The Fallen Angel of Greed

This is the seventh entry in a series of seven photo-manipulated graphics I created a while back that I called "The Fallen Angels of Sin." The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings, though they are more emphasized within Roman Catholicism. Behaviors or habits are classified under this category if they directly give rise to other immoralities. Greed (avaritia in Latin), also known as avarice, cupidity, or covetousness, is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of desire. However, greed is specifically applied to an artificial, rapacious desire and pursuit of material possessions. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." In Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)'s Inferno, those whose attitude toward material goods deviated from the appropriate mean are punished in the fourth circle. They include the avaricious or miserly (including many clergymen, popes, and cardinals), who hoarded possessions, and the prodigal, who squandered them. The hoarders and spendthrifts joust against each other, using great weights as weapons that they push with their chests. Once the weights belonging to each group smash against once another, the two separate groups then endeavor to push their weight away so that they can begin the process anew, each perpetually asking the opposite group "why do you hoard?" or "why do you squander?" In the words of Henry Edward, avarice "plunges a man deep into the mire of this world so that he makes it to be his god." I chose to illustrate my 'Seven Deadly Sins' series by selecting stock photos of beautiful women wearing stunning formal dresses because I felt that the beauty of both the women and the gowns could serve as an allegory illustrating the fact that sin always appears to be deceptively wonderful, beautiful, or fun on the outside, but rots the soul once it has been indulged in. This artwork was created using stock photos that I purchased from Adobe Stock and downloaded with permission from various stock artists on deviantART. I have since left that site in favor of this one.