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The Demons are the main antagonists of the famous painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymus Bosch, especially in his vivid depiction of Hell, found on the third panel of the work. The demons are notable for their varied and surreal appearances, many of which are a mix of older works and new inventions by Bosch, the nature of these demons and the work itself continues to spark great interest in people, who debate the causes and meanings behind each scene but most are in agreement that Bosch was a deeply religious man who created such demons as a warning against a world lived for excess and sin, as well as its inevitable descent into damnation.
Notable Demons[]
Pig Demon and Assistant[]
A demon in the form of a pig dressed in the garb of a nun tries to tempt a sinner into signing a contract with the Devil, alongside a strange armored demon with the beak of a bird and the legs of a frog, its face hidden under a knight's helm and carrying a severed human foot. The pig-demon holds the quill while the bird-demon holds the ink.
Drunkard's Demon[]
As a drunkard is forced to vomit for all eternity into the same cesspool souls devoured by the Prince of Hell are left to suffer, he is harassed by a humanoid figure that may either be a demon or another sinner.
Hare Demon[]
A demonic hare stalks the realm, a mockery of hunters, carrying with it dead or captured humans. It is accompanied by a pack of demonic hounds, who are in the process of attacking a sinner.
Gambler's Demon[]
A rat-like demon assaults a seemingly broken gambler, grabbing him by his neck in one hand while it prepares to stab his torso with a sword in the other.
Vanity Demons[]
A pair of vanity demons torment a woman who closes her eyes in an attempt to block out the horrors around herself. One demon is obscured from sight save its rear, which has a mirror etched on it to torment the woman, while the second demon is a strange rabbit-like monster that gazes into the mirror while clinging to the woman.
Musician Demon[]
In one of the most famous scenes of the work, a grotesque frog-like demon with a long tongue filled with bulbous growths sits beneath the two large musical instruments being used to torture sinners, while to his side another soul is trapped in a drum and being tormented by a lesser demon. To his front is a sinner being crushed under the weight of one of the giant musical instruments, exposing only their naked rear, upon which demons have written a blasphemous hymn.
War Demon[]
Amidst the burning cities that make up the outskirts of Hell, a demonic war-machine ploughs through the souls doomed to eternal conflict. The machine itself resembles large human ears and a knife, perhaps symbolic of those who are capable of listening but refuse out of spite or other sin.
Sloth Demons[]
As a slothful sinner is doomed to sleep for eternity he is visited by nocturnal demons in the form of shadowy figures and toads, who harass and assault him in his sleep.
Prince of Hell[]
Ruling of the entire scene of terror is a bird-headed, eternally ravenous Prince of Hell who consumes sinners, then defecates them into a waiting cesspool for all eternity. He is seen to wear a large cauldron as a blasphemous crown and his feet are both hidden in smaller cauldrons.
Gallery[]
