Ithuriel is an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inc ...

mentioned in

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and polit ...

's epic poem ''

Paradise Lost ''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, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674 ...

''.

''Paradise Lost''

In ''Paradise Lost'', Ithuriel is one of two angels (the other being

Zephon ''Legacy of Kain'' is a series of dark fantasy action-adventure game, action-adventure video games primarily developed by Crystal Dynamics and formerly published by Eidos Interactive, then Square Enix Europe after 2009. The first title, ''Blood ...

) charged by the archangel

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

to go in search of

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

, who is loose in the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

. They find him lurking, in the shape of a toad, close to the ear of the sleeping Eve, attempting to corrupt her thoughts. Ithuriel touches Satan with his spear, causing him to instantly resume his true form: The angels then compel Satan to return with them to Gabriel. Ithuriel also appears in ''

The State of Innocence ''The State of Innocence'' is a dramatic work by John Dryden, originally intended as the libretto to an opera. It was written around 1673–4, and first published in 1677. The work is a rhymed adaption of John Milton's epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', ...

'',

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...

's stage adaption of Milton's poem.

Earlier usage

Although the names of the angels in ''Paradise Lost'' are, in most cases, taken from the Bible, Ithuriel is one of the exceptions. In 1950, Robert H. West affirmed that the origins of this name had not been discovered, and that Milton may have coined it himself. However, others have claimed that the name can be found in earlier Hebrew sources, such as "the 16th-century tracts of Isaac ha-Cohen of Soria", and the Kabbalistic text '' Pardes Rimonim''. In an 1888 edition of '' The Key of Solomon'', translated into English by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, one of the angel names written inside the first

pentacle A pentacle (also spelled and pronounced as ''pantacle'' in Thelema, following Aleister Crowley, though that spelling ultimately derived from Éliphas Lévi) "The Pantacle of Frater V. I. O." is a talisman that is used in magical evocation, an ...

of Mars is claimed in a footnote to be a Hebrew form of Ithuriel.

Cultural influence

The image of the spear of Ithuriel transforming falsehood into truth has been adopted by many authors as a poetic metaphor.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, for instance, describes political philosophy as an Ithuriel's spear, which causes "prejudice, superstition, and servility" to "start up in their true shapes". U.S. Representative

Justin S. Morrill Justin Smith Morrill (April 14, 1810December 28, 1898) was an American politician and entrepreneur who represented Vermont in the United States House of Representatives (1855–1867) and United States Senate (1867–1898). He is most widely remem ...

, in a 1858 speech regarding the importance of agricultural colleges, made use of the metaphor, stating: "Spurious dogmas will be touched lightly with the spear of Ithuriel, and no longer squat around the ears of weary ploughmen." References to Ithuriel can also be found in the works of poets such as

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

, and

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

."''Oh! les charmants oiseaux joyeux''""''Psyché''"
(in French). Poésie française.fr. Retrieved 22 August 2021. Ithuriel also features as a character in some modern screen productions, such as the 2007 Australian movie ''

'', and the American TV series ''

Shadowhunters ''Shadowhunters'', also known as ''Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments'', is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Ed Decter, based on the book series '' The Mortal Instruments'' written by Cassandra Clare. It premiered ...

''. "Ithuriel's spear" is the common name of a native wildflower in California, '' Triteleia laxa''.

References

Individual angels