The first and most famous of all murders, Cain killed his brother, Abel, in the book of Genesis, the first Book of the Bible. Here, artist Gustav Doré imagines how The Death of Abel (also known as Cain Slays Abel) may have played out.
Sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel were both workmen on their father’s farm. Legend has it that Cain was jealous of Abel’s favor with God, and slew him in a fit of uncontrollable rage.
Cain was punished for his crime by being condemned to a life of wandering, which ended when he came upon the land of Nod (known as ‘wandering’ in Hebrew). Cain built a city and fathered a line of descendants that began with Enoch.
The image displayed here is part of a series of 241 wood engravings by Doré.
Read more about The Death of Abel here.
See more works by Gustav Doré here.
