Dr. Eliran Arazi – Why Did Humans Invent the Devil?

Why do the Otomi people of Mexico place the devil at the heart of their carnival and dress up as demons to make him happy? In the lecture, we will trace the figure of the devil throughout history—from the religions of the ancient world and the Book of Job, through the demons and witches of Christianity, to the conquest of the Americas. Finally, we will delve into the Mexican carnival, where the devil transformed from the figure the European conquerors sought to combat into a mask representing local deities, resistance, imitation, and the desire for wealth.