DE PUGNA DAEMONUM NELLA VITA ANTONII DI ATANASIO D’ALESSANDRIA
“DE PUGNA DAEMONUM” IN THE “LIFE OF ANTONY” OF ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA

Summary/Abstract: “De pugna daemonum” in the “Life of Antony” of Athanasius of Alexandria. The purpose of this article is to highlight aspects related to the fight against demons, an essential element in the spiritual life of the ancient ascetics, who were involved in a path of Christian perfection until their identification with Jesus Christ. In the context of the anti-Aryan controversy, the bishop Athanasius of Alexandria (4th century) demonstrates the deity of the Incarnate Word by telling the ascetic life of Antony, the Egyptian hermit, his contemporary, with the stages that mark the progress in the spiritual life. The privileged place of the presence of demons is the desert, but Athanasius identifies the work of demons, on one hand, in idolatry, paganism, persecution, on the other hand, in the temptations and diabolical manifestations that seek to hinder Antony’s (and Christian’s) journey to completion as well as the spread of the Kingdom of God in the world. That is why Antony’s fight against demons is a legitimate motif throughout his entire life. Antony, faithful to the “spiritual exercises” (ascetic, prayer, retreat into the wilderness, faith in the power of the Cross of Christ) wins in this struggle through the power and through the grace of Christ, the Incarnate Word.

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