So what exactly did Satan do again? Today I recalled an old conversation. It once occured to me that if you look at the bible in a different light, Satan doesn't really look so bad. Please keep in mind that I am not a satanist, atheist, or any form of religious. I'm merely throwing this out for the sake of argument because I am fascinated by the social aspects of religion.

Satan's whole deal is that he led people from God. His greatest offenses seems to have been
1) Rebelling against god and
2) Tempting Eve into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge

The second resulted in the expulsion from the garden of eden. To me this has always seemed like a long story about how "ignorance is bliss" and not one of sin against god. Had we stayed as apes in trees, we would be blissfully unaware of the larger issues of society that our intellect has spawned. I for one prefer air conditioning to eating grubs.

The bible is fairly cryptic when it comes to hell, and makes only VERY vague references to the west's typical conception. The references to fire and burning seem almost metaphorical, and contradictory. More consistently, there are a number of references to hell as a place absent of god. Theologians don't seem to have a major problem with this interpretation.
"separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power" 2 Thes 1 v9
"...he hath reserved under darkness in everlasting chains" Jude 13 v6

AFAIK, Satan is never credited with physically harming or killed anyone, torturing them for amusement, or demanding sacrifice to placate his ego. God can't make the same claims of innocence. Satan came up and spoke to people, influencing them, reasoning with them. God gave people free will, then routinely slaughtered them for exercising it.

The point is, that if we (for only a moment) ignore God's claim to be the "Alpha and the Omega" absolute truth of the universe, Satan looks downright heroic. He fought and lost a rebellion against a murderous, self aggrandizing tyrant, coming back to earth to try and free humanity from his grasp through reason. For those that don't buy into God's infinite power, the bible can look to be a long, boring, allegorical condemnation of religion. (that it shackles the mind to absolute truths that are not absolute)

Again, please look at this through an academic lens, not as religious opinion.
I truly respect the religious beliefs of ALL.