Magic in Homeric times
editThis section possibly contains original research. (September 2008) |
In Greek literature, the earliest magical operation that supports a definition of magic as a practice aimed at trying to locate and control the secret forces (the sympathies and antipathies that make up these forces) of the world (physis φύσις) is found in Book X of the Odyssey (a text stretching back to the early 8th century BCE).[15] Book X describes the encounter of the central hero Odysseus with Circe, "She who is sister to the wizard Aeetes, both being children of the Sun...by the same mother, Perse the daughter of the Ocean,"[15]: X:13 on the island of Aeaea. In the story Circe's magic consists in the use of a wand[15]: X:20 against Odysseus and his men while Odysseus's magic consists of the use of a secret herb called moly[15]: X:28 (revealed to him by the god Hermes, "god of the golden wand")[15]: X:27 to defend himself from her attack.[16] In the story three requisites crucial to the idiom of "magic" in later literature are found:
- The use of a mysterious tool endowed with special powers (the wand).
- The use of a rare magical herb.[notes 1]
- A divine figure that reveals the secret of the magical act (Hermes).
These are the three most common elements that characterize magic as a system in the later Hellenistic and greco-Roman periods of history.
Another important definitional element to magic is also found in the story. Circe is presented as being in the form of a beautiful woman (a temptress) when Odysseus encounters her on an island. In this encounter Circe uses her wand to change Odysseus' companions into swine. This may suggest that magic was associated (in this time) with practices that went against the natural order, or against wise and good forces (Circe is called a witch by a companion of Odysseus).[15]: X:43 In this mode it is worth noting that Circe is representative of a power (the Titans) that had been conquered by the younger Olympian gods such as Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.[17]