![]() In the 1616 edition of Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Mephostophiles became Mephistophilis. Many authors have used it, from Goethe to Christopher Marlowe. In the 1725 version, which Goethe read, Mephostophiles is a devil in the form of a greyfriar summoned by Faust in a wood outside Wittenberg.įrom the chapbooks, the name entered Faustian literature. The name appears in the late 16th-century Faust chapbooks – stories concerning the life of Johann Georg Faust, written by an anonymous German author. In the legend, Faust makes a deal with the Devil at the price of his soul, Mephistopheles acting as the Devil's agent. ![]() Mephistopheles is associated with the Faust legend of an ambitious scholar, based on the historical Johann Georg Faust. Mephistopheles and Margaretta, wooden double sculpture, c. It is likely that the name was invented for the historical alchemist Johann Georg Faust by the anonymous author of the first Faustbuch. allied to mephitic, a term which designates the poisonous vapors arising from the earth in certain places-pools, caverns, springs-destructive of human life.not loving light (φως το, phōs to the old form of the word being Mephostopheles).For the middle term, three meanings have been noticed and three different complete etymologies have been established: The Greek particle of negation (μη, mē) and the Greek word for love or loving (φίλος, philos) are the first and last terms of the compound but the middle term is more doubtful. The name Mephistopheles is a corrupted Greek compound. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and has since become a stock character appearing in other works of arts and popular culture. Mephistopheles ( / ˌ m ɛ f ɪ ˈ s t ɒ f ɪ ˌ l iː z/, German pronunciation: ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. Mephistopheles flying over Wittenberg, in a lithograph by Eugène Delacroix
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