WHO WAS MEPHISTOPHELES?

Mephistopheles is the Devil in the medieval legend about a magician

named Faust. His name is pronounced mef uh stahf uh leez.

Faust sold his soul to Mephistopheles in return for the Devil's service for 24 years. The name Mephistopheles may come from three Greek words meaning "not loving the light" or, possibly, from the Hebrew "mephiz," meaning destroyer, and "tophel," meaning liar.

In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's great drama, "Faust," Mephistopheles is a clever, evil spirit who forever tempts man. The the Devil loses in the end, because the trouble he causes only help man to find wisdom and true faith.

Mephistopheles also appears in Charles Gounod's opera "Faust," in Arrigo Bonito's opera "Mefistofele" and in Christopher Marlowe's best known play, "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus," which was written about 1588.