The Temptation of the Desert The Temptation of the Desert
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Illustration by Daniel Mróz
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The Temptation of the Desert

The Monastic Lives of the Desert Fathers
Adam Aduszkiewicz
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time 12 minutes

More than 1500 years ago, a few European philosophers and a large number of Egyptian peasants were driven out into the desert. They abandoned their families, cast off their clothes and surrendered themselves to fasting. They were tormented by demons that still afflict us today.

Visitors to the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon can admire Hieronymus Bosch’s Triptych of the Temptation of St. Antony. And there’s a lot to admire. Antony, his hands folded piously, lying on his back and floating into the air on the belly of a winged toad; a procession of devils hurrying into a cave opening between the buttocks of someone standing on all fours; two women celebrating Mass; and among the creatures crowding around to take communion, a mandolinist with the face of a pig and an owl on his head. Antony surveys a table supported by naked demons. Like a parody of the Eucharist, the table holds bread and a cup with a pig’s leg protruding from it. Somewhere in the background, a village is burning. Looking at this painting, we ask ourselves: where is the temptation here? Why is Antony not being lured by the well-known charms of this world, but instead by hideous monsters and scenes of blasphemy and rape? What did the artist see in the saint’s history that made him decide to portray him surrounded by abomination and violence?

Hieronymus Bosch, "Kuszenie św. Antoniego", fragment, ok. 1501 r., Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga w Lizbonie; zdjęcie: domena publiczna
Hieronymus Bosch, “Kuszenie św. Antoniego”, fragment, ok. 1501 r., Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga w Lizbonie; zdjęcie: domena publiczna

The road to the tomb

Antony’s story began quite innocently. He lived in Egypt from around 250 to 357 AD. His biographer, Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria, says that he was born in a small

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The 666 Faces of the Beast The 666 Faces of the Beast
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Illustration by Marek Raczkowski
Experiences

The 666 Faces of the Beast

How to Find the Devil Everywhere
Adam Węgłowski

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. That’s a real word. And it means something very simple: the age-old superstitious fear of the number 666.

“Those who would not worship the image of the beast (would) be slain,” warned St. John, the author of the Book of Revelation, which predicts the end of the world. “Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” These words have sunk deeply into the memory of Bible readers. And so, for almost 2000 years, people have been looking out for the mythical Antichrist, Satan or another Evil hiding behind three sixes. It would even seem that in our times, the Number of the Beast is more popular than ever before.

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