The Caretaker

GRECO-ROMAN MAGIC - NOV/15/2022

Added 2022-11-15 18:16:21 +0000 UTC

[PUT IN INTRO]

What is magic in ancient Greece?
Mention etymology of “magic”
How is magic different from conventional religion?
What are the popular perceptions of magic?
How unified is the “Greek religio-magical tradition”?

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAGIC IN THE ANCIENT GREEK WORLD

There were many distinct types of magical practitioners in ancient Greece. If you wanted divination, you would go to the mantis or the chresmologoi, or maybe the agyrtai. The epodoi sang incantations. The goetes would work themselves into traces to speak to the dead. The thaumataopoi would perform wonders which the tetraskopoi would interpret. If you needed healing, you would see the pharmakaeis, or the rizotomoi.

Each type of practitioner had their own cultural and economic niche. Most were considered distinct from the established religious class, though records suggest there was a degree of mobility. A traveling mantis could potentially earn a position at a temple if they were skilled, but the vast majority of practitioners were private service providers.

The cultural attitudes towards practitioners was as diverse as the practices themselves. Some wandered the country selling their services, some were seen as holy men, others as scam artists, occasionally both at the same time. The modern English word “magic” is derived from the ancient Greek word magos, referring to the magi, members of the Zoroastrian priest class of ancient persia, who the ancient greeks regarded with both wonder and xenophobic suspicion.

These niches often overlapped or interacted with each other. For example, one could be both a mantis and an agyrtes, but if a teratoskopos attempted to practice pharmakeia, the penalty was death. [mwg 62] Over time, the boundaries between these practices became less defined. An agyrtai who learned to work wonders and cut herbs and sing incantations could become a one-stop-shop for any customer. By the end of the 5th century ce, these distinct categories were largely interchangeable, and eventually came to be called magike, or “art of the magi.”

PYTHAGORAS, THE FIRST MAGICIAN?

Pythagoras lived around the 5th-6th centuries BCE, and never wrote anything down. Because of this, much of the information about him comes from “The Life of Pythagoras” by Diogenes Laertius, and its descriptions of Pythagoras are steeped in legend and mysticism. While he is generally known today as a mathematician, he was known by his contemporaries as a magician who ran a math cult.

Very little is known about Pythagoras’s early life. Some accounts say he traveled to Egypt to learn their secret wisdom. This is an example of a trope we will see repeated many times over. “The Magician Traveled To A Foreign Mystical Land And Returned With Secret Knowledge.” Being a magician is often a process of personal myth-making. A magicians secret knowledge has to come from somewhere, so the magician wants to source their knowledge from somewhere that is both believable for the layman, but mysterious enough to feel important and powerful. Consider modern stories of American college students traveling to India and returning with dubious tales of chakras and tantra. Egypt occupied a similar place in the popular consciousness of Pythagoras’s day. Though in this case it is important to acknowledge that at this time, Egypt was a powerhouse of mathematical and philosophical knowledge, and it is quite possible that Pythagoras did indeed return with some new ideas.

When Pythagoras was around 40 he moved to Kroton, in what is now Italy, and started his cult. Here, he became famous as a wonder-worker and sage, not a mathematician. He was the subject of elaborate legends within his own lifetime. His followers abound with tales of Pythagoras’s ability to accurately predict storms and earthquakes, but these reports were not just from Pythagoras’s followers.

Aristotle tells many stories about Pythagoras. One fragment recounts Pythagoras having a golden thigh (a mark of divinity), and displaying said thigh to Abaris the Hyperborean, a legendary priest of Apollo who possessed a magical arrow which would allow him to travel long distances extremely quickly. [4] Supposedly, Pythagoras demonstrated similar abilities. Several of his fellows repeat a story in which Pythagoras appeared in both Tauromenium and Metapontum at the time. Porphyry speculates that this ability was the result of Pythagoras having incredible control over his own soul, wielding it in the form of “soul projection”

[4] Herodian, iv. 94.

Metempsychosis is a long Greek word that means “the idea that the soul is immortal, survives outside the body after death, and can reincarnate into new bodies.” While the origins of the idea in Greece are unclear, Pythagoras is strongly associated with introducing it. This would have been unusual for the time. Before this, the popular Greek conception of the soul was more akin to a shadow that lingered on the world after the body died.

While we do know that this new immortal and reincarnating conception of the soul was an important part of Pythagoras’s teachings, we know relatively few specifics. How one gets from a normal joe with no control over their soul, to being an abnormal joe who can shoot their soul across continents will likely remain a mystery. However, we can make some educated guesses.

Pythagoras had followers, and quite a lot of them. These Pythagoreans followed a specific way of life, likely to achieve a spiritual goal. Generally, when a person has followers, those followers are trying to be more like the person they’re following. The idea being that if you follow Pythagoras’s teachings, maybe you can launch your soul across the continent like he did.

As for what Pythagoras actually taught people, we don’t know much. His followers were instructed to follow existing greek religion, but with some additional rules. They were vegetarians, forbidden from eating meat, entering temples barefoot, wearing images of gods on their fingers, traveling on public roads, and most famously, forbidden from eating beans.

[Maybe make this an aside/footnote] If you are curious about the beans, so is the rest of academia. Even Laertius, pythagoras’s best biographer, can only speculate. Maybe it was because they are “like the privy parts” or because they are “like the gates of Hades” (have no joints, unlike many other plants) or “because they are oligarchical” or “because they are destructive.” We have no idea what these explanations actually mean.

THE LEGACY OF PYTHAGORAS

Earlier, I described Pythagoreanism as a “math cult.” This was what occultists call “a lie.” Nowadays, Pythagoras is known as a mathematician. There has been a tendency among later occultists to look at some magically flavored text from the ancient world, see math, and immediately shout “Aha! This is Pythagorean!” But there is almost no evidence that Pythagoras engaged in mathematics for magical reasons. Ideas around “sacred mathematics” are largely the work of writers who were inspired by pythagoras. Some time around the 4th century BCE, Pythagoras’s ideas fell out of vogue. Around the 1st century BCE the Neo-pythagoreans emerge, a loose group of philosophers who hold Pythagoras as a central figure in the history of philosophy. This gang will get their own section in due time.

Pythagoras is dead. It happens to the best of us. Cults tend to fracture when their leader dies, and the Pythagoreans were no different. It's thought that after Pythagoras died, his followers split into two camps, the Acusmatici, who followed the rituals that outwardly characterized the movement, and the Mathematici, who focused more on the mathematical and philosophical elements of his teaching. So while Pythagoras is often associated with sacred mathematics, it was his pupils, writers like Archytas and especially Philolaus, who set its foundation. Maybe they got their stuff from a secret, esoteric teaching from Pythagoras himself, but there is no way to know for sure how much of Pythagoras’s original ideas survived in their work.

Regardless, Pythagoras -or, the legend of pythagoras- is an essential element of magical history. Over the next few chapters, we will see his ideas combined with platonic philosophy to form Neoplatonism, which will be combined with Jewish theology to form early Kabbalah, which will eventually be combined with Christian theology to form Cabbala, which will be become one of the core elements of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which will influence everything after it, from Madame Helena Blavatsky, to Aliester Crowley, to the Guitarist for Blondie.

MYSTERY CULTS - THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES

Mystery cults were a type of religious organization that flourished in ancient Greece. They were generally focused around secretive revelatory rites. They existed across long periods of time, and broad geographical regions, so drawing comparing any two mystery cults can be tough. That said, if you go to a restaurant and order the house mystery cult, you’re going to get something with a few key ingredients: They tended to be structured around a central deity. They tended to have initiatory rituals, rituals that were required to be completed in preparation for some more important ritual. They featured ideas about radically transforming the initiated life in an important way, possibly involving benefits in this life, or the afterlife.

The most popular was probably the Eleusinian Mysteries, a festival-cum-religious-rite held every year, and centered around Demeter and Persephone (aka Kore), and so named for the city of Eleusis where its rituals were performed. At the height of its popularity, hundreds, if not thousands of people would have attended, taken part in its rituals and become “initiated.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with the concept, a Christian baptism is an example of an initiatory rite. There are those who are outside the community, the unbaptized, and those who are inside the community, the baptized. The rite cannot be performed by just anyone, (according to the Catholic Church, your opinions may vary) it takes some special proctor like a priest. I dislike using comparisons to Christianity, as it can be misleading as to how these rituals were understood by the people who were actually doing them. So while the baptism example is useful shorthand, understand that the Eleusinian hierophants who oversaw the mystery rituals probably would not understand their rites as “like baptism but different.” We don’t know for sure.

It is important to remember that the mysteries were not a small, niche part of Hellenic religion. Notable initiates in the Eleusinian mysteries included figures like Plato, Augustus Caesar, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. This was an important and widely-known element of contemporary religion whose practice only ended with the rise of Christendom.

Despite how normal these practices were, we don’t know many specifics about The Eleusinian Mysteries, or mystery cults in general. Mystery cults were, and this may come as a shock, quite secretive. Part of being an initiate was an oath to never reveal the nature of the ritual to outsiders.

This was taken extraordinarily seriously. There are stories of figures like Diagoras of Melos, who publicly revealed some of the secrets, only to find himself tried and exiled.

We know that the Eleusinian Mysteries were an annual event with multiple stages. It took place in late summer, around September, and lasted about 10 days total. It would begin in Athens, far away from the temple at Eleusis. Prospectiveinitiates would prepare themselves by ritually bathing in local waters, and the official start of the festivities would have been marked by a priest performing an animal sacrifice, which would kick off a few days of feasting. The fun would continue for several days, but on the fourth day, the entire festival would begin the 22 kilometer walk from Athens to Eleusis on foot. On the way, they would sing songs and swing branches called bacchoi. This would have been a strenuous journey, especially in the summer heat. Once they arrived, they would observe a day-long fast and an all-night vigil.

The purpose of these rituals was likely to induce an altered state of consciousness in the candidates. The fast was broken with a drink called kykeon. Some argue that this drink had mind-altering effects, but we don’t know exactly what was in it besides barley. Mind-altering effects from kykeon may not have been necessary, given that it was consumed after 3 days of partying, followed by a 22km walk, followed by 24 hours without food or sleep.

At this point, the candidates would enter a large hall called the Telesterion, and would emerge a few days later completely transformed by the events inside. What happened inside is not known. The state of the initiates is described with Greek words like mania, literally translating to “madness” or “insanity.” [Maybe add a reference to the discussion of On The Divine Disease?] The effects of the mysteries, the result of this temporary mania would supposedly last for the rest of the initiates’ lives.

We know that the ritual itself was administered by several priests, and watched by previous initiates who had undergone the mystery before. To summarize the general vibe, Yulia Ustinov says; “Mystery rites were intended to unsettle, disturb, and horrify, as only in absolutely contrast to the initial terror could the initiate arrive at profound modification of his attitude to life.” [1] There were three types of activity that happened in the Telesterion:

Dromena, or “Things Done.” Given that this was a festival in honor of the story of Persephone and Demeter, the mysteries may have involved a ritual death and rebirth that mirrors the myth, in which the initiate descends into the underworld and returns reborn, perhaps even a sort of near-death experience followed by an ecstatic “rebirth.”

Deiknumena, or “Things Shown.” These likely would have been ritual implements, objects of ceremonial importance, or objects that related to the myth in some way, possibly ritual clothing akin to theater costumes.

Legomena - “Things Said.” Likely ritual chanting, possibly music, used to induce something akin to a altered state.

[1][Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth]

The result of all of this was a feeling of release, as if a burden had been lifted. One striking description of the mysterie’s effects comes from Plutarch, who was himself an initiate.

“At first there was wandering, and wearisome roaming, and some fearful journeys through unending darkness, and just before the end (telos), every sort of terror, shuddering and trembling and sweat and amazement. Out of these emerges marvelous light, and pure places and meadows follow after, with voices and dances and solemnities of sacred utterances and holy visions. Among these the completely initiated (mustes), walks freely and without restraint; cowned, he takes part in rites, and joins with pure and pious people; he observes the crowd of people living at this very tiem uninitiated and unpurified, who are driven together and trample each other in deep mud and darkness, and continue in their fear of death, their evils and their disbelief in the good things in the world. Then in accordance with nature the soul stays engaged with the body in close union thereafter.”

ORPHISM

Orphism is a set of religious practices based around the mythological poet Orpheus, who descended into the Greek underworld and returned. Katabasis, or descent into the underworld, is a central theme in Orphism, in which worship is focused around deities who have undergone such an ordeal. Persephone and Dionysus are two central examples of this. The Orphic take on Dionysus is notably different from Hesiod’s “standard” version of the myth. Because of this, Orphism has been theorized to have originally been a cult of Dionysus that evolved into Orphism. [2]

[2][A. Henrichs, “‘Hieroi Logoi’ and ‘Hierai Bibloi’: The (Un) Written Margins of the Sacred in Ancient Greece,” Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 101 (2003): 213-216.]

The core of Orphism is the myth in which the titans tear apart and devour the infant Dionysus (called Zagreus at the time). In an act of revenge, Zeus incinerates the titans with a lightning bolt, turning them to ash, and it is from these ashes that humanity is born. The Orphics describe this new humanity as having a dual nature: The Body, (or sôma) born from ash, and the divine spark (or psukhḗ) inherited from Dionysus’s incinerated corpse. (He’s fine, Apollo puts him back together.)

In actual practice, the Orphics saw the “Titanic,” material, bodily, elements of humanity as a burden, or shackles to be discarded. But the soul, the spiritual, ephemeral elements of humanity was divine, and yearns to achieve union with divinity. If this sounds like gnosticism, good eye, Orphism undoubtedly had an influence on later Gnostic thought. To achieve freedom from the Titanic, one must be initiated in the Dionysian mysteries and undergo teletē, a ritual purification that possibly involved a re-enactment of Dionysus's suffering and death. [3] If that sounds like early christian thought, good eye. Orphism had a small but significant effect on the shape of early christianity. The ritual purity following initiation had to be maintained throughout the initiate’s life. Orphics would attempt to live ascetically, notably by adhering to a particular vegetarian diet that excluded broad beans. If this sounds like Pythagoreanism to you, good eye. It is possible that the two practices began as different traditions that became more similar over time as they exchanged ideas.

[3][Ana Isabel Jiménez San Cristóbal, Rituales órficos (Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2006);]

Pythagoreanism and Orhpsim are both essential bricks in the foundation of modern occult thought, and one of the most enduring concepts to come from that brick is the Orphic egg.

Orphic cosmology represents the universe in its primordial state as an egg. From this egg hatches the hermaphroditic, golden-winged deity Phanes/Protogonus the god of procreation and life generation, who then created the rest of the gods. The egg is often depicted with Ananke, the god of inevitability, compulsion, and necessity, coiled around it in the form of a snake. The rich symbolism around unity of opposites, self-generation, and creative force contained by fate, is catnip for later occultists like Elphias Levi and Aliestair Crowley. We will discuss this more in roughly 2500 years.

THE DERVENI PAPYRUS - ORPHIC ESOTERICISM

On the 15th of January, 1962, workers in Derveni, Macedonia discovered a tomb that would revolutionize our understanding of greek religion. Dating from the 4th century BCE, the tomb consisted of a small stone chamber strewn with urns. In the center, resting on a pedestal, was the massive and beautiful Derveni Krater, a metal urn containing the burned bones of a man and a woman. Atop one of the crypts, within the remains of a funeral pyre, was a papyrus scroll, dried by the flames and preserved in the Macedonian heat.

The Derveni Papyrus is the only surviving papyrus from ancient Greece, and the oldest manuscript ever discovered in Europe. It is a scroll of Orphic poetry. Little can be known for sure about the Derveni Papyrus. The text itself is highly damaged, as it was recovered from the remains of a funeral pyre, where it was likely burned for religious reasons. There is still significant scholarly debate over what order the fragments are supposed to be assembled in.

Contained within the Derveni Papyrus is a “Holy Discourse”, a philosophical treatise / allegorical commentary on an Orphic Poem in which the author attempts to synthesize the natural philosophy of their day from an esoteric reading of the Orphic hymns. The author of the Derveni Papyrus discusses Anaxagoas’s theories on metaphysics, and Diogenes of Appolonia’s theories of ontology as being hidden within the text of the Orphic Hymns. For the time, this would be akin to reading the bible using esoteric techniques, and then claiming that it explains quantum mechanics.

DICKS OUT: REAL GREEK MAGICAL PAPYRI HOURS HAVE BEGUN

A collection of magical texts
Spans 100s of years
Several cultures and religions
Several languages
Literally hundreds of spells
A cross section of the magical ideas of the ancient world, and one of the most dynamic and complex periods in western history
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Curse Tablets! Defixiones!
We got most fo them from roman baths
Incantation Bowls! Often buried beneath the lintels of homes, be they christians, mandeans, jews, etc, in the area that is now Iraq
Magical effigies called Kolossoi, occasionally and unfortunately called Voodoo Dolls, are found throughout the roman empire, and likely used for malicious magic
Theres also amulets
Inscribed gems
Anatomical models for divination
Magic thrived in the ancient world
Its a shockingly complex collection of texts, over 130 make it up
Some are small scraps, some are whole folios
Stretches over about 5 centuries
Papyrus is extremely durable
Most of the PGM was recovered from Luxor in the early 19th century in less-than-ideal conditions. We dont really know exactly where they came from.
It was then sold.
Also the local Egyptians had no say in any of this.
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Largely written in greek
Date from the 1-5th centuries CE
Sections in Coptic
Also sections in Demotic, these chunks probably represent a more authentically egyptian form of magic
The larger pens are ancient magical manuals, some of which have names
Some were apparently written by Solomon, Nephotes, Psammetichos, King Pitys, Pre-Socratic philosophers like Democritus, pythagoras, Klaudianos, The 8th Book of Moses, Zminis of Tentrya, Agathokles, and many many others.
The sheer scope of the spells is frankly enormous.
Most are erotic binding spells, aka Love Spells
Cursing Business and Legal Rivals
Cursing rival sports teams
Religious Liturgies
Theres even a “Mythras Liturgy” though we arent sure if it was ever actually used
Protective Amulets
Medical Magic
Divination
REsurrection
Spells for controlling anger and other emotions
Exorcisms
Divine Invocations
Cool magical illustrations, magical words, and magical characters

PYTHAGORAS

Pythagoras was a cult leader and a wizard
Pre-socratic, explain what that means to readers
Lived around 6th-5th centuries BCE, one of the earliest we know
Often called the “First Philosopher” and so theres a ton of legendary BS about him
His followers, the Pythagoreans, were a distinct group in antiquity, who followed a specific way of life
Pythagoras never wrote anything. Most accounts of him come centuries after he died.
Its hard to tell what comes from Pythagoras, what doesnt, whats just a continuation of an early tradition etc
Acusmata - Sayings of Pythagoras
Best text we have is “The Life of Pythagoras” by Diogenes Laerius (d. 240)/Porphyry (d. 305) Remember that second name.
And “On the Pythagorean Life” By the platonist Iamblichus (Also remember that name)
These texts are deeply legendary
Born on Samos
Nothing is known about his early life
Texts say he probably travelled to egypt, to learn their Wisdoms this was a common trope
When he was 40 he moved to Kroton in what is now Italy where he began his cult
He became famous as a sort of sage, a wonder-worker, not as a mathematician.
GOLDEN THIGH THING Aristotle: “The son of Nicomachus (i.e. Aristotle) adds that Pythagoras was once seen by many people, on that same day and at the same hour, both at Metapontum and at Croton; and at Olympia during the games, he got up in the theatere and showed that one of his thighs was golden. The same writer says that while crossing the Coasas he was hailed by the river, and that many people heard him so hailed.”
(Having a golden thigh was a sign of divinity)
Supposedly killed a deadly serpent by biting and killing it himself, pretty cool.
So what did he teach?
The soul is distinct from the body, and survives after death.
This was HELLA unusual for the time. Before this, the soul was seen as more of a “Shade” as a sort of footprint one leaves on the world.
Plato picks this up
This is something he might ACTUALLY have gotten from the egyptians, who did believe in a post-mortem life for the soul
Also taught that after the body dies, the soul is reborn into another body. Reincarnation!
There’s a story in Life of Pythagoras: “Once they said he was passing by when a puppy was being whipped, and he took pity and said “Stop, do not beat it; for it is the soul of a friend that I recognized when I heard it screaming.””
We dont know much else about his actual theory of reincarnation
He was seen as an expert on the soul
It seems that his magic was based around manipulating his own soul
His first followers were likely a sort of proto-mystery school who followed a specific way of life.
This is how his followers were msot known.
SO WHAT DID HE FOLLOW
Vegetarian. Likely connected to vegetarianism
Significant amount of ritual.
Though he DID follow the existing greek religion, the pythagoreans followed their own specific rules around these rites.
Ex: You were not allowed to enter the temple barefoot
Ex: You had to pour libations from the “ear” or handle of the cup.
Ex: You couldn’t wear images of the gods on your finger
Ex: You cannot sacrifice a white cock
Theres also stranger ones:
Ex: You cannot bury your dead in wool
Ex: Right shoe goes on first before the left foot
Ex: No travelling on public roads
Ex: Absolutely NO beans
Oh wow
From the Life of Pythagoras:
“Pythagoreans enjoined abstention from beans either because they are like the privy parts, or because they are like the gates of Hades (for this is the only plant that has no joints), or because they are destructive, or because they are like the nature of the universe, or because they are oligarchical (being used in the choice of rulers by lot). Things that fall from the table when they were told not to pick up - to accustom them to eating with moderation, or because such things marked the death of someone. (...) They must not touch a white cock, because this animal is sacred to the Month and is a suppliant, and supplication is a good thing. (...) They must not break the load, nor must they divide the loaf which brings them together. Others explain the rule by reference to the judgment in Hades; others explain that it is from the loaf that the universe starts.”
We dont know what like, half of these mean.
“Step not over a balance, i.e. be not covetous;
‘poke not the fire with a sword’ i.e. do not vex with sharp words a man swollen with anger;
‘pluck not the crown’, i.e. offend not against the laws, which are the crowns of cities.
Or again, ‘eat not Heart’, i.e. vex not yourself with grief;
‘Sit not on the corn ration’ i.e. live not in idleness;
‘When on a journey, turn not back’ i.e. when you are dying, cling not to this life.”
This reminds us a lot of MYSTERY CULTS
Many have connected Pythagoras and his Buds to the ORPHICS, the ancient mystery cult centered around the ancient mythical figure of Orpheus.
They share a lot of features. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call the pythagoreans a sort of Mystery cult.
“We can safely say that the name fo Orpheus was associated, from at least the fifth century on, with the institution of various rites, which included initiation into mysteries depicting terrors of Hades, and whose object was to procure a happy state for initiates before and after death” - G.S. Kirk, J.E. Raven, & M. Schofield
You can probably say the same for Pythagoras, they were also based on secret initiations and a specific aesthetic way of life
We know very little about what pythagoras actually taught, and this is likely On Purpose. They don't call it a mystery cult for nothing.
They became famous for their practice of Silence, sources (who?) say that if one wished to become a pythagorean, they had to observe a 5-year silence.
There also seemed to be Esoteric aspects to pythagorean teachings that initiates were forbidden from disclosing to outsiders.
It seems that the group came under attack in the last few years of the 6th centuries bce, which forced Pythagoras to leave for Metapontum, where he is thought to have died around 490 bce
Okay but what about math?
Well thats tough
Oftentimes, when we see numbers and esoterica together, we point and say “Ah yeah, thats pythagorean.” But there’s actually very little evidence that Pythagoras himself engaged much in ideas about sacred mathematics. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.
Gotta be careful not to mistake the platonist for the pythagorean and vice-versa
Its thought that after he died, his followers were split into two camps
The Acusmatici: Those who followed the rituals that outwardly characterized the movement
The Mathematici: Those who focused more on the “Philosophical” elements, especially mathematics.
We also have self-identified Pythagoreans:
Philolaus - Who believed that reality was based more on the concepts of the Unlimited and Limit, and that understanding the relationship between the two would explain the cosmos.
Archytas - Innovations in math and geometry
So LATER pythagoreans became heavily associated with things like Esoteric Geometry, arithmetic, and music theory
These post-pythagoreans are more associated with the idea that reality itself is made of numbers
They also developed geometric theories that supposedly explained the inner-workings of the cosmos
Especially in works like Philolaus, the idea of Harmony becomes central. Mathematical and geometric ratios becomes key to their philosophy, which is often expressed in music. The pythagoreans
Pythagoreanism is also associated with a specific cosmology, involving the “Music of the Spheres”
Philolaus may have suggested that the earth was not the center of the universe, claiming that it revolved around a “great fire“ but this is speculation
Is it possible that all of this comes from Pythagoras? Maybe!
Its entirely possible that much of this comes from his “secret teachings” the Mathematici
Sometime in the 4th century, they vanish
It only in the 1st century bce that we see them re-emerge as:
NEO-PYTHAGOREANISM
This isn’t a specific school of thought either
This is a loose group of thinkers who all hold pythagoras as a central figure in the history of philosophy
This is probably where a lot of ideas that we consider to be Pythagorean come from
NP’s were heavily influenced by Platonism
The Pythagorean Theorem probably isn’t even his

THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES

The ancient greek thinkers were largely not enlightened rationalists
So what was more accurate? Lets get some more Nuance.
Ideas like Esotericism or Mysticism were equally as important
Mystery Cults
The Eleusinian Mystery Cult was probably the most popular
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Mystery Cult is a very difficult thing to define, they existed across broad geographic areas and time periods, and drawing similarities between any two was pretty hard.
Generally defined by Initiatory Rituals, and often having a specific deity at its center
Participation in the rituals would supposedly radically transform the initiates life, offering benefits in this life or the next
Many also had a sort of Ceremonial Metaphorical Death and Rebirth
The most popular was probably the Eleusinian Mysteries, centered around Demeter and Persephone (Kore)
Based in the city of Eleusis
At the height of its popularity, hundreds if not thousands of people would have taken place in its rituals and become initiated in its mysteries
The idea being that you become initiated and now you’re part of the community.
We know very little about what was actually going on
This is by design!
The secrets of the eleusinian mysteries were just that, secrets.
There are stories of figures like Diagoras of Melos, who publicly revealed some of the secrets, only to be tried and exiled as a result.
So this was serious!
Plutarch (d. 120) (who was likely an initiate himself) has some descriptions of the Eleusinian mysteries. As does Clement of Alexandria, who was a christian.
Plato even eludes to the mysteries
They were a BIG thing. Theres even speculation (from whom?) that the majority of atheneans were initiates, and that the cult received state support.
So what do we actually know?
This is an Annual Event with multiple stages
Took place in Late Summer, like september, and lasted like 10 days in total
Potential initiates would prepare themselves by ritually bathing in the local waters
Animal sacrifice performed by a priest would open the festival
On the 4th day, they would all begin to walk 22km from Athens to Eleusis on foot.
On the way, they would sing songs in unison and swing branches called Bacchoi
This would be an intense journey, especially in the summer heat
Then they would fast for a day while continuing to observe various rituals, like an All-night vigil.
The purpose is to induce an intense altered state of consciousness in the initiate.
The fast was then broken with a barley drink known as Kykeon
We dont know whats in it, but some argue that it contained mind-altering substances
At this point, the initiates, referred to as Mustai, (which is where we get the word Mystic) would enter a big hall known as the Telesterion, and would come out a few days later completely transformed by whatever happened in there.
We have no clue what happened in there. The secret was kept really well.
It was probably pretty intense.
The states are referred to in greek with words like Mania or Baccahea, and would supposedly have lasting effects that would effect the initiates for the rest of their life.
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During the ritual, its thought that the initiates enact a sort of ritual death and rebirth, akin to the myth of Demeter and Persephone, in which they descend into the underworld and return reborn. Perhaps even a sort of near-death experience followed by an ecstatic rebirth.
“Mystery rites were intended to unsettle, disturb, and horrify, as only in absolutely contrast to the initial terror could the initiate arrive at profound modification of his attitude to life.” - Yulia Ustinvova
So what actually happened in the Telesterion?
There are references to a few classes of activity:
Dromena - “Things Done”
Deiknumena = “Things Shown”
Legomena - “Things Said”
What does this indicate? Well its thought that :
Dromena = A re-enactment of what happened to Persephone
Deuknumena = Something involving sacred objects connected to the myth revealed to the initiate
Legomena = explanations of the meanings of the objects
There were also likely numerous other factors like sounds, sensations, and movements
Presided over by a group of priests, both men and women
Groups of previous initiates would sit on the sidelines and watch the ritual, as if it were a performance.
Music might have been a thing
Its also possible that initiates were subjected to physical pain, being blindfolded etc
Then followed the peak, which could have been a sort of spiritual unity with the divine. Accompanied by a vision of pure light, or experience of transcendence.
Many report (who?) a feeling of complete transformation, even losing their fear of death.
“Mystery festivals should be unforgettable events, casting their shadows over the whole of ones future life, create experiences that transform existence. That participation in mysteries was a special form of experience, a pathos of the soul, or psyche, of the candidate, is clearly stated in several ancient texts.” - Walter Burkert
“At first there was wandering, and wearisome roaming, nd some fearful journeys through unending darkness, and just before the end (telos), every sort of terror, shuddering and trembling and sweat and amazement. Out of these emerges marvellous light, and pure places and emadows follow after, with voices adn dances and solemnities of sacred utterances and holy visions. Among these the completely initiated (mustes), walks freely and without restraint; cowned, he takes part in rites, and joins with pure and pious people; he observes the crowd of people living at this very tiem uninitiated and unpurified, who are driven together and trample each other in deep mud and darkness, and continue in their fear of death, their evils and their disbelief in the good things in the world. Then in accordance with nature the soul stays engaged with the body in close union thereafter.” - Plutarch
This was a major element of religion in the ancient hellenic world
Both Plato and Plutarch both referred to the Eleusinian Mystery as something that was contemporary to them.
Lasted up to Christianity
Alongside the rationalist writings of Aristotle and Plato, many people were involved in practices that would be considered today to be magical or mystical, and this was considered an equal if not more valid way to arrive at knowledge.

ORPHISM

15th of january, 1962, workers in Derveni Macedonia uncovered some 4th century tombs
The massive and beautiful Derveni Krater held the incinerated remains of a man and a woman
Atop on of the crypts was the remains of a funeral pyre, was a papyrus scroll
Totally dried by the flames, and preserved in the macedonian heat
Columns of texts were partially preserved
Its the only surviving text from ancient greece, and the oldst manuscript ever found in europe
Its a scroll of orphic poetry
Likely thought by the owner to be the key to the afterlife itself
26 columns, most are badly damaged
We don’t even really know how they’re supposed to be arranged
Basically everything we could potentially say about the DP could be argued
- Basically everything after this is speculation:
First words reference the Erenyes and funeral rites probably
Seems to be a discussion of the afterlife, and how the initiate should consider the daimones and erenyes
Heraclitus was critical of the mysteries
Orpheus is described as composing poetry in which “momentous things are hidden within the verses”
The poems are what the DP calls “holy discourse”
The following columns are a religio-philosophical discourse on an as yet unknown orphic hymn, in which the author attempts to synthesize the contemporary science of their day, with the inner mysticism of the orphic hymns
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The mysteries seem to have been introduced to greek life in the 6-7th centuries
With Orpheus acting as a sort of savior figure, ushering the dead into the next life.
This was accomplished by carefully studying the Orphic hymns as religious scripture, being properly initiated, making proper sacrifices, and living a life along the lines of ritually pure aceticism.
Deals with the Descent of Orpheus into the underworld and the resurrection of dionysus
Orphism might actually have emerged as a reform movement from the Dionysian more generally
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Orphism differs from Hesiods Theogeny, and actually more resembles Pythagoras
Its priests were known, though with soem degree of contempt by plato
And they would survive well into the christian period
THE EGG
We have about 90 hymns survived, though those are likely the later ones
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Derveni author seems to be at pains not to describe the orphic theogeny as Many Gods, but as the birth of a single god consolidated into one
Theres also a weird desire to explain away the series of incestuous rapes by zeus
In this one, Zeus castrates kronos and swallows the phallus, giving birth to the other gods
Though, this is probably the earlier version actually
The Hittite theogeny involves Humbari castrating Anu and consuming the phallus, giving birth to the others.
The author seems to be trying to interpret that theogony through the lens of Anaxagoras’s whole infinite continuum of particles metaphysics
The text argues that difference is only an illusion created by the vortex of movement created by the impulse of nous
Also seems to pull from Diogenes of Appolonia
Ontological priority of Fire and Air
Esoteric Text produced in a mystery religion, being read to express what was, at that time at least, cutting edge scientific speculation
SO WHO WROTE THIS BAD BOY
Soemone who knew both Orphic mythology and initiation, and the philosophical scientific theories of the day
This doesn’t really help us identify the author
Could be a lost work of Diagoras of Millos - Janko
Sophists of the period in the 4th century would name their books after wrestling moves
Protageras - as Kataballontes logoi (The Overthrower Arguments or, better, The Knockdown Arguments; (Like naming your text The Elbow Drop of Pure Reason)
Janko argues that the texts were composed as a “rationalizing program” where religious texts reveal truths, but only those of philosophy. He likens it to someone reading the book of Mormon to explain that it also secretly teaches Einstiens theory of relativity
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Also it seems like the Orphic priests of Plato’s time had a bit of a PR problem
Plato seemed to regard them like Fire and Brimstone preachers that mostly bothered rich people
Aristotle mentions the orphics as someone he looks forward to chatting with down in Hades, but it also seems like plato found them annoying

Janko - The Derveni Papyrus ("Diagoras of Melos, Apopyrgizontes Logoi?"): A New Translation - https://www.jstor.org/stable/1215469

Papadopoulou - An Introduction to the Derveni Papyrus - https://chs.harvard.edu/ioanna-papado...

Betegh - The Derveni Papyrus: Cosmology, Theology and Interpretation - 978-0521047395

Conference - THE FIRST COLUMNS OF THE DERVENI PAPYRUS - https://youtu.be/eKssxZcWnGU

THE PGM

A collection of magical texts
Spans 100s of years
Several cultures and religions
Several languages
Literally hundreds of spells
A cross section of the magical ideas of the ancient world, and one of the most dynamic and complex periods in western history
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Curse Tablets! Defixiones!
We got most fo them from roman baths
Incantation Bowls! Often buried beneath the lintels of homes, be they christians, mandeans, jews, etc, in the area that is now Iraq
Magical effigies called Kolossoi, occasionally and unfortunately called Voodoo Dolls, are found throughout the roman empire, and likely used for malicious magic
Theres also amulets
Inscribed gems
Anatomical models for divination
Magic thrived in the ancient world
Its a shockingly complex collection of texts, over 130 make it up
Some are small scraps, some are whole folios
Stretches over about 5 centuries
Papyrus is extremely durable
Most of the PGM was recovered from Luxor in the early 19th century in less-than-ideal conditions. We dont really know exactly where they came from.
It was then sold.
Also the local Egyptians had no say in any of this.
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Largely written in greek
Date from the 1-5th centuries CE
Sections in Coptic
Also sections in Demotic, these chunks probably represent a more authentically egyptian form of magic
The larger pens are ancient magical manuals, some of which have names
Some were apparently written by Solomon, Nephotes, Psammetichos, King Pitys, Pre-Socratic philosophers like Democritus, pythagoras, Klaudianos, The 8th Book of Moses, Zminis of Tentrya, Agathokles, and many many others.
The sheer scope of the spells is frankly enormous.
Most are erotic binding spells, aka Love Spells
Cursing Business and Legal Rivals
Cursing rival sports teams
Religious Liturgies
Theres even a “Mythras Liturgy” though we arent sure if it was ever actually used
Protective Amulets
Medical Magic
Divination
REsurrection
Spells for controlling anger and other emotions
Exorcisms
Divine Invocations
Cool magical illustrations, magical words, and magical characters
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The writers were likely educated, as they were literate. And integrated into the mercantile world of late antiquity
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They are marked by, above all else, SYNCRETISM
Though, with little in the way of systemization
Spells will freely invoke, Greek, Christian, Jewish, Egyptian, Gnostic, Iranian, Roman, and even Mesopotamian dieties all at the same time.
This syncretism continues into the modern
Many spells actually have blank spaces, or fill-in-the-blanks like “insert the usual here” which is a hint to their mercantile character
They often derive their power from divine invocation,
so -called “gods arrival” texts abound in demiotic
Many of the magical texts feature palindromes, occasionally called onamata
ABLANATHANALBA (NATHAN = hebrew for He Gives)
The most famous non-palindrome incantation, the ephesian formula?
Hey whats up with all the weird long vowel sounds?
They might have represented musical chants, but theres no notation so idk
Theres also the little ring letters, which are delightfully mysterious, and persist well into jewish and christian magic in the future, in the Sefer Raziel and Agrippa
There are also drawings throughout the PGM of various gods, spirits, etc
Taken from numerous cultural systems, though there tends to be a focus on the cthonic like Hekate or Anubis
AKETHALOS THE HEADLESS ONE
Possibly related to osiris
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So whats NOT in the PGM?
Astral magic! There are a few astrological texts, but astral magic didn’t really show up until the picatrix.
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There is also significant knowledge related to the medical, alchemical, and religious texts in the PGM, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are magical.
In fact, its an excellent example of how the term “magic” as we understand it, can be kinda artificial
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Also, chewing through this will take literal generations of scholarly work. Its exciting! And no bare summary can really do justice to just how rich and fascinating the PGM is
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Lets look at some spells
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PGM 4 - The Sword of Dardanos:
Its not uncommon to name spells after swords. The spell itself is called this because of its incredible power. Supposedly.
Its an Erotic Binding Spell
Whats cool is that it uses a magnet to attract a lover
Its a standin, a sympathea, for your lover
It also uses a magical gem
Whats fun is that it invokes jewish names for god like ADONAIE and IAO
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PGM 1 - Invisibility Spell
Takes the form of a lotion that you rub on your skin
Invisibility spells are common
Some are even made from the fat of children
Theres also LAILA which might be a corruption of the hebrew LILAM the word for night
As well as multiple permutations of the hebrew divine name placed seemingly random
Along with the vowel strings
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PGM 4 - Business Spell
Invokes Hermes
Uses a neat statuette
Usually a piece of heiratic papyrus (papyrus prepared specifically by an egyptian priest at a high level of ritual purity) thats then rolled up into clay and then formed into a statue.
It also says DONT use a red lamp (possibly bc red is associated with Set)
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PGM 7 - The Homer Oracle
Its several quotations from iliad and the odyssey aligned one after another
And there was some mechanism by which one used it for bibliomancy
By which you ask a question and then open your bible/quran to a random verse or ayet and see what that says
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PGM 7 - To keep bugs 1 out of the house
Its goat bile with water.
This one might not even be a spell.
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Its not really until the 18th century that philosophy wasnt associated with magic or religion
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PGM 7 - Magical Athletic ability
Invokes Hermes
Has a collection of interesting characters of mysterious origin
Toth appears here
Theres a link between hermes and Toth, which was already strong in this milieu
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PGM 7 - A phylactery spell
A bodyguard against daimons, against phantasms
Supposed to be written on gold or silver, but heiratic papyrus can be substituted
Hebrew names for divinity
Obscure magical characters
Kepri appears here, luck an rebirth
Ouroboros
Mercantile language, the fill in the blanks
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PGM 10
Charm to restrain anger
To be written on gold or silver and be worn as a lamella
Involves several onamata, several characters, several palindromes
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PGM 36
Figured labled at IAO, a greek name for the hebrew god
Also invokes Ptah, a god you dont usually see in magic
Akephalos is here too, hes holding what looks like a snake and an ankh
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PDM 14 - Cast a mummy at someone
Spell for fucking over your boss
Written in greek and egyptian which is interesting
Shows that the person who wrote the spell is comfortable, and also points to the spells mercantile character
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PGM 32 - Erotic binding spell between two women!
One attempts to erotically bind another woman to her
Got christian gods, greek gods, and egyptian gods
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PGM 13 contains the 8th book of moses
Contains an exorcism in which a very complex name is given to a demon and then exorcized using sulfur and asphalt being breathed in as an urgent
That burning sulphur urgent even shows up in later jewish mysticism