A closer look
Retiring to the Egyptian desert for some peace and quiet ended up being the worst idea Saint Anthony ever had. As the pioneer of Christian monasticism, he locked himself in an abandoned tomb to achieve total spiritual purity. Instead of serenity, his extreme fasting and isolation triggered massive, violent hallucinations. Historical accounts describe literal physical beatings by swarms of demons appearing as lions, wolves, scorpions, and bulls, leaving him bruised and bloody. It turns out that when you systematically starve the human ego, the subconscious fights back with monstrous vengeance.
