Conversation with Pi: On Evil, Witches and the Devil

Kenneth Leong
5 min readOct 5, 2024

Ken: I want to talk about the devil. In the TV show Evil, the devil is depicted as a goat-like, horned figure.

Pi: Yes, that image taps into traditional depictions of Satan in Christian and European folklore. The goat-like appearance echoes the figure of Baphomet, often associated with Satanism and occult practices. The horns, frequently seen in art, reflect how Christianity has long symbolized evil through such imagery. It’s interesting how these symbols persist and evolve in popular culture.

Ken: Is there any historical basis for that, or is it just Christianity demonizing pagan religions? After all, there are horned gods in paganism.

Pi: There’s definitely historical context. Many pagan religions worshipped horned gods, often symbolizing nature, fertility, or wilderness. A well-known example is the Greek god Pan, depicted as a goat-legged man with horns, representing nature and revelry. As Christianity spread, it demonized these pagan symbols, linking them to the devil to discredit old beliefs. So, the goat-like image of Satan likely stems from this demonization of pagan deities like Pan.

Ken: Right, Pan is a nature symbol. It just reinforces my idea that Christianity often seems anti-nature.

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Kenneth Leong

Author, Zen teacher, scientific mystic, professor, photographer, philosopher, social commentator, socially engaged human