St. Anthony the Abbot (sometimes called St. Anthony of Egypt or St. Anthony the Great), was inspired by the Gospels to sell all his possessions and live a life of solitude in the Egyptian desert. He established for himself a quiet hermitage away from the world, but he wasn't able to completely escape from his most persistent enemy.
The devil, knowing that St. Anthony was a very holy man and close to God, threw everything he had against him. If the devil couldn't turn Anthony away from God through the riches of the world, he would try to attack him both physically and spiritually. St. Athanasius records several of these encounters in his Life of St. Anthony.
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