Satan, Adam and Eve

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: 

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books (in the manner of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. It is considered by critics to be Milton's major work, and helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of his time.

From Wikipedia : 

Paradise Lost concens the Biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men".

Satan Watching the Endearments of Adam and Eve
(1808), version from the "Butts set"

Our sweet ancestors enjoyed the fruit of the trees of the Garden, while
Satan  with his snake wound around around him looks at them enviously.
He's in a night sky with stars and a 'sickie' moon; it's the side of the
image on Eve's side. The Stars and the moon are both symbolic of
the material world.

From Genesis:
2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to 

dress it and to keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the 

garden thou mayest freely eat: 

2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of 

it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

William Blake's Illustrations of Paradise Lost

The Butts set

The dimensions of the Butts set, also known as the "large set", are 19.5x15.5 inches, nearly twice that of the Thomas set. Dated 1808, they were commissioned from Blake by his patron Thomas Butts, who also commissioned many paintings on biblical themes from Blake. In the early 1850s, Butts' son Thomas Butts Jr. offered the individual paintings for sale at several auctions, resulting in the dispersal of the set. Today it remains divided between four museums.