This small book is a biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius of Alexandria. It was this book that helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first to go into the wilderness (about ad 270), a geographical move that seems to have contributed to his renown.[6] Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature. ( )

Antony, as Bishop Athanasius presents him, spends a good bit of time wrestling with demons. Much of the Life is a portrayal of Christianity as a battle with demonic forces. Antony deliberately shuts himself up in a cave for some of these knock down matches with earth-shaking, screaming demons. Instead of a cage match, it’s a cave match. Antony’s sure of his victory, because he knows that the demons only have the power over him that God permits, and he’s in shape. By his ascetic disciplines of fasting, short sleep periods on the hard ground, manual labor, ceaseless prayer, memorizing scripture, and sharing his bread with the poor he’s ready for them, whether they come in the form of ghosts, hideous monsters, enticing women, or Satan himself.

To stay in shape Antony retreats to his mountain just west of the Red Sea to practice his discipline. He will, however, venture back to the cities along the Nile to defend his fellow Christians or to argue with Greek philosophers. But back at his mountain, monks flock to him to learn, and to marvel at his abilities, visions, and in the end his peaceful acceptance of death. ( )

A work by the great St. Athanasius describing the life, work, and virture of the first desert saint ( )