Paradise Lost is an epic poem written by John Milton in the 17th century. First published in 1667, a second revised version was released in 1674. In the poem, Milton stated that he was attempting to justify God's ways to man, and to elucidate the conflict between God's foresight and free will. In the poem, Satan is presented as a sympathetic character who defies God, and is cast down as a result of his defiance. In 1671, Milton published a sequel to this poem titled Paradise Regained.