John Milton's Paradise Lost portrays the fall of humankind through the works of the fallen angel Satan. This piece is a classic epic poem which describes the fall of Satan and the other angels, the creation of the earth and humankind, and the subsequent fall of human kind into sin. At the heart of the tragic descent of God's creations is their ability to make free decisions, free choice: "I made him just and right,/ Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall" (III, 98-99). This ability to make independent decisions is what led to the downfalls of Satan and Adam and Eve. However, there must have been an underlying source for these beings to have chosen the wrong course of action, to sin. There was an innate idea of sin born into all of God's creations. Temptation was the vehicle by which these sins came to surface.
             The original being to be tempted and to fail was the fallen angel Satan. Though, the temptation of Satan is not as apparent as with Adam or Eve, the turmoil in his mind is there none the less. Once a powerful and high-ranking Archangel, known as Lucifer, Satan's pride and rebellion cause him to be cast down into hell. Satan is first tempted when he is given such a high position in heaven. With such power one could easily become swayed and greedy. Even Satan himself wonders if this high rank was his undoing: "O had his powerful Destiny ordained/ Me some inferior Angel, I had stood/ Then happie" (IV, 57-59). The jealousy and anger within Satan is apparent even while he is still an angel in Heaven. This innate idea of sin and evil begins to appear when God pronounces His Son to be above all others in Heaven. Satan feels unappreciated and that his superior position has been somewhat diminished:
             That to his only Son by right endu'd
             With Regal Scepter, every Soule in Heav'n
             Shall bend the knee, and in that honour due
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