The Goat and the Apple. Acrylic on A2 paper
Why was the Christian devil modelled after a goat, an unthreatening herbivore that, unlike predators, does not scare anyone? Some scholars believe that Pan, the ancient Greek deity of fields, groves, shepherds, flocks, rural music, and fertility, was the real inspiration behind this prevalent iconography. Apparently, Pan was promoted (or demoted, depending on your viewpoint) to the position of the devil thanks to his joyful personality, his capacity to mix human and non-human qualities, and his celebration of life in the company of the nymphs. A similar fate has befallen the apple, an innocent fruit that the Western culture somehow associated with sin, misery, and discord (“the apple of discord,” the biblical “forbidden fruit,” and so on). See my earlier work Apple Moons for a fuller picture.
