Athanasius of Alexandria, De Incarnatione Verbi

Καὶ πάλιν εἰ ὁ ἐχθρὸς τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν διάβολος, ἐκπεσὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, περὶ τὸν ἀέρα τὸν ὧδε κάτω πλανᾶται, κἀκεῖ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ διαμόνων ὡς ὁμοίων ἐν τῇ ἀπειθεία ἐξουσιάζων, φαντασίας μὲν δ’ αὐτῶν ἐνεργεῖ τοῖς ἀπατωμένοις ἐπιχειρεῖ δὲ τοῖς ἀνερχομένοις ἐμποδίζειν· καὶ περὶ τούτου φησὶν ὁ ἀπόστολος· κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας· ἦλθε δὲ ὁ Κύριος ἵνα τὸν μὲν διάβολον καταβάλῃ, τὸν δὲ ἀέρα καθαρίσῃ, καὶ ὁδοποιήσῃ ἡμῖν τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος, διὰ τοῦ καταπετάσματος, τουτέστι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ· τοῦτο δὲ ἔδει γενέσθαι διὰ τοῦ θανάτου· ποίῳ δ’ ἂν ἄλλῳ θανάτῳ ἐγεγόνει ταῦτα, ἢ τῷ ἐν ἀέρι γενομένῳ, φημὶ δὴ τῷ σταυρῷ; μόνος γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἀέρι τις ἀποθνήσκει, ὁ σταυρῷ τελειούμενος. διὸ καὶ εἰκότως τοῦτον ὑπέμεινεν ὁ Κύριος.

And again, if the enemy of our race, the devil, having fallen from heaven, wanders about the air down here, and there, holding sway over the demons with him as being like [him] in disobedience, through them works illusions on those who are deceived, and tries to hinder those who are going up (and about this the apostle says: according to the ruler of the power of the air, of [the spirit] now at work in the sons of disobedience), then the Lord came in order to cast down the devil, to cleanse the air, and to make a road for us for the ascent into the heavens, as the apostle said, through the veil, that is, his flesh. And this had to come about through death. By what other death could these things have come about than by one that took place in the air, I mean the cross? For only he who is perfected on a cross dies in the air. Therefore the Lord fittingly endured this.

Οὕτω γὰρ ὑψωθείς, τὸν μὲν ἀέρα ἐκαθάριζεν ἀπό τε τῆς διαβολικῆς καὶ πάσης τῶν δαιμόνων ἐπιβουλῆς λέγων Ἐθεώρουν τὸν Σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν πεσόντα· τὴν δὲ εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον ὁδοποιῶν ἐνεκαίνιζε λέγων πάλιν· Ἄρατε πύλας οἱ ἄρχοντες ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπάρθητε πύλαι αἰώνιοι. οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ Λόγος ἦν ὁ χρῄζων ἀνοίξεως τῶν πυλῶν, πάντων Κύριος ὥν· οὐδὲ κεκλεισμένον ἦν τι τῶν ποιημάτων τῷ ποιητῇ· ἀλλ’ ἡμεῖς ἦμεν οἱ χρῄζοντες, οὕς ἀνέφερεν αὐτὸς δᾶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος αὐτοῦ. Ὡς γὰρ ὑπὲρ πάντων αὐτὸ προσήνεγκε τῷ θανάτῳ· οὕτως δέ’ αὐτοῦ πάλιν ὡδοποίησε τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον.

For being lifted up in this way, he cleansed the air of the plotting of the devil and of all the demons, saying: I beheld Satan fall like lightning; and making a road for the ascent into the heavens, he inaugurated it, saying again: Lift up the gates, you rulers of yours, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates. For it was not the Word himself who needed the gates to be opened, being Lord of all; nor was any of the things made closed to its maker; but it was we who needed it, whom he himself carried up through his own body. For as he offered it to death on behalf of all, so through it he again made the road for the ascent into the heavens.

Τί δὲ περὶ τῆς θαυμαζομένης παρ’ αὐτοῖς μαγείας ἄν τις εἴποι; ὅτι πρὶν μὲν ἐπιδημῆσαι τὸν Λόγον, ἴσχυε καὶ ἐνήργει παρ’ Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Χαλδαίοις καὶ Ἰνδοῖς αὕτη καὶ ἐξέπληττε τοὺς ὁρῶντας· τῇ δὲ παρουσία τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ τῇ ἐπιφανεία τοῦ Λόγου διηλέγχθη καὶ αὕτη, καὶ κατηργήθη παντελῶς.

And what might one say about the magic that is admired among them? That before the Word came to dwell [among us], it was strong and active among the Egyptians and Chaldaeans and Indians, and astounded those who saw it; but by the presence of the truth and the appearing of the Word it too was refuted and entirely abolished.

Ἡκέτω δὲ ὁ πεῖραν τῶν προλεχθέντων βουλόμενος λαβεῖν, καὶ ἐπ’ αὐτῆς τῆς φαντασίας τῶν δαιμόνων, καὶ τῆς τῶν μαντειῶν ἀπάτης, καὶ τῶν τῆς μαγείας θαυμάτων, χρησάσθω τῷ σημείῳ τοῦ γελωμένου παρ’ αὐτοῖς σταυροῦ, τὸν Χριστὸν ὀνομάσας μόνον, καὶ ὄψεται πῶς δι' αὐτοῦ δαίμονες μὲν φεύγουσι, μαντεῖα δὲ παύεται, μαγεία δὲ πᾶσα καὶ φαρμακεία κατήργηται.

Let whoever wishes to make trial of what has been said come, and in the very presence of the illusions of the demons, the deceit of the oracles and the wonders of magic, let him use the sign of the cross that is laughed at by them, only naming Christ, and he will see how through him demons flee, oracles cease, and all magic and sorcery is brought to nothing.