‘Abel’ in white marble. Sculpted by Italian Giovanni Dupre in 1844.
According to Genesis, Cain and Abel were the first and second sons of Adam and Eve, born after the Fall of Man. Their story is told in Genesis 4:1-16, the Qur'an at 5:26-32, and Moses 5:16-41. In all versions, Cain, a farmer, commits the first murder by killing his brother Abel, a shepherd, after God rejects Cain's sacrifice but accepts Abel's. The oldest known copy of the biblical narration is from the Dead Sea Scrolls inspected using infra-red photography and published by Jim R Davila as part of his doctoral dissertation in 1988. Cain and Abel appear in a number of other texts, and the story is the subject of various interpretations. Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr; while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as a progenitor of evil. Allusions to Cain and Abel as an archetype of fratricide persist in numerous references and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to the present day.
Size: 3413px × 5119px
Location: Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, St. Petersburg, Russia
Photo credit: © Bill Heinsohn / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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