“Eleanor Rigby” continued the transformation of the Beatles from a mainly rock and roll and pop-orientated act to a more experimental, studio-based band. With a double string quartet arrangement by George Martin and lyrics providing a narrative on loneliness, it broke sharply with popular music conventions, musically and lyrically.[5] The song topped singles charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, and New Zealand.
Background and inspiration
Paul McCartney came up with the melody for “Eleanor Rigby” as he experimented on his piano.[6][7]Donovan recalled hearing McCartney play an early version of the song on guitar, where the character was named Ola Na Tungee. At this point, the song reflected an Indian musical influence and its lyrics alluded to drug use, with references to “blowing his mind in the dark” and “a pipe full of clay”.[8]
The name of the protagonist that McCartney initially chose was not Eleanor Rigby, but Miss Daisy Hawkins.[9] In 1966, McCartney told Sunday Times journalist Hunter Davies how he got the idea for his song:
The first few bars just came to me. And I got this name in my head – “Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been.” I don’t know why … I couldn’t think of much more so I put it away for a day. Then the name “Father McCartney” came to me – and “all the lonely people”. But I thought people would think it was supposed to be my dad, sitting knitting his socks. Dad’s a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie.[10]
McCartney said that the idea to call his character “Eleanor” was possibly because of Eleanor Bron,[11] the actress who starred with the Beatles in their 1965 film Help!.[12][10] “Rigby” came from the name of a store in Bristol, Rigby & Evens Ltd.[10] McCartney noticed the store while visiting his girlfriend of the time, the actress Jane Asher, during her run in the Bristol Old Vic‘s production of The Happiest Days of Your Life in January 1966.[13][14] He recalled in 1984, “I just liked the name. I was looking for a name that sounded natural. ‘Eleanor Rigby’ sounded natural.”[12][15][nb 1]
In an October 2021 article in The New Yorker, McCartney wrote that his inspiration for “Eleanor Rigby” was an old lady who lived alone and whom he got to know very well. He would go shopping for her and sit in her kitchen listening to stories and her crystal radio set. McCartney said, “just hearing her stories enriched my soul and influenced the songs I would later write.”[19]
Writing collaboration
McCartney wrote the melody and first verse alone, after which he presented the song to the Beatles when they were gathered in the music room of John Lennon‘s home at Kenwood.[20] Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Lennon’s childhood friend Pete Shotton all listened to McCartney play his song through and contributed ideas.[21] Harrison came up with the “Ah, look at all the lonely people” hook. Starr contributed the line “writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear” and suggested making “Father McCartney” darn his socks, which McCartney liked.[21] It was then that Shotton suggested that McCartney change the name of the priest, in case listeners mistook the fictional character for McCartney’s own father.[22]
McCartney could not decide how to end the song, and Shotton suggested that the two lonely people come together too late as Father McKenzie conducts Eleanor Rigby’s funeral. At the time, Lennon rejected the idea out of hand, but McCartney said nothing and used the idea, later acknowledging Shotton’s help.[21] In Lennon’s recollection, the final touches were applied to the lyrics in the recording studio, at which point McCartney sought input from Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, the Beatles’ longstanding road managers.[23][24][25]
“Eleanor Rigby” serves as a rare example of Lennon subsequently claiming a more substantial role in the creation of a McCartney composition than is supported by others’ recollections.[26][27] In the early 1970s, Lennon told music journalist Alan Smith that he wrote “about 70 per cent” of the lyrics, and in a letter to Melody Maker complaining about Beatles producer George Martin‘s comments in a recent interview, he said that “Around 50 per cent of the lyrics were written by me at the studios and at Paul’s place.”[28][29][30] In 1980, he recalled writing almost everything but the first verse.[31][32] Shotton remembered Lennon’s contribution as being “virtually nil”, while McCartney said that “John helped me on a few words but I’d put it down 80–20 to me, something like that.”[33][34] According to McCartney, “In My Life” and “Eleanor Rigby” are the only Lennon–McCartney songs where he and Lennon disagreed over their authorship.[33]
In musicologist Walter Everett‘s view, the lyric writing “likely was a group effort”.[35] Historiographer Erin Torkelson Weber says that, from all the available accounts, McCartney was the principal author of the song and only Lennon’s post-1970 recollections contradict this.[36][nb 2] In the same 1980 interview, Lennon expressed his resentment at the way McCartney had sought their bandmates’ and friends’ creative input, rather than collaborate with Lennon directly. Lennon added, “That’s the kind of insensitivity he would have, which upset me in later years.”[23] In addition to citing this emotional hurt, Weber suggests that the song’s critical acclaim may have motivated Lennon’s assertions, as he sought to portray himself as a greater musical genius than McCartney in the years following the Beatles’ break-up.[38][nb 3]
Composition
Music
The song is a prominent example of mode mixture, specifically between the Aeolian mode, also known as natural minor, and the Dorian mode. Set in E minor, the song is based on the chord progression Em–C, typical of the Aeolian mode and using notes ♭ 3, ♭ 6, and ♭7 in this scale. The verse melody is written in Dorian mode, a minor scale with the natural sixth degree.[40] “Eleanor Rigby” opens with a C-major vocal harmony (“Aah, look at all …”), before shifting to E-minor (on “lonely people”). The Aeolian C-natural note returns later in the verse on the word “dre-eam” (C–B) as the C chord resolves to the tonic Em, giving an urgency to the melody’s mood.
The Dorian mode appears with the C♯ note (6 in the Em scale) at the beginning of the phrase “in the church”. The chorus beginning “All the lonely people” involves the viola in a chromatic descent to the 5th; from 7 (D natural on “All the lonely peo-“) to 6 (C♯ on “-ple”) to ♭6 (C on “they”) to 5 (B on “from”). According to musicologist Dominic Pedler, this adds an “air of inevitability to the flow of the music (and perhaps to the plight of the characters in the song)”.[41]
Lyrics
London may have been swinging in 1966, but in the midst of the Cold War, Britain was also a place where faith in the old religions was fading, and where many feared annihilation in an atomic Third World War. There is a bleak end-times feel to “Eleanor Rigby” …[42]
The lyrics represent a departure from McCartney’s previous songs, in their avoidance of first- and second-person pronouns and by diverging from the themes of a standard love song.[43] The narrator takes the form of a detached onlooker, akin to a novelist or screenwriter. Beatles biographer Steve Turner says that this new approach reflects the likely influence of Ray Davies of the Kinks, specifically the latter’s singles “A Well Respected Man” and “Dedicated Follower of Fashion“.[44]
Author Howard Sounes compares the song’s narrative to “the isolated broken figures” typical of a Samuel Beckett play, as Rigby dies alone, no mourners attend her funeral, and the priest “seems to have lost his congregation and faith”.[42] In Everett’s view, McCartney’s description of Rigby and McKenzie elevates individuals’ loneliness and wasted lives to a universal level in the manner of Lennon’s autobiographical “Nowhere Man“. Everett adds that McCartney’s imagery is “vivid and yet common enough to elicit enormous compassion for these lost souls”.[45]
“Eleanor Rigby” does not have a standard pop backing. None of the Beatles played instruments on it, although Lennon and Harrison did contribute harmony vocals.[46] Like the earlier song “Yesterday“, “Eleanor Rigby” employs a classical string ensemble – in this case, an octet of studio musicians, comprising four violins, two violas and two cellos, all performing a score composed by George Martin.[47] When writing the string arrangement, Martin drew inspiration from Bernard Herrmann‘s work,[35] particularly the latter’s score for the 1960 film Psycho.[48][nb 4]
Whereas “Yesterday” is played legato, “Eleanor Rigby” is played mainly in staccato chords with melodic embellishments. McCartney, reluctant to repeat what he had done on “Yesterday”, explicitly expressed that he did not want the strings to sound too cloying. For the most part, the instruments “double up” – that is, they serve as a single string quartet but with two instruments playing each of the four parts. Microphones were placed close to the instruments to produce a more biting and raw sound. Engineer Geoff Emerick was admonished by the string players saying “You’re not supposed to do that.” Fearing such close proximity to their instruments would expose the slightest deficiencies in their technique, the players kept moving their chairs away from the microphones[51] until Martin got on the talk-back system and scolded: “Stop moving the chairs!” Martin recorded two versions, one with vibrato and one without, the latter of which was used. Lennon recalled in 1980 that “Eleanor Rigby” was “Paul’s baby, and I helped with the education of the child … The violin backing was Paul’s idea. Jane Asher had turned him on to Vivaldi, and it was very good.”[52]
The octet was recorded on 28 April 1966, in Studio 2 at EMI Studios. The track was completed in Studio 3 on 29 April and on 6 June. Take 15 was selected as the master.[53] The final overdub, on 6 June, was McCartney’s addition of the “Ah, look at all the lonely people” refrain over the song’s final chorus. This was requested by Martin,[54] who said he came up with the idea of the line working contrapuntally to the chorus melody.[55]
The original stereo mix had the lead vocal alone in the right channel during the verses, with the strings mixed to one channel, while the mono single and mono LP featured a more balanced mix. For the track’s inclusion on Yellow Submarine Songtrack in 1999, a new stereo mix was created that centres McCartney’s voice and spreads the string octet across the stereo image.[56]
Release
On 5 August 1966, “Eleanor Rigby” was simultaneously released on a double A-side single, paired with “Yellow Submarine“,[57] and on the album Revolver.[58][59] In the LP sequencing, it appeared as the second track, between Harrison’s “Taxman” and Lennon’s “I’m Only Sleeping“.[60] The Beatles thereby broke with their policy of ensuring that album tracks were not issued on their UK singles.[61] According to a report in Melody Maker, the reason for this was to thwart sales of cover recordings of “Eleanor Rigby”.[62] Harrison confirmed that they expected “dozens” of artists to have a hit with the song;[63] however, he also said the track would “probably only appeal to Ray Davies types”.[64] Writing in the 1970s, music critics Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described the motivation behind the single as a “growing dodge in the ever-innovative music industry”, building on UK record companies’ policy of reissuing an album’s most popular tracks, particularly those that had been culled for release as a single in the US, on a spin-off extended play.[65]
The pairing of a ballad devoid of any instrumentation played by a Beatle and a novelty song marked a significant departure from the content of the band’s previous singles.[66][67][nb 5] Writing in his 1977 book The Beatles Forever, Nicholas Schaffner recalled that not only did the two sides have little in common with one another, but “‘Yellow Submarine’ was the most flippant and outrageous piece the Beatles would ever produce, [and] ‘Eleanor Rigby’ remains the most relentlessly tragic song the group attempted.”[67] Unusually for their post-1965 singles also, the Beatles did not make a promotional film for either of the songs.[69] Music historian David Simonelli groups “Eleanor Rigby” with “Taxman” and the band’s May 1966 single tracks “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” as examples of the Beatles’ “pointed social commentary” that consolidated their “dominance of London’s social scene”.[70][nb 6]
In the United States, the record’s release coincided with the group’s final tour[73] and a public furore over the publication of Lennon’s remarks that the Beatles had become “more popular than Jesus Christ“;[74][75] he also predicted the downfall of Christianity[76] and described Christ’s disciples as “thick and ordinary”.[77] In the US South, particularly, some radio stations refused to play the band’s music and organised public bonfires to burn Beatles records and memorabilia.[78][79]Capitol Records were therefore wary of the religious references in “Eleanor Rigby” and promoted “Yellow Submarine” as the lead side.[80] During the band’s first tour press conference, on 11 August, one reporter suggested that Father McKenzie’s sermons going unheard referred to the decline of religion in society. McCartney replied that the song was about lonely individuals, one of whom happened to be a priest.[81][nb 7]
The double A-side topped the Record Retailer chart (subsequently adopted as the UK Singles Chart) for four weeks,[85] becoming their eleventh number-one single on the chart,[86] and Melody Maker‘s chart for three weeks.[87][88] It was also number 1 in Australia.[89] The single topped charts in many other countries around the world,[90] although “Yellow Submarine” was usually the listed side.[89] In the US, disc jockeys began flipping the single midway through the tour as the radio boycotts were lifted.[91] With each song eligible to chart separately there, “Eleanor Rigby” entered the Billboard Hot 100 in late August[92] and peaked at number 11 for two weeks,[93] and “Yellow Submarine” reached number 2.[94][nb 8]
Critical reception
[In “Eleanor Rigby”, the Beatles are] asking where all the lonely people come from and where they all belong as if they really want to know. Their capacity for fun has been evident since the beginning; their capacity for pity is something new and is a major reason for calling them artists.[96]
In Melody Maker‘s appraisal of Revolver, the writer described “Eleanor Rigby” as a “charming song” and one of the album’s best tracks.[97] Derek Johnson, reviewing the single for the NME, said it lacked the immediate appeal of “Yellow Submarine” but “possess[ed] lasting value” and was “beautifully handled by Paul, with baroque-type strings”.[98] Although he praised the string arrangement, Peter Jones of Record Mirror found the song “Pleasant enough but rather disjointed”, saying, “it’s commercial, but I like more meat from the Beatles.”[99] Ray Davies offered an unfavourable view[100] when invited to give a song-by-song rundown of Revolver in Disc and Music Echo.[101] He dismissed “Eleanor Rigby” as a song designed “to please music teachers in primary schools”,[102] adding: “I can imagine John saying, ‘I’m going to write this for my old schoolmistress.’ Still it’s very commercial.”[103]
Reporting from London for The Village Voice, Richard Goldstein stated that Revolver was ubiquitous around the city, as if Londoners were uniting behind the Beatles in response to the antagonism shown towards the band in the US. He wrote: “As a commentary on the state of modern religion, this song will hardly be appreciated by those who see John Lennon as an anti-Christ. But ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is really about the unloved and un-cared-for.”[104] Commenting on the lyrics, Edward Greenfield of The Guardian wrote, “There you have a quality rare in pop music, compassion, born of an artist’s ability to project himself into other situations.” He found this “Specific understanding of emotion” evident also in McCartney’s new love songs and described him as “the Beatle with the strongest musical staying power”.[105] While bemoaning that Americans’ attention was overly focused on the band’s image and non-musical activities, KRLA Beat‘s album reviewer predicted that “Eleanor Rigby” would “become a contemporary classic”, adding that, aside from the quality of the string arrangement, “the haunting melody is one of the most beautiful to be found in our current pop music” and the lyrics “[are] both accurate and unforgettable”.[106]Cash Box found the single’s pairing “unique” and described “Eleanor Rigby” as “a powerfully arranged, haunting story of sorrow and frustration”.[107]
Appearance in Yellow Submarine film and subsequent releases
“Eleanor Rigby” appears in the Beatles’ 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine as the band’s submarine drifts over the desolate streets of Liverpool.[113] Its poignancy ties in quite well with Starr (the first member of the group to encounter the submarine), who is represented as quietly bored and depressed. Starr’s character states in his inner thoughts: “Compared with my life, Eleanor Rigby’s was a gay, mad whirl.”[citation needed]Media theorist Stephanie Fremaux groups the song with “Only a Northern Song” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” as a scene that most clearly conveys the Beatles’ “aims as musicians”. In her description, the segment depicts “moments of color and hope in a land of conformity and loneliness”.[114] With special effects directed by Charlie Jenkins, the animation incorporates photographs of silhouetted people; bankers with bowler hats and umbrellas are seen on rooftops, overlooking the streets.[114][nb 10]
The track also appears on several of the band’s greatest-hits compilations, including A Collection of Beatles Oldies, The Beatles 1962–1966 and 1.[116][117] In 1986, “Yellow Submarine” / “Eleanor Rigby” was reissued in the UK as part of EMI’s twentieth anniversary of each of the Beatles’ singles and peaked at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart.[118] The 2015 edition of 1 and the expanded 1+ box set includes a video clip for the song, taken from the Yellow Submarine film.[119]
In 1996, a stereo remix of Martin’s isolated string arrangement was released on the Beatles’ Anthology 2 outtakes compilation.[120] For the song’s inclusion on the Love album in 2006, a new mix was created that adds a strings-only portion at the start of the track and closes with a transition featuring part of Lennon’s acoustic guitar from the 1968 song “Julia“.[121]
The real-life Eleanor Rigby
The gravestone of Eleanor Rigby (1895–1939) in St Peter’s Parish Church, Woolton
McCartney’s recollection of how he chose the name of his protagonist came under scrutiny in the 1980s, after a headstone engraved with the name “Eleanor Rigby” was discovered in the churchyard of St Peter’s Parish Church in Woolton, in Liverpool.[14][122] Part of a well-known local family,[9] Rigby had died in 1939 at the age of 44.[16] Close by was a headstone bearing the name McKenzie.[123][124] St Peter’s was where Lennon attended Sunday school as a boy,[125] and he and McCartney first met at the church fête there in July 1957.[14] McCartney has said that while he often walked through the churchyard, he had no recollection of ever seeing Rigby’s grave.[125] He attributed the coincidence to a product of his subconscious.[123][42] McCartney has also dismissed claims by people who, because of their name and a tenuous association with the Beatles, believed they were the real Father McKenzie.[126]
In 1990, McCartney responded to a request from Sunbeams Music Trust by donating a historical document that listed the wages paid by Liverpool City Hospital; among the employees listed was Eleanor Rigby, who worked as a scullery maid at the hospital.[127][128] Dating from 1911 and signed by the 16-year-old Rigby,[122] the document attracted interest from collectors because of what it seemingly revealed about the inspiration behind the Beatles song.[128] It sold at auction in November 2008 for £115,000. McCartney stated at the time: “Eleanor Rigby is a totally fictitious character that I made up … If someone wants to spend money buying a document to prove a fictitious character exists, that’s fine with me.”[127]
Rigby’s grave in Woolton became a landmark for Beatles fans visiting Liverpool.[15][129] A digitised image of the headstone was added to the 1995 music video for the Beatles’ reunion song “Free as a Bird“.[108] Continued interest in a possible connection between the real-life Eleanor Rigby and the 1966 song led to the deeds for the grave being put up for auction in 2017,[15][129] along with a Bible that once belonged to Rigby and a handwritten score for the track (subsequently withdrawn) and other items of Beatles memorabilia.[130]
Although “Eleanor Rigby” was far from the first popular song to deal with death and loneliness, according to Ian MacDonald it “came as quite a shock to pop listeners in 1966”.[9] It took a bleak message of depression and desolation, written by a famous pop group, with a sombre, almost funeral-like backing, to the number one spot of the pop charts.[131]Richie Unterberger of AllMusic cites the song’s focus on “the neglected concerns and fates of the elderly” as “just one example of why the Beatles’ appeal reached so far beyond the traditional rock audience”.[66]
In its inclusion of compositions that departed from the format of standard love songs, Revolver marked the start of a change in the Beatles’ core audience, as their young, female-dominated fanbase gave way to a following that increasingly comprised more serious-minded, male listeners.[132] Commenting on the preponderance of young people who, under the influence of drugs such as marijuana and LSD, increasingly afforded films and rock music exhaustive analysis, Mark Kurlansky writes: “Beatles songs were examined like Tennyson’s poems. Who was Eleanor Rigby?”[133][nb 11]
The song’s lyrics became the subject of study by sociologists, who from 1966 began to view the band as spokesmen for their generation.[67] In 2018, Colin Campbell, professor of sociology at the University of York, published a book-length analysis of the lyrics, titled The Continuing Story of Eleanor Rigby.[136] Writing in the 1970s, however, Roy Carr and Tony Tyler dismissed the song’s sociological relevance as academics “rear[ing] a mis-shapen skull”, adding: “Though much praised at the time (by sociologists), ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was sentimental, melodramatic and a blind alley.”[137][nb 12]
According to author and satirist Craig Brown, the lyrics to “Eleanor Rigby” have been “the most extravagantly praised” of all the Beatles’ songs, “and by all the right people”.[139] These include poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Thom Gunn, the last of whom likened the song to W.H. Auden‘s poem “Miss Gee”, and literary critic Karl Miller, who included the lyrics in his 1968 anthology Writing in England Today.[140][nb 13]
In his 1970 book Revolt in Style, Liverpudlian musician and critic George Melly admired the “imaginative truth of ‘Eleanor Rigby'”, likening it to author James Joyce‘s treatment of his own hometown in Dubliners.[67] Novelist and poet A.S. Byatt recognised the song as having the “minimalist perfection” of a Samuel Beckett story.[16][140] In a talk on BBC Radio 3 in 1993, Byatt said that “Wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door” – a line that MacDonald deems “the single most memorable image in The Beatles’ output” – conveys a level of despair unacceptable to English middle-class sensibilities and, rather than being a reference to make-up, suggests that Rigby “is faceless, is nothing” once alone in her home.[142]
In 1982, the Eleanor Rigby statue was unveiled on Stanley Street in Liverpool as a donation from Tommy Steele in tribute to the Beatles. The plaque carries a dedication to “All the Lonely People”.[143]
In 2004, Revolver appeared second in The Observer‘s list of “The 100 Greatest British Albums”, compiled by a panel of 100 contributors.[144] In his commentary for the newspaper, John Harris highlighted “Eleanor Rigby” as arguably the album’s “single greatest achievement”, saying that it “perfectly evokes an England of bomb sites and spinsters, where in the darkest moments it does indeed seem that ‘no one was saved'”. Harris concluded: “Most pop songwriters have always wrapped up Englishness in camp and irony – here, in a rare moment for British rock, post-war Britain is portrayed in terms of its truly grave aspects.”[145]
Musical influence and further recognition
David Simonelli cites the chamber-orchestrated “Eleanor Rigby” as an example of the Beatles’ influence being such that, whatever the style of song, their progressiveness defined the parameters of rock music.[146] Music academics Michael Campbell and James Brody highlight the track’s melodic shape and imaginative backing to illustrate how, paired with similarly synergistic elements in “A Day in the Life“, the Beatles’ use of music and lyrics made them one of the two acts in 1960s rock, along with Bob Dylan, who were “most responsible for elevating its level of discourse and expanding its horizons”.[147]
Soon after its release, Melly stated that “Pop has come of age” with “Eleanor Rigby”, while songwriter Jerry Leiber said, “I don’t think there’s ever been a better song written.”[140] In a 1967 interview, Pete Townshend of the Who commented on the Beatles: “They are basically my main source of inspiration – and everyone else’s for that matter. I think ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was a very important musical move forward. It certainly inspired me to write and listen to things in that vein.”[148] In his television show Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, which aired in April 1967, American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein championed the Beatles’ talents among contemporary pop acts and highlighted the song’s string arrangement as an example of the eclectic qualities that made 1960s pop music worthy of recognition as art.[149]Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees said that their 1969 song “Melody Fair” was influenced by “Eleanor Rigby”.[150]America‘s single “Lonely People” was written by Dan Peek in 1973 as an optimistic response to the Beatles track.[151]
The song was also popular with soul artists seeking to widen their stylistic range.[45]Ray Charles recorded a version that was released as a single in 1968[45] and peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100[160] and number 36 in the UK.[161] Lennon highlighted it as a “fantastic” cover.[29]Aretha Franklin‘s version of “Eleanor Rigby” charted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1969.[162] Music journalist Chris Ingham recognises the Charles and Franklin recordings as notable progressive soul interpretations of the song.[157]
McCartney recorded a new version of “Eleanor Rigby”, with Martin again scoring the orchestration,[163] for his 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street.[164] Departing from the premise of the film, the song’s sequence features McCartney dressed in Victorian costume.[165] On the accompanying soundtrack album, the track segues into a symphonic extension titled “Eleanor’s Dream”.[166] He has also performed the song frequently in concert, starting with his 1989–90 world tour.[117]
ⓘ; from Ancient Greekἔσχατος (éskhatos) ‘last’ and -logy) concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself.[1] The end of the world or end times[2] is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Many religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore, while other religions may have concepts of renewal or transformation after significant events. The explicit description of a new earth is primarily found in Christian teachings (this description can be found in Chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation).
Dharmic religions tend to have more cyclical worldviews, with end-time eschatologies characterized by decay, redemption, and rebirth (though some believe transitions between cycles are relatively uneventful). In Hinduism, the end time occurs when Kalki, the final incarnation of Vishnu, descends atop a white horse and brings an end to the current Kali Yuga, completing a cycle that starts again with the regeneration of the world. In Buddhism, the Buddha predicted his teachings would be forgotten after 5,000 years, followed by turmoil. It says a bodhisattva named Maitreya will appear and rediscover the teachings of the Buddha Dharma, and that the ultimate destruction of the world will then come through seven suns.
The word “eschatology” arises from the Ancient Greek term ἔσχατος (éschatos), meaning “last”, and -logy, meaning “the study of”, and first appeared in English around 1844.[4] The Oxford English Dictionary defines eschatology as “the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind”.[5]
God will raise up a regent from the House of David, the Jewish Messiah, to lead the Jewish people and the world and to usher in an age of justice and peace, the Messianic Age.
Non-Jews will recognize that the God of Israel is the only true god.
Judaism usually refers to the end times as the “end of days” (aḥarit ha-yamim, אחרית הימים), a phrase that appears several times in the Tanakh. The end times are addressed in the Book of Daniel and in numerous other prophetic passages in the Hebrew scriptures, and also in the Talmud, particularly Tractate Avodah Zarah.
The idea of a Messianic Age, an era of global peace and knowledge of the Creator, has a prominent place in Jewish thought, and is incorporated as part of the end of days. A well-known passage from the Book of Isaiah describes this future condition of the world: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift sword against nation and they will no longer study warfare” (Isaiah 2:4, see also Micah 4:3).[6]Maimonides (1135–1204) further describes the Messianic Era in the Mishneh Torah: “And at that time there will be no hunger or war, no jealousy or rivalry. For the good will be plentiful, and all delicacies available as dust. The entire occupation of the world will be only to know God; … the people Israel will be of great wisdom; they will perceive the esoteric truths and comprehend their Creator’s wisdom as is the capacity of man. As it is written (Isaiah 11:9): ‘For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea.'”[8]
Frashokereti is the Zoroastrian doctrine of a final renovation of the universe when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will then be in perfect unity with God (Ahura Mazda). The doctrinal premises are:
Good will eventually prevail over evil.
Creation, initially perfectly good, was subsequently corrupted by evil.
The world will ultimately be restored to the perfection it had at the time of creation.
The “salvation for the individual depended on the sum of [that person’s] thoughts, words and deeds, and there could be no intervention, whether compassionate or capricious, by any divine being to alter this”. Thus each human bears the responsibility for the fate of his own soul, and simultaneously shares in the responsibility for the fate of the world.[19]
Zoroastrian eschatology is considered one of the oldest in recorded history. The birth of its founder, Zoroaster, is unknown, with scholarly dates ranging from 500 BCE to 1,500 BCE. Pliny the Elder even suggests there were two Zoroasters.[20] However, with beliefs paralleling and possibly predating the framework of the major Abrahamic faiths, a fully developed concept of the end of the world was not established in Zoroastrianism until 500 BCE. The Bahman Yasht describes:
At the end of thy tenth hundredth winter, the sun is more unseen and more spotted; the year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop will not yield the seed. And men become more deceitful and more given to vile practices. They will have no gratitude. Honorable wealth will proceed to those of perverted faith. And a dark cloud makes the whole sky night, and it will rain more noxious creatures than water.
A battle between the righteous and wicked will be followed by the Frashokereti. On earth, the Saoshyant will arrive as the final savior of mankind, and bring about the resurrection of the dead. The yazatas Airyaman and Atar will melt the metal in the hills and mountains, which will flow as lava across the earth and all mankind, both the living and resurrected, will be required to wade through it. Ashavan will pass through the molten river as if it were warm milk, but the sinful will burn. It will then flow down to hell, where it will annihilate Angra Mainyu and the last vestiges of wickedness.
The righteous will partake of the parahaoma, which will confer immortality upon them. Humanity will become like the Amesha Spentas, living without food, hunger, thirst, weapons or injury. Bodies will become so light as to cast no shadow. All humanity will speak a single language, and belong to a single nation with no borders. All will share a single purpose and goal, joining with Ahura Mazda for a perpetual and divine exaltation.[21][19]
Gnosticism
The Gnostic codex On the Origin of the World (possibly dating from near the end of the third century AD) states that during what is called the consummation of the age, the Sun and Moon will become dark as the stars change their ordinary course. Kings will make war with each other, and thunder will cause the world to be shaken. The corrupt Archons will mourn. The sea will be troubled by fighting of the kings who became drunk from the flaming sword. Finally, great thunder will come from Sophia, the woman in the firmament above the forces of Chaos. She will cast the corrupt gods into the abyss where they will fight each other until only their chief Yaldabaoth remains and destroys himself. Next the heavens of the Archons will collapse on each other before the Earth sinks into the abyss. Light will cover the darkness and eliminate it then form into something greater than anything that ever existed before. The source of the darkness will dissolve, and the deficiency will be taken from its root. Those who were not perfected in the unconceived one will receive glories in their realms and kingdoms of the immortals, but those who were will enter a kingless realm. All will be judged according to their deeds and gnosis.[22]
Christian eschatology is the study concerned with the ultimate destiny of the individual soul and of the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testaments.
Eschatological passages occur in many places in the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament, apocalyptic eschatology can be found notably in Isaiah 24–27, Isaiah 56–66, Joel, Zechariah 9–14 as well as in the closing chapters of Daniel, and in Ezekiel.[23] In the New Testament, applicable passages include Matthew 24, Mark 13, the parable of “The Sheep and the Goats” and the Book of Revelation—Revelation often occupies a central place in Christian eschatology.
The Second Coming of Christ is the central event in Christian eschatology within the broader context of the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Most Christians believe that death and suffering will continue to exist until Christ’s return. There are, however, various views concerning the order and significance of other eschatological events.
The Book of Revelation stands at the core of much of Christian eschatology. The study of Revelation is usually divided into four interpretative methodologies or hermeneutics:
The Futurist approach treats the Book of Revelation mostly as unfulfilled prophecy taking place in some yet undetermined future.
The Preterist approach interprets Revelation chiefly as having had prophetic fulfillment in the past, principally in the events of the first century CE.
The Idealist approach sees the events of Revelation as neither past nor future actualities, but as purely symbolic accounts, dealing with the ongoing struggle and ultimate triumph of good over evil.
First-century Christians believed Jesus would return during their lifetime. When the converts of Paul in Thessalonica were persecuted by the Roman Empire, they believed the end of days to be imminent.[33] Most of the scholars participating in the third quest hold that Jesus was an eschatological prophet who believed the “Kingdom of God” was coming within his own lifetime or within the lifetime of his contemporaries.[34][35][36] This view, generally known as “consistent eschatology,” was influential during the early to the mid—twentieth century and continues to be influential today in proposed portraits of the Historical Jesus. However, C. H. Dodd and others have insisted on a “realized eschatology” that says Jesus’ own ministry fulfilled prophetic hopes. Many conservative scholars have adopted the paradoxical position the Kingdom of God passages describes a kingdom that is both “present” and “still to come” claiming Pauline eschatology as support.[37]: 208–209 R. T. France and N. T. Wright among others have taken Jesus’ apocalyptic statements of an imminent end, historically, as referring to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.[38][39][40][41]: 143–152 A number of interpretations of the term “Kingdom of God” have thus appeared in its eschatological context, e.g., apocalyptic, realized or Inaugurated eschatologies, yet no consensus has emerged among scholars.[42][43]
While some who believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible insist the prediction of dates or times is futile, others believe Jesus foretold signs of the end of days. The precise time, however, will come like a “thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). They may also refer to Matthew 24:36 in which Jesus is quoted as saying:
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
In the New Testament, Jesus refers to this period preceding the end times as the “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:21), “Affliction” (Mark 13:19), and “days of vengeance” (Luke 21:22).
The Book of Matthew describes the devastation:
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand). Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down. …Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes, and woe unto them that are with child. …For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
The resulting chaos will affect pregnancies, newborns, and a scourge will spread throughout the flesh, save for the elect. The vivid imagery of this section is repeated closely in Mark 13:14–20.
The Gospel of Luke describes a complete unraveling of the social fabric, with widespread calamity and war:
Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Contemporary use of the term End Times has evolved from literal belief in Christian millennialism. In this tradition, Biblicalapocalypse is believed to be imminent, with various current events as omens of impending Armageddon. These beliefs have been put forward by the Adventist movement (Millerites) and dispensational premillennialists. In 1918 a group of eight, well-known preachers produced the London Manifesto, warning of an imminent second coming of Christ shortly after the 1917 liberation of Jerusalem by the British.
Protestants are divided between Millennialists and Amillennialists. Millennialists concentrate on the issue of whether the true believers will see the Great Tribulation or be removed from it by what is referred to as a Pre-Tribulation rapture.
Amillennialists believe the end times encompass the time from Christ’s ascension to the last day, and maintain that the mention of the “thousand years” in the Book of Revelation is meant to be taken metaphorically (i.e., not literally), a view which continues to cause divisions within Protestant Christianity.
There is a range of eschatological belief in Protestant Christianity. Christian premillennialists who believe the end times are occurring now, are usually specific about timelines that climax in the end of the world. For some, Israel, the European Union, or the United Nations are seen as major players whose roles were foretold in scripture. Within dispensational premillennialist writing, there is the belief that Christians will be summoned to Heaven by Christ at the rapture, occurring before a Great Tribulation prophesied in Matthew 24–25; Mark 13 and Luke 21. The Tribulation is described in the Book of Revelation.
“End times” may also refer to the passing of an age or long period in the relationship between man and God.[45] Adherents to this view cite the Second Epistle to Timothy and draw analogies to the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Religious movements which expect that the second coming of Christ will be a cataclysmic event are generally called adventism. These have arisen throughout the Christian era, but were particularly common after the Protestant Reformation. Emanuel Swedenborg considered the second coming to be symbolic, and to have occurred in 1757. Along with others, he developed a religious system around the second coming of Christ, disclosed by new prophecy or special revelation not described in the Bible. The Millerites are diverse religious groups which similarly rely upon a special gift of interpretation for predicting the second coming.
The difference between the 19th-century Millerite and adventist movements and contemporary prophecy is that William Miller and his followers, based on biblical interpretation, predicted the time of the Second Coming to have occurred in 1844. Contemporary writing of end time has suggested the timetable will be triggered by future wars and moral catastrophe, and that this time of tribulation is close at hand.
Seventh-day Adventists believe biblical prophecy to foretell an end time scenario in which the United States works in conjunction with the Catholic Church to mandate worship on a day other than the true Sabbath, Saturday, as prescribed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8–11). This will bring about a situation where one must choose for or against the Bible as the will of God.[46]
Another view of the end times is preterism. It distinguishes the time of the end from the end of time. Preterists believe the term last days (or Time of the End) refers to, neither the last days of the Earth, nor the last days of humankind, but the end of the Old Covenant between God and Israel; which, according to preterism, took place when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE.
Proponents of full preterism do not believe in a coming resurrection of the dead. They place this event (as well as the Second Coming) in the year 70. Advocates of partial preterism do believe in a coming resurrection. Full preterists contend that partial preterists are merely futurists, since they believe the Second Coming, the Resurrection, the Rapture, and the Judgment are yet to come.
Many preterists believe first-century Christians experienced the Rapture to rejoin the Christ.
According with Preterism’s interpretation of end times, many “time passages” in the New Testament foretell a Second Coming of Christ, with last days to take place within the lifetimes of his disciples: Matt. 10:23, Matt. 16:28, Matt. 24:34, Matt. 26:64, Rom. 13:11–12, 1 Cor. 7:29–31, 1 Cor. 10:11, Phil. 4:5, James 5:8–9, 1 Pet. 4:7, 1 Jn. 2:18.
Dispensationalism is an evangelicalfuturist Biblical interpretation that foresees a series of dispensations, or periods, in which God relates to human beings under different Biblical covenants. The belief system is primarily rooted in the writings of John Nelson Darby and is premillennial in content. The reestablishment of Israel in 1948 provided a major impetus to the dispensationalist belief system. The wars of Israel after 1948 with its Arab neighbors provided further support, according to John F. Walvoord.[47] After the Six-Day War in 1967, and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, it seemed plausible to many Fundamentalist Christians in the 1970s that Middle East turmoil may well be leading up to the fulfillment of various Bible prophecies and to the Battle of Armageddon.
Members of the dispensationalist movement such as Hal Lindsey, J. Dwight Pentecost, John Walvoord, all of whom have Dallas Theological Seminary backgrounds, and some other writers, claimed further that the European Economic Community, which preceded the European Union, would become a United States of Europe, which would in turn become a Revived Roman Empire ruled by the Antichrist. The Revived Roman Empire also figured into the New Testament writers’ vision of the future. The fact that in the early 1970s, there were (erroneously thought to be) seven nations in the European Economic Community was held to be significant; this aligned the Community with a seven-headed beast mentioned in Revelation. This specific prophecy has required revision, but the idea of a Revived Roman Empire remains.
Dispensationalism, in contrast to the Millerite Adventist movement, had its beginning in the 19th century, when John Nelson Darby, founder of the Plymouth Brethrenreligious denomination, incorporated into his system of Biblical interpretation a system of organizing Biblical time into a number of discrete dispensations, each of which marks a separate covenant with God. Darby’s beliefs were widely publicized in Cyrus I. Scofield‘s Scofield Reference Bible, an annotated Bible that became popular in the United States.
Since the majority of the Biblical prophets were writing at a time when the Temple in Jerusalem was still functioning, they wrote as if it would still be standing during the prophesied events. According to preterism, this was a fulfillment of the prophecies. However, according to Futurists, their destruction in AD 70 put the prophetic timetable on hold. Many such believers therefore anticipated the return of Jews to Israel and the reconstruction of the Temple before the Second Coming could occur.[48][49]
Posttribulation premillennialism
A view of the Second Coming of Christ as held by posttribulational premillennialists holds that the Church of Christ will have to undergo great persecution by being present during the great tribulation.
Members of the Baháʼí Faith believe Miller’s interpretation of signs and dates of the coming of Jesus were, for the most part, correct.[50] They believe the fulfillment of biblical prophecies of the coming of Christ came through a forerunner of their own religion, the Báb. According to the Báb’s words, 4 April 1844 was “the first day that the Spirit descended” into his heart.[51] His subsequent declaration to Mullá Husayn-i Bushru’i that he was the “Promised One”—an event now commemorated by Baháʼís as a major holy day—took place on 23 May 1844. It was in October of that year that the Báb embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he openly declared his claims to the Sharif of Mecca.[52][53] The first news coverage of these events in the West was in 1845 by The Times,[54] followed by others in 1850 in the United States.[55] The first Baháʼí to come to America was in 1892.[52] Several Baháʼí books and pamphlets make mention of the Millerites, the prophecies used by Miller and the Great Disappointment, most notably William Sears‘s Thief in the Night.[56][57][58]
Restorationism (Christian primitivism)
End times theology is also significant to restorationist Christian religions, which consider themselves distinct from both Catholicism and Protestantism.
Former Watchtower headquarters in Brooklyn. The society made a number of emphatic claims of impending last days and ensuing chaos between 1879 and 1924.
The eschatology of Jehovah’s Witnesses is central to their religious beliefs. They believe Jesus Christ has been ruling in heaven as king since 1914 (a date they believe was prophesied in the Bible) and that after that time a period of cleansing occurred, resulting in God’s selection of the Bible Students associated with Charles Taze Russell as his people in 1919. They also believe that the destruction of those who reject the Bible’s message[59] and thus willfully refuse to obey God[60][61] will shortly take place at Armageddon, ensuring that the beginning of the new earthly society will be composed of willing subjects of that kingdom.
The religion’s doctrines surrounding 1914 are the legacy of a series of emphatic claims regarding the years 1799,[62] 1874,[62] 1878,[63] 1914,[64] 1918[65] and 1925[66] made in the Watch Tower Society’s publications between 1879 and 1924. Claims about the significance of those years, including the presence of Jesus Christ, the beginning of the “last days”, the destruction of worldly governments and the earthly resurrection of Jewish patriarchs, were successively abandoned.[67] In 1922 the society’s principal magazine, The Watchtower, described its chronology as “no stronger than its weakest link”, but also claimed the chronological relationships to be “of divine origin and divinely corroborated … in a class by itself, absolutely and unqualifiedly correct”[68] and “indisputable facts”,[62] and repudiation of Russell’s teachings was described as “equivalent to a repudiation of the Lord”.[69]
The Watch Tower Society has acknowledged its early leaders promoted “incomplete, even inaccurate concepts”.[70] The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses says that, unlike Old Testamentprophets, its interpretations of the Bible are not inspired or infallible.[71][72][73] It says that Bible prophecies can be fully understood only after their fulfillment, citing examples of biblical figures who did not understand the meaning of prophecies they received. Watch Tower Society literature often cites Proverbs 4:18, “The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established” (NWT) to support their view that there would be an increase in knowledge during “the time of the end”, and that this increase in knowledge needs adjustments. Watch Tower Society publications also say that unfulfilled expectations are partly due to eagerness for God’s Kingdom and that they do not call their core beliefs into question.[74][75][76]
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) believe there will be a Second Coming of Jesus to the earth at some time in the future. The LDS Church and its leaders do not make any predictions of the date of the Second Coming.
According to church doctrine, the true gospel will be taught in all parts of the world prior to the Second Coming.[77] They also believe there will be increasing war, earthquakes, hurricanes, and man-made disasters prior to the Second Coming.[78] Disasters of all kind will happen before Christ comes.[79] Upon the return of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected, the righteous in a first resurrection and the unrighteous in a second, later resurrection. Christ shall reign for a period of 1000 years, after which the Final Judgment will occur.
Diagram of “Plain of Assembly” (Ard al-Hashr) on the Day of Judgment, from an autograph manuscript of Futuhat al-Makkiyya by Sufi mystic and Muslim philosopherIbn Arabi, c. 1238. Shown are the ‘Arsh (Throne of God), pulpits for the righteous (al-Aminun), seven rows of angels, Gabriel (al-Ruh), A’raf (the Barrier), the Pond of Abundance, al-Maqam al-Mahmud (the Praiseworthy Station; where the Islamic prophet Muhammad will stand to intercede for the faithful), Mizan (the Scale), As-Sirāt (the Bridge), Jahannam (Hell), and Marj al-Jannat (Meadow of Paradise).[82]
Muslims believe there are three periods before the Day of Judgment with some debate as to whether the periods could overlap.[83][84][85]
Sunni
Sunnis believe the dead will then stand in a grand assembly, awaiting a scroll detailing their righteous deeds, sinful acts and ultimate judgment.[note 1][86] Muhammad will be the first to be resurrected.[87] Punishments will include adhab, or severe pain and embarrassment, and khizy or shame.[88] There will also be a punishment of the grave between death and the resurrection.[89] Several Sunni scholars explain some of the signs metaphorically.
The signs of the coming end time are divided into major and minor signs: Following the second period, the third is said to be marked by the ten major signs known as alamatu’s-sa’ah al- kubra (The major signs of the end).[note 2] They are as follows:
A huge black cloud of smoke (dukhan) will cover the earth.[note 3]
Three sinkings of the earth, one in the East.[note 3]
The false messiah—anti-Christ, Masih ad-Dajjal—shall appear with great powers as a one-eyed man with his right eye blind and deformed like a grape. Although believers will not be deceived, he will claim to be God, to hold the keys to heaven and hell, and will lead many astray.[90] In reality, his heaven is hell, and his hell is heaven. The Dajjal will be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls.[note 4]
The return of Isa (Jesus), from the fourth sky, to kill Dajjal.[91]
Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj (Gog and Magog), a Japhetic tribe of vicious beings who had been imprisoned by Dhul-Qarnayn, will break out. They will ravage the earth, drink all the water of Lake Tiberias, and kill all believers in their way. Isa, Imam Al-Mahdi, and the believers with them will go to the top of a mountain and pray for the destruction of Gog and Magog. God eventually will send disease and worms to wipe them out.[note 5][92]
The second blow of the trumpet will be sounded, the dead will return to life, and a fire will come out of Yemen that shall gather all to Mahshar Al Qiy’amah (The Gathering for Judgment).[96]
Shia
Many of the signs shown above are shared by both Sunni and Shia beliefs, with some exceptions, e.g. Imam Al-Mahdi defeating Al-Masih ad-Dajjal.
Concepts and terminology in Shia eschatology include Mi’ad, the Occultation, Al-Yamani, and Sufyani. In Twelver Shianarrations about the last days, the literature largely revolves around Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is considered by many beliefs to be the true twelfth appointed successor to Muhammad. Muhammad al-Mahdi will help mankind against the deception by the Dajjal who will try to get people in to a new world religion which is called “the great deception”.[97][need quotation to verify]
Ahmadiyya is considered distinct from mainstream Islam. In its writing, the present age has been witness to the evil of man and wrath of God, with war and natural disaster.[98]Ghulam Ahmad is seen as the promised Messiah and the Mahdi, fulfilling Islamic and Biblical prophecies, as well as scriptures of other religions such as Hinduism. His teaching will establish spiritual reform and establish an age of peace. This will continue for a thousand years, and will unify mankind under one faith.[99]
Ahmadis believe that despite harsh and strong opposition and discrimination they will eventually be triumphant and their message vindicated both by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Ahmadis also incorporate the eschatological views from other religions into their doctrine and believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmed falls into this sequence.[100]
In the Baháʼí Faith, creation has neither a beginning nor an end;[101] Baháʼís regard the eschatologies of other religions as symbolic. In Baháʼí belief, human time is marked by a series of progressive revelations in which successive messengers or prophets come from God.[102] The coming of each of these messengers is seen as the day of judgment to the adherents of the previous religion, who may choose to accept the new messenger and enter the “heaven” of belief, or denounce the new messenger and enter the “hell” of denial. In this view, the terms “heaven” and “hell” become symbolic terms for a person’s spiritual progress and their nearness to or distance from God.[102] In Baháʼí belief, Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892), the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, was the Second Coming of Christ and also the fulfilment of previous eschatological expectations of Islam and other major religions.[103]
The inception of the Baháʼí Faith coincides with Great Disappointment of the Millerite prophecy in 1844.
ʻAbdu’l-Bahá taught that Armageddon would begin in 1914,[104] but without a clear indication of its end date.[105] Baháʼís believe that the mass martyrdom anticipated during the End Times had already passed within the historical context of the Baháʼí Faith.[106][107] Baháʼís expect their faith to be eventually embraced by the masses of the world, ushering in a golden age.
Rastafari have a unique interpretation of end times, based on the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation. They believe Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I to be God incarnate, the King of kings and Lord of lords mentioned in Revelation 5:5. They saw the crowning of Selassie as the second coming, and the Second Italo-Ethiopian War as fulfillment of Revelation. There is also the expectation that Selassie will return for a day of judgment and bring home the “lost children of Israel”, which in Rastafari refers to those taken from Africa through the slave trade. There will then be an era of peace and harmony at Mount Zion in Africa.[108]
The Vaishnavite tradition links contemporary Hindu eschatology to the figure of Kalki, the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu. Many Hindus believe that before the age draws to a close, Kalki will reincarnate as Shiva and simultaneously dissolve and regenerate the universe. Shaivites hold the view that Shiva is incessantly destroying and creating the world.[109]
In Hindu eschatology, time is cyclic and consists of kalpas. Each lasts 4.1–8.2 billion years, which is a period of one full day and night for Brahma, who will be alive for 311 trillion, 40 billion years. Within a kalpa there are periods of creation, preservation and decline. After this larger cycle, all of creation will contract to a singularity[citation needed] and then again will expand from that single point, as the ages continue in a religious fractal pattern.[85][need quotation to verify]
Within the current kalpa, there are four epochs that encompass the cycle. They progress from a beginning of complete purity to a descent into total corruption. The last of the four ages is Kali Yuga (which most Hindus believe is the current time), characterized by quarrel, hypocrisy, impiety, violence and decay. The four pillars of dharma will be reduced to one, with truth being all that remains.[110] As written in the Gita:[111]
Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānirbhavati Bhārata Abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānam sṛjāmyaham
O descendant of Bharata, whenever there is a decline of religion and an increase in irreligion, at that time I manifest My eternally perfect form in this mundane world.
At this time of chaos, the final avatar, Kalki, endowed with eight superhuman faculties will appear on a white horse. Kalki will amass an army to “establish righteousness upon the earth” and leave “the minds of the people as pure as crystal.”
At the completion of Kali Yuga, the next Yuga Cycle will begin with a new Satya Yuga, in which all will once again be righteous with the reestablishment of dharma. This, in turn, will be followed by epochs of Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and again another Kali Yuga. This cycle will then repeat until the larger cycle of existence under Brahma returns to the singularity,[citation needed] and a new universe is born.[108] The cycle of birth, growth, decay, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the cosmic order, yet is affected by vagueries of divine intervention in Vaishnavite belief.
There is no classic account of beginning or end[112] in Buddhism; Masao Abe attributes this to the absence of God.[113]
History is embedded in the continuing process of samsara or the “beginningless and endless cycles of birth-death-rebirth”.[114] Buddhists believe there is an end to things[115] but it is not final because they are bound to be born again. However, the writers of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures establish a specific end-time account in Buddhist tradition: this describes the return of Maitreya Buddha, who would bring about an end to the world.[116] This constitutes one of the two major branches of Buddhist eschatology, with the other being the Sermon of the Seven Suns. End time in Buddhism could also involve a cultural eschatology covering “final things”, which include the idea that Sakyamuni Buddha‘s dharma will also come to an end.[117]
The Buddha described his teachings disappearing five thousand years from when he preached them,[118] corresponding approximately to the year 4300 since he was born in 623 BCE.[119] At this time, knowledge of dharma will be lost as well. The last of his relics will be gathered in Bodh Gaya and cremated.[citation needed] There will be a new era in which the next Buddha Maitreya will appear, but it will be preceded by the degeneration of human society. This will be a period of greed, lust, poverty, ill will, violence, murder, impiety, physical weakness, sexual depravity and societal collapse, and even the Buddha himself will be forgotten.[85]
This will be followed by the coming of Maitreya when the teachings of dharma are forgotten. Maitreya was the first Bodhisattva around whom a cult developed, in approximately the third century CE.[120]
The earliest known mention of Maitreya occurs in the Cakkavatti, or Sihanada Sutta in Digha Nikaya 26 of the Pali Canon. In it, Gautama Buddha predicted his teachings of dharma would be forgotten after 5,000 years.
At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted One named Maitreya, Fully Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be led, a teacher for gods and men, an Exalted One, a Buddha, even as I am now. He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it were face to face, this universe, with Its worlds of the spirits, Its Brahmas and Its Maras, and Its world of recluses and Brahmins, of princes and peoples, even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and see them.
— Digha Nikaya, 26
The text then foretells the birth of Maitreya Buddha in the city of Ketumatī in present-day Benares, whose king will be the Cakkavattī Sankha. Sankha will live in the former palace of King Mahāpanadā, and will become a renunciate who follows Maitreya.[121][122]
In Mahayana Buddhism, Maitreya will attain bodhi in seven days, the minimum period, by virtue of his many lifetimes of preparation. Once Buddha, he will rule over the Ketumati Pure Land, an earthly paradise sometimes associated with the Indian city of Varanasi or Benares in present-day Uttar Pradesh. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha presides over a land of purity. For example, Amitabha presides over Sukhavati, more popularly known as the “Western Paradise”.[123]
Bodhisattva Maitreya from the second-century Gandharan art period
A notable teaching he will rediscover is that of the ten non-virtuous deeds—killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, idle speech, covetousness, harmful intent and wrong views. The ten virtuous deeds will replace them with the abandonment of each of these practices. Edward Conze in his Buddhist Scriptures (1959) gives an account of Maitreya:
The Lord replied, ‘Maitreya, the best of men, will then leave the Tuṣita heavens and go for his last rebirth. As soon as he is born he will walk seven steps forward, and where he puts down his feet a jewel or a lotus will spring up. He will raise his eyes to the ten directions and will speak these words: “This is my last birth. There will be no rebirth after this one. Never will I come back here, but, all pure, I shall win Nirvana.”‘
Maitreya currently resides in Tushita, but will come to Jambudvipa when needed most as successor to the historic Śākyamuni Buddha. Maitreya will achieve complete enlightenment during his lifetime, and following this reawakening he will bring back the timeless teaching of dharma to this plane and rediscover enlightenment.[125] The Arya Maitreya Mandala, founded in 1933 by Lama Anagarika Govinda, is based on the idea of Maitreya.
Maitreya eschatology forms the central canon of the White Lotus Society, a religious and political movement which emerged in Yuan China.[126] It later branched into the Chinese underground criminal organization known as the Triads, which exist today as an international underground criminal network. [citation needed]
Note that no description of Maitreya occurs in any other sutta in the canon, casting doubt as to the authenticity of the scripture. In addition, sermons of the Buddha normally are in response to a question, or in a specific context, but this sutta has a beginning and an ending, and its content is quite different from the others. This has led some to conclude that the whole sutta is apocryphal, or tampered with.[125]
Sermon of the Seven Suns
In his “Sermon of the Seven Suns” in the Pali Canon, the Buddha describes the ultimate fate of the Earth in an apocalypse characterized by the consequent appearance of seven suns in the sky, each causing progressive ruin until the planet is destroyed:
All things are impermanent, all aspects of existence are unstable and non-eternal. Beings will become so weary and disgusted with the constituent things that they will seek emancipation from them more quickly. There will come a season, O monks when, after hundreds of thousands of years, rains will cease. All seedlings, all vegetation, all plants, grasses and trees will dry up and cease to be. …There comes another season after a great lapse of time when a second sun will appear. Now all brooks and ponds will dry up, vanish, cease to be.
The canon goes on to describe the progressive destruction of each sun. The third sun will dry the Ganges River and other rivers, whilst the fourth will cause the lakes to evaporate; the fifth will dry the oceans. Later:
Again after a vast period of time a sixth sun will appear, and it will bake the Earth even as a pot is baked by a potter. All the mountains will reek and send up clouds of smoke. After another great interval a seventh sun will appear and the Earth will blaze with fire until it becomes one mass of flame. The mountains will be consumed, a spark will be carried on the wind and go to the worlds of God. …Thus, monks, all things will burn, perish and exist no more except those who have seen the path.
The sermon completes with the Earth immersed into an extensive holocaust. The Pali Canon does not indicate when this will happen relative to Maitreya.[85]
Ragnarök after Surtr has engulfed the world with fire
Norse mythology depicts the end of days as Ragnarök, an Old Norse term translatable as “twilight of the gods”. It will be heralded by a devastation known as Fimbulvetr which will seize Midgard in cold and darkness. The sun and moon will disappear from the sky, and poison will fill the air. The dead will rise from the ground and there will be widespread despair.
Then there will be a battle between—on the one hand—the Gods with the Æsir, Vanir[127] and Einherjar, led by Odin, and—on the other hand—forces of Chaos, including the fire giants and jötunn, led by Loki. In the fighting Odin will be swallowed whole by his old nemesis Fenrir.[128] The god Freyr fights Surtr but loses. Víðarr, son of Odin, will then avenge his father by ripping Fenrir’s jaws apart and stabbing the wolf in the heart with his spear. The serpent Jörmungandr will open its gaping maw and be met in combat by Thor. Thor, also a son of Odin, will defeat the serpent, only to take nine steps afterwards before collapsing in his own death.[129]
After this people will flee their homes as the sun blackens and the earth sinks into the sea. The stars will vanish, steam will rise, and flames will touch the heavens. This conflict will result in the deaths of most of the major Gods and forces of Chaos. Finally, Surtr will fling fire across the nine worlds. The ocean will then completely submerge Midgard.[130]
After the cataclysm, the world will resurface new and fertile, and the surviving Gods will meet. Baldr, another son of Odin, will be reborn in the new world, according to Völuspá. The two human survivors, Líf and Lífþrasir, will then repopulate this new earth.[131]
Egyptian texts typically treat the dissolution of the world as a possibility to be avoided, and for that reason they do not often describe it in detail. However, many texts allude to the idea that the world, after countless cycles of renewal, is destined to end. This end is described in a passage in the Coffin Texts and a more explicit one in the Book of the Dead, in which Atum says that he will one day dissolve the ordered world and return to his primeval, inert state within the waters of chaos. All things other than the creator will cease to exist, except Osiris, who will survive along with him.[132] Details about this eschathological prospect are left unclear, including the fate of the dead who are associated with Osiris.[133] Yet with the creator god and the god of renewal together in the waters that gave rise to the orderly world, there is the potential for a new creation to arise in the same manner as the old.[134]
The Taoist faith is not concerned with what came before or after life, knowing only their own being in the Tao. The philosophy is that people come and go, just like mountains, trees and stars, but Tao will go on for time immemorial.[citation needed]
Researchers in futures studies and transhumanists investigate how the accelerating rate of scientific progress may lead to a “technological singularity” in the future that would profoundly and unpredictably change the course of human history, and result in Homo sapiens no longer being the dominant life form on Earth.[135][136][improper synthesis?]
Occasionally the term “physical eschatology” is applied to the long-term predictions of astrophysics about the future of Earth and ultimate fate of the universe.[137][138] In approximately 6 billion years, the Sun will turn into a red giant. Life on Earth will become impossible due to a rise in temperature long before the planet is possibly actually swallowed up by the Sun or left charred.[139] Later, the Sun will become a white dwarf.
Updated. In the year 2025, on the eve of destruction, a hopefully friendly and intelligent cadre reaches out and watches over us, pulling us back in line.
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is hypotheticallife that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. Such life might range from simple prokaryotes (or comparable life forms) to intelligent beings and even sapient beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humanity.
Quotes
Man knows at last that he is alone in the indifferent immensity of the universe, whence which he has emerged by chance.
Jacques Monod, Chance and Necessity (1976)
The quest for other, and better, forms of life, society, technology, ethics, and law may not reveal that they are actually elsewhere; but it may in the long run help us to make some of them actual on earth.
Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things in that enormous immensity.
Wernher von Braun, Text of the Address by von Braun Before the Publishers’ Group Meeting, The New York Times Text of the Address by von Braun Before the Publishers’ Group Meeting Here 29 April 1960 L. 20, column 2 Wells (April 29, 1960), l. 20, column 2.
Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.
Arthur C. Clarke, as quoted in Visions : How Science Will Revolutionize the Twenty-First Century (1999) by Michio Kaku, p. 295.
The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren’t any space aliens. We can’t be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we’re not all there is. If so, we’re in big trouble.
If, for example, tomorrow an expedition of Martians came to us here and one said ‘I want to be baptised!’, what would happen? Martians, right? Green, with long noses and big ears, like in children’s drawings? When the Lord shows us the way, who are we to say, ‘No, Lord, it is not prudent! No, let’s do it this way’. Who are we to close doors?
If a visitor from outer space were to come to know human beings on this earth …. at work and play, and without knowledge of human history or international affairs, what would he conclude? No doubt that virtually everyone values friendship, peace and happiness; …If having observed all this the visitor were then told that a scheme had been proposed … which for the present would require that people pour their wealth into the production of weapons of destruction, … train their sons and daughters to kill and periodically send them off to slaughter..[and] that humans could improve their lot provided only that they do all of these things, he would ridicule the scheme as having not the slightest chance of success, and even less of being accepted by rational beings. Yet this is precisely what humankind has been led to accept in the case of war. It has proven willing to abandon virtually everything worth living for, to do things all agree are abhorrent, for reasons few understand, and for ends (such as peace) that history shows cannot be secured by these means.
Robert L. Holmes, The Ethics of Nonviolence: Essays by Robert L. Holmes, Editor: Predrag Cicovaki, [1] (2013) Chapter 9 – “War, Power and Nonviolence” p. 143-144
A Man that is of Copernicus’s Opinion, that this Earth of ours is a Planet, carry’d round and enlighten’d by the Sun, like the rest of the Planets, cannot but sometimes think that it’s not improbable that the rest of the Planets have their Dress and Furniture, and perhaps their Inhabitants too as well as this Earth of ours.
Recently, the press has been filled with reports of sightings of flying saucers. While we need not give credence to these stories, they allow our imagination to speculate on how visitors from outer space would judge us. I am afraid they would be stupefied at our conduct. They would observe that for death planning we spend billions to create engines and strategies for war. They would also observe that we spend millions to prevent death by disease and other causes. Finally, they would observe that we spend paltry sums for population planning, even though its spontaneous growth is an urgent threat to life on our planet. Our visitors from outer space could be forgiven if they reported home that our planet is inhabited by a race of insane men whose future is bleak and uncertain.
I don’t believe in any of Earth’s monotheistic religions, but I do believe that one can construct an intriguing scientific definition of God, once you accept the fact that there are approximately 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone, that each star is a life-giving sun and that there are approximately 100 billion galaxies in just the visible universe. Given a planet in a stable orbit, not too hot and not too cold, and given a few billion years of chance chemical reactions created by the interaction of a sun’s energy on the planet’s chemicals, it’s fairly certain that life in one form or another will eventually emerge. It’s reasonable to assume that there must be, in fact, countless billions of such planets where biological life has arisen, and the odds of some proportion of such life developing intelligence are high.
Now, the sun is by no means an old star, and its planets are mere children in cosmic age, so it seems likely that there are billions of planets in the universe not only where intelligent life is on a lower scale than man but other billions where it is approximately equal and others still where it is hundreds of thousands of millions of years in advance of us. When you think of the giant technological strides that man has made in a few millennia – less than a microsecond in the chronology of the universe – can you imagine the evolutionary development that much older life forms have taken? They may have progressed from biological species, which are fragile shells for the mind at best, into immortal machine entities – and then, over innumerable eons, they could emerge from the chrysalis of matter transformed into beings of pure energy and spirit. Their potentialities would be limitless and their intelligence ungraspable by humans.
Some contend that encountering a highly advanced civilization – even one whose technology is essentially comprehensible to us – would produce a traumatic cultural shock effect on man by divesting him of his smug ethnocentrism and shattering the delusion that he is the center of the universe. Carl Jung summed up this position when he wrote of contact with advanced extra terrestrial life that the “reins would be torn from our hands and we would, as a tearful old medicine man once said to me, find ourselves ‘without dreams’…we would find out intellectual and spiritual aspirations so outmoded as to leave us completely paralyzed. I personally don’t accept this position, but it’s one that’s widely held and can’t be summarily dismissed.
Why would a vastly superior race bother to harm or destroy us? If an intelligent ant suddenly traced a message in the sand at my feet reading, “I am sentient,; let’s talk things over,” I doubt very much that I would rush to grind him under my heel. Even if they weren’t super intelligent, though, but merely more advanced than mankind, I would tend to lean more toward benevolence, or at least indifference, theory. Since it’s most unlikely that we would be visited from within our own solar system, any society capable of transversing light-years of space would have to have an extremely high degree of control over matter and energy. Therefore, what possible motivation for hostility would they have? To steal our gold or oil or coal? It’s hard to think of any nasty intention that would justify the long and arduous journey from another star.
Anything we can imagine about such other life forms is possible, or course. You could have psychotic civilizations, or decadent civilizations that have elevated pain to an aesthetic and might covet humans as gladiators or torture objects, or civilizations that might want us for zoos or scientific experimentation, or slaves or even food. While I am appreciably more optimistic, we just can’t be sure what their motivations will be.
As all regions below are replenished with living creatures… so may the heavens above be replenished with beings whose nature we do not understand. He that shall well consider the strange and wonderful nature of life and the frame of the Animals, will think nothing beyond the possibility of nature, nothing too hard for the omnipotent power of God. And as the Planets remain in their orbs, so may any other bodies subsist at any distance from the earth, and much more may beings, who have sufficient power of self motion, move whether they will, and continue in any regions of the heavens whatever, there to enjoy the society of one another, and by their messengers or Angels to rule the earth and convers with the remotest regions. Thus may the whole heavens or any part thereof whatever be the habitation of the Blessed, and at the same time the earth be subject to their dominion. And to have thus the liberty and dominion of the whole heavens and the choice of the happiest places for abode seems a greater happiness than to be confined to any one place whatever.
I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?
President Ronald Reagan, United Nations General Assembly, 21 September 1987.
Fermi was somewhat skeptical about the possibility of an extraterrestrial civilization so technologically advanced that it could freely move between the stars. One of his favorite arguments was that such a civilization would be able to colonize the entire Galaxy in less than 300 million years, a short time compared to its age of about 15 billion years. That civilization should have already reached Earth, leaving appreciable traces. But since these traces were not found, Fermi came to the conclusion that the hypothetical civilization does not exist.
Tullio Regge, Infinito Viaggio ai limiti dell’universo, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1995. ISBN 88-04-35976-5. Ch. 9, p. 68
Star Trek offers an almost infinite number of exciting Science Fiction stories, thoroughly practical for television? How? Astronomers put it this way:
Ff^2 (MgE) – C^1R1^1 x M = L/SoOr to put it in simpler terms, by multiplying the 400,000,000,000 galaxies (star clusters) in the heavens by an estimation of average stars per galaxy (7,700,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), we have the approximate number of stars in the universe, as we understand it now. And so……if only one in a billion of these stars isa “sun” with a planet……and only one in a billion of these is of earth size and composition……there would still be something near 2,800,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 worlds with a potential of oxygen-carbon life…or… (by the most conservative estimates of chemical and organic probability), something like three million worlds with a chance of intelligent life and social evolution similar to our own.
Since, in the long run, every planetary society will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring — not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive.
I believe we are the only sentient beings in the universe, and I believe that 500 years from now, we will still be the only sentient beings around.
Joss WhedonPost-Gazette.com, “Whedon creates space cowboys in ‘Firefly'” (22 July 2002) [4]I think we are looking in the wrong direction and they can be 50 light years straight of us and they are no smarter than us.
There are infinite worlds both like and unlike this world of ours… we must believe that in all worlds there are living creatures and plants and other things we see in this world.
Do there exist many worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature.
Saint Albertus Magnus (c. 1206–1280)
In fiction
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.
Across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts of the jungle – intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic – regard this Earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely draw their plans against us…
Orson WellesWar of the Worlds broadcast, as quoted by Stanley Kubrick [5]
Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Vina: They found me in the wreckage, dying. A lump of flesh. They rebuilt me. Everything works. But they had never seen a human. They had no guide for putting me back together.
They stared at each other, man and alien, or more correctly alien and alien—for this is what they were to each other. Alien meaning different, alien meaning unknown.
People have been willing to accept that the government is lying to us, but [are now also] more willing to accept the concept of aliens and other life forms. There’s just a slew of stuff out there right now. It’s been people’s closet belief system, and now it’s coming out of the closet.
Science fiction aliens are both metaphors and real possibilities. One can probe the nature of humanity with aliens that by contrast illustrate and comment upon human nature. Still, as evidenced by widespread belief in alien visitors and efforts to detect extraterrestrial radio signals, humans also crave companionship in a vast, cold universe and aliens may represent hopeful, compensatory images of the strange friends we have been unable to find. Thus, aliens will likely remain a central theme in science fiction until we actually encounter them.
Gary Westfahl, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders
Severance premiered on Apple TV+ on February 18, 2022. It has received widespread acclaim for its cinematography, direction, production design, musical score, story, and performances. The series received 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Scott, Turturro, Walken, and Arquette; it won for Main Title Design and musical score. The second season premiered on January 17, 2025.[7][8][b] The show was renewed for a third season on March 21, 2025, following the release of the second season finale.[9]
Premise
Employees at the biotechnology corporation Lumon Industries, assigned to highly classified projects, must undergo “severance”—a medical procedure that implants a device in their brain ensuring they retain no memories of the outside world while at work and have no recollection of their job once they leave. This results in two distinct personalities for each employee: the “innie”, who exists solely within Lumon, and the “outie”, who lives their personal life outside of work.
Severed employee Mark leads his coworkers Dylan and Irving at Lumon’s Macrodata Refinement department. Mark must balance the challenges of managing his department, including the onboarding of a rebellious new innie, Helly, and his increasing disquiet at the cult-like Lumon. Mark’s outie must deal with the personal tragedies that led to his decision to become severed, and the sudden overlap of his separate lives when mysteries from Lumon begin to intrude into his outie life.
Cast and characters
Main
Adam Scott as Mark Scout (aka “Mark S.”), a former history professor and a severed worker for Lumon Industries in the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) division.
Zach Cherry as Dylan George (aka “Dylan G.”), Mark’s severed co-worker in the MDR division, who particularly enjoys company perks.[10]
Britt Lower as Helly Riggs[11] (aka “Helly R.”), a rebellious new severed employee in the MDR department at Lumon.
Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey, who serves as the wellness counselor on the severed floor at Lumon.
Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale, an eccentric self-help author who is Devon’s husband and Mark’s brother-in-law.
John Turturro as Irving Bailiff (aka “Irving B.”), Mark’s severed co-worker in the MDR department, who is a stickler for company policy and is drawn to Burt.
Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman (aka “Burt G.”), another severed employee and the head of the Optics and Design (O&D) division who is drawn to Irving.
Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel, the manager of the severed floor at Lumon, who outside of work uses the false identity of “Mrs. Selvig” and Mark’s next-door neighbor.
Yul Vazquez as Peter “Petey” Kilmer, Mark’s former severed co-worker and best friend in the MDR division, who left Lumon under mysterious circumstances.
Michael Cumpsty as Doug Graner (season 1), the head of security on Lumon’s severed floor.
Nikki M. James as Alexa (season 1), Devon’s midwife and one of Mark’s love interests.
Sydney Cole Alexander as Natalie Kalen, Lumon’s PR representative and speaker for the mysterious Board.
Nora Dale as Gabby Arteta (season 1), the wife of Senator Angelo Arteta, whom Devon encounters at a birthing retreat.
Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd, security guard at Lumon.
Donald Webber Jr. as Patton, a friend of Ricken’s.
Annie McNamara as Danise (season 1), a friend of Ricken’s.
Claudia Robinson as Felicia, a severed O&D division employee who is close with Burt.
Karen Aldridge as Asal Reghabi, a former Lumon surgeon who performs reintegrations.
Robby Benson as Dr. Mauer (season 2), a doctor on Lumon’s testing floor.
Guest
Marc Geller as Kier Eagan, the late founder of Lumon, who is worshipped with cult-like devotion within the company; he is represented throughout the series in sculptures, paintings, and audio recordings.
Ethan Flower as Angelo Arteta, a Lumon-backed state senator who supports legalizing the severance procedure and is married to Gabby Arteta, with whom he has three children.
Grace Rex as Rebeck, a friend of Ricken’s.
Rajat Suresh as Balf, a friend of Ricken’s.
Bob Balaban as Mark Wilkins (season 2), a new member of MDR, from Lumon branch 5X.[14]
Alia Shawkat as Gwendolyn Y. (season 2), a new member of MDR, from Lumon branch 5X.[14]
Stefano Carannante as Dario Rossi (season 2), a new member of MDR.[14]
Sarah Sherman (season 2) as the voice of a stop-motion water tower in a Lumon industrial film.
Adrian Martinez as Mr. Saliba (season 2), a manager at a door factory who interviews Dylan for a position.
Gwendoline Christie as Lorne (season 2), a severed employee running the Mammalians Nurturable division.[13]
Sandra Bernhard as Cecily (season 2), a nurse on the testing floor.
James LeGros as Hampton (season 2), an acquaintance of Harmony Cobel from Salt’s Neck.[16]
Jane Alexander as Celestine “Sissy” Cobel (season 2), Harmony’s reclusive aunt in Salt’s Neck.[17]
Ben Stiller has an uncredited voice cameo as an animated version of Kier Eagan in season 1.[18]Keanu Reeves has an uncredited voice cameo as an animated Lumon building in a Lumon industrial film in season 2.[19]
Mark Scout, who works in Lumon Industries’ Macrodata Refinement (MDR) department, discovers he is being promoted to department head in light of his coworker Petey’s sudden departure. His first task is to orient Helly, the replacement, who wakes up in a conference room with no memory of who or where she is. After being given an orientation and learning her name, she demands and is allowed to leave, but finds she is unable. She watches a video explaining that she has undergone the “severance” procedure, which split her memories to create a version of herself that will only exist inside the workplace. The “outside” version of Mark, a former professor grieving his wife Gemma’s death and living in the Lumon-subsidized town of Kier, encounters Petey, who claims to have reversed his supposedly-permanent severance. Mark returns home and interacts with his neighbor “Mrs. Selvig”, unaware that she is his senior manager Harmony Cobel.
The previous day, Helly undergoes the severance procedure as a new employee, implanting a microchip inside her brain. At the office, the severed (or “innie”) Helly is introduced to her coworkers, Dylan and Irving, and is instructed that her job is to sort encrypted numbers into categories. During a welcome party headed by deputy floor manager Milchick, Helly attempts to escape by writing her outside self (or “outie”) a resignation note, but the elevator shuts down due to Lumon’s built-in “code detectors”, which prevent unauthorized communication between selves. Mark claims responsibility and is put into the “break room” as punishment. Irving hallucinates and sees a black liquid covering his desk and is administered a “wellness check”, where counselor Ms. Casey recites vague facts about Irving’s outie, with Irving forced to react neutrally. At the wellness center, Irving meets Burt, head of the two-person Optics & Design (O&D) department. Outside, Petey explains he has “reintegration sickness” from reversing his severance. Petey tells Mark of the break room, and plays a recording of Mark being forced by Milchick to repeatedly recite a stringent apology. Mark gives Petey shelter in his house. While taking a shower, Petey hallucinates and collapses.
Petey tells Mark that mysterious benefactors helped him undergo the reintegration procedure. While Mark is at work, his sister Devon and brother-in-law Ricken deliver the latter’s self-help book, The You You Are, to his doorstep, which Cobel steals and takes to Lumon to check for hidden messages. As she searches Mark’s house, Petey recognizes her and flees, suffering more hallucinations and eventually collapsing at a convenience store. At the office, Helly learns her resignation request sent to her outie has been denied. Mark thwarts her various attempts to smuggle other messages to her outie. To help Helly understand why she is working at Lumon, Irving suggests they show her the office’s Perpetuity Wing, which documents the history of Lumon’s founder, Kier Eagan, and his succeeding dynasty. After attempting another escape, Helly is taken to the break room, where Milchick forces her to repeatedly recite an apologetic passage. Near his shift’s end, Mark finds a hand-drawn map of Lumon’s hallways left for him by Petey. After work, Mark follows ambulance traffic to the convenience store and witnesses Petey being carried away by paramedics. Mark rushes home to hide evidence of Petey’s stay, but is interrupted when Petey’s abandoned cellphone rings.
Mark stashes away Petey’s phone, noticing several missed calls from the same blocked number. The next day, Irving visits O&D, where he grows closer to Burt. He discovers Ricken’s book, left behind by Milchick. Mark keeps the book, despite promising to give it to management. Helly returns from the break room after being forced to apologize over a thousand times. Mark shreds Petey’s map after it is found by Helly. Helly finds a paper cutter and threatens self-mutilation unless she is granted a recorded resignation request. However, her outie sends back a recording firmly denying both the request and her innie’s personhood. Later that night, Mark receives a news notification reporting that Petey has died. Mark and Cobel (as Mrs. Selvig) attend the funeral, during which Cobel secretly extracts Petey’s severance chip. She then has Ms. Casey perform a “special” wellness session on Mark. Casey has Mark sculpt his emotional state out of clay; Mark sculpts a tree, which his outie visited in remembrance of Gemma after Petey’s funeral. Irving discovers that O&D actually has at least seven employees, working in a massive unlabelled back room. Helly smuggles out an extension cord and hangs herself in an elevator.
Helly is injured by her suicide attempt, but ultimately survives; she returns to work three days later. Mark continues to read Ricken’s book, which carries strong anti-establishment sentiments. Outside work, Mark visits Devon and Ricken at a birthing lodge, where Devon gives birth. When Helly returns, Cobel orders Ms. Casey to watch her closely, but Mark sneaks Helly out of MDR and reveals he has been recreating Petey’s map. When Mark tries to convince Helly to help with recreating the map, she initially refuses, but eventually agrees. Burt admits to Irving and Dylan that he lied about the size of O&D due to MDR being seen as untrustworthy; they realize Lumon is pitting the departments against one another. Burt takes the two to O&D’s back room and introduces them to his employees.
Lumon security chief Doug Graner informs Cobel that he has identified ex-employee Reghabi as responsible for Petey’s reintegration. Irving and Burt admit their feelings to one another, but Irving admits he is not ready to commit to a relationship. Mark has Irving introduce MDR to O&D, where he calls for the departments to work together to uncover Lumon’s secrets. However, Milchick finds them and sends Mark to the break room. Milchick later briefly awakens Dylan’s innie inside his outie’s home to locate a card Dylan stole from O&D, leading Dylan’s innie to discover he has a son. Cobel (as Mrs. Selvig) gets close to Devon and Ricken by acting as their lactation consultant. Mark goes on a date with Alexa, Devon’s midwife, to a concert by Petey’s daughter’s punk-rock band, and sings along to an anti-Lumon protest song. Later, Mark finally answers Petey’s phone and is contacted by Reghabi to meet at a nearby university. Cobel orders a keycard-locked door to be installed at the entrance to MDR.
While Mark is meeting with Reghabi, Graner enters the building—following a tip from campus security. Reghabi kills Graner and gives Mark his access card, telling him to take it to his innie. Milchick engages in a “Music Dance Experience” with the department as a prize for Helly; Dylan refuses to participate and eventually attacks Milchick, enraged that he cannot know more about his child. After Milchick leaves, Dylan tells the rest of MDR about Lumon’s ability to wake them up outside the severed floor, known as the “overtime contingency”. The MDR team uses Graner’s card to regain access to the hallways. Mark and Helly scheme to find the security office; inside, they find out how the overtime contingency is activated. Dylan offers to stay behind after hours to wake Mark and Helly up on the outside. Irving departs to O&D, worried about Burt’s safety. Upon arrival, he discovers that Burt is retiring, and openly berates the non-severed Milchick for exploiting the severed employees. After work, Alexa visits a drunken Mark, who scares her off after ripping up a photo of Gemma. After she leaves, Mark reassembles the photo, revealing it to be Ms. Casey.
Irving’s outie lives alone in an apartment, where he paints identical images of a dark corridor. Helly reaches 100% on her data refinement file, thereby meeting MDR’s quota for the quarter. After a final wellness session with Mark, Ms. Casey is ordered by Cobel to be sent back down to the “testing floor”, whose entrance matches Irving’s paintings. While MDR celebrates quota, Cobel is suspended by Lumon’s board for withholding knowledge of Helly’s suicide attempt and her avocational activities as “Mrs. Selvig”. The MDR team prepares for Dylan to remotely awaken them on the outside; Helly kisses Mark before departing. Mark’s outie attends Ricken’s book-reading party and tells “Mrs. Selvig” that he plans to quit Lumon; she encourages him to do so. Dylan receives a “waffle party” as a reward for meeting quota, in which he dons a Kier Eagan mask and sits within a replica of Kier’s bedroom in the Perpetuity Wing while ritualistic and seductive dances are performed in front of him. Dylan leaves midway to access the security office and activates the overtime contingency to awaken Mark, Irving, and Helly’s Innies in the outside world.
Mark’s innie awakens in Devon’s home and finds himself hugging “Mrs. Selvig”. While excusing himself to find Devon, he calls Cobel by name, alerting her that the overtime contingency has been activated. Cobel calls Milchick to warn him. Mark privately reveals to Devon that he is his innie; Devon tells him of Gemma’s death and learns that “Mrs. Selvig” is Mark’s boss. Irving wakes up in his apartment, discovering his outie’s paintings, and finds a map and employee directory which he uses to locate Burt. Helly wakes up at a Lumon gala where she learns that her outie is Helena Eagan—daughter of Lumon CEO Jame Eagan—who underwent severance as a publicity stunt. Cobel races to the gala and attempts to stop Helly from making a scheduled speech. Helly gets onstage and tells the crowd of the Innies’ subjugation and torment. Irving arrives at Burt’s house only to find Burt is already in a relationship. Mark finds a photo showing Ms. Casey to be Gemma. He rushes to tell Devon, but is only able to say “She’s alive!” before Milchick tackles Dylan, deactivating the overtime contingency and reverting the three to their Outies.
Mark reawakens on the severed floor in a panic, finding Ms. Casey’s wellness room decommissioned, and his whole team replaced. Milchick, now running the severed floor, introduces Mark to new deputy manager Miss Huang—a child—and claims that five months have passed since the “Macrodat Uprising”, which supposedly made Mark’s team the faces of “severance reform”. Milchick says that while Mark’s outie asked to come back to Lumon, the other three refused. Mark sabotages his new team as a distraction to reach the board and request the other Innies’ return. The next time Mark wakes up on the severed floor, he reunites with Dylan, Helly, and Irving. The four are taken to a renovated Break Room, where Milchick promises better working conditions and offers the Innies a choice to leave permanently or stay. Mark informs the group what he learned while outside, while Helly lies about her outie’s identity. A distraught Irving nearly leaves over his heartbreak at Burt having a partner, but Dylan convinces him to stay. Milchick privately shows Dylan blueprints for an outie family visitation suite. Having all chosen to stay, the team resumes its work.
Following the Overtime Contingency, Milchick is tasked with damage control and fires both Irving and Dylan; Irving lies to Milchick about his whereabouts that night. Helena, accompanied by security chief Mr. Drummond, meets with Cobel and offers her a promotion as a reward for her loyalty, but Cobel is insulted at not being offered her old job back. Helena films an apology video passing off her outburst at the gala as the result of intoxication. Milchick attempts to convince Mark to return to work, but Mark decides to quit, much to the dismay of Devon, who is concerned that Gemma is alive. Dylan attempts to find a new job but is discriminated against for being severed. Helena insists that Mark must return to work to finish the “Cold Harbor” file; Milchick convinces him to return by offering him a hefty pay raise and promises that the happiness his innie receives will trickle back to him. After hearing Mark’s plea to the board, Milchick rehires Dylan and Irving, while the board decides to send Helena back to work. Mark runs into Cobel while returning home and demands answers about Gemma, but she angrily drives off.
Mark and Helly go to hand out missing-persons posters of Ms. Casey across the severed floor. The two stumble upon the Mammalians Nurturable department led by a woman named Lorne; though initially hostile, the Mammalians reveal that Ms. Casey did sessions with them, and promise not to hinder MDR’s search. Irving takes a missing poster to O&D, where he runs into Felicia, who identifies his sketch of the dark hallway from his outie’s paintings as the “Exports Hall”. Dylan is granted a visitation with his outie’s wife, Gretchen. Natalie approaches Ricken to discuss adapting The You You Are for Innies. Cobel agrees to rejoin Lumon on the condition that she is rehired as Floor Manager. Helena instead suggests an impromptu meeting with the board, prompting Cobel to drive off. Mark and Devon attempt to burn an afterimage into his retinas to communicate with his innie; Reghabi interrupts Mark, telling him his strategy will not work, and that reintegration is the only way to send messages in and out of Lumon. Mark agrees to the procedure after Reghabi confirms his wife is alive. As they begin conducting the process in Mark’s basement, Mark flashes between the present and his orientation on the severed floor.
MDR find themselves in the outside world on a frozen lake. A prerecorded message from Milchick informs them that they are on a team-building retreat, known as an ORTBO, and directs them to find the previously unrevealed fourth appendix to the Lumon handbook, written by Kier Eagan, by following the directions of strange doppelgängers of themselves. Upon taking the appendix to Woe’s Hollow, a waterfall, they are greeted by Milchick and Miss Huang, who have set up a campsite. Helly is confronted by Irving about her suspicious account of her time during the Overtime Contingency. She retorts by claiming Irving is bitter about Burt’s retirement, causing Irving to storm off. Helly and Mark have sex, after which Mark briefly hallucinates and sees Gemma’s head on Helly’s body. Irving sleeps outside, experiencing strange dreams. The next morning, Irving again confronts Helly. To force her to admit she is a mole, he yells for Milchick and begins drowning Helly in Woe’s Hollow. Helly confirms that she has been Helena Eagan since her return to MDR, and Milchick is forced to revert her to Helly R. Milchick fires Irving and reverts him to his outie.
Following the ORTBO, a reluctant Helena is compelled to continue working on the severed floor as her innie until Mark completes the Cold Harbor file. Milchick fulfills Dylan’s demand for a funeral for Irving. During the ceremony, Dylan realizes that Irving’s final words to him reference a break room poster. Behind it, he discovers a card with directions to the Exports Hall, but quickly hides it again. Helly learns that Ms. Casey is Mark’s outie’s wife, and Mark tells her he cannot trust her. Milchick undergoes his first performance review as department head, where Drummond admonishes his failed kindness reforms, demanding that the Innies be treated “as what they really are”. Milchick confronts Mark, revealing he knows that Mark and Helena had sex during the retreat. Ricken begins work on the Lumon edition of The You You Are, laden with company propaganda, to Devon’s dismay. Irving’s outie notices Burt watching him. Burt admits he has been following him since the Overtime Contingency and theorizes that they were romantically involved on the severed floor. He invites Irving to dinner with his husband, Fields. Mark, in a sudden flash to the severed floor while at home, sees Gemma alive.
Dylan informs Mark and Helly about his discovery of Irving’s instructions to reach the Exports Hall. Milchick takes time off to address the infractions in his performance review, leaving Miss Huang in charge. Mark confesses to Helly that he and Helena had sex during the ORTBO. Feeling that Helena stole this experience from her, Helly initiates sex with Mark. In the outie Visitation Suite, Gretchen visits Dylan again and the two kiss. She later lies to outie Dylan that the visitation was cancelled. Burt and Fields have Irving for dinner, and an awkward conversation unfolds. Meanwhile, Drummond breaks into Irving’s apartment and discovers his directory of Lumon employees. Reghabi tells Mark they must accelerate the reintegration process by surgically “flooding” his severance chip, despite the risk of hemorrhage. Mark initially refuses but later encounters Helena at a restaurant; he leaves shortly after and decides to proceed with the procedure. While talking to Devon shortly after the procedure, Mark suffers a seizure and collapses.
In flashbacks, Mark and Gemma meet at a blood drive. The two go on to have a loving marriage which is eventually marred by difficulties conceiving a child. After a miscarriage, Gemma and Mark visit a fertility clinic run by Lumon. In the present, Gemma lives on the testing floor at Lumon, where every day she visits multiple rooms (which share the names of the MDR files) that correspond to an unpleasant situation experienced by a separate innie, overseen by Dr. Mauer. After she leaves the rooms, Mauer interviews her about her memories and emotions from the experiences. Meanwhile, as Mark lies unconscious, Reghabi confirms to Devon that Gemma is alive, and tells her Mark is voluntarily reintegrating. Reghabi leaves when Devon suggests calling Cobel for help. On the testing floor, when Gemma tells Mauer she wants to leave, he lies, saying that Mark remarried. Gemma knocks Mauer unconscious and steals his keycard. She attempts to escape via the elevator to the Severed Floor, but reverts to Ms. Casey, and Milchick redirects her back down the elevator. Mark awakens with Devon beside him, still recalling memories of Gemma.
Cobel arrives in Salt’s Neck, the seaside town she grew up in. The Lumon factory that once supported it has closed, and much of the population is addicted to ether. Harmony visits her old friend Hampton, an ether dealer, who takes her secretly to her mother’s house. Harmony’s mother died after a long illness while Harmony was at a Lumon boarding school. Harmony’s aunt,[17] Sissy, a Lumon devotee, attempts to prevent Harmony from entering her mother’s old room. Harmony finds the key but falls asleep on her mother’s bed. Hampton finds her and they take ether. In the outdoor storeroom, Harmony finds her yearbook and her sketches of the severance procedure and chip, proving she was the true inventor. Sissy attempts to burn the pages, but Harmony saves them and escapes in Hampton’s truck as a car approaches the house. She answers a phone call from Devon who informs her about Mark’s reintegration.
On the day of the Cold Harbor file’s expected completion, Mark and Devon meet Cobel, who says Gemma will die if Cold Harbor is completed. Mark calls in sick, promising Milchick he will come the next day. Gretchen confesses to outie Dylan about her romance with his innie; in response, Dylan threatens to quit. She confides in innie Dylan about their fight, tearfully saying goodbye. Heartbroken, Dylan submits a resignation form. Burt, who worked for Lumon transporting persons of interest, breaks into Irving’s apartment and drives him to a train station. He buys Irving a ticket and says to never return. They share their feelings for each other, and Burt sees Irving off. Miss Huang completes her stint as deputy manager, and Milchick sends her away. Helly recovers the Exports Hall directions card and memorizes it, but Jame Eagan arrives. At night, Cobel and Devon sneak Mark into a severed cabin at the birthing lodge. Mark’s innie awakens in the cabin, where Cobel is waiting.
Through video recordings, Mark’s outie asks his innie to rescue Gemma from the testing floor after he completes the Cold Harbor file; otherwise, Gemma will die. Mark’s innie storms off after he realizes that he is being asked to sacrifice himself and Helly. The next day, Mark arrives on the severed floor and completes the Cold Harbor file while Dylan returns to read a letter from his outie. Mark receives a celebration from a marching band. Helly distracts Milchick and traps him in the bathroom while Mark searches for the hallway to the testing floor. In the Cold Harbor room, Gemma is tasked with disassembling the crib Mark had built for their baby; this does not trigger any emotions to the delight of Dr. Mauer and Jame Eagan. Mr. Drummond summons Lorne to sacrifice a lamb; however, he is distracted when Mark attempts to break into the exports hallway. He tries to kill Mark but is stopped by Lorne. Mark takes Mr. Drummond with him in the elevator down to the testing floor but accidentally kills him during the transition. Mark finds Gemma and they escape back to the severed floor. Mark guides Gemma out the exit door but decides not to join her, instead returning to Helly.
Production
Background
While studying English at Western Washington University, Dan Erickson became interested in the theater department, writing short plays and other creative works. Soon after, Erickson attended New York University and received a master’s degree in television writing.[22] In 2016, his screenplay for the pilot of Severance appeared on Blood List‘s survey results of the best unproduced genre screenplays.[23] Erickson conceived Severance in a period of depression working in an office job;[24] he found the job was so monotonous that he wished he could “skip the eight hours of the workday, to disassociate and just get it over with”.[25] Erickson’s siblings inspired some of the characters.[26]
Development
Ben Stiller serves as the primary director and one of the executive producers.
Erickson submitted his pilot script to Ben Stiller‘s production company Red Hour Productions in 2015, and it was passed to Stiller by the development executive Jackie Cohn. Stiller read it at least five years before Severance premiered, and said the project was “the longest thing I’ve ever worked on”.[27] He said he enjoyed the story’s contributions to the workplace comedy.[28] In January 2017, Stiller invited Adam Scott to star.[29] Stiller and Scott had previously worked together in Stiller’s 2013 movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.[27] In November 2019, Apple TV+ gave Severance a series order, with Stiller directing and Scott in the leading role.[30] Stiller was only attached to direct the pilot, but decided to direct more episodes as the series entered development.[31] On April 6, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season.[32] In April 2023, it was reported that Beau Willimon had been hired as an executive producer and writer for the second and potential third seasons.[33] On March 21, 2025, shortly after the premiere of the season 2 finale, Apple announced the renewal of the series for a third season.[34]
Erickson said: “The same frustrations that led us to this moment as a country [United States] and as a world are the ones that I was feeling when I wrote this because I was working office jobs, and I was dealing with all these increasingly insane requests that are made of workers. This was born of that … Employees are the ones who are expected to give and give and give, with the understanding that this is a family—you’re doing this out of love, but then that is often not returned by the employers in any kind of a substantive way.”[41]
The Writers Guild of America West database lists new showrunners Eli Jorne and Mary Laws alongside Erickson for the third season, replacing Chris Black and Mark Friedman, who showran the first two seasons.[42]
Production designer Jeremy Hindle blended corporate looks from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s for the show’s distinctive look, and cited modernist architect Eero Saarinen as influential for the building design.[52] This included the John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, and the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex in New Jersey (the latter which served as both the exterior shots and the ground floor interiors for Lumon Industries), both buildings designed as “work designed to do work” according to Hindle.[53] The set designs of Playtime also served as inspiration for the internal sets.[53] The main sets for Severance were created on soundstages in The Bronx. One soundstage was used for the hallways within Lumon, using around 140 feet (43 m) of hallway that they would rearrange as necessary, along with special effects, to create the maze-like structure. Another soundstage used larger hallways that were used in latter episodes of the first season.[53] A second soundstage was used for main rooms like the Macrodata Refinement Division. This space was designed to create the feeling of being trapped, using a large room (80 by 40 feet (24 m × 12 m)) with a low ceiling. Hindle also felt this room was meant to be a playroom for the newest Lumon hires, and gave it green carpeting in contrast with the whites to make it feel like grass.[53] Other spaces with Lumon were inspired by the works of M.C. Escher.[53]
Erickson said the mix of cars and technologies from different eras was meant to “give a slight sense of disorientation” and make Lumon “feel unmoored from time and space”.[54][55] To this purpose, the production team sourced an anachronistic collection of 400 cars, largely commonplace boxy vehicles from the 1980s and 1990s, all in remarkably good condition. Each car, even in the far background, was intentionally placed to curate the retro science fiction aesthetic. Characters’ cars, chosen to show more of who they are, include Mark’s Volvo S90, Cobel’s Volkswagen Rabbit, Helena’s Lincoln Continental, and Milchick’s Royal Enfield.[56] All the office equipment is labeled as Lumon products.[53] The prop designers reconstructed old computers with functional trackball devices so the actors could actually do the work presented on the show in order to get adjusted to the office setting.[57][53] These computers lacked an escape key, as a metaphor for the lack of control the innies have while in Lumon’s offices.[58]
The second season began filming on October 3, 2022, in New York City, and was set to wrap on May 12, 2023. However, on May 8, 2023, production of the season was shut down due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[66] Production had resumed by May 13, 2023, with filming occurring in Newfoundland.[67] Filming was later shut down again due to both the actors strike and the writers strike, but resumed on January 29, 2024,[68] and wrapped on April 23, 2024.[69]
Both seasons of Severance have received critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds an approval rating of 96%.[73] Meanwhile, on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the overall series has received a score of 85 out of 100.[74]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Severance has an approval rating of 97% based on 117 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website’s consensus reads: “Audacious, mysterious, and bringing fresh insight into the perils of corporate drudgery, Severance is the complete package.”[70] Metacritic assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”.[71]
The series received a rating of five out of five from Lucy Mangan of The Guardian and Rachael Sigee of I,[75][76] 4 out of 5 stars from Huw Fullerton of Radio Times, John Nugent of Empire, Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone and Anita Singh of The Telegraph,[77][78][79][80] and 3.5 out of 4 stars from Patrick Ryan of USA Today.[81] In her review, Mangan praised Stiller’s direction, the writing, and the performances of the cast (particularly those of Arquette, Turturro, Walken, and Tillman).[75] Sigee also praised the performances, especially Scott’s, Arquette’s, Turturro’s and Walken’s, and wrote, “Severance moves slowly but surely, allowing time to absorb both the impressive world-building and stunning visuals, […] [and] its breathtaking cinematography and design. With an exceptional cast […], this is an original, weird, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted story that asks just how much of ourselves we should give over to our jobs.” Fullerton also praised Scott’s performance and called the series “an impressive creation”.[76] Nugent praised the direction, performances of Scott, Arquette, Turturro and Walken, and chemistry between the latter two.[78] Sepinwall also praised Stiller’s direction and the cast’s performances (most notably those of Scott, Turturro, Walken, Lower and Tillman), in addition to the production design, tone, and season finale.[80]
Grading the series an “A”, Carly Lane of Collider wrote, “the most engrossing element of Severance is the many mysteries it presents, wrapped up in silent overarching questions of philosophy, morality, and free will versus choice, and as the series demonstrates, some of those questions aren’t so easily solved, but some issues aren’t as black-and-white as initially presented either.”[82] Also grading it an “A”, Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote, “Whether you invest in the allegory, character arcs, or both, ‘Severance’ hits its marks. […] Erickson and his writing staff deserve a ton of credit. The season plays out cleanly and efficiently; episodes range from nearly 60 minutes to a crisp 40; cliffhangers abound, but they’re earned. […] This is serialized storytelling that knows how to make the most of its episodic format.”[83] Stephen Robinson of The A.V. Club gave it an “A-” grade and praised Stiller’s direction and the cast, with the performances of Lower, Scott, Tillman, Turturro, Walken, Tullock and Cherry singled out.[84] For Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin graded it a “B+” and highlighted the performances of Scott, Lower and Tillman, writing, “Scott is a superb fit for Severance‘s central everyman, […] Lower brings an effective vulnerability to the acerbic Helly, and Tramell Tillman is an absolute force of charisma as Milchick.”[5]
Giving the series a score of nine out of ten, Samantha Nelson of IGN wrote, “Severance […] uses a clever premise and excellent cast to set up an intriguing mystery that leaves plenty of room for the characters to evolve.”[85] Writing for Paste, Shane Ryan gave it an 8.1 out of 10 and praised the performances of Scott, Arquette and Tillman as well as Stiller and McArdle’s direction.[86] Kyle Mullin of Under the Radar gave it eight out of ten and said, “Severance‘s writer/creator Dan Erickson is another newcomer who pens scenes with veteran-level aplomb. Every scene is a Golden Age of TV gem in its own right. But Severance‘s dramatic heart resides at the workplace, where it also becomes a white-knuckle thriller. This is where director Ben Stiller especially shines, training his lens and setting the scenes […]. He certainly brings the best out of his cast.”[87]
The second season has an approval rating of 96% based on 176 reviews and an average rating of 8.85/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The website’s consensus reads: “Masterfully managing its two halves of adroit character study and surreal nightmare, Severance‘s long-awaited sophomore season makes cognitive dissonance a mind-melting pleasure.”[72] Metacritic assigned a score of 86 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating “universal acclaim”.[20]
Writing for Variety, Alison Herman awarded the second season with a perfect rating, noting: “Season 2 fulfills this sine qua non with deceptive ease. Real-time viewers have had their patience strained; future binge-watchers will barely notice a blip.”[89] John Nugent of Empire gave season two 4 stars out of 5, while stating: “After a storming Season One, Season Two expands and deepens the original mysteries while opening up new ones. Sharply made and skilfully executed, the employee benefits are there if you stay with it.”[90]
This is my cover of a Paul Simon song I had forgotten about. Always liked it. Finally got to record it. Pretty funny, being a New England guy, I automatically saved it as Dunkin. Doh!
Update! Here is a link to the video:
I read a little about the song. Someone said the choice of the name Lincoln Duncan was interesting becasue they were both names of a person who got assassinated – probably not intended but interesting.
A ballad in E-minor, “Duncan” tells the story of Lincoln Duncan, a fisherman’s son. An inability to fall asleep in a cheap motel due to the loud sex that a couple is having next door sends Duncan off on a long reverie. He recalls his decision to leave “the boredom and the chowder” of his hometown in the Canadian Maritime Provinces and head towards New England. He recalls running out of money, losing his confidence and faith in himself, and gaining them back after losing his virginity to a young female street preacher – “just like a dog I was befriended”. In the last stanza, he is lying on the ground at night playing his guitar and thanking God for his fingers. Between the stanzas, the song features instrumental interludes, played on 2 flutes, by Los Incas, an Andean group which had previously collaborated with Simon & Garfunkel on “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)” in 1970.[4][3]
Cash Box said that “the instrumental bridge is straight out of the Pied Piper mystique.”[5]Record World felt it was “slightly more subdued” than the first two singles from the album.[6]
Live performances
A concert rendition featuring Urubamba performing the interludes was included on the 1974 album Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin’. It gained radio airplay itself, and has gone on to become a semi-regular on satellite radio’s Deep Tracks station.[7] Simon has included the song in his set lists for some subsequent tours as well.
During a show in Toronto on May 7, 2011, Rayna Ford, a fan from Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, called out for Simon to play the song, and said something to the effect that she learned to play guitar on the song. Paul Simon invited her on stage, handed her a guitar and asked her to play it for the crowd.[8][9][10]
Personnel
Paul Simon – vocals, acoustic guitar, arranger, producer
This year I startied in mid November – here are some pictures of my grow tent along with a song called ‘Last Stand’ which I wrote and produced at Baselines Designs Studio www.baselines.com
Hydroponics is not only used on earth, but has also proven itself in plant production experiments in Earth orbit.[12]
History
Inside an ebb-and-flow hydroponic system employing individual buckets connected by fill/drain hoses.
The earliest published work on growing terrestrial plants without soil was the 1627 book Sylva Sylvarum or ‘A Natural History’ by Francis Bacon, printed a year after his death. As a result of his work, water culture became a popular research technique. In 1699, John Woodward published his water culture experiments with spearmint. He found that plants in less-pure water sources grew better than plants in distilled water. By 1842, a list of nine elements believed to be essential for plant growth had been compiled, and the discoveries of German botanists Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop, in the years 1859–1875, resulted in a development of the technique of soilless cultivation.[13] To quote von Sachs directly: “In the year 1860, I published the results of experiments which demonstrated that land plants are capable of absorbing their nutritive matters out of watery solutions, without the aid of soil, and that it is possible in this way not only to maintain plants alive and growing for a long time, as had long been known, but also to bring about a vigorous increase of their organic substance, and even the production of seed capable of germination.”[14] Growth of terrestrial plants without soil in mineral nutrient solutions was later called “solution culture” in reference to “soil culture”. It quickly became a standard research and teaching technique in the 19th and 20th centuries and is still widely used in plant nutrition science.[15]
Around the 1930s plant nutritionists investigated diseases of certain plants, and thereby, observed symptoms related to existing soil conditions such as salinity. In this context, water culture experiments were undertaken with the hope of delivering similar symptoms under controlled laboratory conditions.[16] This approach forced by Dennis Robert Hoagland led to innovative model systems (e.g., green algaeNitella) and standardized nutrient recipes playing an increasingly important role in modern plant physiology.[17] In 1929, William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley began publicly promoting that the principles of solution culture be used for agricultural crop production.[18][19][20] He first termed this cultivation method “aquiculture” created in analogy to “agriculture” but later found that the cognate term aquaculture was already applied to culture of aquatic organisms. Gericke created a sensation by growing tomato vines twenty-five feet (7.6 metres) high in his backyard in mineral nutrient solutions rather than soil.[21] He then introduced the term Hydroponics, water culture, in 1937, proposed to him by W. A. Setchell, a phycologist with an extensive education in the classics.[22][23] Hydroponics is derived from neologism υδρωπονικά (derived from Greek ύδωρ=water and πονέω=cultivate), constructed in analogy to γεωπονικά (derived from Greek γαία=earth and πονέω=cultivate),[24]geoponica, that which concerns agriculture, replacing, γεω-, earth, with ὑδρο-, water.[13]
Despite initial successes, however, Gericke realized that the time was not yet ripe for the general technical application and commercial use of hydroponics for producing crops.[25] He also wanted to make sure all aspects of hydroponic cultivation were researched and tested before making any of the specifics available to the public.[26] Reports of Gericke’s work and his claims that hydroponics would revolutionize plant agriculture prompted a huge number of requests for further information. Gericke had been denied use of the university’s greenhouses for his experiments due to the administration’s skepticism, and when the university tried to compel him to release his preliminary nutrient recipes developed at home, he requested greenhouse space and time to improve them using appropriate research facilities. While he was eventually provided greenhouse space, the university assigned Hoagland and Arnon to re-evaluate Gericke’s claims and show his formula held no benefit over soil grown plant yields, a view held by Hoagland. Because of these irreconcilable conflicts, Gericke left his academic position in 1937 in a climate that was politically unfavorable and continued his research independently in his greenhouse. In 1940, Gericke, whose work is considered to be the basis for all forms of hydroponic growing, published the book, Complete Guide to Soilless Gardening. Therein, for the first time, he published his basic formulas involving the macro- and micronutrient salts for hydroponically-grown plants.[27]
As a result of research of Gericke’s claims by order of the Director of the California Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of California, Claude Hutchison, Dennis Hoagland and Daniel Arnon wrote a classic 1938 agricultural bulletin, The Water Culture Method for Growing Plants Without Soil, one of the most important works on solution culture ever, which made the claim that hydroponic crop yields were no better than crop yields obtained with good-quality soils.[28] Ultimately, crop yields would be limited by factors other than mineral nutrients, especially light and aeration of the culture medium.[29] However, in the introduction to his landmark book on soilless cultivation, published two years later, Gericke pointed out that the results published by Hoagland and Arnon in comparing the yields of experimental plants in sand, soil and solution cultures, were based on several systemic errors (“…these experimenters have made the mistake of limiting the productive capacity of hydroponics to that of soil. Comparison can be only by growing as great a number of plants in each case as the fertility of the culture medium can support”).[27]
For example, the Hoagland and Arnon study did not adequately appreciate that hydroponics has other key benefits compared to soil culture including the fact that the roots of the plant have constant access to oxygen and that the plants have access to as much or as little water and nutrients as they need.[27][30] This is important as one of the most common errors when cultivating plants is over- and underwatering; hydroponics prevents this from occurring as large amounts of water, which may drown root systems in soil, can be made available to the plant in hydroponics, and any water not used, is drained away, recirculated, or actively aerated, eliminating anoxic conditions in the root area. In soil, a grower needs to be very experienced to know exactly how much water to feed the plant. Too much and the plant will be unable to access oxygen because air in the soil pores is displaced, which can lead to root rot; too little and the plant will undergo water stress or lose the ability to absorb nutrients, which are typically moved into the roots while dissolved, leading to nutrient deficiency symptoms such as chlorosis or fertilizer burn. Eventually, Gericke’s advanced ideas led to the implementation of hydroponics into commercial agriculture while Hoagland’s views and helpful support by the University prompted Hoagland and his associates to develop several new formulas (recipes) for mineral nutrient solutions, universally known as Hoagland solution.[31]
One of the earliest successes of hydroponics occurred on Wake Island, a rocky atoll in the Pacific Ocean used as a refueling stop for Pan American Airlines. Hydroponics was used there in the 1930s to grow vegetables for the passengers. Hydroponics was a necessity on Wake Island because there was no soil, and it was prohibitively expensive to airlift in fresh vegetables.[32]
From 1943 to 1946, Daniel I. Arnon served as a major in the United States Army and used his prior expertise with plant nutrition to feed troops stationed on barren Ponape Island in the western Pacific by growing crops in gravel and nutrient-rich water because there was no arable land available.[33]
In the 1960s, Allen Cooper of England developed the nutrient film technique.[34]The Land Pavilion at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center opened in 1982 and prominently features a variety of hydroponic techniques.
In recent decades, NASA has done extensive hydroponic research for its Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). Hydroponics research mimicking a Martian environment uses LED lighting to grow in a different color spectrum with much less heat. Ray Wheeler, a plant physiologist at Kennedy Space Center’s Space Life Science Lab, believes that hydroponics will create advances within space travel, as a bioregenerative life support system.[35]
As of 2017, Canada had hundreds of acres of large-scale commercial hydroponic greenhouses, producing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.[36]
Due to technological advancements within the industry and numerous economic factors, the global hydroponics market is forecast to grow from US$226.45 million in 2016 to US$724.87 million by 2023.[37][needs update]
Techniques
There are two main variations for each medium: sub-irrigation and top irrigation[specify]. For all techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic, but other materials have been used, including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids, and wood. The containers should exclude light to prevent algae and fungal growth in the hydroponic medium.
Static solution culture
The deep water raft tank at the Crop Diversification Centre (CDC) South Aquaponics greenhouse in Brooks, Alberta
In static solution culture, plants are grown in containers of nutrient solution, such as glass Mason jars (typically, in-home applications), pots, buckets, tubs, or tanks. The solution is usually gently aerated but may be un-aerated.[11] If un-aerated, the solution level is kept low enough that enough roots are above the solution so they get adequate oxygen. A hole is cut (or drilled) in the top of the reservoir for each plant; if it is a jar or tub, it may be its lid, but otherwise, cardboard, foil, paper, wood or metal may be put on top. A single reservoir can be dedicated to a single plant, or to various plants. Reservoir size can be increased as plant size increases. A home-made system can be constructed from food containers or glass canning jars with aeration provided by an aquarium pump, aquarium airline tubing, aquarium valves or even a biofilm of green algae on the glass, through photosynthesis. Clear containers can also be covered with aluminium foil, butcher paper, black plastic, or other material to eliminate the effects of negative phototropism. The nutrient solution is changed either on a schedule, such as once per week, or when the concentration drops below a certain level as determined with an electrical conductivity meter. Whenever the solution is depleted below a certain level, either water or fresh nutrient solution is added. A Mariotte’s bottle, or a float valve, can be used to automatically maintain the solution level. In raft solution culture, plants are placed in a sheet of buoyant plastic that is floated on the surface of the nutrient solution. That way, the solution level never drops below the roots.[38]
Continuous-flow solution culture
The nutrient film technique (NFT) being used to grow various salad greens
In continuous-flow solution culture, the nutrient solution constantly flows past the roots. It is much easier to automate than the static solution culture because sampling and adjustments to the temperature, pH, and nutrient concentrations can be made in a large storage tank that has potential to serve thousands of plants. A popular variation is the nutrient film technique or NFT, whereby a very shallow stream of water containing all the dissolved nutrients required for plant growth is recirculated in a thin layer past a bare root mat of plants in a watertight channel, with an upper surface exposed to air. As a consequence, an abundant supply of oxygen is provided to the roots of the plants. A properly designed NFT system is based on using the right channel slope, the right flow rate, and the right channel length. The main advantage of the NFT system over other forms of hydroponics is that the plant roots are exposed to adequate supplies of water, oxygen, and nutrients. In all other forms of production, there is a conflict between the supply of these requirements, since excessive or deficient amounts of one results in an imbalance of one or both of the others. NFT, because of its design, provides a system where all three requirements for healthy plant growth can be met at the same time, provided that the simple concept of NFT is always remembered and practised. The result of these advantages is that higher yields of high-quality produce are obtained over an extended period of cropping. A downside of NFT is that it has very little buffering against interruptions in the flow (e.g., power outages). But, overall, it is probably one of the more productive techniques.[39]
The same design characteristics apply to all conventional NFT systems. While slopes along channels of 1:100 have been recommended, in practice it is difficult to build a base for channels that is sufficiently true to enable nutrient films to flow without ponding in locally depressed areas. As a consequence, it is recommended that slopes of 1:30 to 1:40 are used.[40] This allows for minor irregularities in the surface, but, even with these slopes, ponding and water logging may occur. The slope may be provided by the floor, benches or racks may hold the channels and provide the required slope. Both methods are used and depend on local requirements, often determined by the site and crop requirements.
As a general guide, flow rates for each gully should be one liter per minute.[vague][41] At planting, rates may be half this and the upper limit of 2 L/min appears about the maximum. Flow rates beyond these extremes are often associated with nutritional problems. Depressed growth rates of many crops have been observed when channels exceed 12 meters in length. On rapidly growing crops, tests have indicated that, while oxygen levels remain adequate, nitrogen may be depleted over the length of the gully. As a consequence, channel length should not exceed 10–15 meters. In situations where this is not possible, the reductions in growth can be eliminated by placing another nutrient feed halfway along the gully and halving the flow rates through each outlet.[42][4]
Aeroponics is a system wherein roots are continuously or discontinuously kept in an environment saturated with fine drops (a mist or aerosol) of nutrient solution. The method requires no substrate and entails growing plants with their roots suspended in a deep air or growth chamber with the roots periodically wetted with a fine mist of atomized nutrients. Excellent aeration is the main advantage of aeroponics.
Aeroponic techniques have proven to be commercially successful for propagation, seed germination, seed potato production, tomato production, leaf crops, and micro-greens.[43] Since inventor Richard Stoner commercialized aeroponic technology in 1983, aeroponics has been implemented as an alternative to water intensive hydroponic systems worldwide.[44] A major limitation of hydroponics is the fact that 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of water can only hold 8 milligrams (0.12 gr) of air, no matter whether aerators are utilized or not.
Another distinct advantage of aeroponics over hydroponics is that any species of plants can be grown in a true aeroponic system because the microenvironment of an aeroponic can be finely controlled. Another limitation of hydroponics is that certain species of plants can only survive for so long in water before they become waterlogged. In contrast, suspended aeroponic plants receive 100% of the available oxygen and carbon dioxide to their roots zone, stems, and leaves,[45][46] thus accelerating biomass growth and reducing rooting times. NASA research has shown that aeroponically grown plants have an 80% increase in dry weight biomass (essential minerals) compared to hydroponically grown plants. Aeroponics also uses 65% less water than hydroponics. NASA concluded that aeroponically grown plants require ¼ the nutrient input compared to hydroponics.[47][48] Unlike hydroponically grown plants, aeroponically grown plants will not suffer transplant shock when transplanted to soil, and offers growers the ability to reduce the spread of disease and pathogens. Aeroponics is also widely used in laboratory studies of plant physiology and plant pathology. Aeroponic techniques have been given special attention from NASA since a mist is easier to handle than a liquid in a zero-gravity environment.[47][4]
Fogponics is a derivation of aeroponics wherein the nutrient solution is aerosolized by a diaphragm vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies. Solution droplets produced by this method tend to be 5–10 μm in diameter, smaller than those produced by forcing a nutrient solution through pressurized nozzles, as in aeroponics. The smaller size of the droplets allows them to diffuse through the air more easily, and deliver nutrients to the roots without limiting their access to oxygen.[49][50]
Passive sub-irrigation, also known as passive hydroponics, semi-hydroponics, or hydroculture,[51] is a method wherein plants are grown in an inertporous medium that moves water and fertilizer to the roots by capillary action from a separate reservoir as necessary, reducing labor and providing a constant supply of water to the roots. In the simplest method, the pot sits in a shallow solution of fertilizer and water or on a capillary mat saturated with nutrient solution. The various hydroponic media available, such as expanded clay and coconut husk, contain more air space than more traditional potting mixes, delivering increased oxygen to the roots, which is important in epiphytic plants such as orchids and bromeliads, whose roots are exposed to the air in nature. Additional advantages of passive hydroponics are the reduction of root rot.
Ebb and flow (flood and drain) sub-irrigation
An ebb and flow, or flood and drain, hydroponics system
In its simplest form, nutrient-enriched water is pumped into containers with plants in a growing medium such as Expanded clay aggregate At regular intervals, a simple timer causes a pump to fill the containers with nutrient solution, after which the solution drains back down into the reservoir. This keeps the medium regularly flushed with nutrients and air.[52]
Run-to-waste
In a run-to-waste system, nutrient and water solution is periodically applied to the medium surface. The method was invented in Bengal in 1946; for this reason it is sometimes referred to as “The Bengal System”.[53]
A run-to-waste hydroponics system, referred to as “The Bengal System” after the region in eastern India where it was invented (circa 1946)
This method can be set up in various configurations. In its simplest form, a nutrient-and-water solution is manually applied one or more times per day to a container of inert growing media, such as rockwool, perlite, vermiculite, coco fibre, or sand. In a slightly more complex system, it is automated with a delivery pump, a timer and irrigation tubing to deliver nutrient solution with a delivery frequency that is governed by the key parameters of plant size, plant growing stage, climate, substrate, and substrate conductivity, pH, and water content.
In a commercial setting, watering frequency is multi-factorial and governed by computers or PLCs.
Commercial hydroponics production of large plants like tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers uses one form or another of run-to-waste hydroponics.
The hydroponic method of plant production by means of suspending the plant roots in a solution of nutrient-rich, oxygenated water. Traditional methods favor the use of plastic buckets and large containers with the plant contained in a net pot suspended from the centre of the lid and the roots suspended in the nutrient solution. The solution is oxygen saturated by an air pump combined with porous stones. With this method, the plants grow much faster because of the high amount of oxygen that the roots receive.[54] The Kratky Method is similar to deep water culture, but uses a non-circulating water reservoir.
Top-fed deep water culture
Top-fed deep water culture is a technique involving delivering highly oxygenated nutrient solution direct to the root zone of plants. While deep water culture involves the plant roots hanging down into a reservoir of nutrient solution, in top-fed deep water culture the solution is pumped from the reservoir up to the roots (top feeding). The water is released over the plant’s roots and then runs back into the reservoir below in a constantly recirculating system. As with deep water culture, there is an airstone in the reservoir that pumps air into the water via a hose from outside the reservoir. The airstone helps add oxygen to the water. Both the airstone and the water pump run 24 hours a day.
The biggest advantage of top-fed deep water culture over standard deep water culture is increased growth during the first few weeks.[citation needed] With deep water culture, there is a time when the roots have not reached the water yet. With top-fed deep water culture, the roots get easy access to water from the beginning and will grow to the reservoir below much more quickly than with a deep water culture system. Once the roots have reached the reservoir below, there is not a huge advantage with top-fed deep water culture over standard deep water culture. However, due to the quicker growth in the beginning, grow time can be reduced by a few weeks.[citation needed]
Advantages
Space optimization: Vertical farming and advanced control technologies maximize the use of limited spaces.
Resource management: Reduced water and fertilizer consumption through the recycling of nutrient solutions.
Protection for sensitive species: Controlled conditions shield plants from climatic extremes, pests, and diseases.
Hydrozones lie at the intersection of urban agriculture innovations, environmental concerns, and biodiversity conservation efforts. Notable examples include specialized botanical gardens, cultivation facilities for threatened endemic species, and domestic spaces for advanced horticulture enthusiasts.
Rotary
A rotary hydroponic cultivation demonstration at the Belgian Pavilion Expo in 2015
A rotary hydroponic garden is a style of commercial hydroponics created within a circular frame which rotates continuously during the entire growth cycle of whatever plant is being grown.
While system specifics vary, systems typically rotate once per hour, giving a plant 24 full turns within the circle each 24-hour period. Within the center of each rotary hydroponic garden can be a high intensity grow light, designed to simulate sunlight, often with the assistance of a mechanized timer.
Each day, as the plants rotate, they are periodically watered with a hydroponic growth solution to provide all nutrients necessary for robust growth. Due to the plants continuous fight against gravity, plants typically mature much more quickly than when grown in soil or other traditional hydroponic growing systems.[55] Because rotary hydroponic systems have a small size, they allow for more plant material to be grown per area of floor space than other traditional hydroponic systems.[56]
Rotary hydroponic systems should be avoided in most circumstances, mainly because of their experimental nature and their high costs for finding, buying, operating, and maintaining them.[57]
Substrates (growing support materials)
Different media are appropriate for different growing techniques.
Rock wool
Rock wool
Rock wool (mineral wool) is the most widely used medium in hydroponics. Rock wool is an inert substrate suitable for both run-to-waste and recirculating systems. Rock wool is made from molten rock, basalt or ‘slag’ that is spun into bundles of single filament fibres, and bonded into a medium capable of capillary action, and is, in effect, protected from most common microbiological degradation. Rock wool is typically used only for the seedling stage, or with newly cut clones, but can remain with the plant base for its lifetime. Rock wool has many advantages and some disadvantages. The latter being the possible skin irritancy (mechanical) whilst handling (1:1000).[citation needed] Flushing with cold water usually brings relief. Advantages include its proven efficiency and effectiveness as a commercial hydroponic substrate. Most of the rock wool sold to date is a non-hazardous, non-carcinogenic material, falling under Note Q of the European Union Classification Packaging and Labeling Regulation (CLP).[citation needed]
Mineral wool products can be engineered to hold large quantities of water and air that aid root growth and nutrient uptake in hydroponics; their fibrous nature also provides a good mechanical structure to hold the plant stable. The naturally high pH of mineral wool makes them initially unsuitable to plant growth and requires “conditioning” to produce a wool with an appropriate, stable pH.[58]
Baked clay pellets are suitable for hydroponic systems in which all nutrients are carefully controlled in water solution. The clay pellets are inert, pH-neutral, and do not contain any nutrient value.
The clay is formed into round pellets and fired in rotary kilns at 1,200 °C (2,190 °F). This causes the clay to expand, like popcorn, and become porous. It is light in weight, and does not compact over time. The shape of an individual pellet can be irregular or uniform depending on brand and manufacturing process. The manufacturers consider expanded clay to be an ecologically sustainable and re-usable growing medium because of its ability to be cleaned and sterilized, typically by washing in solutions of white vinegar, chlorinebleach, or hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2), and rinsing completely.
Another view is that clay pebbles are best not re-used even when they are cleaned, due to root growth that may enter the medium. Breaking open a clay pebble after use can reveal this growth.[citation needed]
Growstones
Growstones, made from glass waste, have both more air and water retention space than perlite and peat. This aggregate holds more water than parboiled rice hulls.[59] Growstones by volume consist of 0.5 to 5% calcium carbonate[60] – for a standard 5.1 kg bag of Growstones that corresponds to 25.8 to 258 grams of calcium carbonate. The remainder is soda-lime glass.[60]
Coconut Coir
“Mother” cannabis plants growing in coir with added perlite.
Coconut coir, also known as coir peat, is a natural byproduct derived from coconut processing. The outer husk of a coconut consists of fibers which are commonly used to make a myriad of items ranging from floor mats to brushes. After the long fibers are used for those applications, the dust and short fibers are merged to create coir. Coconuts absorb high levels of nutrients throughout their life cycle, so the coir must undergo a maturation process before it becomes a viable growth medium.[61] This process removes salt, tannins and phenolic compounds through substantial water washing. Contaminated water is a byproduct of this process, as three hundred to six hundred liters of water per one cubic meter of coir are needed.[62] Additionally, this maturation can take up to six months and one study concluded the working conditions during the maturation process are dangerous and would be illegal in North America and Europe.[63] Despite requiring attention, posing health risks and environmental impacts, coconut coir has impressive material properties. When exposed to water, the brown, dry, chunky and fibrous material expands nearly three or four times its original size. This characteristic combined with coconut coir’s water retention capacity and resistance to pests and diseases make it an effective growth medium. Used as an alternative to rock wool, coconut coir offers optimized growing conditions.[64]
Perlite is a volcanic rock that has been superheated into very lightweight expanded glass pebbles. It is used loose or in plastic sleeves immersed in the water. It is also used in potting soil mixes to decrease soil density. It does contain a high amount of fluorine which could be harmful to some plants.[66] Perlite has similar properties and uses to vermiculite but, in general, holds more air and less water and is buoyant.
Vermiculite
Vermiculite
Like perlite, vermiculite is a mineral that has been superheated until it has expanded into light pebbles. Vermiculite holds more water than perlite and has a natural “wicking” property that can draw water and nutrients in a passive hydroponic system. If too much water and not enough air surrounds the plants roots, it is possible to gradually lower the medium’s water-retention capability by mixing in increasing quantities of perlite.
Pumice
Pumice stone
Like perlite, pumice is a lightweight, mined volcanic rock that finds application in hydroponics.
Sand
Sand is cheap and easily available. However, it is heavy, does not hold water very well, and it must be sterilized between uses.[67]
Gravel
The same type that is used in aquariums, though any small gravel can be used, provided it is washed first. Indeed, plants growing in a typical traditional gravel filter bed, with water circulated using electric powerhead pumps, are in effect being grown using gravel hydroponics, also termed “nutriculture”. Gravel is inexpensive, easy to keep clean, drains well and will not become waterlogged. However, it is also heavy, and, if the system does not provide continuous water, the plant roots may dry out.
Wood fiber
Excelsior, or wood wool
Wood fibre, produced from steam friction of wood, is an efficient organic substrate for hydroponics. It has the advantage that it keeps its structure for a very long time. Wood wool (i.e. wood slivers) have been used since the earliest days of the hydroponics research.[27] However, more recent research suggests that wood fibre may have detrimental effects on “plant growth regulators”.[65][non-primary source needed]
Sheep wool
Wool from shearing sheep is a little-used yet promising renewable growing medium. In a study comparing wool with peat slabs, coconut fibre slabs, perlite and rockwool slabs to grow cucumber plants, sheep wool had a greater air capacity of 70%, which decreased with use to a comparable 43%, and water capacity that increased from 23% to 44% with use.[68] Using sheep wool resulted in the greatest yield out of the tested substrates, while application of a biostimulator consisting of humic acid, lactic acid and Bacillus subtilis improved yields in all substrates.[68]
Brick shards
Brick shards have similar properties to gravel. They have the added disadvantages of possibly altering the pH and requiring extra cleaning before reuse.[69]
Polystyrene packing peanuts
Polystyrene foam peanuts
Polystyrene packing peanuts are inexpensive, readily available, and have excellent drainage. However, they can be too lightweight for some uses. They are used mainly in closed-tube systems. Note that non-biodegradable polystyrene peanuts must be used; biodegradable packing peanuts will decompose into a sludge. Plants may absorb styrene and pass it to their consumers; this is a possible health risk.[69]
Nutrient solutions
Inorganic hydroponic solutions
The formulation of hydroponic solutions is an application of plant nutrition, with nutrient deficiency symptoms mirroring those found in traditional soil based agriculture. However, the underlying chemistry of hydroponic solutions can differ from soil chemistry in many significant ways. Important differences include:
Unlike soil, hydroponic nutrient solutions do not have cation-exchange capacity (CEC) from clay particles or organic matter. The absence of CEC and soil pores means the pH, oxygen saturation, and nutrient concentrations can change much more rapidly in hydroponic setups than is possible in soil.
Selective absorption of nutrients by plants often imbalances the amount of counterions in solution.[27][70][71] This imbalance can rapidly affect solution pH and the ability of plants to absorb nutrients of similar ionic charge (see article membrane potential). For instance, nitrate anions are often consumed rapidly by plants to form proteins, leaving an excess of cations in solution.[27] This cation imbalance can lead to deficiency symptoms in other cation based nutrients (e.g. Mg2+) even when an ideal quantity of those nutrients are dissolved in the solution.[70][71]
Depending on the pH or on the presence of water contaminants, nutrients such as iron can precipitate from the solution and become unavailable to plants. Routine adjustments to pH, buffering the solution, or the use of chelating agents is often necessary.[72]
Unlike soil types, which can vary greatly in their composition, hydroponic solutions are often standardized and require routine maintenance for plant cultivation.[73] Under controlled laboratory conditions hydroponic solutions are periodically pH adjusted to near neutral (pH 6.0) and are aerated with oxygen. Also, water levels must be refilled to account for transpiration losses and nutrient solutions require re-fortification to correct the nutrient imbalances that occur as plants grow and deplete nutrient reserves. Sometimes the regular measurement of nitrate ions is used as a key parameter to estimate the remaining proportions and concentrations of other essential nutrient ions to restore a balanced solution.[74]
As in conventional agriculture, nutrients should be adjusted to satisfy Liebig’s law of the minimum for each specific plant variety.[70] Nevertheless, generally acceptable concentrations for nutrient solutions exist, with minimum and maximum concentration ranges for most plants being somewhat similar.[75] Most nutrient solutions are mixed to have concentrations between 1,000 and 2,500 ppm.[27] Acceptable concentrations for the individual nutrient ions, which comprise that total ppm figure, are summarized in the following table. For essential nutrients, concentrations below these ranges often lead to nutrient deficiencies while exceeding these ranges can lead to nutrient toxicity. Optimum nutrition concentrations for plant varieties are found empirically by experience or by plant tissue tests.[70]
NH+ 4 interferes with Ca2+ uptake and can be toxic to plants if used as a major nitrogen source. A 3:1 ratio of NO− 3-N to NH+ 4-N (wt%) is sometimes recommended to balance pH during nitrogen absorption.[71] Plants respond differently depending on the form of nitrogen, e.g., ammonium has a positive charge, and thus, the plant expels one proton (H+ ) for every NH+ 4 taken up resulting in a reduction in rhizosphere pH. When supplied with NO− 3, the opposite can occur where the plant releases bicarbonate (HCO− 3) which increases rhizosphere pH. These changes in pH can influence the availability of other plant nutrients (e.g., Zn, Ca, Mg).[76]
Unlike most nutrients, plants can tolerate a high concentration of the SO2− 4, selectively absorbing the nutrient as needed.[27][70][71] Undesirable counterion effects still apply however.
pH values above 6.5 greatly decreases iron solubility. Chelating agents (e.g. DTPA, citric acid, or EDTA) are often added to increase iron solubility over a greater pH range.[71]
Excess zinc is highly toxic to plants but is essential for plants at low concentrations. The zinc content of commercially available plant-based food ranges from 3 to 10 μg/g fresh weight.[77]
Plant sensitivity to copper is highly variable. 0.1 ppm can be toxic to some plants[71] while a concentration up to 0.5 ppm for many plants is often considered ideal.[70]
Can interfere with NO− 3 uptake in some plants but can be beneficial in some plants (e.g. in asparagus at 5 ppm). Absent in conifers, ferns, and most bryophytes.[70] Chloride is one of the 16 elements essential for plant growth. Because it is supposedly needed in small quantities for healthy growth of plants (< 50–100 μM in the nutrient media), chloride is classified as a micronutrient.[80]
Might be essential but trace Ti3+ is so ubiquitous that its addition is rarely warranted.[71] At 5 ppm favorable growth effects in some crops are notable (e.g. pineapple and peas).[70]
Organic fertilizers can be used to supplement or entirely replace the inorganic compounds used in conventional hydroponic solutions.[70][71] However, using organic fertilizers introduces a number of challenges that are not easily resolved. Examples include:
organic fertilizers are highly variable in their nutritional compositions in terms of minerals and different organic and inorganic species. Even similar materials can differ significantly based on their source (e.g. the quality of manure varies based on an animal’s diet).
organic fertilizers are often sourced from animal byproducts, making disease transmission a serious concern for plants grown for human consumption or animal forage.
organic fertilizers are often particulate and can clog substrates or other growing equipment. Sieving or milling the organic materials to fine dusts is often necessary.
biochemicaldegradation and conversion processes of organic materials can make their mineral ingredients available to plants.
many organic molecules (i.e. sugars) demand additional oxygen during aerobic degradation, which is essential for cellular respiration in the plant roots.
organic compounds (i.e. sugars, vitamins, a.o.) are not necessary for normal plant nutrition.[83]
Nevertheless, if precautions are taken, organic fertilizers can be used successfully in hydroponics.[70][71]
Organically sourced macronutrients
Examples of suitable materials, with their average nutritional contents tabulated in terms of percent dried mass, are listed in the following table.[70]
High in micronutrients.[71] Commercially available.
Bird guano
13%
8%
20%
Trace
Trace
Trace
High in micronutrients. Commercially available.
Organically sourced micronutrients
Micronutrients can be sourced from organic fertilizers as well. For example, compostedpine bark is high in manganese and is sometimes used to fulfill that mineral requirement in hydroponic solutions.[71] To satisfy requirements for National Organic Programs, pulverized, unrefined minerals (e.g. Gypsum, Calcite, and glauconite) can also be added to satisfy a plant’s nutritional needs.
Additives
Compounds can be added in both organic and conventional hydroponic systems to improve nutrition acquisition and uptake by the plant. Chelating agents and humic acid have been shown to increase nutrient uptake.[84][71] Additionally, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which are regularly utilized in field and greenhouse agriculture, have been shown to benefit hydroponic plant growth development and nutrient acquisition.[85] Some PGPR are known to increase nitrogen fixation. While nitrogen is generally abundant in hydroponic systems with properly maintained fertilizer regimens, Azospirillum and Azotobacter genera can help maintain mobilized forms of nitrogen in systems with higher microbial growth in the rhizosphere.[86] Traditional fertilizer methods often lead to high accumulated concentrations of nitrate within plant tissue at harvest. Rhodopseudo-monas palustris has been shown to increase nitrogen use efficiency, increase yield, and decrease nitrate concentration by 88% at harvest compared to traditional hydroponic fertilizer methods in leafy greens.[87] Many Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Streptomyces spp. convert forms of phosphorus in the soil that are unavailable to the plant into soluble anions by decreasing soil pH, releasing phosphorus bound in chelated form that is available in a wider pH range, and mineralizing organic phosphorus.[86]
Some studies have found that Bacillus inoculants allow hydroponic leaf lettuce to overcome high salt stress that would otherwise reduce growth.[88] This can be especially beneficial in regions with high electrical conductivity or salt content in their water source. This could potentially avoid costly reverse osmosis filtration systems while maintaining high crop yield.
Tools
Common equipment
Managing nutrient concentrations, oxygen saturation, and pH values within acceptable ranges is essential for successful hydroponic horticulture. Common tools used to manage hydroponic solutions include:
Using chemical equipment for hydroponic solutions can be beneficial to growers of any background because nutrient solutions are often reusable.[89] Because nutrient solutions are virtually never completely depleted, and should never be due to the unacceptably low osmotic pressure that would result, re-fortification of old solutions with new nutrients can save growers money and can control point source pollution, a common source for the eutrophication of nearby lakes and streams.[89]
Software
Although pre-mixed concentrated nutrient solutions are generally purchased from commercial nutrient manufacturers by hydroponic hobbyists and small commercial growers, several tools exist to help anyone prepare their own solutions without extensive knowledge about chemistry. The free and open source tools HydroBuddy[90] and HydroCal[91] have been created by professional chemists to help any hydroponics grower prepare their own nutrient solutions. The first program is available for Windows, Mac and Linux while the second one can be used through a simple JavaScript interface. Both programs allow for basic nutrient solution preparation although HydroBuddy provides added functionality to use and save custom substances, save formulations and predict electrical conductivity values.
Mixing solutions
Often mixing hydroponic solutions using individual salts is impractical for hobbyists or small-scale commercial growers because commercial products are available at reasonable prices. However, even when buying commercial products, multi-component fertilizers are popular. Often these products are bought as three part formulas which emphasize certain nutritional roles. For example, solutions for vegetative growth (i.e. high in nitrogen), flowering (i.e. high in potassium and phosphorus), and micronutrient solutions (i.e. with trace minerals) are popular. The timing and application of these multi-part fertilizers should coincide with a plant’s growth stage. For example, at the end of an annual plant‘s life cycle, a plant should be restricted from high nitrogen fertilizers. In most plants, nitrogen restriction inhibits vegetative growth and helps induce flowering.[71]
Additional improvements
Young cannabis plants in an ebb-and-flow grow room, Alaska.
Growrooms
With pest problems reduced and nutrients constantly fed to the roots, productivity in hydroponics is high; however, growers can further increase yield by manipulating a plant’s environment by constructing sophisticated growrooms.[92]
Here’s a Beatles cover. Sung by Doug Cross who unfortunately is no longer with us.
“All I’ve Got to Do” is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and performed by the English rock band the Beatles on their second British album, With the Beatles (1963). In the United States, “All I’ve Got to Do” originally appeared on Meet the Beatles! (1964). According to Dennis Alstrand, the song is the first time in rock and roll or rock music in which the bass player plays chords as a vital part of the song.
It was one of three songs Lennon was the principal writer for on With the Beatles, with “It Won’t Be Long” and “Not a Second Time“. Lennon said that it was written specifically for the American market, because the idea of calling a girl on the telephone was unthinkable to a British youth in the early 1960s. For instance, Lennon said in an interview regarding “No Reply“: “I had the image of walking down the street and seeing her silhouetted in the window and not answering the ‘phone, although I have never called a girl on the ‘phone in my life! Because ‘phones weren’t part of the English child’s life.”
Recording
The band recorded the song in a single recording session on 11 September 1963 in 14 takes with one overdub, take 15. The master take was take 15.It was mixed for mono on 30 September and for stereo on 29 October.[15]
Although music journalist Steve Turner claims the song was written in 1961,[16] MacDonald said the song was never in the Beatles’ live repertoire, which explains why 8 of the 14 takes were incomplete: the band was unfamiliar with the song.
Release
In the UK, “All I’ve Got to Do” was released on With the Beatles which also includes the Beatles’ cover of “You Really Got a Hold on Me” by the Miracles, the most direct connection between the album and Robinson’s music. In the US, Capitol Records pulled “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” off Meet the Beatles!, releasing it later on The Beatles’ Second Album.
A cover of the single from my favorite Emerson Lake and Palmer album.
“From the Beginning” is a song written by Greg Lake and performed by the progressive rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released on their 1972 album Trilogy. It hit #39 in the United States and was their highest-charting single there.
Composition
The song was written in the key of A minor.[2] It is driven by an acoustic guitar line with layers of electric guitar (both rhythm and lead), electric bass guitar, and sung by Lake, with some backing on drums (played by Carl Palmer with congas, tympani mallets and without cymbals), and with a distinctive closing synthesizer solo from Keith Emerson, accompanied by overdubbed synthesizer sounds.[3][4] This song was originally intended for King Crimson‘s debut album In the Court of the Crimson King, but band leader Robert Fripp didn’t think it would fit into the album’s context. [citation needed]
Record World said that “Greg Lake gets a great sound out of his band on this acoustically jazzy number that highlights his voice and fine lyrics.”[5]
Private Lightning drummer Scott Woodman found the original tapes from the studio for our album. This is called Bright City, song 2 side 2. The image was generated using WordPress’s AI capability. I had to try it out.
2025 is going to be a great year. Get your Christmas Shopping done and then enjoy some quiet time with the family. This is a song by Fiona Lunney called Bringing Joy. Recorded and Produced at Baselines Designs Studio.
Well, I asked Gemini why I couldn’t see my Network computer, but could map drives and remote in. This fixed it.
On my windows 10 system, I cannot see a second computer that is on the network. I can map drives from it and I can remote into it, but it is not showing up in my Network places. How can I fix this? Show drafts
Here are several solutions to try to fix the issue:
1. Enable Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing:
Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.
Click on Change advanced sharing settings.
Under Home or Work (Private) network, ensure the following options are enabled:
Turn on network discovery
Turn on file and printer sharing
2. Set Network Location to Private:
Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status.
Click on your network connection (Ethernet or Wi-Fi).
Click on Properties.
Under Network Profile, select Private.
3. Check Firewall Settings:
Open Windows Defender Firewall and ensure that File and Printer Sharing is allowed through the firewall.
4. Verify Workgroup Settings:
Make sure both computers are in the same workgroup.
Press Windows key + R, type sysdm.cpl, and press Enter.
Go to the Computer Name tab and click Change.
Enter the same workgroup name for both computers.
5. Enable SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support:
Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off.
Enable SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support.
6. Reset Network Settings:
Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status.
Scroll down and click Network reset.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
7. Check IP Addresses:
Ensure both computers have IP addresses on the same subnet.
You can check this by opening a command prompt and typing ipconfig.
8. Disable Antivirus Temporarily:
Sometimes, antivirus software can interfere with network discovery. Try temporarily disabling your antivirus and see if it resolves the issue.
9. Check for Windows Updates:
Make sure both computers have the latest Windows updates installed.
10. Manually Map Network Drive:
If all else fails, you can manually map a network drive to the other computer.
Open File Explorer, right-click on This PC, and select Map network drive.
Enter the path to the shared folder on the other computer.
If you’ve tried these solutions and still can’t see the other computer, please provide more information about your network setup, such as:
Router model and firmware version
Firewall configuration
Specific error messages
With more details, I can provide more tailored troubleshooting steps.
The eternal battle between good and bad is a real thing. If you are a normal non-sociopath, the borders are clear, but the temptation is also great. Be careful, the Devil will take your soul if he can.
Early scholars discussed the role of the devil. Scholars influenced by neoplatonic cosmology, like Origen and Pseudo-Dionysius, portrayed the devil as representing deficiency and emptiness, the entity most remote from the divine. According to Augustine of Hippo, the realm of the devil is not nothingness, but an inferior realm standing in opposition to God. The standard Medieval depiction of the devil goes back to Gregory the Great. He integrated the devil, as the first creation of God, into the Christian angelic hierarchy as the highest of the angels (either a cherub or a seraph) who fell far, into the depths of hell, and became the leader of demons.[4]
Since the early Reformation period, the devil has been imagined as an increasingly powerful entity, with not only a lack of goodness but also a conscious will against God, his word, and his creation. Simultaneously, some reformists have interpreted the devil as a mere metaphor for humans’ inclination to sin — thereby downgrading his importance. While the devil has played no significant role for most scholars in the Modern Era, he has become important again in contemporary Christianity.
At various times in history, certain Gnostic sects such as the Cathars and the Bogomils, as well as theologians like Marcion and Valentinus, have believed that the devil was involved in creation. Today these views are not part of mainstream Christianity.
The Hebrew term śāṭān (Hebrew: שָּׂטָן) was originally a common noun meaning “accuser” or “adversary” that was applicable to both human and heavenly adversaries.[5][6] The term is derived from a verb meaning primarily “to obstruct, oppose”.[7][8] Throughout the Hebrew Bible, it refers most frequently to ordinary human adversaries.[9][10][6] However, 1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 5:4; 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25; Psalms 109:6 and Numbers 22:22, 32 use the same term to refer to the angel of the Lord. This concept of a heavenly being as an adversary to humans evolved into the personified evil of “a being with agency” called the Satan 18 times in Job 1–2 and Zechariah 3.[9]
Both Hebrew and Greek have definite articles that are used to differentiate between common and proper nouns, but they are used in opposite ways: in Hebrew, the article designates a common noun, whereas in Greek, the article signals an individual’s name (a proper noun).[11] For example, in the Hebrew book of Job, one of the angels is referred to as a satan, “an adversary”, but in the Greek Septuagint, which was used by the early Christians, whenever “the Satan” (Ha-Satan) appears with a definite article, it specifically refers to the individual known as the heavenly accuser whose personal name is Satan.[10] In some cases it is unclear which is intended.[11]
Henry A. Kelly says that “almost all modern translators and interpreters” of 1 Chronicles 21:1 (in which satan occurs without the definite article) agree the verse contains “the proper name of a specific being appointed to the office of adversary”.[12][13] Thomas Farrar writes that “In all three cases, satan was translated in the Septuagint as diabolos, and in the case of Job and Zechariah, with ho diabolos (the accuser; the slanderer). In all three of these passages there is general agreement among Old Testament scholars that the referent of the word satan is an angelic being”.[10][6]
In the early rabbinic literature, Satan is never referred to as “the Evil one, the Enemy, belial, Mastema or Beelzebul”.[14] No Talmudic source depicts Satan as a rebel against God or as a fallen angel or predicts his end.[14] Ancient Jewish text depicts Satan as an agent of God, a spy, a stool-pigeon, a prosecutor of mankind and even a hangman. He descends to earth to test men’s virtue and lead them astray, then rises to Heaven to accuse them.[14]
In the Book of Job, Job is a righteous man favored by God.[15] Job 1:6–8[16] describes the “sons of God” (bənê hā’ĕlōhîm) presenting themselves before God:[15]
“Sons of God” is a description of ‘angels’ as supernatural heavenly beings, “ministers of Yahweh, able under His direction to intervene in the affairs of men, enjoying a closer union with Yahweh than is the lot of men. They appear in the earliest books of the Old Testament as well as in the later… They appear in prophetical and sapiential literature as well as in the historical books; they appear in the primitive history and in the most recent history… they usually appear in the Old Testament in the capacity of God’s agents to men; otherwise they appear as the heavenly court of Yahweh. They are sent to men to communicate God’s message, to destroy, to save, to help, to punish. …The angels are in complete submission to the will of God… Whenever they appear among men, it is to execute the will of Yahweh.”[17]
God asks one of them where he has been. Satan replies that he has been roaming around the earth.[15] God asks, “Have you considered My servant Job?”[15] Satan thinks Job only loves God because he has been blessed, so he requests that God test the sincerity of Job’s love for God through suffering, expecting Job to abandon his faith.[18] God consents; Satan destroys Job’s family, health, servants and flocks, yet Job refuses to condemn God.[18] At the end, God returned to Job twice what he had lost. This is one of the two Old Testament passages, along with Zechariah 3, where the Hebrew ha-Satan (the Adversary) becomes the Greekho diabolos (the Slanderer) in the Greek Septuagint used by the early Christian church.[19]
A satan is involved in King David‘s census and Christian teachings about this satan varies, just as the pre-exilic account of 2 Samuel and the later account of 1 Chronicles present differing perspectives:
And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying: ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’
According to some teachings, this term refers to a human being, who bears the title satan while others argue that it indeed refers to a heavenly supernatural agent, an angel.[22] Since the satan is sent by the will of God, his function resembles less the devilish enemy of God. Even if it is accepted that this satan refers to a supernatural agent, it is not necessarily implied this is the Satan. However, since the role of the figure is identical to that of the devil, viz. leading David into sin, most commentators and translators agree that David’s satan is to be identified with Satan and the Devil.[23]
Zechariah‘s vision of recently deceased Joshua the High Priest depicts a dispute in the heavenly throne room between Satan and the Angel of the Lord (Zechariah 3:1–2).[24] The scene describes Joshua the High Priest dressed in filthy rags, representing the nation of Judah and its sins,[25] on trial with God as the judge and Satan standing as the prosecutor.[25] Yahweh rebukes Satan[25] and orders that Joshua be given clean clothes, representing God’s forgiveness of Judah’s sins.[25] Goulder (1998) views the vision as related to opposition from Sanballat the Horonite.[26] Again, Satan acts in accordance with God’s will. The text implies he functions both as God’s accuser and as his executioner.[27]
Identified with the Devil
Some parts of the Bible, which do not originally refer to an evil spirit or Satan, have been retroactively interpreted as references to the devil.[28]
Genesis 3 mentions the serpent in the Garden of Eden, which tempts Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus causing their expulsion from the Garden. God rebukes the serpent, stating: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:14–15).[29] Although the Book of Genesis never mentions Satan,[30] Christians have traditionally interpreted the serpent in the Garden of Eden as the devil due to Revelation 12:9,[31] which describes the devil as “that ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world; was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”[32][6] This chapter is used not only to explain the fall of mankind but also to remind the reader of the enmity between Satan and humanity. It is further interpreted as a prophecy regarding Jesus’ victory over the devil, with reference to the child of a woman, striking the head of the serpent.[33]
The idea of fallen angels was familiar in pre-Christian Hebrew thought from the Book of the Watchers, according to which angels who impregnated human women were cast out of heaven. The Babylonian/Hebrew myth of a rising star, as the embodiment of a heavenly being who is thrown down for his attempt to ascend into the higher planes of the gods, is also found in the Bible, (Isaiah 14:12–15)[34] was accepted by early Christians, and interpreted as a fallen angel.[35]
Aquila of Sinope derives the word hêlêl, the Hebrew name for the morning star, from the verb yalal (to lament). This derivation was adopted as a proper name for an angel who laments the loss of his former beauty.[36] The Christian church fathers—for example Saint Jerome, in his Vulgate—translated this as Lucifer. The equation of Lucifer with the fallen angel probably occurred in 1st-century Palestinian Judaism.[37] The church fathers brought the fallen lightbringer Lucifer into connection with the devil on the basis of a saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (10.18 EU): “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”[35]
In his work De principiis Proemium and in a homily on Book XII, the Christian scholar Origen compared the morning star Eosphorus-Lucifer with the devil. According to Origen, Helal-Eosphorus-Lucifer fell into the abyss as a heavenly spirit after he tried to equate himself with God. Cyprian c. 400, Jerome c. 345–420),[38] Ambrosius c. 340–397, and a few other church fathers essentially subscribed to this view. They viewed this earthly overthrow of a pagan king of Babylon as a clear indication of the heavenly overthrow of Satan.[39] In contrast, the church fathers Hieronymus, Cyrillus of Alexandria (412–444), and Eusebius c. 260–340 saw in Isaiah’s prophecy only the mystifying end of a Babylonian king.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. In the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers: and I set you, so that you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.
This description is used to establish major characteristics of the devil: that he was created good as a high ranking angel, that he lived in Eden, and that he turned evil on his own accord. The Church Fathers argued that, therefore, God is not to be blamed for evil but rather the devil’s abuse of free will.[42]
Belial
In the Old Testament, the term belial (Hebrew: בְלִיַּעַל, romanized: bĕli-yaal), with the broader meaning of worthlessness[43] denotes those who work against God or at least against God’s order.[44] In Deuteronomy 13:14 those who tempt people into worshiping something other than Yahweh are related to belial. In 1 Samuel 2:12, the sons of Eli are called belial for not recognizing Yahweh and violating sacrifice rituals.[45] In Psalm 18:4 and Psalm 41:8, belial appears in the context of death and disease. In the Old Testament, both Satan and belial make it difficult for men to live in harmony with God’s will.[46]Belial is thus another template for the later conception of the devil.[47] On the one hand, both Satan and belial cause hardship for humans, but while belial opposes God, represents chaos and death, and stands outside of God’s cosmos, Satan, on the other hand, accuses what opposes God. Satan punishes what belial stands for.[47] Unlike Satan, belial is not an independent entity, but an abstraction.[48]
Intertestamental texts
Although not part of the canonical Bible, intertestamental writings shaped the early Christian worldview and influenced the interpretation of the Biblical texts. Until the third century, Christians still referred to these stories to explain the origin of evil in the world.[49] Accordingly, evil entered the world by apostate angels, who lusted after women and taught sin to mankind. The Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees are still accepted as canonical by the Ethiopian Church.[50] Many Church Fathers accepted their views about fallen angels, though they excluded Satan from these angels. Satan instead, fell after tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden.[51] Satan was being used as a proper name in the apocryphal Jewish writings such as the Book of Jubilees 10:11; 23:29; 50:5, the Testament of Job, and The Assumption of Moses which are contemporary to the writing of the New Testament.[52]
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch, estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, to 100 BC,[53] tells of a group of angels called the Watchers. The Watchers fell in love with human women and descended to earth to have intercourse with them, resulting in giant offspring.[54] On earth, these fallen angels further teach the secrets of heaven like warcraft, blacksmithing, and sorcery.[54] There is no specific devilish leader, as the fallen angels act independently after they descend to earth, but eminent among these angels are Shemyaza and Azazel.[44] Only Azazel is rebuked by the prophet Enoch himself for instructing illicit arts, as stated in 1 Enoch 13:1.[55] According to 1 Enoch 10:6, God sent the archangel Raphael to chain Azazel in the desert Dudael as punishment.
Satan, on the other hand, appears as a leader of a class of angels. Satan is not among the fallen angels but rather a tormentor for both sinful men and sinful angels. The fallen angels are described as “having followed the way of Satan”, implying that Satan led them into their sinful ways, but Satan and his angels are clearly in the service of God, akin to Satan in the Book of Job. Satan and his lesser satans act as God’s executioners: they tempt into sin, accuse sinners for their misdeeds, and finally execute divine judgment as angels of punishment.[56]
Book of Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees also identifies the Bene Elohim (“sons of God”) in Genesis 6 with the offspring of fallen angels, adhering to the Watcher myth known from the Book of Enoch. Throughout the book, another wicked angel called Mastema is prominent. Mastema asks God to spare a tenth of the demons and assign them under his domain so that he might prove humanity to be sinful and unworthy. Mastema is the first figure who unites the concept Satan and Belial. Morally questionable actions ascribed to God in the Old Testament, like environmental disasters and tempting Abraham, are ascribed to Mastema instead, establishing a satanic character distant from the will of God in contrast to early Judaism. Still, the text implies that Mastema is a creature of God, although contravening his will. In the end times, he will be extinguished.[57]
The Devil depicted in The Temptation of Christ, by Ary Scheffer, 1854.
The devil figures much more prominently in the New Testament and in Christiantheology than in the Old Testament and Judaism. Religion scholar William Caldwell writes that “In the Old Testament we have seen that the figure of Satan is vague. … In reaching the New Testament we are struck by the unitariness, clearness, and definiteness of the outline of Satan.”[58] The New Testament Greek word for the devil, satanas, which occurs 38 times in 36 verses, is not actually a Greek word: it is transliterated from Aramaic, but is ultimately derived from Hebrew.[52] Scholars agree that “Satan” is always a proper name in the New Testament.[52] In Mark 1:13 “ho Satanas” is a proper name that identifies a particular being with a distinct personality:[59]
The figure whom Mark designates as the perpetrator of Jesus’ Wilderness temptation, whether called Satan or one of a host of other names, was not an ‘unknown quantity’. On the contrary, in Mark’s time and in the thought world which Mark and his audience shared, Satan’s identity and the activities characteristic of him were both well-defined and widely known.[60]
Although in later Christian theology, the devil and his fellow fallen angels are often merged into one category of demonic spirits, the devil is a unique entity throughout the New Testament.[61] The devil is not only a tempter but perhaps rules over the kingdoms of earth.[62] In the temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:8–9 and Luke 4:6–7),[63] the devil offers all kingdoms of the earth to Jesus, implying they belong to him.[64] Since Jesus does not dispute this offer, it may indicate that the authors of those gospels believed this to be true.[64] This interpretation is, however, not shared by all, as Irenaeus argued that, since the devil was a liar since the beginning, he also lied here and that all kingdoms in fact belong to God, referring to Proverbs 21.[65][66] This event is described in all three synoptic gospels, (Matthew 4:1–11,[67] Mark 1:12–13[68] and Luke 4:1–13).[69]
Other adversaries of Jesus are ordinary humans although influence by the devil is suggested. John 8:40[70] speaks about the Pharisees as the “offspring of the devil”. John 13:2[71] states that the devil entered Judas Iscariotbefore Judas’ betrayal (Luke 22:3).[72][73] In all three synoptic gospels (Matthew 9:22–29,[74] Mark 3:22–30[75] and Luke 11:14–20),[76] Jesus’ critics accuse him of gaining his power to cast out demons from Beelzebub, the devil. In response, Jesus says that a house divided against itself will fall, and that there would be no reason for the devil to allow one to defeat the devil’s works with his own power.[77]
The Book of Revelation describes a battle in heaven (Revelation 12:7–10)[83] between a dragon/serpent “called the devil, or Satan” and the archangel Michael resulting in the dragon’s fall. Here, the devil is described with features similar to primordial chaosmonsters, like the Leviathan in the Old Testament.[61] The identification of this serpent as Satan supports identification of the serpent in Genesis with the devil.[84]Thomas Aquinas, Rupert of Deutz and Gregory the Great (among others) interpreted this battle as occurring after the devil sinned by aspiring to be independent of God. In consequence, Satan and the evil angels are hurled down from heaven by the good angels under leadership of Michael.[85]
Before Satan was cast down from heaven, he was accusing humans for their sins (Revelation 12:10).[86][61] After 1,000 years, the devil would rise again, just to be defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10).[87][88] An angel of the abyss called Abaddon, mentioned in Revelation 9:11,[89] is described as its ruler and is often thought of as the originator of sin and an instrument of punishment. For these reasons, Abaddon is also identified with the devil.[90]
Christian teachings
The concept of fallen angels is of pre-Christian origin. Fallen angels appear in writings such as the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees and arguably in Genesis 6:1–4. Christian tradition and theology interpreted the myth about a rising star, thrown into the underworld, originally told about a Babylonian king (Isaiah 14:12) as also referring to a fallen angel.[91] The devil is generally identified with Satan, the accuser in the Book of Job.[92] Only rarely are Satan and the devil depicted as separate entities.[93]
Much of the lore of the devil is not biblical. It stems from post-medieval Christian expansions on the scriptures influenced by medieval and pre-medieval popular mythology.[94] In the Middle Ages there was a great deal of adaptation of biblical material, in the vernacular languages, that often employed additional literary forms like drama to convey important ideas to an audience unable to read the Latin for themselves.[95] They sometimes expanded the biblical text with additions, explanatory developments or omissions.[96] The Bible has silences: questions it does not address. For example, in the Bible, the fruit Adam and Eve ate is not defined; the apple is part of folklore.[97] Medieval Europe was well equipped to explain the silences of the Bible.[98] In addition to the use of world history and the expansion of Biblical books, additional vehicles for the adornment of Biblical tales were popular sagas, legends, and fairy tales. These provided elaborate views of a dualistic creation where the Devil vies with God, and creates disagreeable imitations of God’s creatures like lice, apes, and women.[99] The Devil in certain Russian tales had to intrigue his way on board the Ark in order to keep from drowning.[100] The ability of the Devil, in folk-tale, to appear in any animal form, to change form, or to become invisible, all such powers while nowhere mentioned in the Bible itself, have been assigned to the devil by medieval ecclesiasticism without dispute.[101]
Maximus the Confessor argued that the purpose of the devil is to teach humans how to distinguish between virtue and sin. Since, according to Christian teachings, the devil was cast out of the heavenly presence (unlike the Jewish Satan, who still functions as an accuser angel at service of God), Maximus explained how the devil could still talk to God, as told in the Book of Job, despite being banished. He argues that, as God is omnipresent within the cosmos, Satan was in God’s presence when he uttered his accusation towards Job without being in the heavens. Only after the Day of Judgement, when the rest of the cosmos reunites with God, the devil, his demons, and all whose who cling to evil and unreality will exclude themselves eternally from God and suffer from this separation.[102]
Christians have understood the devil as the personification of evil, the author of lies and the promoter of evil, and as a metaphor of human evil. However, the devil can go no further than God, or human freedom, allows, resulting in the problem of evil. Christian scholars have offered three main theodicies of why a good God might need to allow evil in the world. These are based on the free will of humankind,[103] a self-limiting God,[104] and the observation that suffering has “soul-making” value.[105] Christian theologians do not blame evil solely on the devil, as this creates a kind of Manichean dualism that, nevertheless, still has popular support.[106]
Origen
Origen was probably the first author to use Lucifer as a proper name for the devil. In his work De principiis Proemium and in a homily on Book XII, he compared the morning star Eosphorus-Lucifer—probably based on the Life of Adam and Eve—with the devil or Satan. Origen took the view that Helal-Eosphorus-Lucifer, originally mistaken for Phaeton, fell into the abyss as a heavenly spirit after he tried to equate himself with God. Cyprian (around 400), Ambrosius (around 340–397) and a few other church fathers essentially subscribed to this view which was borrowed from a Hellenistic myth.[35]
According to Origen, God created rational creatures first then the material world. The rational creatures are divided into angels and humans, both endowed with free will,[107] and the material world is a result of their choices.[108][109] The world, also inhabited by the devil and his angels, manifests all kinds of destruction and suffering too. Origen opposed the Valentinian view that suffering in the world is beyond God’s grasp, and the devil is an independent actor. Therefore, the devil is only able to pursue evil as long as God allows. Evil has no ontological reality, but is defined by deficits or a lack of existence, in Origen’s cosmology. Therefore, the devil is considered most remote from the presence of God, and those who adhere to the devil’s will follow the devil’s removal from God’s presence.[110]
Origen has been accused by Christians of teaching salvation for the devil. However, in defense of Origen, scholars have argued apocatastasis for the devil is based on a misinterpretation of his universalism. Accordingly, it is not the devil, as the principle of evil, the personification of death and sin, but the angel, who introduced them in the first place, who will be restored after this angel abandons his evil will.[111]
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo‘s work, Civitas Dei (5th century), and his subsequent work On Free Will became major influences in Western demonology into the Middle Ages and even into the Reformation era, influencing notable Reformation theologians such as John Calvin and Martin Luther.[112][113] For Augustine, the rebellion of Satan was the first and final cause of evil; thus, he rejected earlier teachings about Satan having fallen when the world was already created.[114][115] In his Civitas Dei, he describes two cities (Civitates) distinct from and opposed to each other like light and darkness.[116] The earthly city is influenced by the sin of the devil and is inhabited by wicked men and demons (fallen angels) who are led by the devil. On the other hand, the heavenly city is inhabited by righteous men and the angels led by God.[116] Although his ontological division into two different kingdoms shows a resemblance to Manicheandualism, Augustine differs in regard to the origin and power of evil. He argues that evil came first into existence by the free will of the devil[117] and has no independent ontological existence. Augustine always emphasized the sovereignty of God over the devil[118] who can only operate within his God-given framework.[115]
Augustine wrote that angels sinned under differing circumstances than humans did, resulting in different consequences for their actions. Human sins are the result of circumstances an individual may or may not be responsible for, such as original sin. The person is responsible for their decisions, but not the environment or conditions in which their decisions are made. The angels who became demons had lived in Heaven; their environment was grounded and surrounded by the divine; they should have loved God more than themselves, but they delighted in their own power, and loved themselves more, sinning “spontaneously”. Because they sinned “through their own initiative, without being tempted or persuaded by anyone else, they cannot repent and be saved through the intervention of another. Hence they are eternally fixed in their self-love (De lib. arb. 3.10.29–31)”.[119][120] Since the sin of the devil is intrinsic to his nature, Augustine argues that the devil must have turned evil immediately after his creation.[121] Thus the devil’s attempt to take God’s throne is not an assault on the gates of heaven, but a turn to solipsism in which the devil becomes God in his world.[122]
Further, Augustine rejects the idea that envy could have been the first sin (as some early Christians believed, evident from sources like Cave of Treasures in which Satan has fallen because he envies humans and refused to prostrate himself before Adam), since pride (“loving yourself more than others and God”) must precede envy (“hatred for the happiness of others”).[123] Such sins are described as removal from God’s presence. The devil’s sin does not give evil a positive value, since evil is, according to Augustinian theodicy, merely a byproduct of creation. The spirits have all been created in the love of God, but the devil valued himself more, thereby abandoning his position for a lower good. Less clear is Augustine about the reason for the devil’s choosing to abandon God’s love. In some works, he argued that it is God’s grace that gives the angels a deeper understanding of God’s nature and the order of the cosmos. Illuminated by God-given grace, they became incapable of feeling any desire for sin. The other angels, however, are not blessed with grace and act sinfully.[124]
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury describes the reason for the devil’s fall in his De Casu Diaboli (“On the Devil’s Fall”). Breaking with Augustine’s diabology, he absolved God from pre-determinism and causing the devil to sin. Like earlier theologians, Anselm explained evil as nothingness, or something people can merely ascribe to something to negate its existence that has no substance in itself. God gave the devil free will, but has not caused the devil to sin by creating the condition to abuse this gift. Anselm invokes the idea of grace, bestowed upon the angels.[125] According to Anselm, grace was also offered to Lucifer, but the devil willingly refused to receive the gift from God. Anselm argues further that all rational creatures strive for good, since it is the definition of good to be desired by rational creatures, so Lucifer’s wish to become equal to God is actually in accordance with God’s plan.[126][b] The devil deviates from God’s plans when he wishes to become equal to God by his own efforts without relying on God’s grace.[126]
Anselm also played an important role in shifting Christian theology further away from the ransom theory of atonement, the belief that Jesus’ crucifixion was a ransom paid to Satan, in favor of the satisfaction theory.[128] According to this view, humanity sinned by violating the cosmic harmony God created. To restore this harmony, humanity needed to pay something they did not owe to God. But since humans could not pay the price, God had to send Jesus, who is both God and human, to sacrifice himself.[129] The devil does not play an important role in this theory of atonement any longer. In Anselm’s theology, the devil features more as an example of the abuse of free will than as a significant actor in the cosmos.[130] He is not necessary to explain either the fall or the salvation of humanity.[131]
History
Early Christianity
Devils – a fresco detail from the Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
The notion of fallen angels already existed, but had no unified narrative in Pre-Christian times. In 1 Enoch, Azazel and his host of angels came to earth in human shape and taught forbidden arts resulting in sin. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Azazel is described with his own Kavod (Magnificence), a term usually used for the Divine in apocalyptic literature, already indicating the devil as anti-thesis of God, with the devil’s kingdom on earth and God’s kingdom in heaven.[132] In the Life of Adam and Eve, Satan was cast out of heaven for his refusal to prostrate himself before man, likely the most common explanation for Satan’s fall in Proto-orthodox Christianity.[133]
Christianity, however, depicted the fall of angels as an event prior to the creation of humans. The devil becomes considered a rebel against God, by claiming divinity for himself; he is allowed to have temporary power over the world. Thus, in prior depictions of the fallen angels, the evil angel’s misdemeanor is directed downwards (to man on earth) while, with Christianity, the devil’s sin is directed upwards (to God).[35] Although the devil is considered to be inherently evil, influential Christian scholars, like Augustine and Anselm of Canterbury, agree that the devil had been created good but, at some point, had freely chosen evil, resulting in his fall.
In early Christianity, some movements postulated a distinction between the God of Law, creator of the world and the God of Jesus Christ. Such positions were held by Marcion, Valentinus, the Basilides and Ophites, who denied the Old Testamental deity to be the true God, arguing that the descriptions of the Jewish deity are blasphemous for God. They were opposed by those like Irenaeus, Tertullian and Origen who argued that the deity presented by Jesus and the God of Jews are the same, and who, in turn, accused such movements as blaspheming against God by asserting a power higher than the Creator. As evident from Origen’s On the First Principles, those who denied the Old Testamental deity to be the true God argued that God can only be good and cannot be subject to inferior emotions like anger and jealousy. Instead, they accused him of self-deification, thus identifying him with Lucifer (Hêlêl), the opponent of Jesus and ruler of the world.[134]
However, not all dualistic movements equated the Creator with the devil. In Valentinianism, the Creator is merely ignorant, but not evil, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness.[135] Irenaeus writes in Against Heresies that, according to the Valentinian cosmological system, Satan was the left-hand ruler,[136] but actually superior to the Creator, because he would consist of spirit, while the Creator of inferior matter.[137][135]
Byzantium
Copy of an early 6th-century mosaic in Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, depicting Christ separating the sheep from the goats. The blue angel is arguably the oldest Christian depiction of Satan, who gathers the sinners symbolized by goats. Here, he is not the fiendish monster known from later iconography, but is granted equal presence in the heavenly court. However, the identification of this figure with Satan is disputed.[138]
Byzantine understanding of the devil derived mostly from the church fathers of the first five centuries. Due to the focus on monasticism, mysticism and negative theology, which were more unifying than Western traditions, the devil played only a marginal role in Byzantine theology.[139] Within such monistic cosmology, evil was considered as a deficiency having no real ontological existence. Thus the devil became the entity most remote from God, as described by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.[140]
John Climacus detailed the traps of the devil in his monastic treatise The Ladder of Paradise. The first trap of the devil and his demons is to prevent people from performing good actions. In the second, one performs good but not in accordance with God’s will. In the third, one becomes proud of one’s good actions. Only by recognizing that all the good that one can perform comes from God can the last and most dangerous trap be avoided.[102]
John of Damascus, whose works also affected Western scholastic traditions, provided a rebuttal to Dualistic cosmology. Against dualistic religions like Manichaeism, he argued that, if the devil was a principle independent from God and there are two principles, they must be in complete opposition. But if they exist, according to John, they both share the trait of existence, resulting in only one principle (of existence) again.[141] Influenced by John the Evangelist, he further emphasized the metaphors of light for good and darkness for evil.[142] Like darkness, deprivation of good results in one’s becoming non-existent and darker.[141]
Byzantine theology does not consider the devil as redeemable. Since the devil is a spirit, the devil and his angels cannot have a change in their will, just as humans turned into spirits after death are not able to change their attitude either.[143]
Although the teachings of Augustine, who rejected the Enochian writings and associated the devil with pride instead of envy, are usually considered to be the most fundamental depictions of the devil in medieval Christianity, some concepts like regarding evil as the mere absence of good, were far too subtle to be embraced by most theologians during the Early Middle Ages. They sought a more concrete image of evil to represent spiritual struggle and pain, so the devil became more of a concrete entity. From the 4th through the 12th centuries, Christian ideas combined with European pagan beliefs, creating a vivid folklore about the devil and introducing new elements. Although theologians usually conflated demons, satans and the devil, medieval demonology fairly consistently distinguished between Lucifer, the fallen angel fixed in hell, and the mobile Satan executing his will.[144]
Teutonic gods were often considered demons or even the devil. In the Flateyjarbók, Odin is explicitly described as another form of the devil, whom the pagans worshiped and to whom they sacrificed.[145] Everything sacred to pagans or the foreign deities was usually perceived as sacred for the devil and feared by Christians.[146] Many pagan nature spirits like dwarfs and elves became seen as demons, although a difference remained between monsters and demons. The monsters, regarded as distorted humans, probably without souls, were created so that people might be grateful to God that they did not suffer in such a state; they ranked above demons in existence and still claimed a small degree of beauty and goodness as they had not turned away from God.[147]
It was widely accepted that people could make a deal with the devil[148] by which the devil would attempt to catch the soul of a human. Often, the human would have to renounce faith in Christ. But the devil could easily be tricked by courage and common sense and therefore often remained as a comic relief character in folkloric stories.[149] In many German folktales, the devil replaces the role of a deceived giant, known from pagan tales.[150] For example, the devil builds a bridge in exchange for the first passing being’s soul, then people let a dog pass the bridge first and the devil is cheated.[151]
Pope Gregory the Great‘s doctrines about the devil became widely accepted during the Medieval period and, combined with Augustine’s view, became the standard account of the devil. Gregory described the devil as the first creation of God. He was a cherub and leader of the angels (contrary to the Byzantine writer Pseudo-Dionysius, who did not place the devil among the angelic hierarchy).[152] Gregory and Augustine agreed with the idea that the devil fell because of his own will; nevertheless, God held ultimate control over the cosmos. To support his argument, Gregory paraphrases parts of the Old Testament according to which God sends an evil spirit. However, the devils’ will is indeed unjust; God merely diverts the evil deeds to justice.[153] For Gregory, the devil is thus also the tempter. The tempter incites, but it is the human will that consents to sin. The devil is only responsible for the first stage of sinning.[154]
Cathars and Bogomiles
God and Lucifer – The Queen Mary Psalter (1310–1320), f.1v – BL Royal MS 2 B VII
The revival of dualism in the 12th century by Catharism deeply influenced Christian perceptions on the devil.[155] What is known of the Cathars largely comes in what is preserved by the critics in the Catholic Church which later destroyed them in the Albigensian Crusade. Alain de Lille, c. 1195, accused the Cathars of believing in two gods, one of light and one of darkness.[156] Durand de Huesca, responding to a Cathar tract c. 1220 indicates that they regarded the physical world as the creation of Satan.[157] A former Italian Cathar turned Dominican, Sacchoni in 1250 testified to the Inquisition that his former co-religionists believed that the devil made the world and everything in it.[158]
Catharism probably roots in Bogomilism, founded by Theophilos in the 10th century, who in turn owed many ideas to the earlier Paulicians in Armenia and the Near East and had strong impact on the history of the Balkans. Their true origin probably lies within earlier sects such as Nestorianism, Marcionism and Borboritism, who all share the notion of a docetic Jesus. Like these earlier movements, Bogomilites agree upon a dualism between body and soul, matter and spirit, and a struggle between good and evil. Rejecting most of the Old Testament, they opposed the established Catholic Church whose deity they considered to be the devil. Among the Cathars, there have been both an absolute dualism (shared with Bogomilites and early Christian Gnosticism) and mitigated dualism as part of their own interpretation.[159]
Mitigated dualists are closer to Christianity, regarding Lucifer as an angel created (through emanation, since by rejecting the Old Testament, they rejected creation ex nihilo) by God, with Lucifer falling because of his own will. On the other hand, absolute dualists regard Lucifer as the eternal principle of evil, not part of God’s creation. Lucifer forced the good souls into bodily shape, and imprisoned them in his kingdom. Following the absolute dualism, neither the souls of the heavenly realm nor the devil and his demons have free will but merely follow their nature, thus rejecting the Christian notion of sin.[160]
The Catholic church reacted to spreading dualism in the Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215), by affirming that God created everything from nothing; that the devil and his demons were created good, but turned evil by their own will; that humans yielded to the devil’s temptations, thus falling into sin; and that, after Resurrection, the damned will suffer along with the devil, while the saved enjoy eternity with Christ.[161] Only a few theologians from the University of Paris, in 1241, proposed the contrary assertion, that God created the devil evil and without his own decision.[162]
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, parts of Bogomil Dualism remained in Balkanfolklore concerning creation: before God created the world, he meets a goose on the eternal ocean. The name of the Goose is reportedly Satanael and it claims to be a god. When God asks Satanael who he is, the devil answers “the god of gods”. God requests that the devil then dive to the bottom of the sea to carry some mud, and from this mud, they fashioned the world. God created his angels, and the devil created his demons. Later, the devil tries to assault god but is thrown into the abyss. He remains lurking on the creation of God and planning another attack on heaven.[163] This myth shares some resemblance with Pre-Islamic Turkic creation myths as well as Bogomilite thoughts.[164]
The Reformation
Depiction of the Devil in the Codex Gigas.Pope Sylvester II and the Devil in an illustration, c. 1460.
From the beginning of the early modern period (around the 1400s), Christians started to imagine the devil as an increasingly powerful entity, constantly leading people into falsehood. Jews, witches, heretics and people affected by leprosy were often associated with the devil.[165] The Malleus Maleficarum, a popular and extensive work on witch-hunting, was written in 1486. Protestants and the Catholic Church began to accuse each other of teaching false doctrines and unwittingly falling for the traps of the devil. Both Catholics and Protestants reformed Christian society by shifting their major ethical concerns from avoiding the seven deadly sins to observing the Ten Commandments.[166] Thus disloyalty to God, which was seen as disloyalty to the church, and idolatry became the greatest sins, making the devil increasingly dangerous. Some reform movements and early humanists often rejected the concept of a personal devil. For example, Voltaire dismissed belief in the devil as superstition.[167]
Early Protestant thought
The Devil being fought by a Christian using a gold sword, Norwich Cathedral cloisters ceiling detail
Martin Luther taught that the devil was real, personal and powerful.[168] Evil was not a deficit of good, but the presumptuous will against God, his word and his creation.[169] He also affirmed the reality of witchcraft caused by the devil. However, he denied the reality of witches’ flight and metamorphoses, regarded as imagination instead.[c] The devil could also possess someone. He opined that the possessed might feel the devil in himself, as a believer feels the Holy Spirit in his body.[d] In his Theatrum Diabolorum, Luther lists several hosts of greater and lesser devils. Greater devils would incite to greater sins, like unbelief and heresy, while lesser devils to minor sins like greed and fornication. Among these devils also appears Asmodeus known from the Book of Tobit.[e] These anthropomorphic devils are used as stylistic devices for his audience, although Luther regards them as different manifestations of one spirit (i.e. the devil).[f]
Calvin taught the traditional view of the devil as a fallen angel. Calvin repeats the simile of Saint Augustine: “Man is like a horse, with either God or the Devil as rider.”[172] In interrogation of Servetus who had said that all creation was part of God, Calvin asked: “what of the Devil?” Servetus responded that “all things are a part and portion of God”.[173]
Protestants regarded the teachings of the Catholic Church as undermined by Satan’s agency, since they were seen as having replaced the teachings of the Bible with invented customs. Unlike heretics and witches, Protestants saw Catholics as following Satan unconsciously.[174] By abandoning the ceremonial rituals and intercession upheld by the Catholic Church, reformers emphasized individual resistance against the temptations of the devil.[174] Among Luther’s teachings to ward off the devil was a recommendation of music since “the Devil cannot stand gaiety.”[175]
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) used the devil as a metaphor. The devil, Satan and similar figures mentioned throughout the Bible, refer in his work Leviathan to offices or qualities but not individual beings.[176]
However, these views remained very much a minority view at this time. Daniel Defoe in his The Political History of the Devil (1726) describes such views as a form of “practical atheism“. Defoe wrote “those who believe there is a God, […] acknowledge the debt of homage which mankind owes […] to nature, and to believe the existence of the Devil is a like debt to reason”.[177]
With the increasing influence of positivism, scientism and nihilism in the modern era, both the concept of God and the devil have become less relevant for many.[178] However, Gallup has reported that “Regardless of political belief, religious inclination, education, or region, most Americans believe that the devil exists.”[179]
Many Christian theologians have interpreted the devil as being within its original cultural context a symbol of psychological forces. Many dropped the concept of the devil as an unnecessary assumption: they say that the devil does not add much to solving the problem of evil since, whether or not the angels sinned before men, the question remains how evil entered the world in the first place.[180]
Rudolf Bultmann taught that Christians need to reject belief in a literal devil as part of formulating an authentic faith in today’s world.[181]
In contrast, the works of writers like Jeffrey Burton Russell retain the belief in a literal personal fallen being of some kind.[182] Russell argues that theologians who reject a literal devil (like Bultmann) overlook the fact that the devil is part and parcel of the New Testament from its origins.[183]
Christian theologian Karl Barth describes the devil neither as a person nor as a merely psychological force but as nature opposing good. He includes the devil in his threefold cosmology: there is God, God’s creation, and nothingness. Nothingness is not absence of existence, but a plane of existence in which God withdraws his creative power. It is depicted as chaos opposing real being, distorting the structure of the cosmos and gaining influence over humanity. In contrast to dualism, Barth argued that opposition to reality entails reality, so that the existence of the devil depends on the existence of God and is not an independent principle.[184]
Contemporary views
Catholic Church
While the Catholic Church has not paid much attention to the devil in the modern period, some contemporary Catholic teachings have begun to re-emphasize the devil.[g]
Pope Paul VI expressed concern about the influence of the devil in 1972, stating that: “Satan’s smoke has made its way into the Temple of God through some crack”.[186] However, John Paul II viewed the defeat of Satan as inevitable.[187]
Pope Francis brought renewed focus on the devil in the early 2010s, stating, among many other pronouncements, that “The devil is intelligent, he knows more theology than all the theologians together.”[188] Journalist Cindy Wooden commented on the pervasiveness of the devil in Pope Francis’ teachings, noting that Francis believes that the devil is real.[189] During a morning homily in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, in 2013, the pontiff said:
The Devil is not a myth, but a real person. One must react to the Devil, as did Jesus, who replied with the word of God. With the prince of this world one cannot dialogue. Dialogue is necessary among us, it is necessary for peace […] Dialogue is born from charity, from love. But with that prince one cannot dialogue; one can only respond with the word of God that defends us.[190]
In 2019, Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Society of Jesus, said that Satan is a symbol, the personification of evil, but not a person and not a “personal reality”; four months later, he said that the devil is real, and his power is a malevolent force.[191]
Charismatic movements regard the devil as a personal and real character, rejecting the increasingly metaphorical and historical reinterpretation of the devil in the modern period as unbiblical and contrary to the life of Jesus. People who surrender to the kingdom of the devil are in danger of becoming possessed by his demons.[195]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Church regards the Devil as being created as a good angel by God, and by his and his fellow fallen angels’ free will, fell out of God’s grace.[196] Satan is not an infinitely powerful being. Although he is an angel, and thus pure spirit, he is considered a creature nonetheless. Satan’s actions are permitted by divine providence.[196] Catholicism rejects apocatastasis, the reconciliation with God suggested by the Church Father Origen.[197]
A number of prayers and practices against the Devil exist within Catholic Church tradition.[198][199] The Lord’s Prayer includes a petition for being delivered “from the evil one”, but a number of other specific prayers also exist.
The Prayer to Saint Michael specifically asks for Catholics to be defended “against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.” Given that some of the messages from Our Lady of Fatima have been linked by the Holy See to the “end times”,[200] some Catholic authors have concluded that the angel referred to within the Fatima messages is Michael the Archangel, who defeats the Devil in the War in Heaven.[201][202] Timothy Tindal-Robertson takes the position that the Consecration of Russia was a step in the eventual defeat of Satan by the Archangel Michael.[203]
The process of exorcism is used within the Catholic Church against the Devil and demonic possession. According to The Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcising”.[204]Gabriele Amorth, who was until his death in 2016 the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, warned against ignoring Satan, saying, “Whoever denies Satan also denies sin and no longer understands the actions of Christ”.[205]
The battle against the Devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the archangel, is still being fought today, because the Devil is still alive and active in the world. The evil that surrounds us today, the disorders that plague our society, man’s inconsistency and brokenness, are not only the results of original sin, but also the result of Satan’s pervasive and dark action.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, the devil is an integral part of Christian cosmology. The existence of the devil is taken seriously and is not subject to question.[206] According to Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, there are three enemies of humanity: Death, sin and Satan.[207] In contrast to Western Christianity, sin is not viewed as a deliberate choice but as a universal and inescapable weakness.[207] Sin is turning from God towards oneself, a form of egoism and ungratefulness, leading away from God towards death and nothingness.[208] Lucifer invented sin, resulting in death, and introduced it first to the angels, who have been created before the material world, and then to humanity. Lucifer, considered a former radiant archangel, lost his light after his fall and became the dark Satan (the enemy).[209]
Eastern Orthodoxy maintains that God did not create death, but that it was forged by the devil through deviance from the righteous way (a love of God and gratitude).[210] In a sense, it was a place where God was not, for he could not die, yet it was an inescapable prison for all humanity until the Christ. Before Christ’s resurrection, it could be said that humanity had a reason to fear the devil, as he was a creature that could separate mankind from God and source of life — for God could not enter hell, and humanity could not escape it.
Once in Hades, the Orthodox hold that Christ — being good and just — granted life and resurrection to all who wanted to follow him. As a result, the devil has been overthrown and is no longer able to hold humanity. With the prison despoiled, the devil only has power over whose who freely choose him and sin.[211]
Evangelical Protestants
Evangelical Protestants agree that Satan is a real, created being entirely given over to evil and that evil is whatever opposes God or is not willed by God. Evangelicals emphasize the power and involvement of Satan in history in varying degrees; some virtually ignore Satan and others revel in speculation about spiritual warfare against that personal power of darkness.[212] According to Soergel, Martin Luther avoided “an extensive treatment of the angels’ place in heavenly hierarchy or in Christian theology.”[213] Modern Protestants continue in a similar way, since it is thought as neither useful nor necessary to know.[214]
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Satan was originally a perfect angel who developed feelings of self-importance and craved worship that belonged to God. Satan persuaded Adam and Eve to obey him rather than God, raising the issue—often referred to as a “controversy”—of whether people, having been granted free will, would obey God under both temptation and persecution. The issue is said to be whether God can rightfully claim to be sovereign of the universe.[215][216] Instead of destroying Satan, God decided to test the loyalty of the rest of humankind and to prove to the rest of creation that Satan was a liar.[217][218] Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Satan is God’s chief adversary[218] and the invisible ruler of the world.[215][216] They believe that demons were originally angels who rebelled against God and took Satan’s side in the controversy.[219]
Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Satan lives in Hell or that he has been given responsibility to punish the wicked. Satan and his demons are said to have been cast down from Heaven to Earth in 1914, marking the beginning of the “last days“.[215][220] Witnesses believe that Satan and his demons influence individuals, organizations and nations, and that they are the cause of human suffering. At Armageddon, Satan is to be bound for 1,000 years, and then given a brief opportunity to mislead perfect humanity before being destroyed.[221]
In Mormonism, the devil is a real being, a literal spirit son of God who once had angelic authority, but rebelled and fell prior to the creation of the Earth in a pre-mortal life. At that time, he persuaded a third part of the spirit children of God to rebel with him. This was in opposition to the plan of salvation championed by Jehovah (Jesus Christ). Now the devil tries to persuade mankind into doing evil (Doctrine and Covenants 76:24–29). Mankind can overcome this through faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to the Gospel.[222]
And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning! And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that Old Serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ—Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about (Doctrine and Covenants 76:25–29)
After becoming Satan by his fall, Lucifer “goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:27). Mormons consider Isaiah 14:12 to be referring to both the king of the Babylonians and the devil.[224][225]
The devil might either be a cherub or a seraph. Christian writers were often undecided from which order of the angels the devil fell. While the devil is identified with the cherub in Ezekiel 28:13–15,[226] this conflicts with the view that the devil was among the highest angels, who are, according to Pseudo-Dionysius, the seraphim.[227]Thomas Aquinas quotes Gregory the Great who stated that Satan “surpassed [the angels] all in glory”.[228] Arguing that the higher an angel stood the more likely he was to become guilty of pride,[229][227] the devil would be a seraph. But Aquinas held sin incompatible with the fiery love characteristic of a seraph, but possible for a cherub, whose primary characteristic is fallible knowledge. He concludes, in line with Ezekiel, that the devil was the most knowledgeable of the angels, a cherub.[227]
Christianity is undecided whether the devil fell immediately into hell or if he is given respite until the Day of Judgment.[230] Several Christian authors, among them Dante Alighieri and John Milton, have depicted the devil as resident in Hell. This is in contrast to parts of the Bible that describe the devil as traveling about the earth, like Job 1:6–7[231] and 1 Peter 5:8,[232] discussed above. On the other hand, 2 Peter 2:4[233] speaks of sinning angels chained in hell.[234] At least according to Revelation 20:10,[87] the devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Sulfur. Theologians disagree whether the devil roams the air of the earth or fell underground into hell,[235] yet both views agree that the devil will be in hell after Judgment Day.
If the devil is bound in hell, the question arises how he can still appear to people on earth. In some literature, the devil only sends his lesser demons or Satan to execute his will, while he remains chained in hell.[236][237] Others assert that the devil is chained but takes his chains with him when he rises to the surface of the earth.[230] Gregory the Great tried to resolve this conflict by stating that, no matter where the devil dwells spatially, separation from God itself is a state of hell.[238]Bede states in his Commentary on the Epistle of James (3.6), no matter where the devil and his angels move, they carry the tormenting flames of hell with them, like a person with fever.[239]
Sinfulness of angels
Some theologians believe that angels cannot sin because sin brings death and angels cannot die.[240]
An angel or any other rational creature considered in his own nature, can sin; and to whatever creature it belongs not to sin, such creature has it as a gift of grace, and not from the condition of nature. The reason of this is, because sinning is nothing else than a deviation from that rectitude which an act ought to have; whether we speak of sin in nature, art, or morals. That act alone, the rule of which is the very virtue of the agent, can never fall short of rectitude. Were the craftsman’s hand the rule itself engraving, he could not engrave the wood otherwise than rightly; but if the rightness of engraving be judged by another rule, then the engraving may be right or faulty.
He further divides angelic orders, as distinguished by Pseudo-Dionysius, into fallible and infallible based whether the Bible mentions them in relation to the demonic or not. He concludes that because seraphim (the highest order) and thrones (the third-highest) are never mentioned as devils, they are unable to sin. On the contrary, the Bible speaks about cherubim (the second-highest order) and powers (the sixth-highest) in relation to the devil. He concludes that attributes represented by the infallible angels, like charity, can only be good, while attributes represented by cherubim and powers can be both good and bad.[241]
Aquinas concludes that while angels cannot succumb to bodily desires, as intellectual creatures they can sin as result of their mind-based will.[242] The sins attributed to the devil include pride, envy, and even lust, for Lucifer loved himself more than everything else. Initially, after the angels realized their existence, they decided for or against dependence on God, and the good and evil angels were separated from each other after a short delay following their creation.[243] Similarly, Peter Lombard writes in his Sentences, angels were all created as good spirits, had a short interval of free-decision and some choose love and have thus been rewarded with grace by God, while others choose sin (pride or envy) and became demons.[244]
Iconography and literature
Images
Excerpt of a Byzantine-Mosaic-Image. A blue angel, probably representing the Devil, standing before goats. Early 6th century.
The earliest representation of the devil might be a mosaic in Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna from the 6th century, in the form of a blue angel.[245] Blue and violet were common colors for the devil in the early Middle Ages, reflecting his body composed of the air below the heavens, considered to consist of thicker material than the ethereal fire of heavens the good angels are made from and thus colored red. The devil’s first appearance as black rather than blue was in the 9th century.[246][247] Only later did the devil became associated with the color red to reflect blood or the fires of hell.[247]
Before the 11th century, the devil was often shown in art as either a human or a black imp. The humanoid devil often wore white robes and feathered bird-like wings or appeared as an old man in a tunic.[248] The imps were depicted as tiny misshapen creatures. When humanoid features were combined with monstrous ones during the 11th century, the imp’s monstrosity gradually developed into the grotesque.[249] Horns became a common motif starting in the 11th century. The devil was often depicted as naked wearing only loincloths, symbolizing sexuality and wildness.[250]
Particularly in the medieval period, the devil was often shown as having horns and a goat’s hindquarters and with a tail. He was also depicted as carrying a pitchfork,[251] the implement used in Hell to torment the damned, which derives in part from the trident of Poseidon.[252] Goat-like images resemble the Ancient Greek DeityPan.[252] Pan in particular looks very much like the European devil in the late Middle Ages. It is unknown if these features are directly taken from Pan or whether Christians coincidentally devised an image similar to Pan.[253] Depiction of the devil as a satyr-like creature is attested since the 11th century.[253]
Poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer associated the color green with the Devil, although in modern times the color is red.[254]
The portrayal of the devil in Dante Alighieri‘s Inferno reflects early Christian Neo-Platonic thought. Dante structures his cosmology morally; God is beyond heaven and the devil at the bottom of hell beneath the earth. Imprisoned in the middle of the earth, the devil becomes the center of the material and sinful world to which all sinfulness is drawn. In opposition to God, who is portrayed by Dante as a love and light, Lucifer is frozen and isolated in the last circle of hell. Almost motionless, more pathetic, foolish, and repulsive than terrifying, the devil represents evil[255] in the sense of lacking substance. In accordance with Platonic/Christian tradition, his gigantic appearance indicates a lack of power, as pure matter was considered the farthest from God and closest to non-being.[4]
The devil is described as a huge fiend, whose buttocks are frozen in ice. He has three faces, chewing on the three traitors Judas, Cassius and Brutus. Lucifer himself is also accused of treason for turning against his Creator. Below each of his faces, Lucifer has a pair of bat-wings, another symbol of darkness.[256]
In John Milton‘s Renaissance epic poem Paradise Lost, Satan is one of the main characters, perhaps an anti-hero.[257] In line with Christian theology, Satan rebelled against God and was subsequently banished from heaven along with his fellow angels. Milton breaks with previous authors who portray Satan as a grotesque figure;[257] instead, he becomes a persuasive and charismatic leader who, even in hell, convinced the other fallen angels to establish their own kingdom. It is unclear whether Satan is a hero turning against an unjust ruler (God) or a fool who leads himself and his followers into damnation in a futile attempt to become equal to God. Milton uses several pagan images to depict the demons, and Satan himself arguably resembles the ancient legendary hero Aeneas.[258] Satan is less the devil as known from Christian theology than a morally ambivalent character with strengths and weaknesses, inspired by the Christian devil.[
Written in late 2001. Updated for 2024 and will be included on my 3rd album ‘Charm’ to be released December 2024.
Here comes another day You do the best you can To keep it moving forward And to lend a helping hand Cause that’s the ticket in. And when the practice game is over Then the real game begins.
He called her Buttercup, She giggled at the name He hugged her one more time And then he turned to board the plane. He disappeared into the sky. And you know what I mean.
With the power of a wave as it crashes on the shore, I feel your pain, cutting me Turning me around.
Inside an empty hole To dark to hold emotion A little girl will live alone and cling to her devotion For the man who went away.
This was a jam put together by the Lone Wulf Project (RIP) – I added bass and tequila and tried to mix it together the best I could. It’s an old Nillsen song you probably remember.
“Coconut” is a novelty song written[3] and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released as the third single from his 1971 album, Nilsson Schmilsson. It was on the U.S. Billboard charts for 14 weeks, reaching #8,[4] and was ranked by Billboard as the #66 song for 1972. It charted in a minor way in the UK, reaching #42.[5] “Coconut” did best in Canada, where it peaked at #5.[6]
Lyrics
The lyrics feature Nilsson singing three characters (a narrator, a woman, and a doctor), each in a different voice.[7] The woman drinks a mixture of lime juice and coconut milk, becomes sick, and calls the doctor. The doctor, annoyed at being woken up, tells her to drink the same thing again and call in the morning.
Music
An arpeggiatedC7 chord accompanies the song throughout.
I wrote some of this when I was but a young 20 year old, banging away on the piano. It laid dormant for years until I heard it on an old cassette a couple of years back. I started work on it, coming up with the acoustic guitar part that added a bunch of finger picking around the basic chords. I released it probably in 2016 time frame. After that, I kind of felt embarrassed a little bit, because I don’t write that kind of lyric very much, and it is the sentiment of a much younger man. I buried it, pulled it down off of Spotify and figured it would just languish on the garbage heap of my personal history.
A few months ago, I thought about it again and figured that I liked the chord structure, so I should probably write a new lyric. I pulled it into Cakewalk Sonar and started reworking some of the tracks. I quite liked a lot of what was going on, and I made it better by redoing a few things.
It got about time to rewrite the lyrics, and by that time I was thinking that I didn’t mind the current version that much and it was pretty cool as it was. So the Hell with it, I am going to release it again, and I am not going to be embarrassed by it, I think it is pretty cool for the genre that it is. And so what, I’m older now. So what! So WHAT!
This is a song I wrote for my next album, Charm. The song is called Dream a Life.
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.[1] Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night,[2] and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, although the dreamer may perceive the dream as being much longer than this.[3]
The content and function of dreams have been topics of scientific, philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history. Dream interpretation, practiced by the Babylonians in the third millennium BCE[4] and even earlier by the ancient Sumerians,[5][6] figures prominently in religious texts in several traditions, and has played a lead role in psychotherapy.[7][8] The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.[9] Most modern dream study focuses on the neurophysiology of dreams and on proposing and testing hypotheses regarding dream function. It is not known where in the brain dreams originate, if there is a single origin for dreams or if multiple regions of the brain are involved, or what the purpose of dreaming is for the body or mind.
The human dream experience and what to make of it has undergone sizable shifts over the course of history.[10][11] Long ago, according to writings from Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, dreams dictated post-dream behaviors to an extent that was sharply reduced in later millennia.[clarification needed] These ancient writings about dreams highlight visitation dreams, where a dream figure, usually a deity or a prominent forebear, commands the dreamer to take specific actions, and which may predict future events.[12][13][14] Framing the dream experience varies across cultures as well as through time.
Dreaming and sleep are intertwined. Dreams occur mainly in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. Because REM sleep is detectable in many species, and because research suggests that all mammals experience REM,[15] linking dreams to REM sleep has led to conjectures that animals dream. However, humans dream during non-REM sleep, also, and not all REM awakenings elicit dream reports.[16] To be studied, a dream must first be reduced to a verbal report, which is an account of the subject’s memory of the dream, not the subject’s dream experience itself. So, dreaming by non-humans is currently unprovable, as is dreaming by human fetuses and pre-verbal infants.[17]
Usha Dreaming Aniruddha (oleographic print) Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)
Preserved writings from early Mediterranean civilizations indicate a relatively abrupt change in subjective dream experience between Bronze Age antiquity and the beginnings of the classical era.[18]
In visitation dreams reported in ancient writings, dreamers were largely passive in their dreams, and visual content served primarily to frame authoritative auditory messaging.[19][10][20]Gudea, the king of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash (reigned c. 2144–2124 BCE), rebuilt the temple of Ningirsu as the result of a dream in which he was told to do so.[6] After antiquity, the passive hearing of visitation dreams largely gave way to visualized narratives in which the dreamer becomes a character who actively participates.
From the 1940s to 1985, Calvin S. Hall collected more than 50,000 dream reports at Western Reserve University. In 1966, Hall and Robert Van de Castle published The Content Analysis of Dreams, in which they outlined a coding system to study 1,000 dream reports from college students.[21] Results indicated that participants from varying parts of the world demonstrated similarity in their dream content. The only residue of antiquity’s authoritative dream figure in the Hall and Van de Castle listing of dream characters is the inclusion of God in the category of prominent persons.[22] Hall’s complete dream reports were made publicly available in the mid-1990s by his protégé William Domhoff. More recent studies of dream reports, while providing more detail, continue to cite the Hall study favorably.[23]
A soldier dreams: the trenches of WWI. Jan Styka (1858–1925).
In the Hall study, the most common emotion experienced in dreams was anxiety. Other emotions included abandonment, anger, fear, joy, and happiness. Negative emotions were much more common than positive ones.[21] The Hall data analysis showed that sexual dreams occur no more than 10% of the time and are more prevalent in young to mid-teens.[21] Another study showed that 8% of both men’s and women’s dreams have sexual content.[24] In some cases, sexual dreams may result in orgasms or nocturnal emissions. These are colloquially known as “wet dreams”.[25]
The visual nature of dreams is generally highly phantasmagoric; that is, different locations and objects continuously blend into each other. The visuals (including locations, people, and objects) are generally reflective of a person’s memories and experiences, but conversation can take on highly exaggerated and bizarre forms. Some dreams may even tell elaborate stories wherein the dreamer enters entirely new, complex worlds and awakes with ideas, thoughts and feelings never experienced prior to the dream.
People who are blind from birth do not have visual dreams. Their dream contents are related to other senses, such as hearing, touch, smell, and taste, whichever are present since birth.[26]
Dream study is popular with scientists exploring the mind–brain problem. Some “propose to reduce aspects of dream phenomenology to neurobiology.”[27] But current science cannot specify dream physiology in detail. Protocols in most nations restrict human brain research to non-invasive procedures. In the United States, invasive brain procedures with a human subject are allowed only when these are deemed necessary in surgical treatment to address medical needs of the same human subject.[28] Non-invasive measures of brain activity like electroencephalogram (EEG) voltage averaging or cerebral blood flow cannot identify small but influential neuronal populations.[29] Also, fMRI signals are too slow to explain how brains compute in real time.[30]
Scientists researching some brain functions can work around current restrictions by examining animal subjects. As stated by the Society for Neuroscience, “Because no adequate alternatives exist, much of this research must [sic] be done on animal subjects.”[31] However, since animal dreaming can be only inferred, not confirmed, animal studies yield no hard facts to illuminate the neurophysiology of dreams. Examining human subjects with brain lesions can provide clues, but the lesion method cannot discriminate between the effects of destruction and disconnection and cannot target specific neuronal groups in heterogeneous regions like the brain stem.[29]
Denied precision tools and obliged to depend on imaging, much dream research has succumbed to the law of the instrument. Studies detect an increase of blood flow in a specific brain region and then credit that region with a role in generating dreams. But pooling study results has led to the newer conclusion that dreaming involves large numbers of regions and pathways, which likely are different for different dream events.[32]
Image creation in the brain involves significant neural activity downstream from eye intake, and it is theorized that “the visual imagery of dreams is produced by activation during sleep of the same structures that generate complex visual imagery in waking perception.”[33]
Dreams present a running narrative rather than exclusively visual imagery. Following their work with split-brain subjects, Gazzaniga and LeDoux postulated, without attempting to specify the neural mechanisms, a “left-brain interpreter” that seeks to create a plausible narrative from whatever electro-chemical signals reach the brain’s left hemisphere. Sleep research has determined that some brain regions fully active during waking are, during REM sleep, activated only in a partial or fragmentary way.[34] Drawing on this knowledge, textbook author James W. Kalat explains, “[A] dream represents the brain’s effort to make sense of sparse and distorted information…. The cortex combines this haphazard input with whatever other activity was already occurring and does its best to synthesize a story that makes sense of the information.”[35] Neuroscientist Indre Viskontas is even more blunt, calling often bizarre dream content “just the result of your interpreter trying to create a story out of random neural signaling.”[36]
For many humans across multiple eras and cultures, dreams are believed to have functioned as revealers of truths sourced during sleep from gods or other external entities.[37] Ancient Egyptians believed that dreams were the best way to receive divine revelation, and thus they would induce (or “incubate”) dreams. They went to sanctuaries and slept on special “dream beds” in hope of receiving advice, comfort, or healing from the gods.[14] From a Darwinian perspective dreams would have to fulfill some kind of biological requirement, provide some benefit for natural selection to take place, or at least have no negative impact on fitness. Robert (1886),[38] a physician from Hamburg, was the first who suggested that dreams are a need and that they have the function to erase (a) sensory impressions that were not fully worked up, and (b) ideas that were not fully developed during the day. In dreams, incomplete material is either removed (suppressed) or deepened and included into memory. Freud, whose dream studies focused on interpreting dreams, not explaining how or why humans dream, disputed Robert’s hypothesis[39] and proposed that dreams preserve sleep by representing as fulfilled those wishes that otherwise would awaken the dreamer.[40] Freud wrote that dreams “serve the purpose of prolonging sleep instead of waking up. Dreams are the GUARDIANS of sleep and not its disturbers.“[41]
Grandmother and Granddaughter Dream (1839 or 1840). Taras Shevchenko
A turning point in theorizing about dream function came in 1953, when Science published the Aserinsky and Kleitman paper[42] establishing REM sleep as a distinct phase of sleep and linking dreams to REM sleep.[43] Until and even after publication of the Solms 2000 paper that certified the separability of REM sleep and dream phenomena,[16] many studies purporting to uncover the function of dreams have in fact been studying not dreams but measurable REM sleep.
Theories of dream function since the identification of REM sleep include:
Hobson’s and McCarley’s 1977 activation-synthesis hypothesis, which proposed “a functional role for dreaming sleep in promoting some aspect of the learning process….”[44] In 2010 a Harvard study was published showing experimental evidence that dreams were correlated with improved learning.[45]
Crick’s and Mitchison’s 1983 “reverse learning” theory, which states that dreams are like the cleaning-up operations of computers when they are offline, removing (suppressing) parasitic nodes and other “junk” from the mind during sleep.[46][47]
Hartmann’s 1995 proposal that dreams serve a “quasi-therapeutic” function, enabling the dreamer to process trauma in a safe place.[48]
Revonsuo’s 2000 threat simulation hypothesis, whose premise is that during much of human evolution, physical and interpersonal threats were serious, giving reproductive advantage to those who survived them. Dreaming aided survival by replicating these threats and providing the dreamer with practice in dealing with them.[49] In 2015, Revonsuo proposed social simulation theory, which describes dreams as a simulation for training social skills and bonds.[50]
Eagleman’s and Vaughn’s 2021 defensive activation theory, which says that, given the brain’s neuroplasticity, dreams evolved as a visual hallucinatory activity during sleep’s extended periods of darkness, busying the occipital lobe and thereby protecting it from possible appropriation by other, non-vision, sense operations.[51]
Erik Hoel proposes, based on artificial neural networks, that dreams prevent overfitting to past experiences; that is, they enable the dreamer to learn from novel situations.[52][53]
Religious and other cultural contexts
Dreams figure prominently in major world religions. The dream experience for early humans, according to one interpretation, gave rise to the notion of a human “soul,”[54] a central element in much religious thought. J. W. Dunne wrote:
But there can be no reasonable doubt that the idea of a soul must have first arisen in the mind of primitive man as a result of observation of his dreams. Ignorant as he was, he could have come to no other conclusion but that, in dreams, he left his sleeping body in one universe and went wandering off into another. It is considered that, but for that savage, the idea of such a thing as a ‘soul’ would never have even occurred to mankind….[55]
Hindu
In the Mandukya Upanishad, part of the Veda scriptures of Indian Hinduism, a dream is one of three states that the soul experiences during its lifetime, the other two states being the waking state and the sleep state.[56] The earliest Upanishads, written before 300 BCE, emphasize two meanings of dreams. The first says that dreams are merely expressions of inner desires. The second is the belief of the soul leaving the body and being guided until awakened.
In Judaism, dreams are considered part of the experience of the world that can be interpreted and from which lessons can be garnered. It is discussed in the Talmud, Tractate Berachot 55–60.
The ancient Hebrews connected their dreams heavily with their religion, though the Hebrews were monotheistic and believed that dreams were the voice of one God alone. Hebrews also differentiated between good dreams (from God) and bad dreams (from evil spirits). The Hebrews, like many other ancient cultures, incubated dreams in order to receive a divine revelation. For example, the Hebrew prophet Samuel would “lie down and sleep in the temple at Shiloh before the Ark and receive the word of the Lord”, and Joseph interpreted a Pharaoh’s dream of seven lean cows swallowing seven fat cows as meaning the subsequent seven years would be bountiful, followed by seven years of famine. Most of the dreams in the Bible are in the Book of Genesis.[57]
Christians mostly shared the beliefs of the Hebrews and thought that dreams were of a supernatural character because the Old Testament includes frequent stories of dreams with divine inspiration. The most famous of these dream stories was Jacob’s dream of a ladder that stretches from Earth to Heaven. Many Christians preach that God can speak to people through their dreams. The famous glossary, the Somniale Danielis, written in the name of Daniel, attempted to teach Christian populations to interpret their dreams.
Iain R. Edgar has researched the role of dreams in Islam.[58] He has argued that dreams play an important role in the history of Islam and the lives of Muslims, since dream interpretation is the only way that Muslims can receive revelations from God since the death of the last prophet, Muhammad.[59] According to Edgar, Islam classifies three types of dreams. Firstly, there is the true dream (al-ru’ya), then the false dream, which may come from the devil (shaytan), and finally, the meaningless everyday dream (hulm). This last dream could be brought forth by the dreamer’s ego or base appetite based on what they experienced in the real world. The true dream is often indicated by Islam’s hadith tradition.[59] In one narration by Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, it is said that the Prophet’s dreams would come true like the ocean’s waves.[59] Just as in its predecessors, the Quran also recounts the story of Joseph and his unique ability to interpret dreams.[59]
In both Christianity and Islam dreams feature in conversion stories.[citation needed] Constantine the Great started his conversion to Christianity because while on campaign he had a dream which prophecised that he would win a battle if he adopted the Chi-Rho as his battle standard.[citation needed]
Buddhist
In Buddhism, ideas about dreams are similar to the classical and folk traditions in South Asia. The same dream is sometimes experienced by multiple people, as in the case of the Buddha-to-be, before he is leaving his home. It is described in the Mahāvastu that several of the Buddha’s relatives had premonitory dreams preceding this. Some dreams are also seen to transcend time: the Buddha-to-be has certain dreams that are the same as those of previous Buddhas, the Lalitavistara states. In Buddhist literature, dreams often function as a “signpost” motif to mark certain stages in the life of the main character.[60]
In Chinese history, people wrote of two vital aspects of the soul of which one is freed from the body during slumber to journey in a dream realm, while the other remained in the body.[61] This belief and dream interpretation had been questioned since early times, such as by the philosopher Wang Chong (27–97 CE).[61]
The Babylonians and Assyrians divided dreams into “good,” which were sent by the gods, and “bad,” sent by demons.[62] A surviving collection of dream omens entitled Iškar Zaqīqu records various dream scenarios as well as prognostications of what will happen to the person who experiences each dream, apparently based on previous cases.[6][63] Some list different possible outcomes, based on occasions in which people experienced similar dreams with different results.[6] The Greeks shared their beliefs with the Egyptians on how to interpret good and bad dreams, and the idea of incubating dreams. Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, also sent warnings and prophecies to those who slept at shrines and temples. The earliest Greek beliefs about dreams were that their gods physically visited the dreamers, where they entered through a keyhole, exiting the same way after the divine message was given.
Antiphon wrote the first known Greek book on dreams in the 5th century BCE. In that century, other cultures influenced Greeks to develop the belief that souls left the sleeping body.[64] The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates (460–375 BCE), thought dreams could analyze illness and predict diseases. For instance, a dream of a dim star high in the night sky indicated problems in the head region, while low in the night sky indicated bowel issues.[65] Greek philosopher Plato (427-347) wrote that people harbor secret, repressed desires, such as incest, murder, adultery, and conquest, which build up during the day and run rampant during the night in dreams.[66] Plato’s student, Aristotle (384–322 BCE), believed dreams were caused by processing incomplete physiological activity during sleep, such as eyes trying to see while the sleeper’s eyelids were closed.[67]Marcus Tullius Cicero, for his part, believed that all dreams are produced by thoughts and conversations a dreamer had during the preceding days.[68] Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis described a lengthy dream vision, which in turn was commented on by Macrobius in his Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis.
Herodotus in his The Histories, writes “The visions that occur to us in dreams are, more often than not, the things we have been concerned about during the day.”[69]
The Dreaming is a common term within the animist creation narrative of indigenous Australians for a personal, or group, creation and for what may be understood as the “timeless time” of formative creation and perpetual creating.[70]
Some Indigenous American tribes and Mexican populations believe that dreams are a way of visiting and having contact with their ancestors.[71] Some Native American tribes have used vision quests as a rite of passage, fasting and praying until an anticipated guiding dream was received, to be shared with the rest of the tribe upon their return.[72][73]
Beginning in the late 19th century, Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, theorized that dreams reflect the dreamer’s unconscious mind and specifically that dream content is shaped by unconscious wish fulfillment. He argued that important unconscious desires often relate to early childhood memories and experiences.[7]Carl Jung and others expanded on Freud’s idea that dream content reflects the dreamer’s unconscious desires.
Dream interpretation can be a result of subjective ideas and experiences. One study found that most people believe that “their dreams reveal meaningful hidden truths”.[74] The researchers surveyed students in the United States, South Korea, and India, and found that 74% of Indians, 65% of South Koreans and 56% of Americans believed their dream content provided them with meaningful insight into their unconscious beliefs and desires. This Freudian view of dreaming was believed significantly more than theories of dreaming that attribute dream content to memory consolidation, problem-solving, or as a byproduct of unrelated brain activity. The same study found that people attribute more importance to dream content than to similar thought content that occurs while they are awake. Americans were more likely to report that they would intentionally miss their flight if they dreamt of their plane crashing than if they thought of their plane crashing the night before flying (while awake), and that they would be as likely to miss their flight if they dreamt of their plane crashing the night before their flight as if there was an actual plane crash on the route they intended to take. Participants in the study were more likely to perceive dreams to be meaningful when the content of dreams was in accordance with their beliefs and desires while awake. They were more likely to view a positive dream about a friend to be meaningful than a positive dream about someone they disliked, for example, and were more likely to view a negative dream about a person they disliked as meaningful than a negative dream about a person they liked.
According to surveys, it is common for people to feel their dreams are predicting subsequent life events.[75] Psychologists have explained these experiences in terms of memory biases, namely a selective memory for accurate predictions and distorted memory so that dreams are retrospectively fitted onto life experiences.[75] The multi-faceted nature of dreams makes it easy to find connections between dream content and real events.[76] The term “veridical dream” has been used to indicate dreams that reveal or contain truths not yet known to the dreamer, whether future events or secrets.[77]
In one experiment, subjects were asked to write down their dreams in a diary. This prevented the selective memory effect, and the dreams no longer seemed accurate about the future.[78] Another experiment gave subjects a fake diary of a student with apparently precognitive dreams. This diary described events from the person’s life, as well as some predictive dreams and some non-predictive dreams. When subjects were asked to recall the dreams they had read, they remembered more of the successful predictions than unsuccessful ones.[79]
Graphic artists, writers and filmmakers all have found dreams to offer a rich vein for creative expression. In the West, artists’ depictions of dreams in Renaissance and Baroque art often were related to Biblical narrative. Especially preferred by visual artists were the Jacob’s Ladder dream in Genesis and St. Joseph’s dreams in the Gospel according to Matthew.
Nicolas Dipre. Le songe de Jacob. c. 1500 Avignon, Petit Palais.
José de Ribera (1591–1652). El sueño de Jacob, from Prado in Google Earth
Raphael. Jacob’s Dream (1518)
Rembrandt. Dream of Joseph (1645)
Anton Raphael Mengs. Traum des Hl. Joseph (1773 or 1774)
Many later graphic artists have depicted dreams, including Japanese woodblock artist Hokusai (1760–1849) and Western European painters Rousseau (1844–1910), Picasso (1881–1973), and Dali (1904–1989).
Modern popular culture often conceives of dreams, as did Freud, as expressions of the dreamer’s deepest fears and desires.[84] In speculative fiction, the line between dreams and reality may be blurred even more in service to the story.[85] Dreams may be psychically invaded or manipulated (Dreamscape, 1984; the Nightmare on Elm Street films, 1984–2010; Inception, 2010) or even come literally true (as in The Lathe of Heaven, 1971).[84]
Lucid dreaming is the conscious perception of one’s state while dreaming. In this state the dreamer may often have some degree of control over their own actions within the dream or even the characters and the environment of the dream. Dream control has been reported to improve with practiced deliberate lucid dreaming, but the ability to control aspects of the dream is not necessary for a dream to qualify as “lucid”—a lucid dream is any dream during which the dreamer knows they are dreaming.[86] The occurrence of lucid dreaming has been scientifically verified.[87]
“Oneironaut” is a term sometimes used for those who lucidly dream.
In 1975, psychologist Keith Hearne successfully recorded a communication from a dreamer experiencing a lucid dream. On April 12, 1975, after agreeing to move his eyes left and right upon becoming lucid, the subject and Hearne’s co-author on the resulting article, Alan Worsley, successfully carried out this task.[88] Years later, psychophysiologist Stephen LaBerge conducted similar work including:
Using eye signals to map the subjective sense of time in dreams.
Comparing the electrical activity of the brain while singing awake and while dreaming.
Studies comparing in-dream sex, arousal, and orgasm.[89]
Communication between two dreamers has also been documented. The processes involved included EEG monitoring, ocular signaling, incorporation of reality in the form of red light stimuli and a coordinating website. The website tracked when both dreamers were dreaming and sent the stimulus to one of the dreamers where it was incorporated into the dream. This dreamer, upon becoming lucid, signaled with eye movements; this was detected by the website whereupon the stimulus was sent to the second dreamer, invoking incorporation into that dreamer’s dream.[90]
The recollection of dreams is extremely unreliable, though it is a skill that can be trained. Dreams can usually be recalled if a person is awakened while dreaming.[91] Women tend to have more frequent dream recall than men.[91] Dreams that are difficult to recall may be characterized by relatively little affect, and factors such as salience, arousal, and interference play a role in dream recall. Often, a dream may be recalled upon viewing or hearing a random trigger or stimulus. The salience hypothesis proposes that dream content that is salient, that is, novel, intense, or unusual, is more easily remembered. There is considerable evidence that vivid, intense, or unusual dream content is more frequently recalled.[92] A dream journal can be used to assist dream recall, for personal interest or psychotherapy purposes.
Adults report remembering around two dreams per week, on average.[93][94] Unless a dream is particularly vivid and if one wakes during or immediately after it, the content of the dream is typically not remembered.[95]
In line with the salience hypothesis, there is considerable evidence that people who have more vivid, intense or unusual dreams show better recall. There is evidence that continuity of consciousness is related to recall. Specifically, people who have vivid and unusual experiences during the day tend to have more memorable dream content and hence better dream recall. People who score high on measures of personality traits associated with creativity, imagination, and fantasy, such as openness to experience, daydreaming, fantasy proneness, absorption, and hypnotic susceptibility, tend to show more frequent dream recall.[92] There is also evidence for continuity between the bizarre aspects of dreaming and waking experience. That is, people who report more bizarre experiences during the day, such as people high in schizotypy (psychosis proneness), have more frequent dream recall and also report more frequent nightmares.[92]
Dream-recording machine
Recording or reconstructing dreams may one day assist with dream recall.[96][97] Using the permitted non-invasive technologies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electromyography (EMG), researchers have been able to identify basic dream imagery,[98]dream speech activity[99] and dream motor behavior (such as walking and hand movements).[100][101]
Some philosophers have proposed that what we think of as the “real world” could be or is an illusion (an idea known as the skeptical hypothesis about ontology). The first recorded mention of the idea was in the 4th century BCE by Zhuangzi, and in Eastern philosophy, the problem has been named the “Zhuangzi Paradox.”
He who dreams of drinking wine may weep when morning comes; he who dreams of weeping may in the morning go off to hunt. While he is dreaming he does not know it is a dream, and in his dream he may even try to interpret a dream. Only after he wakes does he know it was a dream. And someday there will be a great awakening when we know that this is all a great dream. Yet the stupid believe they are awake, busily and brightly assuming they understand things, calling this man ruler, that one herdsman—how dense! Confucius and you are both dreaming! And when I say you are dreaming, I am dreaming, too. Words like these will be labeled the Supreme Swindle. Yet, after ten thousand generations, a great sage may appear who will know their meaning, and it will still be as though he appeared with astonishing speed.[102]
The idea also is discussed in Hindu and Buddhist writings.[103] It was formally introduced to Western philosophy by Descartes in the 17th century in his Meditations on First Philosophy.
Absent-minded transgression
Dreams of absent-minded transgression (DAMT) are dreams wherein the dreamer absent-mindedly performs an action that he or she has been trying to stop (one classic example is of a quitting smoker having dreams of lighting a cigarette). Subjects who have had DAMT have reported waking with intense feelings of guilt. One study found a positive association between having these dreams and successfully stopping the behavior.[104]
Non-REM dreams
Hypnogogic and hypnopompic dreams, dreamlike states shortly after falling asleep and shortly before awakening, and dreams during stage 2 of NREM-sleep, also occur, but are shorter than REM-dreams.[105][106]
A daydream is a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake.[107] There are many different types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition amongst psychologists.[107] The general public also uses the term for a broad variety of experiences. Research by Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett has found that people who experience vivid dreamlike mental images reserve the word for these, whereas many other people refer to milder imagery, realistic future planning, review of memories or just “spacing out”—i.e. one’s mind going relatively blank—when they talk about “daydreaming”.[108][109]
While daydreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, it is now commonly acknowledged that daydreaming can be constructive in some contexts.[110] There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers, developing new ideas through daydreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians and physicists have developed new ideas by daydreaming about their subject areas.
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are perceptions in a conscious and awake state, in the absence of external stimuli, and have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space. The latter definition distinguishes hallucinations from the related phenomena of dreaming, which does not involve wakefulness.
Woman having a nightmare. Jean-Pierre Simon (1764–1810 or 1813).
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror. Sufferers usually awaken in a state of distress and may be unable to return to sleep for a prolonged period of time.[111]
A night terror, also known as a sleep terror or pavor nocturnus, is a parasomniadisorder that predominantly affects children, causing feelings of terror or dread. Night terrors should not be confused with nightmares, which are bad dreams that cause the feeling of horror or fear.[112]
One theory of déjà vu attributes the feeling of having previously seen or experienced something to having dreamed about a similar situation or place, and forgetting about it until one seems to be mysteriously reminded of the situation or the place while awake.[113]
Written, performed and produced by Steve Keith at Baselines Designs Studio.
The whole world was painted black and white. Then a spark was struck, a brand new satellite. The sixties roared in with a Paisley tie. A sleek shining eye opened up the sky.
Elvis sings a million miles away Electrons paint a cultural display Across the oceans come signals uniting, dividing Over the years it will continue providing
Milhous wipes his brow, J F K speaks For the world Nickie bangs his shoe. Jackie smiles, not impressed
Our footsteps were etched for eternity A new world will build a fraternity
We’ve thrived on those signals of dreams We’ve strived to make sense of those beams Derangement could always ignite Our motives must always burn bright
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the first television pictures, telephone calls, and telegraph images, and provided the first live transatlantic television feed. Telstar 2 was launched May 7, 1963. Telstar 1 and 2—though no longer functional—still orbit the Earth.[1]
Six ground stations were built to communicate with Telstar, one each in the US, France, the UK, Canada, West Germany and Italy. The American ground station—built by Bell Labs—was Andover Earth Station, in Andover, Maine. The main British ground station was at Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall. The BBC, as international coordinator, used this location. The standards 525/405 conversion equipment (filling a large room) was researched and developed by the BBC and located in the BBC Television Centre, London. The French ground station was at Pleumeur-Bodou[a]. The Canadian ground station was at Charleston, Nova Scotia. The German ground station was at Raisting in Bavaria. The Italian ground station (Fucino Space Centre) was at Fucino, near Avezzano, in Abruzzo.
The satellite was built by a team at Bell Telephone Laboratories that included John Robinson Pierce, who created the project;[4]Rudy Kompfner, who invented the traveling-wave tube transponder that the satellite used;[4][5] and James M. Early, who designed its transistors and solar panels.[6] The satellite is roughly spherical, measures 34.5 inches (880 mm) in length, and weighs about 170 lb (77 kg). Its dimensions were limited by what would fit on one of NASA’s Delta rockets. Telstar was spin-stabilized, and its outer surface was covered with solar cells capable of generating 14 watts of electrical power.
The original Telstar had a single innovative transponder that could relay data, a single television channel, or multiplexed telephone circuits. Since the spacecraft spun, it required an array of antennas around its “equator” for uninterrupted microwave communication with Earth. An omnidirectional array of small cavity antenna elements around the satellite’s “equator” received 6 GHz microwave signals to relay back to ground stations. The transponder converted the frequency to 4 GHz, amplified the signals in a traveling-wave tube, and retransmitted them omnidirectionally via the adjacent array of larger box-shaped cavities. The prominent helical antenna received telecommands from a ground station.
Launched by NASA aboard a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral on July 10, 1962, Telstar 1 was the first privately sponsored space launch. A medium-altitude satellite, Telstar was placed into an ellipticalorbit completed once every 2 hours and 37 minutes, inclined at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the equator, with perigee about 952 km (592 mi) from Earth and apogee about 5,933 km (3,687 mi) from Earth[7]: 3-5 This is in contrast to the 1965 Early BirdIntelsat and subsequent satellites that travel in circular geostationary orbits.[7]: 3-5
Due to its non-geosynchronous orbit, similar to a Molniya orbit, availability of Telstar 1 for transatlantic signals was limited to the 30 minutes in each 2.5-hour orbit when the satellite passed over the Atlantic Ocean. Ground antennas had to track the satellite with a pointing error of less than 0.06 degrees as it moved across the sky at up to 1.5 degrees per second.[citation needed]
Since the transmitters and receivers on Telstar were not powerful, ground antennas had to be 90 ft (27 m) tall. Bell Laboratory engineers designed a large horizontal conical horn antenna with a parabolic reflector at its mouth that re-directed the beam. This particular design had very low sidelobes, and thus made very low receiving system noise temperatures possible. The aperture of the antennas was 3,600 sq ft (330 m2). The antennas were 177 ft (54 m) long and weighed 380 short tons (340,000 kg). Morimi Iwama and Jan Norton of Bell Laboratories were in charge of designing and building the electrical portions of the azimuth-elevation system that steered the antennas. The antennas were housed in radomes the size of a 14-story office building. Two of these antennas were used, one in Andover, Maine, and the other in France at Pleumeur-Bodou. The GPO antenna at Goonhilly Downs in Great Britain was a conventional 26-meter-diameter paraboloid.
In service
Telstar 1 relayed its first, and non-public, television pictures—a flag outside Andover Earth Station—to Pleumeur-Bodou on July 11, 1962.[8] Almost two weeks later, on July 23, at 3:00 p.m. EDT, it relayed the first publicly available live transatlantic television signal.[9] The broadcast was shown in Europe by Eurovision and in North America by NBC, CBS, ABC, and the CBC.[9] The first public broadcast featured CBS’s Walter Cronkite and NBC’s Chet Huntley in New York, and the BBC’s Richard Dimbleby in Brussels.[9] The first pictures were the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.[9] The first broadcast was to have included remarks by President John F. Kennedy, but the signal was acquired before the president was ready, so engineers filled the lead-in time with a short segment of a televised game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.[9][10][11] The Phillies’ second baseman Tony Taylor was seen hitting a ball pitched by the Cubs’ Cal Koonce to deep right field, caught by fielder George Altman for the out. From there, the video switched first to Washington, DC; then to Cape Canaveral, Florida; to the Seattle World’s Fair; then to Quebec and finally to Stratford, Ontario.[9] The Washington segment included remarks by President Kennedy,[10] talking about the price of the American dollar, which was causing concern in Europe. When Kennedy denied that the United States would devalue the dollar it immediately strengthened on world markets; Cronkite later said that “we all glimpsed something of the true power of the instrument we had wrought.”[9][12]
That evening, Telstar 1 also relayed the first satellite telephone call, between U.S. vice-president Lyndon Johnson and the chairman of AT&T, Frederick Kappel. It successfully transmitted faxes, data, and both live and taped television, including the first live transmission of television across an ocean from Andover, Maine, US, to Goonhilly Downs, England, and Pleumeur-Bodou, France.[13][clarification needed] (An experimental passive satellite, Echo 1, had been used to reflect and redirect communications signals two years earlier, in 1960.) In August 1962, Telstar 1 became the first satellite used to synchronize time between two continents, bringing the United Kingdom and the United States to within 1 microsecond of each other (previous efforts were accurate to only 2,000 microseconds).[14]
The Telstar 1 satellite also relayed computer data between two IBM 1401 computers. The test, performed on October 25, 1962, sent a message from a transmitting computer in Endicott, New York, to the earth station in Andover, Maine. The message was relayed to the earth station in France, where it was decoded by a second IBM 1401 in La Gaude, France.[15]
Telstar 1, which had ushered in a new age of the commercial use of technology, became a victim of the military technology of the Cold War era. The day before Telstar 1 launched, a U.S. high-altitude nuclear bomb (called Starfish Prime) had energized the Earth’s Van Allen Belt where Telstar 1 went into orbit. This vast increase in a radiation belt, combined with subsequent high-altitude blasts, including a Soviet test in October, overwhelmed Telstar’s fragile transistors.[16][17][18] It went out of service in November 1962, after handling over 400 telephone, telegraph, facsimile, and television transmissions.[10] It was restarted by a workaround in early January 1963.[19] The additional radiation associated with its return to full sunlight[clarification needed] once again caused a transistor failure, this time irreparably, and Telstar 1 went back out of service on February 21, 1963.
Telstar was considered a technical success. According to a US. Information Agency (USIA) poll, Telstar was better known in Great Britain than Sputnik had been in 1957.[20]
Newer Telstars
Subsequent Telstar satellites were advanced commercial geosynchronous spacecraft that share only their name with Telstar 1 and 2.
The second wave of Telstar satellites launched with Telstar 301 in 1983, followed by Telstar 302 in 1984 (which was renamed Telstar 3C after it was carried into space by Shuttle mission STS-41-D),[21] and by Telstar 303 in 1985.
The next wave, starting with Telstar 401, came in 1993; which was lost in 1997 due to a magnetic storm, and then Telstar 402 was destroyed shortly after launch in 1994.[22] It was replaced in 1995 by Telstar 402R, eventually renamed Telstar 4.
Telstar 10 was launched in China in 1997 by APT Satellite Company, Ltd.
In 2003, Telstars 4–8 and 13—Loral Skynet‘s North American fleet—were sold to Intelsat. Telstar 4 suffered complete failure prior to the handover. The others were renamed the Intelsat Americas 5, 6, etc. At the time of the sale, Telstar 8 was still under construction by Space Systems/Loral, and it was finally launched on June 23, 2005, by Sea Launch.
Telstar 18 was launched in June 2004 by sea launch. The upper stage of the rocket underperformed, but the satellite used its significant stationkeeping fuel margin to achieve its operational geostationary orbit. It has enough on-board fuel remaining to allow it to exceed its specified 13-year design life.
Originally intended as a political rant, I thought better and decided to redefine for the rest of the animal kingdom. Included below are both the audio by itself and the video that better defines the topic. Audio written, recorded and produced by Steve Keith at Baselines Designs Studio in Boston.
Several new parts have been added to the vocals and an update mix/master was completed.
If I try, I can get my ass in gear and make a list Of all of the things that I should never have done in my life. Hindsight is a bitch when she pulls the bait and switch. It leaves you in a coma on the floor.
I’ve got to get back in the game I’m hoping that luck fine tunes her aim But I know, yes I know I’ve got those fall apart blues I’ve got those filthy blues again
She never asks me where I’ve been all night.
My Guitar, she never asks me where I’ve been all night Whenever I slide my hand around her neck she always complies Major chords are fine when the game is on the line A minor 7th doesn’t blow her mind
I’ve got to get back in the game I’m hoping that luck fine tunes her aim But I know, yes I know I’ve got those fall apart blues I’ve got those filthy blues again
When I die, there’ll be broken hearted girls who start to cry There are those who will close their eyes and heave a sigh of relief. Karma is a witch and they’ll throw me in a ditch. They’ll say some words and then it’s time to eat.
I’ve … got to get back in the game I’m hoping that luck fine tunes her aim But I know, yes I know I’ve got those fall apart blues. I’ve got those filthy blues again.
Here’s a new mix/master with several updates. I removed one section that seemed superfluous. This song tries to put into words the feelings that we feel when a loved one leaves us.
If there are words You’ve never said before Tell them to me, And I’ll tell you. Precious time is running out As I’m watching. While I’m Watching. Before you go.
It’s been a while since we Held each other’s hand. I’ll hold it now, As your eyes are asking why … Why this has to end. It breaks my heart.
There’s a doctor in the house Who wears compassion on his sleeve Telling everyone God is make believe And ever silence takes my breath Till the breathing starts again. When you open up your eyes Do you recognize my face?
Seconds ticking slowly In the dark of night. Flowers scent the air, A reminder Of this world’s friends. Tethers almost broken, Pretty soon you’ll go.
If there are words You’ve never said before Tell them to me, And I’ll tell you. Precious time is running out As I’m watching. While I’m Watching. Before you go.
Newly updated for 2024, this is a song about a sick and twisted TV series from 2006. I found it in 2010 and became thoroughly addicted, binge watching until I fell off the couch.
If you would prefer just to listen to the audio, here it is:
But if you want the video, here it is:
Waking up this morning And I’m lacing up my shoes Gonna take the boat on A midnight cruise
Gotta get supplies set it up like I should Got a feeling Angel There’s gonna be blood
Rita’s got the baby and She’s packing up the kids Gonna take a breather Down in South Madrid
Dad is riding shotgun and going thru the code Me, I’ve got my needle And my eyes are on the road.
Rudy’s got a problem He’d been taking folks apart Now he’s got my sister And he’s going to break her heart
He’s been incognito He’s been doing it so well But now he’s on my table and I’m sending him to Hell.
Dexter is an American crimedrama television series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013.[1] Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system due to corruption or legal technicalities. The show’s first season was derived from the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004), the first in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay. It was adapted for television by James Manos Jr., who wrote the first episode.[2] Subsequent seasons evolved independently of Lindsay’s works while using many of the same characters and concepts.
The series enjoyed mostly positive reviews throughout its run. The first four seasons were widely praised, but reception dropped considerably as the series progressed. The show has received myriad awards, including two Golden Globes won by Hall and John Lithgow for their roles as Dexter Morgan and Arthur Mitchell, respectively. Season four aired its season finale on December 13, 2009, to a record-breaking audience of 2.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched original series episode ever on Showtime at that time.[3][4]
In April 2013, Showtime announced that season eight would be the final season of Dexter.[5] The season eight premiere was the most watched Dexter episode, with more than 3 million viewers total.[6] The original broadcast of the series finale on September 22, 2013, drew 2.8 million viewers, the largest audience in Showtime’s history.[7]
In October 2020, it was announced that Dexter would return with a ten-episode limited series titled Dexter: New Blood, with Hall reprising the title role and Clyde Phillips as showrunner, a position he occupied during the original series’ first four seasons. The first season premiered on November 7, 2021, and concluded on January 9, 2022. A continuation of New Blood is in development.[8][9][10] In January 2023, a prequel series titled Dexter: Original Sin, was announced as being in development, with Clyde Phillips once again returning as showrunner. This series will follow a younger Dexter as he begins his career with the Miami Metro police department.[11][12][13]
Orphaned at age three, when he witnessed his mother’s brutal murder with a chainsaw, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by Miami police officer Harry Morgan (James Remar). Recognizing the boy’s trauma and the subsequent development of his sociopathic tendencies, Harry trained Dexter to channel his gruesome bloodlust into vigilantism, killing only heinous criminals who slip through the criminal justice system. To cover his prolific trail of homicides, Dexter gains employment as a forensic analyst, specializing in blood spatter pattern analysis, with the Miami Metro Police Department. Dexter is extremely cautious and circumspect; he wears gloves and uses plastic-wrapped “kill rooms”, carves up the corpses, and disposes of them in the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf Stream to reduce his chances of detection. Dexter juggles his two personas, recognizing each as a distinct part of himself that must cohesively work as one. He depends on their interaction, as a means of survival and normality. Although his homicidal tendencies are deeply unyielding, as he originally claims (via narration), throughout the series he strives to feel (and in some cases does feel) normal emotions and maintains his appearance as a socially responsible human being.
Besides Hall playing the title character, the show’s supporting cast includes Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter’s adoptive sister and co-worker (and later boss) Debra, and James Remar as Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry Morgan. Dexter’s co-workers include Lauren Vélez as Lieutenant (later Captain) María LaGuerta, Dexter and Debra’s supervisor, David Zayas as Detective Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Angel Batista, and C. S. Lee as lab tech Vince Masuka (promoted to title credits in season two).
Erik King portrayed the troubled Sgt James Doakes for the first two seasons of the show. Desmond Harrington joined the cast in season three as Joey Quinn; his name was promoted to the title credits as of season four. Geoff Pierson plays Captain Tom Matthews of Miami Metro Homicide. Julie Benz starred as Dexter’s girlfriend, then wife, Rita in seasons one to four, with a guest appearance in season five. Rita’s children, Astor and Cody, are played by Christina Robinson and Preston Bailey (who replaced Daniel Goldman after the first season). Dexter’s infant son Harrison is played by twins, Evan and Luke Kruntchev, through season seven; in season eight, Harrison was played by Jadon Wells. Aimee Garcia plays Batista’s younger sister, Jamie.[14]
Notable appearances in season one are Christian Camargo as Rudy and Mark Pellegrino as Rita’s abusive ex-husband Paul. Jaime Murray portrayed Lila Tournay in season two, a physically attractive but unhinged British artist who becomes obsessed with Dexter. Keith Carradine, as Special FBI Agent Frank Lundy, and Jimmy Smits, as ADA Miguel Prado, each appeared in season-long character arcs in seasons two and three, respectively. David Ramsey, who plays confidential informant Anton Briggs in season three, returned in season four, becoming romantically involved with Debra Morgan. John Lithgow joined the cast in season four as the “Trinity Killer“. Carradine returned in season four, reprising his role as newly retired FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, who was hunting the Trinity Killer. Courtney Ford was featured in season four as an ambitious reporter who mixes business with pleasure, getting romantically involved with Quinn while simultaneously fishing for sources and stories. Julia Stiles joined the cast in season five as Lumen Pierce, a woman who gets involved in a complex relationship with Dexter after the tragedy that culminated the previous season. Season five also had Jonny Lee Miller cast as the motivational speaker Jordan Chase, Peter Weller cast as Stan Liddy, a corrupt narcotics cop, and Maria Doyle Kennedy cast as Sonya, Harrison’s nanny. In season six, Mos Def was cast as Brother Sam, a convicted murderer turned born-again Christian, and Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks guest-starred as Professor James Gellar and Travis Marshall, members of a murderous apocalyptic cult. Seasons seven and eight featured multiple guest stars, including Ray Stevenson as Ukrainian mob boss Isaak Sirko, a man with a personal vendetta against Dexter; Yvonne Strahovski as Hannah McKay, the former accomplice of a spree killer; Jason Gedrick as strip club owner George Novikov, also part of the mob; and Charlotte Rampling as Dr. Evelyn Vogel, a neuropsychiatrist who takes an interest in Dexter; Ronny Cox as the Tooth Fairy killer; Sean Patrick Flanery as Jacob Elway, a private investigator who Debra works for.
Margo Martindale had a recurring role as Camilla Figg, a records office worker who was close friends with Dexter’s adoptive parents. JoBeth Williams portrayed Rita’s suspicious mother, Gail Brandon, in four episodes of season two. Anne Ramsay portrayed defense attorney Ellen Wolf, Miguel’s nemesis. Valerie Cruz played a recurring role as Miguel’s wife, Sylvia. In season six, Billy Brown was cast as transferred-in Detective Mike Anderson to replace Debra after her promotion to lieutenant. Josh Cooke played Louis Greene, a lab tech and Masuka’s intern, in seasons six and seven, and Darri Ingolfsson played Oliver Saxon in season eight.
Crew
The main creative forces behind the series were executive producers Daniel Cerone, Clyde Phillips, and Melissa Rosenberg. Cerone left the show after its second season. Executive producer and showrunner Phillips departed the series, after a record-setting season-four finale, to spend more time with his family; 24 co-executive producer Chip Johannessen took over Phillips’ post.[15] Head writer Melissa Rosenberg left after season four, as well.
After the conclusion of season five, Chip Johannessen was revealed to be leaving the show after a single run,[16] and Scott Buck would take over as showrunner from season six onward.
In preparation for the United Kingdom launch of the series, Fox UK experimented with an SMS-based viral marketing campaign. Mobile phone owners received the following unsolicited SMS messages addressed to them by name with no identifying information other than being from “Dexter”: “Hello (name). I’m heading to the UK sooner than you might think. Dexter.” The SMS message was followed by an email directing the user to an online video “news report” about a recent spree of killings. Using on-the-fly video manipulation, the user’s name and a personalized message were worked into the report—the former written in blood on a wall near the crime scene, the latter added to a note in an evidence bag carried past the camera. While the marketing campaign succeeded in raising the profile of the show, it proved unpopular with many mobile owners, who saw this as spam advertising aimed at mobile phones. In response to complaints about the SMS element of the campaign, Fox issued the following statement:
The text message you received was part of an internet viral campaign for our newest show Dexter. However, it was not us who sent you the text, but one of your friends. We do not have a database of viewer phone numbers. The text message went along with a piece on the net that you can then send on to other people you know. If you go to [the website] you will see the page that one of your friends has filled in to send you that message. Therefore I suggest you have a word with anyone who knows your mobile number and see who sent you this message. For the record, we did not make a record of any phone numbers used in this campaign.[19]
Reception
Critical reception
Although reception to individual seasons has varied, the overall response to Dexter has been positive. The first, second, fourth, and seventh seasons received critical acclaim, the third and fifth seasons received generally positive reviews, while the sixth and eighth seasons received mixed to negative reviews. While remarking on some of the show’s more formulaic elements (quirky detective, hero with dense workmates, convenient plot contrivances), Tad Friend of The New Yorker magazine remarked that when Dexter is struggling to connect with Rita or soliciting advice from his victims, “the show finds its voice.”[20]
The review aggregator website Metacritic calculated a score of 77 from a possible 100 for season one, based on 27 reviews, making it the third-best reviewed show of the 2006 fall season. This score includes four 100 percent scores (from the New York Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and People Weekly magazine).[21] Brian Lowry, who had written one of the three poor reviews Metacritic tallied for the show,[22] recanted his negative review in a year-end column for the trade magazine Variety, after watching the full season.[23] On Metacritic, season two has a score of 85 with all eleven reviews positive;[24] season three scored 78 with 13 reviews;[25] season four scored 77 with 14 reviews;[26] season five scored 76 with eleven reviews;[27] season six scored 62 with 10 reviews;[28] season seven scored 81 with seven reviews;[29] and season eight scored 71 with ten reviews.[30]
On Rotten Tomatoes, season one has an 81 percent approval rating with a score of 8.18 out of 10, and the consensus: “Its dark but novel premise may be too grotesque for some, but Dexter is a compelling, elegantly crafted horror-drama.”;[31] season two has a 96 percent approval rating with a score of 7.6 out of 10 and the consensus: “The Bay Harbor Butcher secures his nefarious spot among the great television anti-heroes in a taut second season that is both painfully suspenseful and darkly hilarious”;[32] season three has a 71 percent approval rating with a score of 8.3 out of 10 and the consensus: “America’s most amiable serial killer has lost some of his dramatic edge, but this third outing continues Dexter‘s streak of delivering deliriously twisted entertainment”;[33] season four has an 88 percent approval rating with a score of 8.4 out of 10 and the consensus: “The inherent comedy of Miami’s favorite psychopath contending with domestic bliss and the unspeakable horror of John Lithgow’s Trinity killer coalesce into one of Dexter‘s most sensational seasons”;[34] season five has an 88 percent approval rating with a score of 7.5 out of 10 and the consensus: “Michael C. Hall’s remarkable performance invites viewers into Dexter’s heart of darkness in a sorrowful fifth season that explores whether a hollow man can become a real boy”;[35] season six has a 38 percent approval rating with a score of 6.1 out of 10 and the consensus: “Heavy-handed symbolism, an unimpressive villain, and a redundant arc for America’s favorite serial killer all conspire to make Dexter‘s sixth season its worst yet”;[36] season seven has an 82 percent approval rating with a score of 7.6 out of 10 and the consensus: “Season seven represents a return to form for Dexter, characterized by a riveting storyline and a willingness to take some risks”;[37] and season eight has a 35 percent approval rating, a score of 5.4 out of 10, and the final consensus: “The darkly dreaming Dexter lays to rest once and for all in a bitterly disappointing final season that is so hesitant to punish its anti-hero for his misdeeds, it opts to punish its audience instead.”[38]
Popular reception
The season-three finale, on December 14, 2008, was watched by 1.51 million viewers, giving Showtime its highest ratings for any of its original series since 2004,[39] when Nielsen started including original shows on premium channels in its ratings.[40] The season-four finale aired on December 13, 2009, and was watched by 2.6 million viewers. It broke records for all of Showtime’s original series and was their highest-rated telecast in over a decade.[41] The season-five finale was watched by a slightly smaller number of people—2.5 million. The show was declared the ninth-highest rated show for the first ten years of IMDb.com Pro (2002–2012).[42] The seventh season as a whole was the highest rated season of Dexter, watched by 6.1 million total weekly viewers across all platforms.[43]
On December 14, 2006, Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe Award at the 64th Golden Globe Awards. In 2008, the show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for its second season (Showtime’s first-ever drama to be nominated for the award), and its star for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It won neither, losing to Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston.[45] In 2010, Hall and Lithgow, in their respective categories, each won a Golden Globe for their performances in season four.
In December 2007, when CBS publicly announced that it was considering Dexter for broadcast reruns in the wake of the shortage of original programming ensuing from the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, the Parents Television Council (“PTC”) protested the decision.[46][47] When the network began posting promotional videos of the rebroadcast on YouTube on January 29, 2008, PTC president Timothy F. Winter, in a formal press release, again called for CBS not to air the show on broadcast television, saying that it “should remain on a premium subscription cable network” because “the series compels viewers to empathize with a serial killer, to root for him to prevail, to hope he doesn’t get discovered”.[48] Winter called on the public to demand that local affiliates pre-empt Dexter and warned advertisers that the PTC would take action against any affiliates that sponsored the show.[49]
Following Winter’s press release, CBS added parental advisory notices to its broadcast promotions and ultimately rated DexterTV-14 for broadcast.[50] On February 17, 2008, the show premiered edited primarily for “language” and scenes containing sex or the dismemberment of live victims.[51] The PTC later objected to CBS’ broadcasting of the final two episodes of season one in a two-hour block, and to the episodes’ starting times, which were as early as 8 pm in some time zones.[52]
Association with real crimes
Several comparisons and connections between the TV show and its protagonist have been drawn during criminal prosecutions. In 2009, 17-year-old Andrew Conley said the show inspired him to strangle his ten-year-old brother.[53] In an affidavit filed in Ohio County court, in Indiana, police said Conley confessed that he “watches a show called Dexter on Showtime, about a serial killer, and he stated, ‘I feel just like him.'”[54]
In Spain, on July 25, 2009, a man and his girlfriend killed his brother and pregnant partner. The man owned the complete Dexter series DVD collection and the methods used to avoid leaving blood traces were inspired by the show.[55]
On November 4, 2010, in Sweden, a 21-year-old woman known as Dexter-mördaren (“The Dexter killer”) or Dexter-kvinnan (“The Dexter woman”) killed her 49-year-old father by stabbing him in the heart.[56] During questioning, the woman compared herself to Dexter Morgan, and a picture of the character would appear on her phone when her father called her. In July 2011, she was sentenced to seven years in prison.[57]
In Norway, Shamrez Khan hired Håvard Nyfløt to kill Faiza Ashraf. Nyfløt claimed that Dexter inspired him, and he wanted to kill Khan in front of Faiza, similar to the television series, to “stop evil”.[58]
Association was established between Mark Twitchell, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, during his first-degree murder trial, and the character of Dexter Morgan. After weeks of testimony and gruesome evidence presented in court, Twitchell was found guilty of the planned and deliberate murder of 38-year-old Johnny Altinger on April 12, 2011.[59]
British teenager Steven Miles, 17, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on October 2, 2014, for stabbing and dismembering his girlfriend Elizabeth Rose Thomas, 17, in Oxted, Surrey. Police discovered Thomas’ body on January 24, 2014, and determined the cause of death to be a stab wound to the back. Miles was arrested on suspicion of murder. Miles pled guilty to the crime on September 9. According to Surrey Police, Miles had dismembered Thomas’ body following her death, wrapping up limbs in plastic wrap, and had attempted to clean up the crime scene before he was found by a family member. Miles had been reported to be obsessed with the television series Dexter. Miles reportedly had an alter ego named Ed, whom Miles claims made him carry out the murder.[60][61][62]
On January 11, 2022, in New Orleans, Louisiana, 34-year-old Benjamin Beale was arrested after police discovered a decapitated body inside a freezer in a painted bus.[63] The body was confirmed, over a week later, to be that of Julia Dardar, a missing mother of two children.[64] They even discovered a grim Dexter profile painting with guns and knives, as this murder was inspired by the “Ice Truck Killer” from the show’s first season.[65]
On May 18, 2022, in Delhi, India, 28-year-old Aaftab Ameen Poonawala strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar after a heated argument, killing her. He chopped her body into 35 pieces and stored it in a large refrigerator, disposing of the pieces in a nearby forest over the next 18 days. The murder was inspired by the show.[66]
Theme song and series music
The opening title theme for Dexter was written by Rolfe Kent and scored by American composer Daniel Licht. The series music for each episode was overseen by Gary Calamar of Go Music and coordinated by Alyson Vidoli.
“Dexter Main Title” (Rolfe Kent) – 1:40
“Tonight’s the Night” (Michael C. Hall, Daniel Licht) – 1:07
“Conoci La Paz” (Beny Moré) – 3:03
“Uruapan Breaks” (Kinky) – 2:21
“Flores Para Ti” (Raw Artistic Soul featuring Rafael Cortez) – 5:16
“Blood” (Michael C. Hall, Daniel Licht) – 0:59
“Con Mi Guaguanco” (Ray Armando) – 7:12
“Perfidia” (Mambo All-Stars) – 2:37
“Sometimes I Wonder” (Michael C. Hall, Daniel Licht) – 0:29
Dexter: Early Cuts is an animated web series that premiered on October 25, 2009.[68] Hall reprises his role as the voice of Dexter.[69]
KTV Media International Bullseye Art produced and animated the webisodes, working closely with Showtime for sound editing, Interspectacular for direction, and illustrators Kyle Baker, Ty Templeton, Andrés Vera Martínez, and Devin Lawson for creating distinctive illustrations. The webisodes are animated in 2.5D style, where flat two-dimensional illustrations are brought to life in three-dimensional space. The first season was created and written by Dexter producer/writer Lauren Gussis. She was nominated for a Webby for her writing in the first season.
The first web series precedes the narrative of the show and revolves around Dexter hunting down the three victims that he mentions in the sixth episode of season one, “Return to Sender“. Each victim’s story is split into four two-minute chapters.
A second season of the web series titled Dexter: Early Cuts: Dark Echo, one story in six chapters, premiered on October 25, 2010. It was written by Tim Schlattmann and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack. The story begins immediately following Dexter’s adoptive father Harry’s death.[70][71]
Season 3 centers around Dexter’s first encounter with a pair of killers. Each story is told in several two to three-minute chapters.
Album soundtrack
In August 2007, the album soundtrack entitled Dexter: Music from the Showtime Original Series was released featuring music from the television series. The album was produced by Showtime and distributed by Milan Records. The digital download version offers five additional bonus tracks from the show’s first two seasons.
Comic book
Marvel Comics released a Dexter limited series in July 2013. The comic books are written by creator Jeff Lindsay and drawn by Dalihbor Talajic.[72][73] Another limited series, called Dexter: Down Under, was published in 2014.
Games
On September 13, 2009, Icarus Studios released a video game based on the events of season one, for the iPhone platform, via the iTunes app store. The game was released for the iPad on October 15, 2010, and for PCs on February 15, 2011. The cast and crew of Dexter were very supportive, with some of the cast providing full voice work for the game, including Hall. The game has received many positive reviews, including an 8/10 from IGN.[citation needed] No additional content for the game has been released or announced as planned; plans to release the game on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 seem to have been canceled, as no recent information regarding the expansion of the game onto these platforms has been given and both consoles have been discontinued.
In July 2010, Showtime launched Dexter Game On during Comic-Con. The promotion relied on community involvement, part of which required participants to use the SCVNGR applications available for the Android, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch platforms to complete treks around the five cities where the game was available. The final trek led to a kill room, where the Infinity Killer had recently claimed a victim. A link was found in the room to a (fake) company called Sleep Superbly, which began an extensive Showtime-maintained alternate reality game that continued until Dexter‘s season-five premiere.[82] The alternate reality game involves players working cooperatively to help catch the Infinity Killer and identify his victims; several other characters help. During the game, players communicate with the Infinity Killer, among many others. The game spans Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, and countless unique sites created for the game. Players can even call phone numbers. The characters and companies are controlled by real people, adding an extra layer of realism and the ability for intelligent conversation. To maintain a realistic feeling in the game, Showtime does not put its name or advertisements on most sites or pages created for the game.[citation needed]
In September 2010, the Toronto-based company, GDC-GameDevCo Ltd., released a Dexterboard game.[83]
On August 13, 2015, the hidden object mobile game Dexter: Hidden Darkness[84] was released for all iOS devices, with the announcement that Android support would be available soon. Players, acting as Dexter Morgan, solve crimes and hunt down killers to “feed” the dark passenger.
Merchandise
In February 2010, EMCE Toys announced plans to release action figures based on the series.[85]
A variety of merchandise items is available from Showtime including an apron, bin bags, blood slide beverage coasters and key rings, drinking glasses, mugs, pens made to look like syringes of blood, posters, and T-shirts.[88]
In June 2021 Flashback announced a highly detailed 1⁄6th scale figure of Dexter Morgan.
Prop sales
In January 2014, in partnership with Hollywood Props, Dexter Corner created an auction site and sold hundreds of original props used in the series; part of the auction’s proceeds were donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.[89][90][91] Showtime has also offered a limited selection of props for sale.[92]
In October 2020, Showtime announced that Dexter would return with a 10-episode limited series, starring Michael C. Hall in his original role, with Clyde Phillips returning as showrunner.[8] On November 17, 2020, it was announced Marcos Siega is set to direct six episodes of the limited series as well as executive produce alongside Hall, John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Bill Carraro, and Scott Reynolds.[93] Production began in February 2021, with a fall 2021 premiere date.[94] In January 2021, Clancy Brown was cast as Kurt Caldwell, Dexter’s main antagonist and David Magidoff was cast as Teddy.[95][96] In February 2021, Jamie Chung and Oscar Wahlberg were cast in recurring roles.[97][98] In June 2021, it was announced that John Lithgow would reprise his role as Arthur Mitchell.[99] In July 2021, it was revealed that Jennifer Carpenter would return as well, with both Lithgow and Carpenter appearing in their characters during flashback scenes.[100] It premiered on November 7, 2021, on Showtime.[101]
Future
In February 2023, it was announced that Dexter: New Blood will continue with a story centered around Dexter’s son, Harrison Morgan. In the new season, a continuation of the series, the character struggles with his own violent nature and whether he will follow in his father’s footsteps.[9][10]
A prequel series titled Dexter: Original Sin is also in development with a straight-to-series order. Depicting the earlier years of Dexter’s life, the show will follow his years after college graduation, and his first introduction to various characters from the original series. Members of his family will feature as main characters.[9][10]
Additional spin-off series, depicting the origins of various other characters from the original show including the Trinity Killer are also in development. The new franchise is being overseen by Clyde Phillips, creator of Dexter. The multiple television shows will be developed through Showtime’s merger with Paramount+.[9][10]
Newly mixed and mastered with some updated tracks. This is a song from the Horse Latitudes album about a magical trip through a crummy subway station on a lousy Monday after a horrible weekend. Enjoy!!!
Listen here – or watch the video below!
UPDATE: There is now a new video for this song!
It was feeling like a throw back Monday The whole human race was on my back And coming off a dreadful weekend I was looking for a four leaf clover Jack Given half the chance I’d roll up In a little ball and go right back to sleep Flip the safety off a Nyquil bottle Take a hit and then I’d backstroke Neptune deep
Bought a coffee and a Charlie ticket I took a little risk and blew off work At the far end of the subway platform Saw a crazy old codger who was going berserk I watched him crab-walk toward me Pretty soon I felt him pulling on my sleeve Heard the screech of a braking trolley Jumping on I heard him tell me to believe
Without the pain there is no gain You’ve got to keep on looking through Enchanted Glasses
Getting slammed into a balance hand pole I felt a sudden sharpness against my chest In the pocket of my leather jacket I found a pair of multi-colored tricked out specs Just for a laugh I tried them When I looked around I thought that I had died Everybody had a golden aura The subway car looked like a Magic Kingdom ride
Without the pain there is no gain You’ve got to keep on looking through Enchanted Glasses
This has been through several iterations over the years. This one eliminates the beginning 30 seconds and goes right into a verse. It has brand new vocals, and a new mix/master. I’ve always liked these lyrics and how they fit the song.
Here’s my latest release on all the major music sites. I would dearly appreciate it if you would play the song on Spotify. I’m working with companies to get true streamers via playlist adds – every play helps.
Lyrics:
I see the future in all its glory My droid has green eyes his name is Henry If I had a buffalo Nickel for every time My dreams collided with stark reality I’d buy a super yacht and sail it Around the seven seas then right back home I’d take a breath and try to calculate my fate And hope I don’t end up like Sharon Tate
Shine when others tell you That the world we know Is a ball of confusion Shine
Maybe I will ponder calculate and scheme I’ll find a way to capture joy Synthesize it in a jar And maybe I’ll get Henry to do all the work In case of failure or despair Take a generous spoonful from my jar
And keep on dancing With great abandon Don’t let them see you Just keep on tapping
(Mommas little baby will never cry Mommas little baby would rather die)
I’ve finally put lyrics together – it took me forever (as it usually does) – Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like the video. Recorded and produced at Baselines Designs Studio in Boston.
You know there is only so much music related stuff you can do before you go crazy, so here is a little break. I’m going to post here some pictures of my latest hydroponics setup. I have been concentrating on lettuce, spinach and chard because it is so freaking forgiving. Still, I had problems related to the learning curve, at least for the spinach. I’ll save it for a later post regarding how I germinated the damn things, but for now, here are some pictures.
I started these seeds around the middle of March 2024, and now it is May 8th. I’ve already had a couple of harvests, and now I am bugging my wife to schedule some spinach and chard dishes, because it is picking time again.
First, here is an update (available in another post) regarding levels of nutrients.
UPDATE: May 5th 2024 Update – The results for Week 3 have been posted in a reply at the bottom of this post. Kindly check the link provided for more information.
Hi – this is off topic for my music production, but it is also a hobby of mine.
I have pretty good luck now with Spinach, Chard, Lettuce in my indoor hydroponics setup. I had a lot of help along the way, so I want to give back a little. Honestly I don’t know how useful this will be in general, but it is an experiment to test the readings on my old meter vs my new meter and the measurements are in line with what Advanced Nutrients says to use for their Micro, Grow, Bloom products.
On May 5, I emptied out the mixed tank. I will use this to test out growing carrots hydroponically – should be a gas!
I’m going to share all my measurements from week one and week two of my current grow.
Here are the two meters I use – the gray one is the old meter and the yellow is the new.
I have 8 tanks I am using and these measurements show the values for each meter function for each tank. This is followed by an averaging of all 8 tanks.
Here is week one measurements – I used advanced nutrients measurement of 1 ml per liter of water for each of the three liquids (Micro, Grow, Bloom) – My go to measurement was the old EC MS reading of 2.7 for this mixture. The PH was maintained pretty well without having to add any PH UP or DOWN.
The average of all 8 tanks at the bottom indicated that the new meter reads approx 17% lower than the old meter. If my old meter dies, I have a good idea of what to set the new one at.
The following is the table for week 2 – Advanced nutrients suggests 2 ml per liter for each of the three liquids.
You can see from the averages that the meters are still different, this time by approx 15%. That’s close enough for me.
I hope these measurements help you out. They are working very well for me. I’ve been at this for about 3 years and finally feel that I am getting good results.
Feel free to leave a comment and I can provide more information.
A great song from 1972, King Harvest. Everybody knows this one. My version recorded at Baselines Designs Studio in Boston.
“Dancing in the Moonlight” is a song written by Sherman Kelly, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly’s band Boffalongo, and then a hit single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching number 5 in Canada and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2000, a cover by English band Toploader became a worldwide hit and achieved multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom. A version by Swedish EDM duo Jubël, released in 2018, was a hit in Europe.
History
Sherman Kelly wrote the song in 1969.[1] While recovering from a vicious assault by a gang, he “envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life.”[2] Kelly wrote:
On a trip to St. Croix in 1969, I was the first victim of a vicious St. Croix gang who eventually murdered 8 American tourists. At that time, I suffered multiple facial fractures and wounds and was left for dead. While I was recovering, I wrote “Dancin in the Moonlight” in which I envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life. The song became a huge hit and was recorded by many musicians worldwide. “Dancin In The Moonlight” continues to be popular to this day.[3]
He recorded it singing lead with his band Boffalongo, who were active from 1968 to 1971; they included it on their album Beyond Your Head and it was their final single. The song was also recorded by High Broom and released in 1970 on Island Records. It failed to reach the UK Singles Chart.
“You and I” (1971)”Dancing in the Moonlight“ (1972)”A Little Bit Like Magic” (1972)
Sherman Kelly’s brother Wells Kelly introduced the song to the Paris-based band King Harvest in which he was drummer and former Boffalongo member Dave “Doc” Robinson was lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist. King Harvest recorded and released “Dancing in the Moonlight,” featuring a prominent keyboard countermelody, as a single with “Lady, Come On Home” on the B-side in 1972. Steve Cutler, a jazz drummer from New York City (standing on the base of the pole in the cover picture), played drums on the tracks and toured France and the UK with the band. The group disbanded after six months and the single languished for a year until it was bought and released worldwide by Perception Records. In Canada, the song reached number 5 on the weekly charts and number 71 on the year-end chart for 1973. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States during the weeks of February 24 and March 3, 1973.[5][6]
In 2000, English band Toploader released a cover of “Dancing in the Moonlight”. It was originally released on February 21, 2000, as the third single from their debut studio album, Onka’s Big Moka (1999), and peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It was then re-released in November of the same year with new production from Stargate and reached number seven on the same chart. The song has been certified 4× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 2,400,000 units. Worldwide, the song reached the top 20 in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. At the Danish Music Awards of 2001, the song was nominated for Foreign Hit of the Year.[14]
Here’s an update on my song Hey St. Peter with more info than you ever wanted to know about the man. Written, recorded and produced by Steve Keith at Baselines Designs Studio in Boston.
Based on contemporary historical data, Peter’s papacy is estimated to have spanned from AD 30 to his death, which would make him the longest-reigning pope, at anywhere from 34 to 38 years; however, this has never been verified.[1]
Saint Irenaeus (c. 130 – c. 202 AD) explains the Apostle Peter, his See, and his successors in book III of Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies).[10] In the book, Irenaeus wrote that Peter and Paul founded and organised the Church in Rome.[11]
Sources suggest that at first, the terms episcopos and presbyteros were used interchangeably,[12] with the consensus among scholars being that by the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters, whose duties of office overlapped or were indistinguishable from one another.[13]Protestant and secular historians generally agree that there was probably “no single ‘monarchical’ bishop in Rome before the middle of the 2nd century…and likely later.”[14] Outside of the New Testament, several apocryphal books were later attributed to him, in particular the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Judgment of Peter, although scholars believe these works to be pseudepigrapha.[15][16][17]
ⓘ; Σίμων, Simōn in Greek). In only two passages,[18] his name is instead spelled “Simeon” (Συμεών in Greek). The variation possibly reflects “the well-known custom among Jews at the time of giving the name of a famous patriarch or personage of the Hebrew Bible to a male child [i.e., Simeon] along with a similar sounding Greek/Roman name [in this case, Simon]”.[19]
He was later given by Jesus the name Cephas (/ˈsiːfəs/[20]), from the Aramaic 𐡊𐡉𐡐𐡀, Kipa, ‘rock/stone’. In translations of the Bible from the original Greek, his name is maintained as Cephas in nine occurrences in the New Testament,[21] whereas in the vast majority of mentions (156 occurrences in the New Testament) he is called Πέτρος, Petros, from the Greek and Latin word for a rock or stone (petra)[22] to which the masculine ending was added, rendered into English as Peter.[23]
The precise meaning of the Aramaic word is disputed, some saying that its usual meaning is “rock” or “crag”, others saying that it means rather “stone” and, particularly in its application by Jesus to Simon, like a “jewel”, but most scholars agree that as a proper name, it denotes a rough or tough character…[24] Both meanings, “stone” (jewel or hewn stone) and “rock”, are indicated in dictionaries of Aramaic[25] and Syriac.[26]
Catholic theologian Rudolf Pesch argues that the Aramaic word would mean “precious stone” to designate a distinguishing person.[27][28] This cannot be sufficiently proven from Aramaic, however, since the use of the Aramaic root kp as a personal name has not been proven and there are hardly any known examples of the word being used to mean “precious stone”.[29]
The combined name Σίμων Πέτρος (Símon Pétros, Simon Peter) appears 19 times in the New Testament. In some Syriac documents he is called, in English translation, Simon Cephas.[30]
In the New Testament, he is among the first[note 2] of the disciples called during Jesus’ ministry. Peter became the first listed apostle ordained by Jesus in the early Church.[36]
The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew (from the Maestà), c. 1308–1311
In the Synoptic Gospels, Peter (then Simon) was a fisherman along with his brother, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. The Gospel of John also depicts Peter fishing, even after the resurrection of Jesus, in the story of the Catch of 153 fish. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus called Simon and his brother Andrew to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18–19,[45]Mark 1:16–17).[46]
In the Confession of Peter he proclaims Jesus to be the Christ (Jewish Messiah), as described in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 16:13–20,[47] Mark 8:27–30[48] and Luke 9:18–21.[49] It is there, in the area of Caesarea Philippi, that he receives from Jesus the name Cephas (Aramaic Kepha), or Peter (Greek Petros).
In Luke, Simon Peter owns the boat that Jesus uses to preach to the multitudes who were pressing on him at the shore of Lake Gennesaret (Luke 5:3).[50] Jesus then amazes Simon and his companions James and John (Andrew is not mentioned) by telling them to lower their nets, whereupon they catch a huge number of fish. Immediately after this, they follow Him (Luke 5:4–11).[51] The Gospel of John gives a comparable account of “The First Disciples” (John 1:35–42).[52] In John, the readers are told that it was two disciples of John the Baptist (Andrew and an unnamed disciple) who heard John the Baptist announce Jesus as the “Lamb of God” and then followed Jesus. Andrew then went to his brother Simon, saying, “We have found the Messiah“, and then brought Simon to Jesus, who immediately, at the first sight of him, named him as “Cephas”. (John 1:42).[38]
Three of the four gospels—Matthew, Mark and John—recount the story of Jesus walking on water. Matthew additionally describes Peter walking on water for a moment but beginning to sink when his faith wavers (Matthew 14:28–31).[53]
At the beginning of the Last Supper, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. Peter initially refused to let Jesus wash his feet, but when Jesus told him: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me”, Peter replied: “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head” (John 13:2–11).[54] The washing of feet is often repeated in the service of worship on Maundy Thursday by some Christian denominations.
Simon Peter was twice arraigned, with John, before the Sanhedrin and directly defied them (Acts 4:7–22,[60]Acts 5:18–42).[61] After receiving a vision from God that allowed for the eating of previously unclean animals, Peter takes a missionary journey to Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea (Acts 9:32–Acts 10:2),[62] becoming instrumental in the decision to evangelise the Gentiles (Acts 10).[63] Simon Peter applied the message of the vision on clean animals to the gentiles and follows his meeting with Cornelius the Centurion by claiming that “God shows no partiality”.
Acts 12 narrates how Peter, who was in Jerusalem, was put into prison by Agrippa I (AD 42–44) but was rescued by an angel. After his liberation Peter left Jerusalem to go to “another place” (Acts 12:1–18).[68] Concerning Peter’s subsequent activity there is no further connected information from the extant sources, although there are short notices of certain individual episodes of his later life.[1]
Peter’s wifE
Synoptic Gospels mention that Peter had a mother-in-law at the time he joined Jesus, and this mother-in-law was healed by Him.[69] However, the Gospels give no information about his wife. Clement of Alexandria claimed his wife was executed for her faith by the Roman authorities but does not specify any date or location.[70] Another opinion states that Peter’s wife was no longer alive at the time he met Jesus, so he was a widower.[71]
The Gospels and Acts portray Peter as the most prominent apostle, though he denied Jesus three times during the events of the crucifixion. According to the Christian tradition, Peter was the first disciple to whom Jesus appeared, balancing Peter’s denial and restoring his position. Peter is regarded as the first leader of the early Church,[72][73] though he was soon eclipsed in this leadership by James the Just, “the brother of the Lord”.[74][75] Because Peter was the first to whom Jesus appeared, the leadership of Peter forms the basis of the Apostolic succession and the institutional power of orthodoxy, as the heirs of Peter,[76] and he is described as “the rock” on which the church will be built.[72]
Position among the apostles
St. Peter Preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs by Jan Styka
Peter is often depicted in the gospels as spokesman of all the Apostles.[82]John Vidmar, a Catholic scholar, writes: “Catholic scholars agree that Peter had an authority that superseded that of the other apostles. Peter is their spokesman at several events, he conducts the election of Matthias, his opinion in the debate over converting Gentiles was crucial, etc.”[83]
The author of the Acts of the Apostles portrays Peter as the central figure within the early Christian community.[note 5]
Denial of Jesus by Peter
The tears of Saint Peter, by El Greco, late 16th century
All four canonical gospels recount that, during the Last Supper, Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times before the following cockcrow (“before the cock crows twice” in Mark’s account). The three Synoptics and John describe the three denials as follows:
A denial when a female servant of the high priest spots Simon Peter, saying that he had been with Jesus. According to Mark (but not in all manuscripts), “the rooster crowed”. Only Luke and John mention a fire by which Peter was warming himself among other people: according to Luke, Peter was “sitting”; according to John, he was “standing”.
A denial when Simon Peter had gone out to the gateway, away from the firelight, but the same servant girl (per Mark) or another servant girl (per Matthew) or a man (per Luke and also John, for whom, though, this is the third denial) told the bystanders he was a follower of Jesus. According to John, “the rooster crowed”. The Gospel of John places the second denial while Peter was still warming himself at the fire and gives as the occasion of the third denial a claim by someone to have seen him in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested.
A denial came when Peter’s Galilean accent was taken as proof that he was indeed a disciple of Jesus. According to Matthew, Mark and Luke, “the rooster crowed”. Matthew adds that it was his accent that gave him away as coming from Galilee. Luke deviates slightly from this by stating that, rather than a crowd accusing Simon Peter, it was a third individual. John does not mention the Galilean accent.
In the Gospel of Luke is a record of Christ telling Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” In a reminiscent[89] scene in John’s epilogue, Peter affirms three times that he loves Jesus.
Resurrection appearances
Church of the Primacy of St. Peter on the Sea of Galilee
Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians[90] contains a list of resurrection appearances of Jesus, the first of which is an appearance to Peter.[91] Here, Paul apparently follows an early tradition that Peter was the first to see the risen Christ,[36] which, however, did not seem to have survived to the time when the gospels were written.[92]
In John’s gospel, Peter is the first person to enter the empty tomb, although the women and the beloved disciple see it before him.[93] In Luke’s account, the women’s report of the empty tomb is dismissed by the apostles, and Peter is the only one who goes to check for himself, running to the tomb. After seeing the graveclothes, he goes home, apparently without informing the other disciples.[94]
In the final chapter of the Gospel of John, Peter, in one of the resurrection appearances of Jesus, three times affirmed his love for Jesus, balancing his threefold denial, and Jesus reconfirmed Peter’s position. The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter on the Sea of Galilee is seen as the traditional site where Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and, according to Catholic tradition, established Peter’s supreme jurisdiction over the Christian church.
Leader of the early Church
The Liberation of St. Peter from prison by an angel, by Giovanni Lanfranco, 1620–21
Peter was considered along with James the Just and John the Apostle as the three Pillars of the Church.[95] Legitimised by Jesus’ appearance, Peter assumed leadership of the group of early followers, forming the Jerusalem ekklēsia mentioned by Paul.[72][73] He was soon eclipsed in this leadership by James the Just, “the Brother of the Lord.”[74][75] According to Lüdemann, this was due to the discussions about the strictness of adherence to the Jewish Law, when the more conservative faction of James the Just[96] took the overhand over the more liberal position of Peter, who soon lost influence.[75][note 6] According to Methodist historian James D. G. Dunn, this was not a “usurpation of power”, but a consequence of Peter’s involvement in missionary activities.[98] The early Church historian Eusebius (c. AD 325) records Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 190) as saying:
For they say that Peter and James (the Greater) and John after the ascension of our Saviour, as if also preferred by our Lord, strove not after honor, but chose James the Just bishop of Jerusalem.[99]
Dunn proposes that Peter was a “bridge-man” between the opposing views of Paul and James the Just [italics original]:
For Peter was probably in fact and effect the bridge-man (pontifex maximus!) who did more than any other to hold together the diversity of first-century Christianity. James the brother of Jesus and Paul, the two other most prominent leading figures in first-century Christianity, were too much identified with their respective “brands” of Christianity, at least in the eyes of Christians at the opposite ends of this particular spectrum.
Paul affirms that Peter had the special charge of being apostle to the Jews, just as he, Paul, was apostle to the Gentiles. Some argue James the Just was bishop of Jerusalem whilst Peter was bishop of Rome and that this position at times gave James privilege in some (but not all) situations.
“Rock” dialogue
In a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples (Matthew 16:13–19), Jesus asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples give various answers. When he asks, “Who do you say that I am?”, Simon Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then declares:
Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Cephas (Peter) (Petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
A common view of Peter is provided by Jesuit Father Daniel J. Harrington, who suggests that Peter was an unlikely symbol of stability. While he was one of the first disciples called and was the spokesman for the group, Peter is also the exemplar of “little faith”. In Matthew 14, Peter will soon have Jesus say to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”, and he will eventually deny Jesus three times. Thus, in light of the Easter event, Peter became an exemplar of the forgiven sinner.[100] Outside the Catholic Church, opinions vary as to the interpretation of this passage with respect to what authority and responsibility, if any, Jesus was giving to Peter.[101]
In the Eastern Orthodox Church this passage is interpreted as not implying a special prominence to the person of Peter, but to Peter’s position as representative of the Apostles. The word used for “rock” (petra) grammatically refers to “a small detachment of the massive ledge”,[102] not to a massive boulder. Thus, Orthodox Sacred Tradition understands Jesus’ words as referring to the apostolic faith.
Petros had not previously been used as a name, but in the Greek-speaking world it became a popular Christian name, after the tradition of Peter’s prominence in the early Christian church had been established.
The leadership of Peter forms the basis of the Apostolic succession and the institutional power of orthodoxy, as the heirs of Peter,[76] and is described as “the rock” on which the church will be built.[72] Catholics refer to him as chief of the Apostles,[103] as do the Eastern Orthodox[104] and the Oriental Orthodox.[105][106] In Coptic Orthodox Church liturgy, he is once referred to as “prominent” or “head” among the Apostles, a title shared with Paul in the text (The Fraction of Fast and Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria). Some, including the Orthodox Churches, believe this is not the same as saying that the other Apostles were under Peter’s orders.
According to the Epistle to the Galatians (2:11), Peter went to Antioch where Paul rebuked him for following the conservative line regarding the conversion of Gentiles, having meals separate from Gentiles.[note 7] Subsequent tradition held that Peter had been the first Patriarch of Antioch. According to the writings of Origen[108] and Eusebius in his Church History (III, 36) Peter had founded the church of Antioch.[109]
Later accounts expand on the brief biblical mention of his visit to Antioch. The Liber Pontificalis (9th century) mentions Peter as having served as bishop of Antioch for seven years, and having potentially left his family in the Greek city before his journey to Rome.[110] Claims of direct blood lineage from Simon Peter among the old population of Antioch existed in the 1st century and continue to exist today, notably by certain Semaan families of modern-day Syria and Lebanon. Historians have furnished other evidence of Peter’s sojourn in Antioch.[note 8]
The Clementine literature, a group of related works written in the fourth century but believed to contain materials from earlier centuries, relates information about Peter that may come from earlier traditions. One is that Peter had a group of 12 to 16 followers, whom the Clementine writings name.[111] Another is that it provides an itinerary of Peter’s route from Caesarea Maritima to Antioch, where he debated his adversary Simon Magus; during this journey he ordained Zacchaeus as the first bishop of Caesarea and Maro as the first bishop of Tripolis. Historian Fred Lapham suggests the route recorded in the Clementine writings may have been taken from an earlier document mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis in his Panarion called “The Itinerary of Peter”.[112]
Corinth
Peter may have visited Corinth, and maybe there existed a party of “Cephas”.[36]First Corinthians suggests that perhaps Peter visited the city of Corinth, located in Greece, during their missions.[113]
Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, in his Epistle to the Roman Church under Pope Soter (A.D. 165–174), declares that Peter and Paul founded the Church of Rome and the Church of Corinth, and they have lived in Corinth for some time, and finally in Italy where they found death:
You have thus by such an admonition bound together the planting of Peter and of Paul at Rome and Corinth. For both of them planted and likewise taught us in our Corinth. And they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time.[114]
Connection to Rome
The Apostles Peter and Paul, detail of cupola fresco by Correggio (1520–1524)
The Catholic Church speaks of the pope, the bishop of Rome, as the successor of Saint Peter. This is often interpreted to imply that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome. However, it is also said that the institution of the papacy is not dependent on the idea that Peter was Bishop of Rome or even on his ever having been in Rome.[115]
In his book Church History, Eusebius notes that Linus succeeded Peter as the bishop of the Church in Rome.[117]
As to the rest of his followers, Paul testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul; but Linus, whom he mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothy as his companion at Rome, was Peter’s successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has already been shown.
— Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, Book III, Chapter 4
According to Tertullian‘s book Prescription against Heretics, it is stated that Clement was ordained by Peter as the bishop of Rome.[118]
…as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter.
— Tertullian, Prescription against Heretics, Chapter 32
St. Clement of Rome identifies Peter and Paul as the outstanding heroes of the faith.[36]
Coming to Rome
New Testament accounts
There is no obvious biblical evidence that Peter was ever in Rome, but the first epistle of Peter does mention that “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”[119] It is not certain whether this refers to the actual Babylon or to Rome, for which Babylon was a common nickname at the time, or to the Jewish diaspora in general, as a recent theory has proposed.[120][121]
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, written about AD 57,[122] greets some fifty people in Rome by name,[123] but not Peter whom he knew. There is also no mention of Peter in Rome later during Paul’s two-year stay there in Acts 28, about AD 60–62. With regards to the latter, Acts 28 does not specifically mention any of Paul’s visitors.
Church Fathers
The writings of the 1st century Church Father Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35 – c. 107), whose authenticity is disputed,[124] refer to Peter and Paul giving admonitions to the Romans, indicating Peter’s presence in Rome.[125]
Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130 – c. 202) wrote in the 2nd century that Peter and Paul had been the founders of the Church in Rome and had appointed Linus as succeeding bishop.[126][127]
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215) states that “Peter had preached the Word publicly at Rome (A.D. 190).“[128]
According to Origen (184–253)[108] and Eusebius,[109] Peter “after having first founded the church at Antioch, went away to Rome preaching the Gospel, and he also, after [presiding over] the church in Antioch, presided over that of Rome until his death”.[129] After presiding over the church in Antioch for a while, Peter would have been succeeded by Evodius[130] and thereafter by Ignatius, who was a disciple of John the Apostle.[131]
Lactantius, in his book called Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, written around 318, noted that “and while Nero reigned, the Apostle Peter came to Rome, and, through the power of God committed unto him, wrought certain miracles, and, by turning many to the true religion, built up a faithful and stedfast temple unto the Lord.”[132]
Simon Magus
Eusebius of Caesarea (260/265–339/340) relates that when Peter confronts Simon Magus at Judea (mentioned in Acts 8), Simon Magus flees to Rome, where the Romans began to regard him as a god. According to Eusebius, his luck did not last long, since God sent Peter to Rome, and Simon was quenched and immediately destroyed.[133]
According to Jerome (327–420): “Peter went to Rome in the second year of Claudius to overthrow Simon Magus, and held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years until the last, that is the fourteenth, year of Nero.”[134]
An apocryphal work, the Actus Vercellenses (7th century), a Latin text preserved in only one manuscript copy published widely in translation under the title Acts of Peter, sets Peter’s confrontation with Simon Magus in Rome.[135][136]
In the epilogue[137] of the Gospel of John, Jesus hints at the death by which Peter would glorify God, saying: “when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”[138] This is interpreted by some as a reference to Peter’s crucifixion.[89] Unitarian theologian Donald Fay Robinson has suggested that the incident in Acts 12:1–17,[139] where Peter is “released by an angel” and goes to “another place”, really represents an idealised account of his death, which may have occurred in a Jerusalem prison as early as AD 44.[140]
Early Church tradition says that Peter died by crucifixion (with arms outstretched) at the time of the Great Fire of Rome in the year 64. This probably took place three months after the disastrous fire that destroyed Rome for which the emperor (Nero) wished to blame the Christians. This “dies imperii” (regnal day anniversary) was an important one, exactly ten years after Nero ascended to the throne, and it was “as usual” accompanied by much bloodshed. Traditionally, Roman authorities sentenced him to death by crucifixion at Vatican Hill.[1] In accordance with the apocryphalActs of Peter, he was crucified head down.[141] Tradition also locates his burial place where the Basilica of Saint Peter was later built, directly beneath the Basilica’s high altar.
Pope Clement I (d. 99), in his Letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 5), written c. 80–98, speaks of Peter’s martyrdom in the following terms: “Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death. …Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labours, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him.”[142]
The apocryphal Acts of Peter (2nd cent.) (Vercelli Acts XXXV)[143] is the source for the tradition about the famous Latin phrase “Quo vadis, Domine?” (in Greek: Κύριε, ποῦ ὑπάγεις “Kyrie, pou hypageis?”), which means “Where are you going, Lord?”. According to the story, Peter, fleeing Rome to avoid execution meets the risen Jesus. In the Latin translation, Peter asks Jesus, “Quo vadis?” He replies, “Romam eo iterum crucifigi” (“I am going to Rome to be crucified again”). Peter then gains the courage to continue his ministry and returns to the city, where he is martyred. This story is commemorated in an Annibale Carracci painting. The Church of Quo Vadis, near the Catacombs of Saint Callistus, contains a stone in which Jesus’ footprints from this event are supposedly preserved, though this was apparently an ex-voto from a pilgrim, and indeed a copy of the original housed in the Basilica of St Sebastian.
The death of Peter is attested to by Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240) at the end of the 2nd century in his Prescription Against Heretics, noting that Peter endured a passion like his Lord’s: “How happy is that church . . . where Peter endured a passion like that of the Lord, where Paul was crowned in a death like John’s”.[144] The statement implies that Peter was killed like Jesus (by crucifixion) and Paul was killed like John (by beheading). It gives the impression that Peter also died in Rome since Paul also died there.[145] In his work Scorpiace 15, he also speaks of Peter’s crucifixion: “The budding faith Nero first made bloody in Rome. There Peter was girded by another, since he was bound to the cross.”[146]
Origen (184–253) in his Commentary on the Book of Genesis III, quoted by Eusebius of Caesaria in his Ecclesiastical History (III, 1), said: “Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer.”[147] The Cross of St. Peter inverts the Latin cross based on this refusal, and on his claim of being unworthy to die the same way as his Saviour.[148]
Peter of Alexandria (d. 311), who was bishop of Alexandria and died around AD 311, wrote an epistle on Penance, in which he says: “Peter, the first of the apostles, having been often apprehended and thrown into prison, and treated with ignominy, was last of all crucified at Rome.”[149]
Jerome (327–420) wrote that “at Nero’s hands Peter received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.”[134]
Catholic tradition holds that Peter’s inverted crucifixion occurred in the gardens of Nero, with the burial in Saint Peter’s tomb nearby.[150]
Caius in his Disputation Against Proclus (A.D. 198), preserved in part by Eusebius, relates this of the places in which the remains of the apostles Peter and Paul were deposited: “I can point out the trophies of the apostles. For if you are willing to go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who founded this Church.”[151]
According to Jerome, in his work De Viris Illustribus (A.D. 392), “Peter was buried at Rome in the Vatican near the triumphal way where he is venerated by the whole world.”[134]
In the early 4th century, the Emperor Constantine I decided to honour Peter with a large basilica.[152][153] Because the precise location of Peter’s burial was so firmly fixed in the belief of the Christians of Rome, the church to house the basilica had to be erected on a site that was not convenient to construction. The slope of the Vatican Hill had to be excavated, even though the church could much more easily have been built on level ground only slightly to the south.[154] There were also moral and legal issues, such as demolishing a cemetery to make room for the building. The focal point of the Basilica, both in its original form and in its later complete reconstruction, is the altar located over what is said to be the point of Peter’s burial.[155]
According to a letter quoted by Bede, Pope Vitalian sent a cross containing filings said to be from Peter’s chains to the queen of Oswy, Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria in 665, as well as unspecified relics of the saint to the king.[156] The skull of Saint Peter is claimed to reside in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran since at least the ninth century, alongside the skull of Saint Paul.[157]
In 1950, human bones were found buried underneath the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. The bones have been claimed by many to have been those of Peter.[158] An attempt to contradict these claims was made in 1953 by the excavation of what some believe to be Saint Peter’s tomb in Jerusalem.[159] However along with this supposed tomb in Jerusalem bearing his previous name Simon (but not Peter), tombs bearing the names of Jesus, Mary, James, John, and the rest of the apostles were also found at the same excavation—though all these names were very common among Jews at the time.
In the 1960s, items from the excavations beneath St Peter’s Basilica were re-examined, and the bones of a male person were identified. A forensic examination found them to be a male of about 61 years of age from the 1st century. This caused Pope Paul VI in 1968 to announce them most likely to be the relics of Apostle Peter.[160] On 24 November 2013, Pope Francis presented part of the relics, consisting of bone fragments, for the first time in public during a Mass celebrated in St. Peter’s Square.[161] On 2 July 2019, it was announced that Pope Francis had transferred nine of these bone fragments within a bronze reliquary to Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.[162] Bartholomew, who serves as head of the Eastern Orthodox Christian church, described the gesture as “brave and bold.”[162] Pope Francis has said his decision was born “out of prayer” and intended as a sign of the ongoing work towards communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.[163] The majority of Saint Peter’s remains, however, are still preserved in Rome, under the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.[164]
Scholarly views
Some church historians consider Peter and Paul to have been martyred under the reign of Nero,[165][166] around AD 65 after the Great Fire of Rome.[note 9][167][168] Currently, most Catholic scholars,[169] and many scholars in general,[170] hold the view that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero.[note 10]
While accepting that Peter came to Rome and was martyred there, there is no historical evidence that he held episcopal office there.[172][173][174][175][176] According to two studies published by the German philologist Otto Zwierlein [de] in 2009[177] and 2013 respectively,[178] “there is not a single piece of reliable literary evidence (and no archaeological evidence either) that Peter ever was in Rome.”[120][179][note 11]Timothy Barnes has criticised Zwierlein’s views as “a nadir in historical criticism”.[184]
Clement of Rome’s First Letter, a document that has been dated from the 90s to the 120s, is one of the earliest sources adduced in support of Peter’s stay in Rome, but Zwierlein questions the text’s authenticity and whether it has any knowledge about Peter’s life beyond what is contained in the New Testament Acts of the Apostles.[120] The letter also does not mention any particular place, only saying: “Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him” (ch. 5).[185]
A letter to the Romans attributed to Ignatius of Antioch might imply that Peter and Paul had special authority over the Roman church,[36] telling the Roman Christians: “I do not command you, as Peter and Paul did” (ch. 4), although Zwierlein says he could be simply referring to the Epistles of the Apostles, or their mission work in the city, not a special authority given or bestowed. Zwierlein questions the authenticity of this document and its traditional dating to c. 105–10, saying it may date from the final decades of the 2nd century instead of from the beginning.[120]
The ancient historian Josephus describes how Roman soldiers would amuse themselves by crucifying criminals in different positions,[186] and it is likely that this would have been known to the author of the Acts of Peter. The position attributed to Peter’s crucifixion is thus plausible, either as having happened historically or as being an invention by the author of the Acts of Peter. Death, after crucifixion head down, is unlikely to be caused by suffocation, the usual “cause of death in ordinary crucifixion”.[187]
Peter’s vision of a sheet with animals, Domenico Fetti, 1619
Rome as Babylon
Church tradition ascribes the epistles First and Second Peter to the Apostle Peter, as does the text of Second Peter itself, an attribution rejected by scholarship. First Peter[119] says the author is in “Babylon”, which has been held to be a coded reference to Rome.[188][189][190] Early Church tradition reports that Peter wrote from Rome. Eusebius of Caesarea states:
Clement of Alexandria in the sixth [book] of the Hypotyposeis cites the story, and the bishop of Hierapolis named Papias joins him in testifying that Peter mentions Mark in the first epistle, which they say he composed in Rome herself, and that he indicates this, calling the city more figuratively Babylon by these: “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings and so does my son Mark. (1 Pet 5:13)”[191]
If the reference is to Rome, it is the only biblical reference to Peter being there. Many scholars regard both First and Second Peter as not having been authored by him, partly because other parts of the Acts of the Apostles seem to describe Peter as an illiterate fisherman.[8][192]
Most Biblical scholars[193][194] believe that “Babylon” is a metaphor for the pagan Roman Empire at the time it persecuted Christians, before the Edict of Milan in 313: perhaps specifically referencing some aspect of Rome’s rule (brutality, greed, paganism). Although some scholars recognise that Babylon is a metaphor for Rome, they also claim that Babylon represents more than the Roman city of the first century. According to Lutheran scholar on Revelation Craig R. Koester “the whore [of Babylon] is Rome, yet more than Rome”.[195] It “is the Roman imperial world, which in turn represents the world alienated from God”.[196]
At that time in history, the ancient city of Babylon was no longer of any importance. E.g., Strabo wrote, “The greater part of Babylon is so deserted that one would not hesitate to say … the Great City is a great desert.”[197]
Another theory is that “Babylon” refers to the Babylon in Egypt that was an important fortress city in Egypt, just north of today’s Cairo and this, combined with the “greetings from Mark” (1 Peter 5:13), who may be Mark the Evangelist, regarded as the founder of the Church of Alexandria (Egypt), has led some scholars to regard the First Peter epistle as having been written in Egypt.[198]
The Roman Martyrology assigns 29 June as the feast day of both Peter and Paul, without thereby declaring that to be the day of their deaths. Augustine of Hippo says in his Sermon 295: “One day is assigned for the celebration of the martyrdom of the two apostles. But those two were one. Although their martyrdom occurred on different days, they were one.”
Before Pope John XXIII‘s revision in 1960, the Roman Calendar also included on 18 January another feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (denominated the Chair of Saint Peter in Rome, while the February feast was then called that of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch), and on 1 August the feast of Saint Peter in Chains.
In the Orthodox Daily Office every Thursday throughout the year is dedicated to the Holy Apostles, including St. Peter. There are also three feast days in the year which are dedicated to him:
Christians of different theological backgrounds are in disagreement as to the exact significance of Peter’s ministry. For instance:
Catholics view Peter as the first pope. The Catholic Church asserts that Peter’s ministry, conferred upon him by Jesus of Nazareth in the gospels, lays down the theological foundation for the pope’s exercise of pastoral authority over the Church.
Eastern Orthodox also believe that Peter’s ministry points to an underlying theology wherein a special primacy ought to be granted to Peter’s successors above other Church leaders but see this as merely a “primacy of honor”, rather than the right to exercise pastoral authority.
Protestant denominations assert that Peter’s apostolic work in Rome does not imply a connection between him and the papacy.
Similarly, historians of various backgrounds also offer differing interpretations of the Apostle’s presence in Rome.
According to Catholic belief, Simon Peter was distinguished by Jesus to hold the first place of honor and authority. Also in Catholic belief, Peter was, as the first Bishop of Rome, the first Pope. Furthermore, they consider every Pope to be Peter’s successor and the rightful superior of all other bishops.[203] However, Peter never bore the title of “Pope” or “Vicar of Christ” in the sense the Catholic Church considers Peter the first Pope.[204]
The first passage is John 21:15–17 which is: “Feed my lambs… Tend my sheep… feed my sheep”[205] (within the Greek it is Ποίμαινε i.e., to feed and rule [as a Shepherd] v. 16, while Βόσκε i.e., to feed for v.15 & v. 17)[206]—which is seen by Catholics as Christ promising the spiritual supremacy to Peter. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913 sees in this passage Jesus “charging [Peter] with the superintendency of all his sheep, without exception; and consequently of his whole flock, that is, of his own church”.[203]
Matthew 10:2
In this passage, the evangelist writes, “first, Simon called Peter…” The Greek word for “first” (protos), derived from the ancient Greek πρῶτος, can mean primacy in foundation, not just in a numerical sense.[207]
Matthew 16:18
Another passage is Matthew 16:18:
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
In the story of the calling of the disciples, Jesus addresses Simon Peter with the Greek term Κηφᾶς (Cephas), a Hellenised form of Aramaic ܟ݁ܺܐܦ݂ܳܐ (keepa), which means “rock”,[209] a term that before was not used as a proper name:
:ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν Σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου, σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Πέτρος.[210]Having looked at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas,” which means Petros (“rock”).
— John 1:42
Jesus later alludes to this nickname after Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah:
:κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος [Petros] καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ [petra] οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς.[note 12]I also say to you now that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
:ܐܳܦ݂ ܐܶܢܳܐ ܐܳܡܰܪ ܐ݈ܢܳܐ ܠܳܟ݂ ܕ݁ܰܐܢ݈ܬ݁ ܗ݈ܽܘ ܟ݁ܺܐܦ݂ܳܐ ܘܥܰܠ ܗܳܕ݂ܶܐ ܟ݁ܺܐܦ݂ܳܐ ܐܶܒ݂ܢܶܝܗ ܠܥܺܕ݈݁ܬ݁ܝ ܘܬ݂ܰܪܥܶܐ ܕ݁ܰܫܝܽܘܠ ܠܳܐ ܢܶܚܣܢܽܘܢܳܗ܂Also I say to you that you are Keepa, and on this keepa I will build my Church, and the gates of Sheol not will subdue it.
To better understand what Christ meant, St. Basil elaborates:[218]
Though Peter be a rock, yet he is not a rock as Christ is. For Christ is the true unmoveable rock of himself, Peter is unmoveable by Christ the rock. For Jesus doth communicate and impart his dignities, not voiding himself of them, but holding them to himself, bestoweth them also upon others. He is the light, and yet you are the light: he is the Priest, and yet he maketh Priests: he is the rock, and he made a rock.
— Basil li. De poenit. cƒ. Matt. v. 14; Luke 22:19
In reference to Peter’s occupation before becoming an Apostle, the popes wear the Fisherman’s Ring, which bears an image of the saint casting his nets from a fishing boat. The keys used as a symbol of the pope’s authority refer to the “keys of the kingdom of Heaven” promised to Peter.[219] The terminology of this “commission” of Peter is unmistakably parallel to the commissioning of Eliakim ben Hilkiah in Isaiah 22:15–23.[220] Peter is often depicted in both Western and Eastern Christian art holding a key or a set of keys.
In the original Greek the word translated as “Peter” is Πέτρος (Petros) and that translated as “rock” is πέτρα (petra), two words that, while not identical, give an impression of one of many times when Jesus used a play on words. Furthermore, since Jesus presumably spoke to Peter in their native Aramaic language, he would have used kepha in both instances.[221]The Peshitta Text and the Old Syriac texts use the word “kepha” for both “Peter” and “rock” in Matthew 16:18.[208][222] John 1:42 says Jesus called Simon “Cephas”, as Paul calls him in some letters.[223] He was instructed by Christ to strengthen his brethren, i.e., the apostles.[224] Peter also had a leadership role in the early Christian church at Jerusalem according to The Acts of the Apostles chapters 1–2, 10–11, and 15.
Early Catholic Latin and Greek writers (such as St. John Chrysostom) considered the “foundation rock” as applying to both Peter personally and his confession of faith (or the faith of his confession) symbolically, as well as seeing Christ’s promise to apply more generally to his twelve apostles and the Church at large.[225] This “double meaning” interpretation is present in the current Catechism of the Catholic Church.[226]
Protestant arguments against the Catholic interpretation are largely based on the difference between the Greek words translated “Rock” in the Matthean passage. They often claim that in classical Attic Greekpetros (masculine) generally meant “pebble”, while petra (feminine) meant “boulder” or “cliff”, and accordingly, taking Peter’s name to mean “pebble”, they argue that the “rock” in question cannot have been Peter, but something else, either Jesus himself, or the faith in Jesus that Peter had just professed.[227][228] These popular-level writings are disputed in similar popular-level Catholic writings.[229]
The New Testament was written in Koiné Greek, not Attic Greek, and some authorities say no significant difference existed between the meanings of petros and petra. So far from meaning a pebble was the word petros that Apollonius Rhodius, a writer of Koiné Greek of the third century B.C., used it to refer to “a huge round boulder, a terrible quoit of AresEnyalius; four stalwart youths could not have raised it from the ground even a little”.[230]
Christ Handing the Keys to St Peter, by Pietro Perugino (1481–82)
The feminine noun petra (πέτρα in Greek), translated as rock in the phrase “on this rock I will build my church”, is also used at 1 Cor. 10:4 in describing Jesus Christ, which reads: “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”[231]
Although Matthew 16 is used as a primary proof-text for the Catholic doctrine of Papal supremacy, some Protestant scholars say that prior to the Reformation of the 16th century, Matthew 16 was very rarely used to support papal claims, despite it being well documented as being used in the 3rd century by Stephen of Rome against Cyprian of Carriage in a “passionate disagreement” about baptism and in the 4th century by Pope Damasus as a claim to primacy as a lesson of the Arian Controversy for stricter discipline and centralised control.[232] Their position is that most of the early and medieval Church interpreted the “rock” as being a reference either to Christ or to Peter’s faith, not Peter himself. They understand Jesus’ remark to have been his affirmation of Peter’s testimony that Jesus was the Son of God.[233]
Despite this claim, many Fathers saw a connection between Matthew 16:18 and the primacy of Peter and his office, such as Tertullian, writing: “The Lord said to Peter, ‘On this rock I will build my Church, I have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [and] whatever you shall have bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. …Upon you, he says, I will build my Church; and I will give to you the keys, not to the Church.”[234]
Other theologically conservative Christians, including Confessional Lutherans, also rebut comments made by Karl Keating and D.A. Carson who claim that there is no distinction between the words petros and petra in Koine Greek. The Lutheran theologians state that the dictionaries of Koine/NT Greek, including the authoritative[236]Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich Lexicon, indeed list both words and the passages that give different meanings for each. The Lutheran theologians further note that:
We honor Peter and in fact some of our churches are named after him, but he was not the first pope, nor was he Roman Catholic. If you read his first letter, you will see that he did not teach a Roman hierarchy, but that all Christians are royal priests. The same keys given to Peter in Matthew 16 are given to the whole church of believers in Matthew 18.[237]
Oscar Cullmann, a Lutheran theologian and distinguished Church historian, disagrees with Luther and the Protestant reformers who held that by “rock” Christ did not mean Peter, but meant either himself or the faith of His followers. He believes the meaning of the original Aramaic is very clear: that “Kepha” was the Aramaic word for “rock”, and that it was also the name by which Christ called Peter.[238]
Yet, Cullmann sharply rejects the Catholic claim that Peter began the papal succession. He writes: “In the life of Peter there is no starting point for a chain of succession to the leadership of the church at large.” While he believes the Matthew text is entirely valid and is in no way spurious, he says it cannot be used as “warrant of the papal succession.”[238] Cullmann concludes that while Peter was the original head of the apostles, Peter was not the founder of any visible church succession.[238]
There are other Protestant scholars who also partially defend the historical Catholic position about “Rock.”[239] Taking a somewhat different approach from Cullman, they point out that the Gospel of Matthew was not written in the classical Attic form of Greek, but in the Hellenistic Koine dialect in which there is no distinction in meaning between petros and petra. Moreover, even in Attic Greek, in which the regular meaning of petros was a smallish “stone”, there are instances of its use to refer to larger rocks, as in Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus v. 1595, where petros refers to a boulder used as a landmark, obviously something more than a pebble. In any case, a petros/petra distinction is irrelevant considering the Aramaic language in which the phrase might well have been spoken. In Greek, of any period, the feminine noun petra could not be used as the given name of a male, which may explain the use of Petros as the Greek word with which to translate Aramaic Kepha.[221]
Yet, still other Protestant scholars believe that Jesus in fact did mean to single out Peter as the very rock which he will build upon, but that the passage does nothing to indicate a continued succession of Peter’s implied position. They assert that Matthew uses the demonstrative pronoun taute, which allegedly means “this very” or “this same”, when he refers to the rock on which Jesus’ church will be built. He also uses the Greek word for “and”, kai. It is alleged that when a demonstrative pronoun is used with kai, the pronoun refers back to the preceding noun. The second rock Jesus refers to must then be the same rock as the first one; and if Peter is the first rock, he must also be the second.[240]
Unlike Oscar Cullmann, Confessional Lutherans and many other Protestant apologists agree that it’s meaningless to elaborate the meaning of “Rock” by looking at the Aramaic language. While the Jews spoke mostly Aramaic at home, in public they usually spoke Greek. The few Aramaic words spoken by Jesus in public were unusual, which is why they are noted as such. And most importantly the New Testament was revealed in Koine Greek, not Aramaic.[241][242][243]
Lutheran historians even report that the Catholic church itself did not, at least unanimously, regard Peter as the rock until the 1870s:
Rome’s rule for explaining the Scriptures and determining doctrine is the Creed of Pius IV. This Creed binds Rome to explain the Scriptures only according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers. In the year 1870 when the Fathers gathered and the pope declared his infallibility, the cardinals were not in agreement on Matthew 16, 18. They had five different interpretations. Seventeen insisted, Peter is the rock. Sixteen held that Christ is the rock. Eight were emphatic that the whole apostolic college is the rock. Forty-four said, Peter’s faith is the rock, The remainder looked upon the whole body of believers as the rock. – And yet Rome taught and still teaches that Peter is the rock.[244]
Eastern Orthodox
Icon of Saint Peter, c 1500
The Eastern Orthodox Church regards Apostle Peter, together with Apostle Paul, as “Preeminent Apostles”. Another title used for Peter is Coryphaeus, which could be translated as “Choir-director”, or lead singer.[245] The church recognises Apostle Peter’s leadership role in the early church, especially in the very early days at Jerusalem, but does not consider him to have had any “princely” role over his fellow Apostles.
The New Testament is not seen by the Orthodox as supporting any extraordinary authority for Peter with regard to faith or morals. The Orthodox also hold that Peter did not act as leader at the Council of Jerusalem, but as merely one of a number who spoke. The final decision regarding the non-necessity of circumcision (and certain prohibitions) was spelled out by James, brother of Jesus (though Catholics hold James merely reiterated and fleshed out what Peter had said, regarding the latter’s earlier divine revelation regarding the inclusion of Gentiles).
Eastern and Oriental Orthodox do not recognise the Bishop of Rome as the successor of St. Peter but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople sends a delegation each year to Rome to participate in the celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. In the Ravenna Document of 13 October 2007, the representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church agreed that “Rome, as the Church that ‘presides in love’ according to the phrase of St. Ignatius of Antioch (“To the Romans”, Prologue), occupied the first place in the taxis, and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the protos among the patriarchs, if the Papacy unites with the Orthodox Church. They disagree, however, on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as protos, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium.”
With regard to Jesus’ words to Peter, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church”, the Orthodox hold Christ is referring to the confession of faith, not the person of Peter as that upon which he will build the church. This is allegedly shown by the fact that the original Septuagint uses the feminine demonstrative pronoun when he says, “upon this rock” (ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ); whereas, grammatically, if he had been referring to Peter, he would allegedly have used the masculine.[246]
The Fathers of the Syriac Orthodox Church tried to give a theological interpretation to the primacy of Apostle Peter. They were fully convinced of the unique office of Peter in the primitive Christian community. Ephrem, Aphrahat and Maruthas who were supposed to have been the best exponents of the early Syriac tradition unequivocally acknowledge the office of Peter.
The Syriac Fathers, following the rabbinic tradition, call Jesus “Kepha” for they see “rock” in the Old Testament as a messianic Symbol (yet the Old Maronite Syriacs of Lebanon still refer to Saint Peter as “Saint Simon the Generous” or Simon Karam”). When Christ gave his own name “Kepha” to Simon he was giving him participation in the person and office of Christ. Christ who is the Kepha and shepherd made Simon the chief shepherd in his place and gave him the very name Kepha and said that on Kepha he would build the Church. Aphrahat shared the common Syriac tradition. For him Kepha is in fact another name of Jesus, and Simon was given the right to share the name. The person who receives somebody else’s name also obtains the rights of the person who bestows the name. Aphrahat makes the stone taken from Jordan a type of Peter. He wrote: “Jesus [Joshua] son of Nun set up the stones for a witness in Israel; Jesus our Saviour called Simon Kepha Sarirto and set him as the faithful witness among nations.”
Again, he wrote in his commentary on Deuteronomy that Moses brought forth water from “rock” (Kepha) for the people and Jesus sent Simon Kepha to carry his teachings among nations. God accepted him and made him the foundation of the Church and called him Kepha. When he speaks about the transfiguration of Christ he calls him Simon Peter, the foundation of the Church. Ephrem also shared the same view. The Armenian version of De Virginitate records that Peter the rock shunned honour. A mimro of Efrem found in Holy Week Liturgy points to the importance of Peter.
Both Aphrahat and Ephrem represent the authentic tradition of the Syrian Church. The different orders of liturgies used for sanctification of Church buildings, marriage, ordination, et cetera, reveal that the primacy of Peter is a part of living faith of the Church.[247]
In interpreting Matthew 16:13–19, Latter-day Saint leader Bruce R. McConkie stated, “The things of God are known only by the power of his Spirit,”[251] and “that which the world calls Mormonism is based upon the rock of revelation.”[252] In his April 1981 general conference address, McConkie identified the rock of which Jesus spoke as the rock of revelation: “There is no other foundation upon which the Lord could build His Church and kingdom. …Revelation: Pure, perfect, personal revelation—this is the rock!”[253]
According to an old Jewish tradition, Simon Peter joined the early Christians at the decision of the rabbis. Worried that early Christianity’s similarity to Judaism would lead people to mistake it for a branch of Judaism, he was chosen to join them. As he moved up in rank, he would be able to lead them into forming their own, distinct belief system. Despite this, he was said to remain a practicing Jew, and is ascribed with the authorship of the Nishmas prayer.[254]
Muslims consider Jesus a prophet of God. The Qur’an also speaks of Jesus’s disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as “helpers to the prophet of God“.[255] Muslim exegesis and Qur’an commentary, however, names them and includes Peter among the disciples.[256] An old tradition, which involves the legend of Habib the Carpenter, mentions that Peter was one of the three disciples sent to Antioch to preach to the people there.[257]
TwelverShiaMuslims see a parallel in the figure of Peter to Ali at Muhammad‘s time. They look upon Ali as being the vicegerent, with Muhammad being the prophet; likewise, they see Peter as the vicegerent, behind Jesus the prophet and Masih. Peter’s role as the first proper leader of the church is also seen by Shias to be a parallel to their belief in Ali as the first caliph after Muhammad.[258]
Bahá’í Faith
In the Bahá’í Faith “the primacy of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, is upheld and defended.”[259] Bahá’ís understand Peter’s station as The Rock upon which the church of God would be founded to mean that Peter’s belief in Christ as the Son of the living God would serve as the foundation for Christianity, and that upon this belief would the foundation of the church of God, understood as the Law of God, be established.[260] Peter appears in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, often referred to as The Rock:
O followers of all religions! We behold you wandering distraught in the wilderness of error. Ye are the fish of this Ocean; wherefore do ye withhold yourselves from that which sustaineth you? Lo, it surgeth before your faces. Hasten unto it from every clime. This is the day whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth out and shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the All-Possessing, the Most High, saying: “Lo! The Father is come, and that which ye were promised in the Kingdom is fulfilled!”
His name with a prefix dan (related to river names) was applied to Donbettyr, the Osettian god of waters, patron of fish and fishermen.[261]
Andean traditional medicine
San Pedro cactus(Echinopsis pachanoi) has a long history of being used in Andeantraditional medicine.[262] The common name “San Pedro cactus” – Saint Peter cactus, is attributed to the belief that as St Peter holds the keys to heaven, the effects of the cactus allow users “to reach heaven while still on earth.” In 2022, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture declared the traditional use of San Pedro cactus in northern Peru as cultural heritage.[263]
Writings
Traditionally, two canonical epistles (1 and 2 Peter) and several apocryphal works have been attributed to Peter.
The New Testament includes two letters (epistles) ascribed to Peter. Both demonstrate a high quality of cultured and urban Greek, at odds with the linguistic skill that would ordinarily be expected of an Aramaic-speaking fisherman, who would have learned Greek as a second or third language. The textual features of these two epistles are such that a majority of scholars doubt that they were written by the same hand. Some scholars argue that theological differences imply different sources and point to the lack of references to 2 Peter among the early Church Fathers.
Daniel B. Wallace (who maintains that Peter was the author) writes that, for many scholars, “the issue of authorship is already settled, at least negatively: the apostle Peter did not write this letter” and that “the vast bulk of NT scholars adopts this perspective without much discussion”. However, he later states, “Although a very strong case has been made against Petrine authorship of 2 Peter, we believe it is deficient. …Taken together, these external and internal arguments strongly suggest the traditional view, viz., that Peter was indeed the author of the second epistle which bears his name.”[264]
Of the two epistles, the first epistle is considered the earlier. A number of scholars have argued that the textual discrepancies with what would be expected of the biblical Peter are due to it having been written with the help of a secretary or as an amanuensis.[265]
The two Epistles attributed to St. Peter differ in style, character, and the construction of the words, which proves that according to the exigencies of the moment St. Peter made use of different interpreters. (Epistle 120 – To Hedibia)[266]
Some have seen a reference to the use of a secretary in the sentence: “By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand”.[267] However New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman in his 2011 book Forged states that “scholars now widely recognise that when the author indicates that he wrote the book ‘through Silvanus’, he is indicating not the name of his secretary, but the person who was carrying his letter to the recipients.”[268] The letter refers to Roman persecution of Christians, apparently of an official nature. The Roman historian Tacitus and the biographer Suetonius do both record that Nero persecuted Christians, and Tacitus dates this to immediately after the fire that burned Rome in 64. Christian tradition, for example Eusebius of Caesarea (History book 2, 24.1), has maintained that Peter was killed in Nero’s persecution, and thus had to assume that the Roman persecution alluded to in First Peter must be this Neronian persecution.[265] On the other hand, many modern scholars argue that First Peter refers to the persecution of Christians in Asia Minor during the reign of the emperor Domitian (81–96), as the letter is explicitly addressed to Jewish Christians from that region:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.[269]
Those scholars who believe that the epistle dates from the time of Domitian argue that Nero’s persecution of Christians was confined to the city of Rome itself and did not extend to the Asian provinces mentioned in 1 Pet 1:1–2.
The Second Epistle of Peter, on the other hand, appears to have been copied, in part, from the Epistle of Jude, and some modern scholars date its composition as late as c. 150. Some scholars argue the opposite, that the Epistle of Jude copied Second Peter, while others contend an early date for Jude and thus observe that an early date is not incompatible with the text.[265] Many scholars have noted the similarities between the apocryphalSecond Epistle of Clement (2nd century) and Second Peter. Second Peter may be earlier than 150; there are a few possible references to it that date back to the 1st century or early 2nd century, e.g., 1 Clement written in c. AD 96, and the later church historian Eusebius wrote that Origen had made reference to the epistle before 250.[265][270]
Jerome says that Peter “wrote two epistles which are called Catholic, the second of which, on account of its difference from the first in style, is considered by many not to be by him” (De Viris Illustribus 1).[134] But he himself received the epistle, and explained the difference in style, character, and structure of words by the assumption that Peter used different interpreters in the composition of the two epistles;[266] and from his time onward the epistle was generally regarded as a part of the New Testament.
Even in early times there was controversy over its authorship, and Second Peter was often not included in the biblical canon; it was only in the 4th century that it gained a firm foothold in the New Testament, in a series of synods. In the East the Syriac Orthodox Church still did not admit it into the canon until the 6th century.[265]
Traditionally, the Gospel of Mark was said to have been written by a person named John Mark, and that this person was an assistant to Peter; hence its content was traditionally seen as the closest to Peter’s viewpoint. According to Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, Papias recorded this belief from John the Presbyter:
Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a normal or chronological narrative of the Lord’s sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictional into the statements.[271]
Clement of Alexandria in the fragments of his work Hypotyposes (A.D. 190) preserved and cited by the historian Eusebius in his Church History (VI, 14: 6) writes that:
As Peter had preached the Word publicly at Rome, and declared the Gospel by the Spirit, many who were present requested that Mark, who had followed him for a long time and remembered his sayings, should write them out. And having composed the Gospel he gave it to those who had requested it.[128]
Also, Irenaeus wrote about this tradition:
After their (Peter and Paul’s) passing, Mark also, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, transmitted to us in writing the things preached by Peter.[272]
Based on these quotes, and on the Christian tradition, the information in Mark’s gospel about Peter would be based on eyewitness material.[265] The gospel itself is anonymous, and the above passages are the oldest surviving written testimony to its authorship.[265]
The Epistula Petri, the introductory letter ascribed to the Apostle Peter that appears at the beginning of at least one version of the Clementine literature
Two sayings are attributed to Peter in the GnosticGospel of Thomas. In the first, Peter compares Jesus to a “just messenger”.[274] In the second, Peter asks Jesus to “make Mary leave us, for females don’t deserve life.”[275] In the Apocalypse of Peter, Peter holds a dialogue with Jesus about the parable of the fig tree and the fate of sinners.[276] In the Gospel of Mary, whose text is largely fragmented, Peter appears to be jealous of “Mary” (probably Mary Magdalene). He says to the other disciples, “Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?”[277] In reply to this, Levi says, “Peter, you have always been hot tempered.”[277] Other noncanonical texts that attribute sayings to Peter include the Secret Book of James and the Acts of Peter.
In the Fayyum Fragment, which dates to the end of the 3rd century, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times before a cock crows on the following morning. The account is similar to that of the canonical gospels, especially the Gospel of Mark. It is unclear whether the fragment is an abridged version of the accounts in the synoptic gospels, or a source text on which they were based, perhaps the apocryphal Gospel of Peter.[278]
The fragmentary Gospel of Peter contains an account of the death of Jesus differing significantly from the canonical gospels. It contains little information about Peter himself, except that after the discovery of the empty tomb, “I, Simon Peter, and Andrew my brother, took our fishing nets and went to the sea.”[279]
The earliest portrait of Peter dates back to the 4th century and was located in 2010.[280] In traditional iconography, Peter has been shown very consistently since early Christian art as an oldish, thick-set man with a “slightly combative” face and a short beard, and usually white hair, sometimes balding. He thus contrasts with Paul the Apostle who is bald except at the sides, with a longer beard and often black hair, and thinner in the face. One exception to this is in Anglo-Saxon art, where he typically lacks a beard. Both Peter and Paul are shown thus as early as the 4th century Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter in Rome.[281] Later in the Middle Ages his attribute is one or two large keys in his hand or hanging from his belt, first seen in the early 8th century.[282] More than many medieval attributes, this continued to be depicted in the Renaissance and afterwards. By the 15th century Peter is more likely to be bald on the top of his head in the Western church, but he continues to have a good head of hair in Orthodox icons.
The depiction of Saint Peter as literally the keeper of the gates of heaven, popular with modern cartoonists, is not found in traditional religious art, but Peter usually heads groups of saints flanking God in heaven, on the right side (viewer’s left) of God. Narrative images of Peter include several scenes from the Life of Christ where he is mentioned in the gospels, and he is often identifiable in scenes where his presence is not specifically mentioned. Usually, he stands nearest to Christ. In particular, depictions of the Arrest of Christ usually include Peter cutting off the ear of one of the soldiers. Scenes without Jesus include his distinctive martyrdom, his rescue from prison, and sometimes his trial. In the Counter-Reformation scenes of Peter hearing the cock crow for the third time became popular, as a representation of repentance and hence the Catholic sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation.
Patronage
Medieval mosaic of Saint Peter in the Chora Church, IstanbulIcon of Saint Peter and PaulSt. Peter, holding a key and a book, depicted in a medieval Welsh manuscript, 1390–1400
Another revisionist view was developed by supporters of the Christ myth theory, which holds that the figure of Peter is largely a development from some mythological doorkeeper figures. According to Arthur Drews and G. A. Wells, if there was a historical Peter, then all that is known about him is the brief mentions in Galatians.[284][285]
In art
Depictions of Saint Peter
Saint Peter Attempting to Walk on Water, by François Boucher, 1766
Dicky Betts will not be down for breakfast. Another great bites the dust.
Forrest Richard Betts (December 12, 1943 – April 18, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band.
Early in his career, he collaborated with Duane Allman,[1] introducing melodic twin guitar harmony and counterpoint which “rewrote the rules for how two rock guitarists can work together, completely scrapping the traditional rhythm/lead roles to stand toe to toe”.[2] Following Allman’s death in 1971, Betts assumed sole lead guitar duties during the peak of the group’s commercial success in the mid-1970s. Betts was the writer and singer on the Allmans’ hit single “Ramblin’ Man“. He also gained renown for composing instrumentals, with one appearing on most of the groups albums, including “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Jessica” (which was later used as the theme to Top Gear).
The band went through a hiatus in the late 1970s, during which time Betts, like many of the other band members, pursued a solo career and side projects under such names as Great Southern and The Dickey Betts Band. The Allman Brothers reformed in 1979, with Dan Toler taking the second guitar role alongside Betts. In 1982, they broke up a second time, during which time Betts formed the group Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, which lasted until 1984. A third reformation occurred in 1989, with Warren Haynes now joining Betts on guitar. After Betts was ousted from the band in 2000 over a conflict regarding his continued drug and alcohol use; he never played with them again nor appeared with other former band members for reunions or side projects. With the death of Betts in April 2024, Jaimoe is the last living founder of the Allman Brothers Band.
He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995[3] and also won a best rock performance Grammy Award with the band for “Jessica” in 1996.[4] Betts was ranked No. 58 on Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003, and No. 61 on the list published in 2011.[5][6]
Early life
Born in West Palm Beach on December 12, 1943, and raised in Bradenton, Florida,[7][8] Betts grew up in a musical family listening to traditional bluegrass, country music and Western swing. He started playing ukulele) at five and, as his hands got bigger, moved on to mandolin, banjo, and guitar. At sixteen and feeling the need for something “a little faster”, he played in a series of rock bands on the Florida circuit, up the East Coast and into the Midwest before forming Second Coming with Berry Oakley in 1967. According to Rick Derringer, the “group called the Jokers” referenced in “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” was one of Betts’ early groups.[9]
Career
Early Allman Brothers Band years
In 1969, Duane Allman had parlayed success as a session player into a contract with Southern soul impresario Phil Walden, who planned to back a power trio featuring Allman. The ensuing Allman Brothers Band eventually grew to six members, including Duane’s brother Gregg, Betts, and Oakley.
After the death of Duane Allman in late 1971, Betts became the band’s sole guitarist and also took on a greater singing and leadership role. Betts, over the course of one night’s traveling, practiced slide guitar intensively in order to cover the majority of Duane’s parts. He went on to write “Jessica” and the Allmans’ biggest commercial hit, “Ramblin’ Man“.[citation needed] “Jessica” was inspired by his daughter of the same name.[10]
Solo career and later work
Betts in 1974
Betts’s first solo album, Highway Call, was released in 1974, and featured fiddle player Vassar Clements. After the Allman Brothers fell apart in 1976, Betts released more albums, starting with Dickey Betts & Great Southern in 1977, which included the song “Bougainvillea”, co-written with future Hollywood star Don Johnson. In 1978 he released an album, Atlanta’s Burning Down.[citation needed]
The Allman Brothers reformed in 1979 for the album Enlightened Rogues with two members of Great Southern replacing Allman Brothers members unwilling to participate in the reunion: guitar player Dan Toler (for pianist Chuck Leavell) and bassist David “Rook” Goldflies (for bassist Lamar Williams). Several albums would follow, with various personnel changes, until steadily declining record and concert ticket sales and tensions around management issues led the group to again disband in 1982.[citation needed]
Betts then formed Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, where he was co-frontman along with former Wet Willie singer, saxophone, and harmonica player Jimmy Hall. Despite getting good notices, the group was unable to secure a recording contract and disbanded in 1984.[11] Betts then returned to his solo career, performing live at smaller venues and releasing the album Pattern Disruptive in 1989. When a one-off reunion tour was proposed in support of the Allman Brothers’ Dreams box set released in 1989 to commemorate the band’s 20th anniversary, Betts’s solo band again supplied the Allman Brothers’ other guitarist, slide guitarist Warren Haynes. The one-off tour’s success resulted in a permanent reunion which absorbed Betts’s energies for the remainder of the 1990s. This band lineup went on to release three acclaimed studio albums between 1990 and 1994.[citation needed]
Betts was replaced on numerous Allman Brothers tour dates throughout the mid-to-late 1990s, for what were reported in the media as “personal reasons”. While remaining active as a touring band, they failed to release an album of new studio material after 1994’s Where It All Begins until 2003’s Hittin’ the Note. Haynes and Allman Brothers bassist Allen Woody formed Gov’t Mule with former Dickey Betts Band drummer Matt Abts as a side project in 1994, and left the Allman Brothers for Gov’t Mule full-time in 1997. Betts’ last show with the Allman Brothers was at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 7, 2000.[12]
Things reached a breaking point when the remaining original Allman Brothers members – Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe – suspended Betts (reportedly via fax) before the launch of the band’s Summer Campaign Tour 2000.[13] According to Betts, the band told him in the fax to get clean (presumably from alcohol and/or drugs). Betts was subsequently ordered out of the band after the dispute went to arbitration.[14]
Betts was temporarily replaced for the 2000 tour by Jimmy Herring, formerly of the Aquarium Rescue Unit. When Betts filed suit against the other three original Allmans, the separation turned into a permanent divorce. Although separated personally and as musical bandmates for over 15 years, Betts and Gregg Allman did reconcile before Allman’s death in 2017.[citation needed] Betts re-formed the Dickey Betts Band in 2000 and toured that summer. The band reassumed the name Dickey Betts & Great Southern and added Betts’ son Duane (named after Duane Allman) on lead guitar. In 2005, Betts released the DVD Live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
Betts’ final album release was Dickey Betts & Great Southern Official Bootleg Vol. 1 (2021), a two-CD live album of performances from the 2000s.[15]
Personal life, health, and death
Betts married his fifth wife, Donna, in 1989.[16] He had four children: Kimberly, Christy, Jessica, and Duane. Christy is married to Frank Hannon of the band Tesla. Duane, named for Betts’ former bandmate Duane Allman, is also a musician and performed and recorded with his father.[17]
Although he briefly resided in Georgia during the formative years of the Allman Brothers Band, he lived in Florida’s Sarasota metropolitan area for most of his life.[18]
Health and death
In August 2018, Betts suffered a mild stroke and had to cancel upcoming tour dates with his Dickey Betts Band. He was in critical yet stable condition at a Florida hospital following an accident at his home in Osprey, Florida. An operation was planned for September 20, 2018.[19] He successfully underwent surgery to relieve swelling on his brain. In a statement posted on his website, Betts and his family said the “outpouring of support from all over the world has been overwhelming and amazing. We are so appreciative.”
Betts died from cancer and COPD at his home in Osprey, Florida, on April 18, 2024. He was 80.[20][21]
“American Tune” is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third single from his third studio album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973), released on Columbia Records. The song, a meditation on the American experience, is based on the melody of the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” and bears a striking resemblance to JS Bach’s “Erkenne mich, mein Hüter“. The song reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
Lyrics
In an interview with Tom Moon in 2011, Paul Simon was asked about political references in his songs, and he said: “I don’t write overtly political songs, although ‘American Tune’ comes pretty close, as it was written just after Nixon was elected.”[3]
Reception
Billboard described it as a “discourse on inner security while being far from home.”[4]Cash Box called it a “gorgeous, haunting, highly lyrical track” and said that the “soft vocal performance is heightened by sweet string section.”[5]Record World said that it “should touch the hearts and ears of many Americans” with a “beautiful melody wrapped around meaningful lyrics.”[6]
Years after the song’s release, the Los Angeles Times wrote “It does not ring with the loud anger that runs through our time. It is mournful, as if unspooling in the candlelight of a day’s end,” and praised the song for its tender, timeless nature, noting it as a “visceral [reminder] of our history.”[8]
Music
The tune is based on the melody of the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” (German: “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden,” text by Paul Gerhardt). The common name for this hymn tune is “Passion Chorale.” The well-known hymn is itself a reworking of an earlier secular song, “Mein G’müt ist mir verwirret,” composed by Hans Leo Hassler.[9]
“American Tune” became a concert favorite, both for Simon and in reunion concerts with Simon’s former singing partner, Art Garfunkel. The song appears on several of Simon’s solo live albums and on Simon and Garfunkel‘s post-breakup live albums, most famously The Concert in Central Park. A live version with a string quartet appeared on Simon’s 1977 album Greatest Hits, Etc. Simon performed the song live on November 18, 2008, during the airing of The Colbert Report,[10] and on September 11, 2015, to close out the last show of the first week of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[11] In his surprise appearance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival, Simon introduced Rhiannon Giddens to sing the song, with lyrics adjusted to include the lines, “We didn’t come here on the Mayflower / We came on a ship in a blood red moon”. Giddens backed the song with banjo, while Simon accompanied on guitar. [12]
In 2017, Elvis Costello released a non-album single version under the pseudonym “The Imposter”. In 2020, Dave Matthews performed “American Tune” for Jimmy Kimmel Live! during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simon’s own unfinished demo recording, with incomplete lyrics, was released as a bonus track on the 2004 CD reissue of There Goes Rhymin’ Simon.
Simon performed the song at the pre-inaugural concert for Jimmy Carter, held at the Kennedy Center in Washington on January 19, 1977, the evening before Carter’s swearing-in as president.[17]
In late October 2008, the progressive advocacy group Progressive Future produced a 60-second television ad featuring “American Tune” in support of Senator Barack Obama‘s presidential campaign. The “what’s gone wrong” line underscored a photo of President George W. Bush and Obama’s opponent John McCain standing close together.[18]
What was I thinking when I pushed on that slide rule? Was it the magic wand that led me here? Ever since I was very small, telescope in my hand, That demon called my name
Through renewal in the fall, watching the leaves blow A little snow begins to swirl Equations that mystify hold all the worldly truths Except how to fill the void.
Christmas comes and then it goes HP made the slide rule obsolete April, May, June, Pomp and Circumstance It’s suddenly not so clear.
All the aces in my squad vied for the chance to get there first No one had thought that honor would be mine Out 100 million miles and out of books to read. What was I thinking?
Christmas comes and then it goes AI lacks that gentle human touch April, May, June Cognitive Decline It’s suddenly very clear
While the observation of objects in space, known as astronomy, predates reliable recorded history, it was the development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the mid-twentieth century that allowed physical space exploration to become a reality. Common rationales for exploring space include advancing scientific research, national prestige, uniting different nations, ensuring the future survival of humanity, and developing military and strategic advantages against other countries.[2]
The early era of space exploration was driven by a “Space Race” between the Soviet Union and the United States. A driving force of the start of space exploration was during the Cold War. After the ability to create nuclear weapons, the narrative of defense/offense left land and the power to control the air became the focus. Both the Soviet and the U.S. were fighting to prove their superiority in technology through exploring the unknown: space. In fact, the reason NASA was made was due to the response of Sputnik I.[3] The launch of the first human-made object to orbit Earth, the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1, on 4 October 1957, and the first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 mission on 20 July 1969 are often taken as landmarks for this initial period. The Soviet space program achieved many of the first milestones, including the first living being in orbit in 1957, the first human spaceflight (Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1) in 1961, the first spacewalk (by Alexei Leonov) on 18 March 1965, the first automatic landing on another celestial body in 1966, and the launch of the first space station (Salyut 1) in 1971. After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shifted from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as the Space Shuttle program, and from competition to cooperation as with the International Space Station (ISS).
With the substantial completion of the ISS[4] following STS-133 in March 2011, plans for space exploration by the U.S. remain in flux. Constellation, a Bush administration program for a return to the Moon by 2020[5] was judged inadequately funded and unrealistic by an expert review panel reporting in 2009.[6] The Obama administration proposed a revision of Constellation in 2010 to focus on the development of the capability for crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), envisioning extending the operation of the ISS beyond 2020, transferring the development of launch vehicles for human crews from NASA to the private sector, and developing technology to enable missions to beyond LEO, such as Earth–Moon L1, the Moon, Earth–Sun L2, near-Earth asteroids, and Phobos or Mars orbit.[7]
The first successful orbital launch was of the Soviet uncrewed Sputnik 1 (“Satellite 1”) mission on 4 October 1957. The satellite weighed about 83 kg (183 lb), and is believed to have orbited Earth at a height of about 250 km (160 mi). It had two radio transmitters (20 and 40 MHz), which emitted “beeps” that could be heard by radios around the globe. Analysis of the radio signals was used to gather information about the electron density of the ionosphere, while temperature and pressure data was encoded in the duration of radio beeps. The results indicated that the satellite was not punctured by a meteoroid. Sputnik 1 was launched by an R-7 rocket. It burned up upon re-entry on 3 January 1958.
First human outer space flight
The first successful human spaceflight was Vostok 1 (“East 1”), carrying the 27-year-old Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, on 12 April 1961. The spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, lasting about 1 hour and 48 minutes. Gagarin’s flight resonated around the world; it was a demonstration of the advanced Soviet space program and it opened an entirely new era in space exploration: human spaceflight.
First astronomical body space explorations
The first artificial object to reach another celestial body was Luna 2 reaching the Moon in 1959.[25] The first soft landing on another celestial body was performed by Luna 9 landing on the Moon on 3 February 1966.[26]Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon, entering in a lunar orbit on 3 April 1966.[27]
The first crewed landing on another celestial body was performed by Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969, landing on the Moon. There have been a total of six spacecraft with humans landing on the Moon starting from 1969 to the last human landing in 1972.
The first interplanetary surface mission to return at least limited surface data from another planet was the 1970 landing of Venera 7, which returned data to Earth for 23 minutes from Venus. In 1975 the Venera 9 was the first to return images from the surface of another planet, returning images from Venus. In 1971 the Mars 3 mission achieved the first soft landing on Mars returning data for almost 20 seconds. Later much longer duration surface missions were achieved, including over six years of Mars surface operation by Viking 1 from 1975 to 1982 and over two hours of transmission from the surface of Venus by Venera 13 in 1982, the longest ever Soviet planetary surface mission. Venus and Mars are the two planets outside of Earth on which humans have conducted surface missions with uncrewed robotic spacecraft.
First space station
Salyut 1 was the first space station of any kind, launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1971. The International Space Station is currently the largest and oldest of the 2 current fully functional space stations, inhabited continuously since the year 2000. The other, Tiangong space station built by China, is now fully crewed and operational.
The Apollo 13 flight passed the far side of the Moon at an altitude of 254 kilometers (158 miles; 137 nautical miles) above the lunar surface, and 400,171 km (248,655 mi) from Earth, marking the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth in 1970.
As of 26 November 2022 Voyager 1 was at a distance of 159 AU (23.8 billion km; 14.8 billion mi) from Earth.[29] It is the most distant human-made object from Earth.[30]
Targets of exploration
Starting in the mid-20th century probes and then human mission were sent into Earth orbit, and then on to the Moon. Also, probes were sent throughout the known Solar System, and into Solar orbit. Uncrewed spacecraft have been sent into orbit around Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury by the 21st century, and the most distance active spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2 traveled beyond 100 times the Earth-Sun distance. The instruments were enough though that it is thought they have left the Sun’s heliosphere, a sort of bubble of particles made in the Galaxy by the Sun’s solar wind.
The Sun
The Sun is a major focus of space exploration. Being above the atmosphere in particular and Earth’s magnetic field gives access to the solar wind and infrared and ultraviolet radiations that cannot reach Earth’s surface. The Sun generates most space weather, which can affect power generation and transmission systems on Earth and interfere with, and even damage, satellites and space probes. Numerous spacecraft dedicated to observing the Sun, beginning with the Apollo Telescope Mount, have been launched and still others have had solar observation as a secondary objective. Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, will approach the Sun to within 1/9th the orbit of Mercury.
A MESSENGER image from 18,000 km showing a region about 500 km across (2008)
Mercury remains the least explored of the Terrestrial planets. As of May 2013, the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions have been the only missions that have made close observations of Mercury. MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury in March 2011, to further investigate the observations made by Mariner 10 in 1975 (Munsell, 2006b). A third mission to Mercury, scheduled to arrive in 2025, BepiColombo is to include two probes. BepiColombo is a joint mission between Japan and the European Space Agency. MESSENGER and BepiColombo are intended to gather complementary data to help scientists understand many of the mysteries discovered by Mariner 10’s flybys.
Flights to other planets within the Solar System are accomplished at a cost in energy, which is described by the net change in velocity of the spacecraft, or delta-v. Due to the relatively high delta-v to reach Mercury and its proximity to the Sun, it is difficult to explore and orbits around it are rather unstable.
Venus was the first target of interplanetary flyby and lander missions and, despite one of the most hostile surface environments in the Solar System, has had more landers sent to it (nearly all from the Soviet Union) than any other planet in the Solar System. The first flyby was the 1961 Venera 1, though the 1962 Mariner 2 was the first flyby to successfully return data. Mariner 2 has been followed by several other flybys by multiple space agencies often as part of missions using a Venus flyby to provide a gravitational assist en route to other celestial bodies. In 1967 Venera 4 became the first probe to enter and directly examine the atmosphere of Venus. In 1970, Venera 7 became the first successful lander to reach the surface of Venus and by 1985 it had been followed by eight additional successful Soviet Venus landers which provided images and other direct surface data. Starting in 1975 with the Soviet orbiter Venera 9 some ten successful orbiter missions have been sent to Venus, including later missions which were able to map the surface of Venus using radar to pierce the obscuring atmosphere.
First television image of Earth from space, taken by TIROS-1 (1960)
Space exploration has been used as a tool to understand Earth as a celestial object. Orbital missions can provide data for Earth that can be difficult or impossible to obtain from a purely ground-based point of reference.
For example, the existence of the Van Allen radiation belts was unknown until their discovery by the United States’ first artificial satellite, Explorer 1. These belts contain radiation trapped by Earth’s magnetic fields, which currently renders construction of habitable space stations above 1000 km impractical. Following this early unexpected discovery, a large number of Earth observation satellites have been deployed specifically to explore Earth from a space-based perspective. These satellites have significantly contributed to the understanding of a variety of Earth-based phenomena. For instance, the hole in the ozone layer was found by an artificial satellite that was exploring Earth’s atmosphere, and satellites have allowed for the discovery of archeological sites or geological formations that were difficult or impossible to otherwise identify.
The Moon was the first celestial body to be the object of space exploration. It holds the distinctions of being the first remote celestial object to be flown by, orbited, and landed upon by spacecraft, and the only remote celestial object ever to be visited by humans.
In 1959 the Soviets obtained the first images of the far side of the Moon, never previously visible to humans. The U.S. exploration of the Moon began with the Ranger 4 impactor in 1962. Starting in 1966 the Soviets successfully deployed a number of landers to the Moon which were able to obtain data directly from the Moon’s surface; just four months later, Surveyor 1 marked the debut of a successful series of U.S. landers. The Soviet uncrewed missions culminated in the Lunokhod program in the early 1970s, which included the first uncrewed rovers and also successfully brought lunar soil samples to Earth for study. This marked the first (and to date the only) automated return of extraterrestrial soil samples to Earth. Uncrewed exploration of the Moon continues with various nations periodically deploying lunar orbiters, and in 2008 the Indian Moon Impact Probe and in 2023 the Chandrayaan-3 of India became the first spacecraft to land on the lunar south pole.
Crewed exploration of the Moon began in 1968 with the Apollo 8 mission that successfully orbited the Moon, the first time any extraterrestrial object was orbited by humans. In 1969, the Apollo 11 mission marked the first time humans set foot upon another world. Crewed exploration of the Moon did not continue for long. The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 marked the sixth landing and the most recent human visit. Artemis 2 is scheduled to complete a crewed flyby of the Moon in 2025, and Artemis 3 will perform the first lunar landing since Apollo 17 with it scheduled for launch no earlier than 2026. Robotic missions are still pursued vigorously.
The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union (later Russia), the United States, Europe, Japan and India. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s. These missions were aimed at gathering data about current conditions and answering questions about the history of Mars. The questions raised by the scientific community are expected to not only give a better appreciation of the Red Planet but also yield further insight into the past, and possible future, of Earth.
The exploration of Mars has come at a considerable financial cost with roughly two-thirds of all spacecraft destined for Mars failing before completing their missions, with some failing before they even began. Such a high failure rate can be attributed to the complexity and large number of variables involved in an interplanetary journey, and has led researchers to jokingly speak of The Great Galactic Ghoul[31] which subsists on a diet of Mars probes. This phenomenon is also informally known as the “Mars Curse“.[32] In contrast to overall high failure rates in the exploration of Mars, India has become the first country to achieve success of its maiden attempt. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)[33][34][35] is one of the least expensive interplanetary missions ever undertaken with an approximate total cost of ₹ 450 Crore (US$73 million).[36][37] The first mission to Mars by any Arab country has been taken up by the United Arab Emirates. Called the Emirates Mars Mission, it was launched on 19 July 2020 and went into orbit around Mars on 9 February 2021. The uncrewed exploratory probe was named “Hope Probe” and was sent to Mars to study its atmosphere in detail.[38]
The Russian space mission Fobos-Grunt, which launched on 9 November 2011 experienced a failure leaving it stranded in low Earth orbit.[39] It was to begin exploration of the Phobos and Martian circumterrestrial orbit, and study whether the moons of Mars, or at least Phobos, could be a “trans-shipment point” for spaceships traveling to Mars.[40]
Until the advent of space travel, objects in the asteroid belt were merely pinpricks of light in even the largest telescopes, their shapes and terrain remaining a mystery. Several asteroids have now been visited by probes, the first of which was Galileo, which flew past two: 951 Gaspra in 1991, followed by 243 Ida in 1993. Both of these lay near enough to Galileo’s planned trajectory to Jupiter that they could be visited at acceptable cost. The first landing on an asteroid was performed by the NEAR Shoemaker probe in 2000, following an orbital survey of the object, 433 Eros. The dwarf planet Ceres and the asteroid 4 Vesta, two of the three largest asteroids, were visited by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, launched in 2007.
Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to return a sample of material from the small near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. Hayabusa was launched on 9 May 2003 and rendezvoused with Itokawa in mid-September 2005. After arriving at Itokawa, Hayabusa studied the asteroid’s shape, spin, topography, color, composition, density, and history. In November 2005, it landed on the asteroid twice to collect samples. The spacecraft returned to Earth on 13 June 2010.
The exploration of Jupiter has consisted solely of a number of automated NASA spacecraft visiting the planet since 1973. A large majority of the missions have been “flybys”, in which detailed observations are taken without the probe landing or entering orbit; such as in Pioneer and Voyager programs. The Galileo and Juno spacecraft are the only spacecraft to have entered the planet’s orbit. As Jupiter is believed to have only a relatively small rocky core and no real solid surface, a landing mission is precluded.
Reaching Jupiter from Earth requires a delta-v of 9.2 km/s,[41] which is comparable to the 9.7 km/s delta-v needed to reach low Earth orbit.[42] Fortunately, gravity assists through planetary flybys can be used to reduce the energy required at launch to reach Jupiter, albeit at the cost of a significantly longer flight duration.[41]
Jupiter has 95 known moons, many of which have relatively little known information about them.
Saturn has been explored only through uncrewed spacecraft launched by NASA, including one mission (Cassini–Huygens) planned and executed in cooperation with other space agencies. These missions consist of flybys in 1979 by Pioneer 11, in 1980 by Voyager 1, in 1982 by Voyager 2 and an orbital mission by the Cassini spacecraft, which lasted from 2004 until 2017.
Saturn has at least 62 known moons, although the exact number is debatable since Saturn’s rings are made up of vast numbers of independently orbiting objects of varying sizes. The largest of the moons is Titan, which holds the distinction of being the only moon in the Solar System with an atmosphere denser and thicker than that of Earth. Titan holds the distinction of being the only object in the Outer Solar System that has been explored with a lander, the Huygens probe deployed by the Cassini spacecraft.
The exploration of Uranus has been entirely through the Voyager 2 spacecraft, with no other visits currently planned. Given its axial tilt of 97.77°, with its polar regions exposed to sunlight or darkness for long periods, scientists were not sure what to expect at Uranus. The closest approach to Uranus occurred on 24 January 1986. Voyager 2 studied the planet’s unique atmosphere and magnetosphere. Voyager 2 also examined its ring system and the moons of Uranus including all five of the previously known moons, while discovering an additional ten previously unknown moons.
Images of Uranus proved to have a very uniform appearance, with no evidence of the dramatic storms or atmospheric banding evident on Jupiter and Saturn. Great effort was required to even identify a few clouds in the images of the planet. The magnetosphere of Uranus, however, proved to be unique, being profoundly affected by the planet’s unusual axial tilt. In contrast to the bland appearance of Uranus itself, striking images were obtained of the Moons of Uranus, including evidence that Miranda had been unusually geologically active.
The exploration of Neptune began with 25 August 1989 Voyager 2 flyby, the sole visit to the system as of 2024. The possibility of a Neptune Orbiter has been discussed, but no other missions have been given serious thought.
Although the extremely uniform appearance of Uranus during Voyager 2‘s visit in 1986 had led to expectations that Neptune would also have few visible atmospheric phenomena, the spacecraft found that Neptune had obvious banding, visible clouds, auroras, and even a conspicuous anticyclone storm system rivaled in size only by Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Neptune also proved to have the fastest winds of any planet in the Solar System, measured as high as 2,100 km/h.[43]Voyager 2 also examined Neptune’s ring and moon system. It discovered 900 complete rings and additional partial ring “arcs” around Neptune. In addition to examining Neptune’s three previously known moons, Voyager 2 also discovered five previously unknown moons, one of which, Proteus, proved to be the last largest moon in the system. Data from Voyager 2 supported the view that Neptune’s largest moon, Triton, is a captured Kuiper belt object.[44]
The dwarf planet Pluto presents significant challenges for spacecraft because of its great distance from Earth (requiring high velocity for reasonable trip times) and small mass (making capture into orbit very difficult at present). Voyager 1 could have visited Pluto, but controllers opted instead for a close flyby of Saturn’s moon Titan, resulting in a trajectory incompatible with a Pluto flyby. Voyager 2 never had a plausible trajectory for reaching Pluto.[45]
After an intense political battle, a mission to Pluto dubbed New Horizons was granted funding from the United States government in 2003.[46]New Horizons was launched successfully on 19 January 2006. In early 2007 the craft made use of a gravity assist from Jupiter. Its closest approach to Pluto was on 14 July 2015; scientific observations of Pluto began five months prior to closest approach and continued for 16 days after the encounter.
Kuiper Belt Objects
The New Horizons mission also did a flyby of the small planetesimal Arrokoth, in the Kuiper belt, in 2019. This was its first extended mission.[47]
This high-resolution image of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field includes galaxies of various ages, sizes, shapes, and colors. The smallest, reddest galaxies, are some of the most distant galaxies to have been imaged by an optical telescope.
Some of the best candidates for future deep space engine technologies include anti-matter, nuclear power and beamed propulsion.[49] The latter, beamed propulsion, appears to be the best candidate for deep space exploration presently available, since it uses known physics and known technology that is being developed for other purposes.[50]
An article in science magazine Nature suggested the use of asteroids as a gateway for space exploration, with the ultimate destination being Mars. In order to make such an approach viable, three requirements need to be fulfilled: first, “a thorough asteroid survey to find thousands of nearby bodies suitable for astronauts to visit”; second, “extending flight duration and distance capability to ever-increasing ranges out to Mars”; and finally, “developing better robotic vehicles and tools to enable astronauts to explore an asteroid regardless of its size, shape or spin”. Furthermore, using asteroids would provide astronauts with protection from galactic cosmic rays, with mission crews being able to land on them without great risk to radiation exposure.
The primary mirror of the JWST, the Optical Telescope Element, is composed of 18 hexagonal mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium which combine to create a 6.5-meter (21 ft; 260 in) diameter mirror that is much larger than the Hubble’s 2.4-meter (7.9 ft; 94 in) mirror. Unlike the Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared (0.1 to 1 μm) spectra, the JWST will observe in a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light through mid-infrared (0.6 to 27 μm), which will allow it to observe high redshift objects that are too old and too distant for the Hubble to observe.[57] The telescope must be kept very cold in order to observe in the infrared without interference, so it will be deployed in space near the Earth–Sun L2Lagrangian point, and a large sunshield made of silicon– and aluminum-coated Kapton will keep its mirror and instruments below 50 K (−220 °C; −370 °F).[58]
The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA,[59] with the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region by 2024. Artemis would be the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.
In 2017, the lunar campaign was authorized by Space Policy Directive 1, utilizing various ongoing spacecraft programs such as Orion, the Lunar Gateway, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and adding an undeveloped crewed lander. The Space Launch System will serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles are planned for use to launch various other elements of the campaign.[60] NASA requested $1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020,[61] while the Senate Appropriations Committee requested from NASA a five-year budget profile[62] which is needed for evaluation and approval by Congress.[63][64]
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin had a personal Communion service when he first arrived on the surface of the Moon.
The research that is conducted by national space exploration agencies, such as NASA and Roscosmos, is one of the reasons supporters cite to justify government expenses. Economic analyses of the NASA programs often showed ongoing economic benefits (such as NASA spin-offs), generating many times the revenue of the cost of the program.[65] It is also argued that space exploration would lead to the extraction of resources on other planets and especially asteroids, which contain billions of dollars worth of minerals and metals. Such expeditions could generate a lot of revenue.[66] In addition, it has been argued that space exploration programs help inspire youth to study in science and engineering.[67] Space exploration also gives scientists the ability to perform experiments in other settings and expand humanity’s knowledge.[68]
Another claim is that space exploration is a necessity to mankind and that staying on Earth will lead to extinction. Some of the reasons are lack of natural resources, comets, nuclear war, and worldwide epidemic. Stephen Hawking, renowned British theoretical physicist, said that “I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars.”[69]Arthur C. Clarke (1950) presented a summary of motivations for the human exploration of space in his non-fiction semi-technical monograph Interplanetary Flight.[70] He argued that humanity’s choice is essentially between expansion off Earth into space, versus cultural (and eventually biological) stagnation and death. These motivations could be attributed to one of the first rocket scientists in NASA, Wernher von Braun, and his vision of humans moving beyond Earth. The basis of this plan was to:
Develop multi-stage rockets capable of placing satellites, animals, and humans in space.
Development of large, winged reusable spacecraft capable of carrying humans and equipment into Earth orbit in a way that made space access routine and cost-effective.
Construction of a large, permanently occupied space station to be used as a platform both to observe Earth and from which to launch deep space expeditions.
Launching the first human flights around the Moon, leading to the first landings of humans on the Moon, with the intent of exploring that body and establishing permanent lunar bases.
Assembly and fueling of spaceships in Earth orbit for the purpose of sending humans to Mars with the intent of eventually colonizing that planet.[71]
Known as the Von Braun Paradigm, the plan was formulated to lead humans in the exploration of space. Von Braun’s vision of human space exploration served as the model for efforts in space exploration well into the twenty-first century, with NASA incorporating this approach into the majority of their projects.[71] The steps were followed out of order, as seen by the Apollo program reaching the moon before the space shuttle program was started, which in turn was used to complete the International Space Station. Von Braun’s Paradigm formed NASA’s drive for human exploration, in the hopes that humans discover the far reaches of the universe.
NASA has produced a series of public service announcement videos supporting the concept of space exploration.[72]
Overall, the public remains largely supportive of both crewed and uncrewed space exploration. According to an Associated Press Poll conducted in July 2003, 71% of U.S. citizens agreed with the statement that the space program is “a good investment”, compared to 21% who did not.[73]
A spaceflight typically begins with a rocket launch, which provides the initial thrust to overcome the force of gravity and propels the spacecraft from the surface of Earth. Once in space, the motion of a spacecraft—both when unpropelled and when under propulsion—is covered by the area of study called astrodynamics. Some spacecraft remain in space indefinitely, some disintegrate during atmospheric reentry, and others reach a planetary or lunar surface for landing or impact.
Satellites are used for a large number of purposes. Common types include military (spy) and civilian Earth observation satellites, communication satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and research satellites. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites.
The commercialization of space first started out with the launching of private satellites by NASA or other space agencies. Current examples of the commercial satellite use of space include satellite navigation systems, satellite television and satellite radio. The next step of commercialization of space was seen as human spaceflight. Flying humans safely to and from space had become routine to NASA.[76] Reusable spacecraft were an entirely new engineering challenge, something only seen in novels and films like Star Trek and War of the Worlds. Great names like Buzz Aldrin supported the use of making a reusable vehicle like the space shuttle. Aldrin held that reusable spacecraft were the key in making space travel affordable, stating that the use of “passenger space travel is a huge potential market big enough to justify the creation of reusable launch vehicles”.[77] How can the public go against the words of one of America’s best known heroes in space exploration? After all exploring space is the next great expedition, following the example of Lewis and Clark.Space tourism is the next step reusable vehicles in the commercialization of space. The purpose of this form of space travel is used by individuals for the purpose of personal pleasure.
Astrobiology is the interdisciplinary study of life in the universe, combining aspects of astronomy, biology and geology.[78] It is focused primarily on the study of the origin, distribution and evolution of life. It is also known as exobiology (from Greek: έξω, exo, “outside”).[79][80][81] The term “Xenobiology” has been used as well, but this is technically incorrect because its terminology means “biology of the foreigners”.[82] Astrobiologists must also consider the possibility of life that is chemically entirely distinct from any life found on Earth.[83] In the Solar System some of the prime locations for current or past astrobiology are on Enceladus, Europa, Mars, and Titan.[84]
To date, the longest human occupation of space is the International Space Station which has been in continuous use for 23 years, 156 days. Valeri Polyakov‘s record single spaceflight of almost 438 days aboard the Mir space station has not been surpassed. The health effects of space have been well documented through years of research conducted in the field of aerospace medicine. Analog environments similar to those one may experience in space travel (like deep sea submarines) have been used in this research to further explore the relationship between isolation and extreme environments.[85] It is imperative that the health of the crew be maintained as any deviation from baseline may compromise the integrity of the mission as well as the safety of the crew, hence the reason why astronauts must endure rigorous medical screenings and tests prior to embarking on any missions. However, it does not take long for the environmental dynamics of spaceflight to commence its toll on the human body; for example, space motion sickness (SMS) – a condition which affects the neurovestibular system and culminates in mild to severe signs and symptoms such as vertigo, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and disorientation – plagues almost all space travelers within their first few days in orbit.[85] Space travel can also have a profound impact on the psyche of the crew members as delineated in anecdotal writings composed after their retirement. Space travel can adversely affect the body’s natural biological clock (circadian rhythm); sleep patterns causing sleep deprivation and fatigue; and social interaction; consequently, residing in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment for a prolonged amount of time can result in both mental and physical exhaustion.[85] Long-term stays in space reveal issues with bone and muscle loss in low gravity, immune system suppression, and radiation exposure. The lack of gravity causes fluid to rise upward which can cause pressure to build up in the eye, resulting in vision problems; the loss of bone minerals and densities; cardiovascular deconditioning; and decreased endurance and muscle mass.[86]
Radiation is an insidious health hazard to space travelers as it is invisible and can cause cancer. When above the Earth’s magnetic field spacecraft are no longer protected from the sun’s radiation; the danger of radiation is even more potent in deep space. The hazards of radiation can be ameliorated through protective shielding on the spacecraft, alerts, and dosimetry.[87]
Fortunately, with new and rapidly evolving technological advancements, those in Mission Control are able to monitor the health of their astronauts more closely utilizing telemedicine. One may not be able to completely evade the physiological effects of space flight, but they can be mitigated. For example, medical systems aboard space vessels such as the International Space Station (ISS) are well equipped and designed to counteract the effects of lack of gravity and weightlessness; on-board treadmills can help prevent muscle loss and reduce the risk of developing premature osteoporosis.[85][87] Additionally, a crew medical officer is appointed for each ISS mission and a flight surgeon is available 24/7 via the ISS Mission Control Center located in Houston, Texas.[87] Although the interactions are intended to take place in real time, communications between the space and terrestrial crew may become delayed – sometimes by as much as 20 minutes[87] – as their distance from each other increases when the spacecraft moves further out of LEO; because of this the crew are trained and need to be prepared to respond to any medical emergencies that may arise on the vessel as the ground crew are hundreds of miles away. As one can see, travelling and possibly living in space poses many challenges. Many past and current concepts for the continued exploration and colonization of space focus on a return to the Moon as a “stepping stone” to the other planets, especially Mars. At the end of 2006 NASA announced they were planning to build a permanent Moon base with continual presence by 2024.[88]
Beyond the technical factors that could make living in space more widespread, it has been suggested that the lack of private property, the inability or difficulty in establishing property rights in space, has been an impediment to the development of space for human habitation. Since the advent of space technology in the latter half of the twentieth century, the ownership of property in space has been murky, with strong arguments both for and against. In particular, the making of nationalterritorial claims in outer space and on celestial bodies has been specifically proscribed by the Outer Space Treaty, which had been, as of 2012, ratified by all spacefaring nations.[89] Space colonization, also called space settlement and space humanization, would be the permanent autonomous (self-sufficient) human habitation of locations outside Earth, especially of natural satellites or planets such as the Moon or Mars, using significant amounts of in-situ resource utilization.
Participation and representation of humanity in space is an issue ever since the first phase of space exploration.[90] Some rights of non-spacefaring countries have been mostly secured through international space law, declaring space the “province of all mankind“, understanding spaceflight as its resource, though sharing of space for all humanity is still criticized as imperialist and lacking.[90] Additionally to international inclusion, the inclusion of women and people of colour has also been lacking. To reach a more inclusive spaceflight some organizations like the Justspace Alliance[90] and IAU featured Inclusive Astronomy[91] have been formed in recent years.
The first woman to go to space was Valentina Tereshkova. She flew in 1963 but it was not until the 1980s that another woman entered space again. All astronauts were required to be military test pilots at the time and women were not able to join this career, this is one reason for the delay in allowing women to join space crews.[citation needed] After the rule changed, Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to go to space, she was also from the Soviet Union. Sally Ride became the next woman in space and the first woman to fly to space through the United States program.
Since then, eleven other countries have allowed women astronauts. The first all-female space walk occurred in 2018, including Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. They had both previously participated in space walks with NASA. The first woman to go to the Moon is planned for 2024.
Despite these developments women are still underrepresented among astronauts and especially cosmonauts. Issues that block potential applicants from the programs, and limit the space missions they are able to go on, include:
agencies limiting women to half as much time in space than men, arguing with unresearched potential risks for cancer.[92]
a lack of space suits sized appropriately for female astronauts.[93]
I nixed the drums on this one and am much happier with it.
I used Horse Latitudes as a metaphor to signify the calm and stillness that comes when life slows down for whatever reason as age increases.
Horse Latitudes of life hold memories Vignettes time will slowly carve away Easels hold portraits of joy and sadness As the winds of change abate
Jenny’s book club is at 7 tonight Billy’s game is quarter to five If I get out of my job by four I can get him to the diamond on time.
There’s always something going on There’s hardly time to sleep But as the Sandman struggles There’s a memory that keeps Reminding me of a former life Where every minute went on for much longer Relativity theory is mysterious to me.
Sometimes I feel like a sailor at sea Caught in the palm of a fierce tsunami Tossing and turning I’m out of control I’m the mythical person for whom the bell tolls
Horse Latitudes of life hold memories Vignettes time will slowly carve away Easels hold portraits of joy and sadness As the winds of change abate
Jenny’s been gone for 7 long years. Billy’s living out in LA. Every year I get a nice Christmas card And another one on my birthday. Yesterday I found a diary Hidden in a drawer I think I saw her writing in it Many years before. The headline on page one announced On Sunday morning two became three The byline was a row of hearts that brought me to my knees.
Sometimes I feel like a sailor at sea Caught in the palm of a fierce tsunami Tossing and turning I’m out of control I’m the mythical person for whom the bell tolls
Horse Latitudes of life hold memories Vignettes time will slowly carve away Easels hold portraits of joy and sadness As the winds of change abate
Horse Latitudes of life hold memories Vignettes time will slowly carve away Easels hold portraits of joy and sadness As the winds of change abate
The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator.[1] They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges or highs. It is a high-pressure area at the divergence of trade winds and the westerlies.
Origin of the term
A likely and documented explanation is that the term is derived from the “dead horse” ritual of seamen (see Beating a dead horse). In this practice, the seaman paraded a straw-stuffed effigy of a horse around the deck before throwing it overboard. Seamen were paid partly in advance before a long voyage, and they frequently spent their pay all at once, resulting in a period of time without income. If they got advances from the ship’s paymaster, they would incur debt. This period was called the “dead horse” time, and it usually lasted a month or two. The seaman’s ceremony was to celebrate having worked off the “dead horse” debt. As west-bound shipping from Europe usually reached the subtropics at about the time the “dead horse” was worked off, the latitude became associated with the ceremony.[2]
An alternative theory, of sufficient popularity to serve as an example of folk etymology, is that the term horse latitudes originates from when the Spanish transported horses by ship to their colonies in the West Indies and Americas. Ships often became becalmed in mid-ocean in this latitude, thus severely prolonging the voyage; the resulting water shortages made it impossible for the crew to keep the horses alive, and they would throw the dead or dying animals overboard.[3]
A third explanation, which simultaneously explains both the northern and southern horse latitudes and does not depend on the length of the voyage or the port of departure, is based on maritime terminology: a ship was said to be ‘horsed’ when, although there was insufficient wind for sail, the vessel could make good progress by latching on to a strong current. This was suggested by Edward Taube in his article “The Sense of ‘Horse’ in the Horse Latitudes” (Journal of Geography, October 1967).[4] He argued the maritime use of ‘horsed’ described a ship that was being carried along by an ocean current or tide in the manner of a rider on horseback. The term had been in use since the end of the seventeenth century. Furthermore, The India Directory in its entry for Fernando de Noronha, an island off the coast of Brazil, mentions it had been visited frequently by ships “occasioned by the currents having horsed them to the westward”.[5]
Formation
The heating of the earth at the thermal equator leads to large amounts of convection along the Intertropical Convergence Zone. This air mass rises and then diverges, moving away from the equator in both northerly and southerly directions. As the air moves towards the mid-latitudes on both sides of the equator, it cools and sinks. This creates a ridge of high pressure near the 30th parallel in both hemispheres. At the surface level, the sinking air diverges again with some returning to the equator, creating the Hadley cell[6] which during summer is reinforced by other climatological mechanisms such as the Rodwell–Hoskins mechanism.[7][8] Many of the world’s deserts are caused by these climatological high-pressure areas.
The subtropical ridge moves poleward during the summer, reaching its highest latitude in early autumn, before moving back during the cold season. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can displace the northern hemisphere subtropical ridge, with La Niña allowing for a more northerly axis for the ridge, while El Niños show flatter, more southerly ridges. The change of the ridge position during ENSO cycles changes the tracks of tropical cyclones that form around their equatorward and western peripheries. As the subtropical ridge varies in position and strength, it can enhance or depress monsoon regimes around their low-latitude periphery.
The horse latitudes are associated with the subtropical anticyclone. The belt in the Northern Hemisphere is sometimes called the “calms of Cancer” and that in the Southern Hemisphere the “calms of Capricorn“.
The consistently warm, dry, and sunny conditions of the horse latitudes are the main cause for the existence of the world’s major hot deserts, such as the Sahara Desert in Africa, the Arabian and Syrian deserts in the Middle East, the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, all in the Northern Hemisphere; and the Atacama Desert, the Namib Desert, the Kalahari Desert, and the Australian Desert in the Southern Hemisphere.
Migration
The subtropical ridge shows up as a large area of black (dryness) on this water vapor satellite image from September 2000.
The subtropical ridge starts migrating poleward in late spring reaching its zenith in early autumn before retreating equatorward during the late fall, winter, and early spring. The equatorward migration of the subtropical ridge during the cold season is due to increasing north-south temperature differences between the poles and tropics.[9] The latitudinal movement of the subtropical ridge is strongly correlated with the progression of the monsoon trough or Intertropical Convergence Zone.
Most tropical cyclones form on the side of the subtropical ridge closer to the equator, then move poleward past the ridge axis before recurving into the main belt of the Westerlies.[10] When the subtropical ridge shifts due to ENSO, so will the preferred tropical cyclone tracks. Areas west of Japan and Korea tend to experience far fewer September–November tropical cyclone impacts during El Niño and neutral years, while mainland China experiences much greater landfall frequency during La Niña years. During El Niño years, the break[clarification needed] in the subtropical ridge tends to lie near 130°E, which would favor the Japanese archipelago, while in La Niña years the formation of tropical cyclones, along with the subtropical ridge position, shift west, which increases the threat to China.[11] In the Atlantic basin, the subtropical ridge position tends to lie about 5 degrees farther south during El Niño years, which leads to a more southerly recurvature for tropical cyclones during those years.
When the subtropical ridge in the northwest Pacific is stronger than normal, it leads to a wet monsoon season for Asia.[13] The subtropical ridge position is linked to how far northward monsoon moisture and thunderstorms extend into the United States. The subtropical ridge across North America typically migrates far enough northward to begin monsoon conditions across the Desert Southwest from July to September.[14] When the subtropical ridge is farther north than normal towards the Four Corners, monsoon thunderstorms can spread northward into Arizona. When the high pressure moves south, its circulation cuts off the moisture, and the hot, dry continental airmass returns from the northwest, and therefore the atmosphere dries out across the Desert Southwest, causing a break in the monsoon regime.[15]
In summer, On the subtropical ridge’s western edge (generally on the eastern coast of continents), the high-pressure cell pushes poleward a southerly flow (northerly in the southern hemisphere) of tropical air. In the United States, the subtropical ridge Bermuda High helps create the hot, sultry summers with daily thunderstorms with buoyant airmasses typical of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast of the United States. This flow pattern also occurs on the eastern coasts of continents in other subtropical climates such as South China, southern Japan, central-eastern South America Pampas, southern Queensland and, KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa.[16]
When surface winds become light, the subsidence produced directly under the subtropical ridge can lead to a buildup of particulates in urban areas under the ridge, leading to widespread haze.[17] If the low-level relative humidity rises towards 100 percent overnight, fog can form.[18]
“Martha My Dear” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the “White Album”). Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song was written solely by Paul McCartney inspired in title only by his Old English Sheepdog, Martha. The song has been interpreted as a veiled reference to his break up with Jane Asher, particularly in the line “don’t forget me”. “Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you” refers to her alleged affair while away from McCartney with The Old Vic Theatre. [3][4] It has been covered by several artists, including Slade, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Phish, World Party, and Les Boréades de Montréal.[5]
Style and form
The song incorporates elements from pop rock music;[2] it also features a music hall-inspired piano line that recurs throughout the piece, as well as a brass section. The song modulates through several keys.[1]
The song is notated mainly in the key of E♭ major,[6] showing up embellished chords with jazzy sprinkled dissonances. The verse is a syncopated replicate of the first melodic section adding two extra beats, a technique similar to that used later by McCartney in “Two of Us“. Though the bridge is in the key of F major, the manner in which it abruptly sets in and exits makes it sound more out-of-the-way than it really is.[1]
Recording
According to Beatles biographers Ian MacDonald and Mark Lewisohn, “Martha My Dear” is one of the few songs by the band in which McCartney played all the instruments (except orchestral instruments played by session musicians). Such a scenario was increasingly common for him during the height of the tensions that marred the sessions for the album. Although George Harrison is known to have recorded a portion of the electric guitar on the final recording, he was not credited.[7]
The song was recorded over two days on 4 and 5 October 1968 at Trident Studios in London.[8] McCartney recorded the piano, drums and vocals on the first day. He was advised to have producer George Martin play the piano solo because it was believed that the solo was beyond McCartney’s competency, but McCartney persisted. Martin’s brass and string arrangements were overdubbed later that day. On 5 October, McCartney re-recorded his vocals, added handclaps, and overdubbed bass and guitar parts, completing the song that day.[8]
Legacy
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent listed “Martha My Dear” at number 20 in his ranking of the White Album’s 30 tracks. He called the song “one of the album’s most unfairly maligned tracks” and “irresistibly charming”.[9]
The engineering problems associated with leaving Earth and developing space propulsion systems have been examined for over a century, and millions of hours of research have been spent on them. In recent years, there has been an increase in research on the issue of how humans can survive and work in space for extended and possibly indefinite periods of time. This question requires input from the physical and biological sciences and has now become the greatest challenge (other than funding) facing human space exploration. A fundamental step in overcoming this challenge is trying to understand the effects and impact of long-term space travel on the human body.
In November 2019, researchers reported that astronauts experienced serious blood flow and clot problems while on board the International Space Station, based on a six-month study of 11 healthy astronauts. The results may influence long-term spaceflight, including a mission to the planet Mars, according to the researchers.[11][12]
Physiological effects
Many of the environmental conditions experienced by humans during spaceflight are very different from those in which humans evolved; however, technology such as that offered by a spaceship or spacesuit is able to shield people from the harshest conditions. The immediate needs for breathable air and drinkable water are addressed by a life support system, a group of devices that allow human beings to survive in outer space.[13] The life support system supplies air, water and food. It must also maintain temperature and pressure within acceptable limits and deal with the body’s waste products. Shielding against harmful external influences such as radiation and micro-meteorites is also necessary.
Some hazards are difficult to mitigate, such as weightlessness, also defined as a microgravity environment. Living in this type of environment impacts the body in three important ways: loss of proprioception, changes in fluid distribution, and deterioration of the musculoskeletal system.
On November 2, 2017, scientists reported that significant changes in the position and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken trips in space, based on MRI studies. Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated with greater brain changes.[14][15]
In October 2018, NASA-funded researchers found that lengthy journeys into outer space, including travel to the planet Mars, may substantially damage the gastrointestinal tissues of astronauts. The studies support earlier work that found such journeys could significantly damage the brains of astronauts, and age them prematurely.[16]
In March 2019, NASA reported that latent viruses in humans may be activated during space missions, adding possibly more risk to astronauts in future deep-space missions.[17]
Space medicine is a developing medical practice that studies the health of astronauts living in outer space. The main purpose of this academic pursuit is to discover how well and for how long people can survive the extreme conditions in space, and how fast they can re-adapt to the Earth’s environment after returning from space. Space medicine also seeks to develop preventive and palliative measures to ease the suffering caused by living in an environment to which humans are not well adapted.
During takeoff and re-entry, space travelers can experience several times normal gravity. An untrained person can usually withstand about 3g, but can black out at 4 to 6g. G-force in the vertical direction is more difficult to tolerate than a force perpendicular to the spine because blood flows away from the brain and eyes. First the person experiences a temporary loss of vision and then at higher g-forces loses consciousness. G-force training and a G-suit which constricts the body to keep more blood in the head can mitigate the effects. Most spacecraft are designed to keep g-forces within comfortable limits.
Space environments
The environment of space is lethal without appropriate protection: the greatest threat in the vacuum of space derives from the lack of oxygen and pressure, although temperature and radiation also pose risks. The effects of space exposure can result in ebullism, hypoxia, hypocapnia, and decompression sickness. In addition to these, there is also cellular mutation and destruction from high energy photons and sub-atomic particles that are present in the surroundings.[18] Decompression is a serious concern during the extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) of astronauts.[19] Current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) designs take this and other issues into consideration, and have evolved over time.[20][21] A key challenge has been the competing interests of increasing astronaut mobility (which is reduced by high-pressure EMUs, analogous to the difficulty of deforming an inflated balloon relative to a deflated one) and minimising decompression risk. Investigators[22] have considered pressurizing a separate head unit to the regular 71 kPa (10.3 psi) cabin pressure as opposed to the current whole-EMU pressure of 29.6 kPa (4.3 psi).[21][23] In such a design, pressurization of the torso could be achieved mechanically, avoiding mobility reduction associated with pneumatic pressurization.[22]
Human physiology is adapted to living within the atmosphere of Earth, and a certain amount of oxygen is required in the air we breathe. If the body does not get enough oxygen, then the astronaut is at risk of becoming unconscious and dying from hypoxia. In the vacuum of space, gas exchange in the lungs continues but results in the removal of all gases, including oxygen, from the bloodstream. After 9 to 12 seconds, the deoxygenated blood reaches the brain, and it results in the loss of consciousness.[24] Exposure to vacuum for up to 30 seconds is unlikely to cause permanent physical damage.[25] Animal experiments show that rapid and complete recovery is normal for exposures shorter than 90 seconds, while longer full-body exposures are fatal and resuscitation has never been successful.[26][27] There is only a limited amount of data available from human accidents, but it is consistent with animal data. Limbs may be exposed for much longer if breathing is not impaired.[28]
In December 1966, aerospace engineer and test subject Jim LeBlanc of NASA was participating in a test to see how well a pressurized space suit prototype would perform in vacuum conditions. To simulate the effects of space, NASA constructed a massive vacuum chamber from which all air could be pumped.[29] At some point during the test, LeBlanc’s pressurization hose became detached from the space suit.[30] Even though this caused his suit pressure to drop from 3.8 psi (26.2 kPa) to 0.1 psi (0.7 kPa) in less than 10 seconds, LeBlanc remained conscious for about 14 seconds before losing consciousness due to hypoxia; the much lower pressure outside the body causes rapid de-oxygenation of the blood. “As I stumbled backwards, I could feel the saliva on my tongue starting to bubble just before I went unconscious and that’s the last thing I remember”, recalls LeBlanc.[31] A colleague entered the chamber within 25 seconds and gave LeBlanc oxygen. The chamber was repressurized in 1 minute instead of the normal 30 minutes. LeBlanc recovered almost immediately with just an earache and no permanent damage.[32]
Another effect from a vacuum is a condition called ebullism which results from the formation of bubbles in body fluids due to reduced ambient pressure. The steam may bloat the body up to twice its normal size and slow down circulation, but tissues are elastic and porous enough to prevent rupture.[33] Technically, ebullism is considered to begin at an elevation of around 19 kilometres (12 mi; 62,000 ft) or pressures less than 6.3 kPa (47 mm Hg),[34] known as the Armstrong limit.[18] Experiments with other animals have revealed an array of symptoms that could also apply to humans. The least severe of these is the freezing of bodily secretions due to evaporative cooling. Severe symptoms, such as loss of oxygen in tissue, followed by circulatory failure and flaccid paralysis would occur in about 30 seconds.[18] The lungs also collapse in this process, but will continue to release water vapour leading to cooling and ice formation in the respiratory tract.[18] A rough estimate is that a human will have about 90 seconds to be recompressed, after which death may be unavoidable.[33][35] Swelling from ebullism can be reduced by containment in a flight suit which are necessary to prevent ebullism above 19 km.[28] During the Space Shuttle program astronauts wore a fitted elastic garment called a Crew Altitude Protection Suit (CAPS) which prevented ebullism at pressures as low as 2 kPa (15 mm Hg).[36]
The only humans known to have died of exposure to vacuum in space are the three crew-members of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft; Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski, and Viktor Patsayev. During preparations for re-entry from orbit on June 30, 1971, a pressure-equalisation valve in the spacecraft’s descent module unexpectedly opened at an altitude of 168 kilometres (551,000 ft), causing rapid depressurisation and the subsequent death of the entire crew.[37][38]
Temperature
In a vacuum, there is no medium for removing heat from the body by conduction or convection. Loss of heat is by radiation from the 310 K temperature of a person to the 3 K of outer space. This is a slow process, especially in a clothed person, so there is no danger of immediately freezing.[39] Rapid evaporative cooling of skin moisture in a vacuum may create frost, particularly in the mouth, but this is not a significant hazard.
Exposure to the intense radiation of direct, unfiltered sunlight would lead to local heating, though that would likely be well distributed by the body’s conductivity and blood circulation. Other solar radiation, particularly ultraviolet rays, however, may cause severe sunburn.
Comparison of Radiation Doses – includes the amount detected on the trip from Earth to Mars by the RAD on the MSL (2011–2013).[40][41][42]
Without the protection of Earth’s atmosphere and magnetosphere astronauts are exposed to high levels of radiation. High levels of radiation damage lymphocytes, cells heavily involved in maintaining the immune system; this damage contributes to the lowered immunity experienced by astronauts. Radiation has also recently been linked to a higher incidence of cataracts in astronauts. Outside the protection of low Earth orbit, galactic cosmic rays present further challenges to human spaceflight,[43] as the health threat from cosmic rays significantly increases the chances of cancer over a decade or more of exposure.[44] A NASA-supported study reported that radiation may harm the brain of astronauts and accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.[45][46][47][48]Solar flare events (though rare) can give a fatal radiation dose in minutes. It is thought that protective shielding and protective drugs may ultimately lower the risks to an acceptable level.[49]
Crew living on the International Space Station (ISS) are partially protected from the space environment by Earth’s magnetic field, as the magnetosphere deflects solar wind around the Earth and the ISS. Nevertheless, solar flares are powerful enough to warp and penetrate the magnetic defences, and so are still a hazard to the crew. The crew of Expedition 10 took shelter as a precaution in 2005 in a more heavily shielded part of the station designed for this purpose.[50][51] However, beyond the limited protection of Earth’s magnetosphere, interplanetary human missions are much more vulnerable. Lawrence Townsend of the University of Tennessee and others have studied the most powerful solar flare ever recorded. Radiation doses astronauts would receive from a flare of this magnitude could cause acute radiation sickness and possibly even death.[52]Duration: 34 seconds.0:34A video made by the crew of the International Space Station showing the Aurora Australis, which is caused by high-energy particles in the space environment.
There is scientific concern that extended spaceflight might slow down the body’s ability to protect itself against diseases.[53] Radiation can penetrate living tissue and cause both short and long-term damage to the bone marrow stem cells which create the blood and immune systems. In particular, it causes ‘chromosomal aberrations’ in lymphocytes. As these cells are central to the immune system, any damage weakens the immune system, which means that in addition to increased vulnerability to new exposures, viruses already present in the body—which would normally be suppressed—become active. In space, T-cells (a form of lymphocyte) are less able to reproduce properly, and the T-cells that do reproduce are less able to fight off infection. Over time immunodeficiency results in the rapid spread of infection among crew members, especially in the confined areas of space flight systems.
In September 2017, NASA reported radiation levels on the surface of the planet Mars were temporarily doubled, and were associated with an aurora 25-times brighter than any observed earlier, due to a massive, and unexpected, solar storm in the middle of the month.[55]
Weightlessness
Astronauts on the ISS in weightless conditions. Michael Foale can be seen exercising in the foreground.
Following the advent of space stations that can be inhabited for long periods of time, exposure to weightlessness has been demonstrated to have some deleterious effects on human health. Humans are well-adapted to the physical conditions at the surface of the Earth, and so in response to weightlessness, various physiological systems begin to change, and in some cases, atrophy. Though these changes are usually temporary, some do have a long-term impact on human health.
Short-term exposure to microgravity causes space adaptation syndrome, self-limiting nausea caused by derangement of the vestibular system. Long-term exposure causes multiple health problems, one of the most significant being loss of bone and muscle mass. Over time these deconditioning effects can impair astronauts’ performance, increase their risk of injury, reduce their aerobic capacity, and slow down their cardiovascular system.[56] As the human body consists mostly of fluids, gravity tends to force them into the lower half of the body, and our bodies have many systems to balance this situation. When released from the pull of gravity, these systems continue to work, causing a general redistribution of fluids into the upper half of the body. This is the cause of the round-faced ‘puffiness’ seen in astronauts,[49][57] and may contribute to observations of altered speech motor control in astronauts.[58] Redistributing fluids around the body itself causes balance disorders, distorted vision, and a loss of taste and smell.
The most common problem experienced by humans in the initial hours of weightlessness is known as space adaptation syndrome or SAS, commonly referred to as space sickness. It is related to motion sickness, and arises as the vestibular system adapts to weightlessness.[64] Symptoms of SAS include nausea and vomiting, vertigo, headaches, lethargy, and overall malaise.[2] The first case of SAS was reported by cosmonautGherman Titov in 1961. Since then, roughly 45% of all people who have flown in space have suffered from this condition.
Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Frank De Winne is attached to the COLBERT with bungee cords
A major effect of long-term weightlessness involves the loss of bone and muscle mass. Without the effects of gravity, skeletal muscle is no longer required to maintain posture and the muscle groups used in moving around in a weightless environment differ from those required in terrestrial locomotion.[citation needed] In a weightless environment, astronauts put almost no weight on the back muscles or leg muscles used for standing up. Those muscles then start to weaken and eventually get smaller. Consequently, some muscles atrophy rapidly, and without regular exercise astronauts can lose up to 20% of their muscle mass in just 5 to 11 days.[65] The types of muscle fibre prominent in muscles also change. Slow-twitch endurance fibres used to maintain posture are replaced by fast-twitch rapidly contracting fibres that are insufficient for any heavy labour. Advances in research on exercise, hormone supplements, and medication may help maintain muscle and body mass.
Bone metabolism also changes. Normally, bone is laid down in the direction of mechanical stress. However, in a microgravity environment, there is very little mechanical stress. This results in a loss of bone tissue approximately 1.5% per month especially from the lower vertebrae, hip, and femur.[66] Due to microgravity and the decreased load on the bones, there is a rapid increase in bone loss, from 3% cortical bone loss per decade to about 1% every month the body is exposed to microgravity, for an otherwise healthy adult.[67] The rapid change in bone density is dramatic, making bones frail and resulting in symptoms that resemble those of osteoporosis. On Earth, the bones are constantly being shed and regenerated through a well-balanced system which involves signaling of osteoblasts and osteoclasts.[68] These systems are coupled, so that whenever bone is broken down, newly formed layers take its place—neither should happen without the other, in a healthy adult. In space, however, there is an increase in osteoclast activity due to microgravity. This is a problem because osteoclasts break down the bones into minerals that are reabsorbed by the body.[citation needed] Osteoblasts are not consecutively active with the osteoclasts, causing the bone to be constantly diminished with no recovery.[69] This increase in osteoclasts activity has been seen particularly in the pelvic region because this is the region that carries the biggest load with gravity present. A study demonstrated that in healthy mice, osteoclasts appearance increased by 197%, accompanied by a down-regulation of osteoblasts and growth factors that are known to help with the formation of new bone, after only sixteen days of exposure to microgravity. Elevated blood calcium levels from the lost bone result in dangerous calcification of soft tissues and potential kidney stone formation.[66] It is still unknown whether bone recovers completely. Unlike people with osteoporosis, astronauts eventually regain their bone density.[citation needed] After a 3–4 month trip into space, it takes about 2–3 years to regain lost bone density.[citation needed] New techniques are being developed to help astronauts recover faster. Research on diet, exercise, and medication may hold the potential to aid the process of growing new bone.
To prevent some of these adverse physiological effects, the ISS is equipped with two treadmills (including the COLBERT), and the aRED (advanced Resistive Exercise Device), which enable various weight-lifting exercises which add muscle but do nothing for bone density,[70] and a stationary bicycle; each astronaut spends at least two hours per day exercising on the equipment.[71][72] Astronauts use bungee cords to strap themselves to the treadmill.[73][74] Astronauts subject to long periods of weightlessness wear pants with elastic bands attached between waistband and cuffs to compress the leg bones and reduce osteopenia.[5]
Currently, NASA is using advanced computational tools to understand how to best counteract the bone and muscle atrophy experienced by astronauts in microgravity environments for prolonged periods of time.[75] The Human Research Program’s Human Health Countermeasures Element chartered the Digital Astronaut Project to investigate targeted questions about exercise countermeasure regimes.[76][77] NASA is focusing on integrating a model of the advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) currently on board the International Space Station with OpenSim[78] musculoskeletal models of humans exercising with the device. The goal of this work is to use inverse dynamics to estimate joint torques and muscle forces resulting from using the ARED, and thus more accurately prescribe exercise regimens for the astronauts. These joint torques and muscle forces could be used in conjunction with more fundamental computational simulations of bone remodeling and muscle adaptation in order to more completely model the end effects of such countermeasures, and determine whether a proposed exercise regime would be sufficient to sustain astronaut musculoskeletal health.
Fluid redistribution
The effects of microgravity on fluid distribution around the body (greatly exaggerated).The Beckman Physiological and Cardiovascular Monitoring System in the Gemini and Apollo suits would inflate and deflate cuffs to stimulate blood flow to lower limbsAstronaut Clayton Anderson observes as a water bubble floats in front of him on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Water cohesion plays a bigger role in microgravity than on Earth
In space, astronauts lose fluid volume—including up to 22% of their blood volume. Because it has less blood to pump, the heart will atrophy. A weakened heart results in low blood pressure and can produce a problem with “orthostatic tolerance”, or the body’s ability to send enough oxygen to the brain without the astronaut’s fainting or becoming dizzy. “Under the effects of the earth’s gravity, blood and other body fluids are pulled towards the lower body. When gravity is taken away or reduced during space exploration, the blood tends to collect in the upper body instead, resulting in facial edema and other unwelcome side effects. Upon return to Earth, the blood begins to pool in the lower extremities again, resulting in orthostatic hypotension.”[79]
Disruption of senses
Vision
In 2013 NASA published a study that found changes to the eyes and eyesight of monkeys with spaceflights longer than 6 months.[80] Noted changes included a flattening of the eyeball and changes to the retina.[80] Space traveler’s eyesight can become blurry after too much time in space.[81][82] Another effect is known as cosmic ray visual phenomena.
[a] NASA survey of 300 male and female astronauts, about 23 percent of short-flight and 49 percent of long-flight astronauts said they had experienced problems with both near and distance vision during their missions. Again, for some people vision problems persisted for years afterward.
Since dust can not settle in zero gravity, small pieces of dead skin or metal can get in the eye, causing irritation and increasing the risk of infection.[83]
Long spaceflights can also alter a space traveler’s eye movements (particularly the vestibulo-ocular reflex).[84]
Because weightlessness increases the amount of fluid in the upper part of the body, astronauts experience increased intracranial pressure.[85] This appears to increase pressure on the backs of the eyeballs, affecting their shape and slightly crushing the optic nerve.[1][86][87][88][89][90] This effect was noticed in 2012 in a study using MRI scans of astronauts who had returned to Earth following at least one month in space.[91] Such eyesight problems could be a major concern for future deep space flight missions, including a crewed mission to the planet Mars.[54][86][87][88][89][92]
If indeed elevated intracranial pressure is the cause, artificial gravity might present one solution, as it would for many human health risks in space. However, such artificial gravitational systems have yet to be proven. More, even with sophisticated artificial gravity, a state of relative microgravity may remain, the risks of which remain unknown. [93]
Taste
One effect of weightlessness on humans is that some astronauts report a change in their sense of taste when in space.[94] Some astronauts find that their food is bland, others find that their favorite foods no longer taste as good (one who enjoyed coffee disliked the taste so much on a mission that he stopped drinking it after returning to Earth); some astronauts enjoy eating certain foods that they would not normally eat, and some experience no change whatsoever. Multiple tests have not identified the cause,[95] and several theories have been suggested, including food degradation, and psychological changes such as boredom. Astronauts often choose strong-tasting food to combat the loss of taste.
Additional physiological effects
Within one month the human skeleton fully extends in weightlessness, causing height to increase by an inch.[57] After two months, calluses on the bottoms of feet molt and fall off from lack of use, leaving soft new skin. Tops of feet become, by contrast, raw and painfully sensitive, as they rub against the handrails feet are hooked into for stability.[96] Tears cannot be shed while crying, as they stick together into a ball.[97] In microgravity odors quickly permeate the environment, and NASA found in a test that the smell of cream sherry triggered the gag reflex.[95] Various other physical discomforts such as back and abdominal pain are common because of the readjustment to gravity, where in space there was no gravity and these muscles could freely stretch.[98] These may be part of the asthenization syndrome reported by cosmonauts living in space over an extended period of time, but regarded as anecdotal by astronauts.[99] Fatigue, listlessness, and psychosomatic worries are also part of the syndrome. The data is inconclusive; however, the syndrome does appear to exist as a manifestation of the internal and external stress crews in space must face.[100]
Studies of Russian cosmonauts, such as those on Mir, provide data on the long-term effects of space on the human body.
Research
The psychological effects of living in space have not been clearly analyzed but analogies on Earth do exist, such as Arctic research stations and submarines. The enormous stress on the crew, coupled with the body adapting to other environmental changes, can result in anxiety, insomnia and depression.[101]
Stress
There has been considerable evidence that psychosocial stressors are among the most important impediments to optimal crew morale and performance.[102] Cosmonaut Valery Ryumin, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, quotes this passage from “The Handbook of Hymen” by O. Henry in his autobiographical book about the Salyut 6 mission: “If you want to instigate the art of manslaughter just shut two men up in an eighteen by twenty-foot cabin for a month. Human nature won’t stand it.”[103]
NASA’s interest in psychological stress caused by space travel, initially studied when their crewed missions began, was rekindled when astronauts joined cosmonauts on the Russian space station Mir. Common sources of stress in early American missions included maintaining high performance while under public scrutiny, as well as isolation from peers and family. On the ISS, the latter is still often a cause of stress, such as when NASA Astronaut Daniel Tani‘s mother died in a car accident, and when Michael Fincke was forced to miss the birth of his second child.[100]
The amount and quality of sleep experienced in space is poor due to highly variable light and dark cycles on flight decks and poor illumination during daytime hours in the spacecraft. Even the habit of looking out of the window before retiring can send the wrong messages to the brain, resulting in poor sleep patterns. These disturbances in circadian rhythm have profound effects on the neurobehavioural responses of the crew and aggravate the psychological stresses they already experience. Sleep is disturbed on the ISS regularly due to mission demands, such as the scheduling of incoming or departing space vehicles. Sound levels in the station are unavoidably high because the atmosphere is unable to thermosiphon; fans are required at all times to allow processing of the atmosphere, which would stagnate in the freefall (zero-g) environment. Fifty percent of Space Shuttle astronauts took sleeping pills and still got 2 hours less sleep each night in space than they did on the ground. NASA is researching two areas which may provide the keys to a better night’s sleep, as improved sleep decreases fatigue and increases daytime productivity. A variety of methods for combating this phenomenon are constantly under discussion.[104]
Duration of space travel
A study of the longest spaceflight concluded that the first three weeks represent a critical period where attention is adversely affected because of the demand to adjust to the extreme change of environment.[105] While Skylab’s three crews remained in space 1, 2, and 3 months respectively, long-term crews on Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and the ISS remain about 5–6 months, while MIR expeditions often lasted longer. The ISS working environment includes further stress caused by living and working in cramped conditions with people from very different cultures who speak different languages. First-generation space stations had crews who spoke a single language, while 2nd and 3rd generation stations have crews from many cultures who speak many languages. The ISS is unique because visitors are not classed automatically into ‘host’ or ‘guest’ categories as with previous stations and spacecraft, and may not suffer from feelings of isolation in the same way.
Future use
Space colonization efforts must take into account the effects of space on the human body.
The sum of human experience has resulted in the accumulation of 58 solar years in space and a much better understanding of how the human body adapts. In the future, industrialisation of space and exploration of inner and outer planets will require humans to endure longer and longer periods in space. The majority of current data comes from missions of short duration and so some of the long-term physiological effects of living in space are still unknown. A round trip to Mars[54] with current technology is estimated to involve at least 18 months in transit alone. Knowing how the human body reacts to such time periods in space is a vital part of the preparation for such journeys. On-board medical facilities need to be adequate for coping with any type of trauma or emergency as well as contain a huge variety of diagnostic and medical instruments in order to keep a crew healthy over a long period of time, as these will be the only facilities available on board a spacecraft for coping not only with trauma but also with the adaptive responses of the human body in space.
At the moment only rigorously tested humans have experienced the conditions of space. If off-world colonization someday begins, many types of people will be exposed to these dangers, and the effects on the very young are completely unknown. On October 29, 1998, John Glenn, one of the original Mercury 7, returned to space at the age of 77. His space flight, which lasted 9 days, provided NASA with important information about the effects of space flight on older people. Factors such as nutritional requirements and physical environments which have so far not been examined will become important. Overall, there is little data on the manifold effects of living in space, and this makes attempts toward mitigating the risks during a lengthy space habitation difficult. Testbeds such as the ISS are currently being utilized to research some of these risks.
The environment of space is still largely unknown, and there will likely be as-yet-unknown hazards. Meanwhile, future technologies such as artificial gravity and more complex bioregenerative life support systems may someday be capable of mitigating some risks.
1941: Portrait of American jazz musician Duke Ellington (1899 – 1974) standing behind an upright piano and reaching over the legs of actor Louise Franklin, sitting atop the piano, to play an E Flat, Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images)
“East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (also “Toodle-O” and “Todolo“) is a composition written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and recorded several times by Ellington for various labels from 1926–1930 under various titles.[1] This song was the first charting single for Duke Ellington in 1927 and was one of the main examples of his early “jungle music”.[2] This composition (which entered the public domain on January 1, 2023[3]) was covered by Steely Dan on their 1974 album Pretzel Logic.
Recording history
Ellington first recorded “Toodle-Oo” in November 1926 for Vocalion Records, which was released as Vo (1064). He recorded the composition twice more in early 1927 for Brunswick Records; the first version was not released at the time, but the second was released as Br (3480).[1] He recorded his hit version in March 1927 for Columbia Records, under the name “the Washingtonians”. Along with recording “Toodle-Oo”, two other compositions were recorded at the same session, “Hop Head” and “Down in Our Alley Blues”, the former of which would be released as the B-side of Columbia 953-D.[4]
November 29, 1926 E-4110 Vocalion 1064
February 3, 1927 E-21636 E-21637 E-21538 Brunswick rejected
March 14, 1927 E-21872 Brunswick 3480, Brunswick 6801, Brunswick 80000, Vocalion 1064 (some later pressings)
March 22, 1927 W 143705-3 Columbia 953-D
December 19, 1927 41245-1 Victor 21703
December 19, 1927 41245-2 Victor 21703, Bluebird B-6430, Montgomery Ward M-4889
January 19, 1928 W 400032-A OKeh 8638 (as “Harlem Twist”, by Lonnie Johnson’s Harlem Footwarmers, which features Johnson on guitar)
March ?, 1928 2944-A and B Cameo 8182, Lincoln 2837, Romeo 612 (as The Washingtonians), and 108079-1 Pathe 36781, Perfect 14962 (as The Whoopee Makers) (identical to one of the takes of 2944)
April 3, 1930 150167-3 Diva 6046-G, Velvet Tone 7072-V (as Mills’ Ten Black Berries)
February 9, 1932 71812-2 and 3 Victor L-16007 (33 1/3 10″ long playing transcription, first part of a 3-song medley)
March 5, 1937 M-180-1 Master MA-101, Brunswick m7989 (as “The New East St. Louis Toodle-O”)
February 7, 1956 Bethlehem Be BCP-60
Music
“East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” features a growling plunger-muted trumpet part played by co-composer Bubber Miley, one of the first jazz trumpeters to utilize the style.[4] This style was carried on by later Ellington trumpeters Cootie Williams (1937 recording),[5] and Ray Nance (1956 recording).
Here’s the second song that will be on this year’s album, to be released later in 2024.
I am right here Waiting for you to come back It’s been a while since you’ve been seen around here
Everyone is very concerned We hope that you haven’t gone south But who could blame you if you did There’s only so much drizzle that a sol can take.
Come and break the spell… And melt away my shell Power up — Power up my soul With your stunning warmth
Window panes weep their dusty tears, Empty chairs hold echoes of your bright smile Conversations stutter, ice falls on the sill Aching for warmth, your tender touch.
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