ABSTRACT
The classical background of Paradise Lost is not confined to Satan but stands behind every aspect of the poem, even the loyal angels, the Son, and the Father – a point not treated by criticism, except in the case of Raphael. In many of the aspects of his heaven, Milton sought for common ground between biblical and classical parallels. The antithesis of Milton’s heaven is not the classical epic but the degenerate classical values of Satan. The similarities to Paradise Lost seem evident. Like Thersites, Abdiel appears in order to denigrate Satan’s ‘heroic’ behavior, the assertion of the will of the hero against what seems to him a disparagement of his honor. Where Thersites had failed, Abdiel stands against the threats of Satan, denounces him before his followers a second time, escapes without harm, and is the first to strike Satan during the war.
