Adam

Also known as: First Man / Man / Sire of men / our Sire / our ancestor / our first father / our general ancestor / our sire / patriarch of mankind / prime of men · Family: mankind · Role: first man · First appears: Book 2

In Book III, God decrees that fallen Man may still be saved, and the Son offers his life to redeem him. God ordains that the Son will become Man, “be thyself Man among men on Earth,” and Uriel identifies Paradise as Adam’s abode. In Book IV, Satan overhears the prohibition against the tree of knowledge and plans to use it to bring about humanity’s ruin.

On the sixth day, God creates Adam and Eve, places them in Eden, and forbids them to eat from the tree of knowledge. Adam awakens in the new world, receives Paradise and the Earth to govern and cultivate, names the animals, and is told that a suitable companion will be made for him. God creates Eve from Adam’s rib; Adam leads her to the nuptial bower, and they are married. In Book V, Raphael teaches Adam that continued happiness depends on obedience, and they converse as friends.

In Book IX, Eve gives Adam the forbidden fruit, and he eats it; afterward, they lose their innocence, cover their nakedness, and become angry and accusatory toward one another. In Book X, Jesus judges them, postpones their immediate death, and clothes them; Adam and Eve repent together and ask God’s pardon. In Book XI, Michael tells Adam of humanity’s future and announces that the pair must leave Paradise and till the ground. In Book XII, Michael leads them through Eden’s eastern gate.