This essentially lures the reader into viewing him as the character to root for. And like Satan, these heroes were the protagonists of their respected epics.

Epic heroes such as Odysseus and Achilles were written with very similar traits: strength beyond that of normal men, natural leaders and warriors, followers who believed in them, deities remaining watchful of their actions, yet imperfect to the death. As a smaller creature compared to God, yet such a powerful creature compared to man, Satan is the most essential character to the entire story. Even before Paradise Lost began, Satan has already undergone his rebellion against God, lost, and been banished from heaven along with his renegades. The fallen Satan takes on the role of protagonist which presents him as a false hero. His williningness to die for man is, in fact, his greatest heroic strength. However this fall is not due to any flaw of his. The Son is not depicted as a warrior at all, but still remains as the savoir of humankind who falls. The complex character of Satan has power beyond measure when compared to man but ultimately falls due to his very human flaw of refusing to bow down before God. Satan is directly constrasted by God's Son, who is not a gloriously strong warrior like the antique heroes. While Satan fits the archetype of an epic hero, he is in fact showing readers that classic heroes are not the true savoirs of the people. The story of mankind's fall from Eden as written by John Milton in his epic poem Paradise Lost portrays a classically heroic Satan and a modern hero in God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Paradise lost book 9 summary