ABSTRACT
Traditional medieval versions of the story portrayed the Grail as the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper and only the purest knight could see it and no one, no matter how pure, could possess it. In some modem versions, the Grail represents supreme power that can be directed by its possessor for good or evil; in a few versions it has even become unholy and actually motivates the possessor to evil. The most striking commonality among numerous modem reworkings is the negative representation of the grail as unholy. The first factor that may have influenced the modern writers to imagine an unholy grail rather than a holy one is the philosophy of existentialism. The grail embodied as the traditional cup does appear, but is not considered important by the enemies of good because the power of the grail cannot be used for personal gain, nor can it be used for any evil purpose.
