Fall of Man, the

Myth that explains the existence of evil as the result of some primeval wrongdoing by humanity. It occurs independently in many cultures. The biblical version, recorded in the Old Testament (Genesis 3), provided the inspiration for the epic poem Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton.

The Fall of Man (as narrated in the Bible) occurred in the Garden of Eden when the Serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Disobeying God's will, she ate the fruit and gave some to Adam. This caused their expulsion from the Garden and, in Milton's words, ‘brought death into the world and all our woe’.