Milton's Satan in Paradise Lost is a complex character believed to be the evil figure of the epic poem. Whenever possible, Satan attempts to undermine God and the Son of God, who is the true hero of the story. Throughout the story, Milton tells readers that Satan is an evil character, that he is not meant to have any redeeming qualities, and that he should be presented completely as an unsympathetic character. Satan's greatest sins are pride and vanity in thinking he can overthrow God, and in the first part of the poem he is described as selfish while he is in heaven where all of God's angels are loved and happy. Satan's journey begins as a fallen angel of great stature, with the ability to reason and argue, but according to Book X, the anguish and pain he goes through is an additional reason for him to follow a bad path. Despite this, Milton uses literal and figurative imagery in describing the character of Satan to manipulate the reader's response to the possibility that Satan may actually be a heroic figure. As the plot of the story unfolds, there are moments where the reader can identify with Satan's desires and relate to his deceptions. Considering Aristotle's idea of ​​the hamartia, someone who is a good person but who has fallen from grace, and applying it to Satan, then it seems reasonable to interpret Satan as having similar characteristics to those of a hero. Aristotle would say that a courageous person is inspired by confidence, confronts dangers, and acts appropriately to that courage (Nicomachean Ethics). Not only is Satan a brave character, but he starts out as a good character even though he makes mistakes along the way. In the first two books, Milton does just that by portraying Satan as a hero to draw readers in so they can identify with his character... middle of paper ...... towards the creation of the Satan of Milton a heroic figure. Works Cited Aristotle. “Nicomachean Ethics”. ed. general. Cahn, Steven M. and Peter J. Markie. Ethics: history, theory and contemporary issues. 4th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. Forsyth, Neil. “Paradise Lost and the Origin of “Evil”: Classical or Judeo-Christian? » International review of the classical tradition. Literary Reference Center.NC Live. 2000. Internet. December 5, 2011. Henthorne, Susan. “Paradise lost”. Masterplots, 4th ed. Literary reference center. 2010. EBSCO Host. Internet. December 5, 2011. Milton, John. Paradise lost. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Flight. A. gen ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2006. 1831-2055. Print.Nienhuis, Terry. “Paradise lost”. Magill'S Survey Of World Literature, revised edition. Literary reference center. 2009. EBSCO Host. Internet. December 5. 2011.