戏剧的舞台上，梅菲斯特以一席红色紧身服和斗篷登场。
This version of the devil was often played as a charming trickster -- one that eventually paraded through comic books, advertising, and film in his red suit.
在这个版本下，恶魔总是以一个富有魅力的骗子形象登场--而后也以同样的形象出现在动画书、广告以及影视作品里。
These three takes on the devil are just the tip of the iceberg:
这三个版本的恶魔形象只是冰山一角：
the devil continues to stalk the public imagination to this day, tempting artists of all kinds to render him according to new and fantastical visions.
如今恶魔依旧激发着公众的想象力，引诱着各种风格的艺术家们，以全新、更具有想象力的形象，让它活跃在公众视野中。
