Ancient Witches
Witchcraft and the many
variations denoted by that general term can be traced back to the Ancient
Egyptians and Mesopotamians, especially the Babylonians. Those who practiced
magic (the term “witch” is an Old English derivation), divination, and the performance
of supernatural acts served both a positive and a negative purpose. Within the
Judeo-Christian framework, however, there is no such dichotomy: witchcraft ran
counter to religion and later became identified with the works of the devil or
Satan. In the ancient world, two women stand out as the iconic witches the
western tradition has come to accept as examples of the dark side.
The Witch of Endor
In Exodus 22:18 Hebrew law
declares, “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” (or “sorceress”) while Deuteronomy
18:10 states “There shall not be found among you anyone…who uses divination,
one who practices witchcraft…or a sorcerer…” Such passages were used in the
late 15th Century Malleus
Maleficarum to justify the witch hunts of the late Middle Ages. Yet in I
Samuel 28 King Saul visited the most famous necromancer (from the Hebrew
terminology) of the Old Testament: the witch of Endor.
The witch practiced
divination and could call the dead back. One modern translation refers to her
as a “medium.” From the account in I Samuel several facts can immediately be
determined. King Saul came at night, in disguise. The work of a witch was best
concluded in the dark. The woman thought that a trap had been set: mediums and
“spiritists” had been persecuted for practicing their arts.
Saul asked the medium to
bring up the prophet Samuel. When Samuel appeared, however, he declared that
Saul would lose his kingdom because God was now his adversary. The fact that
Saul used divination to request help in preserving his kingdom demonstrated the
strong antipathy toward such arts since he felt he could no longer call upon
God and was going against his own edicts to eradicate such practices.
Circe and Odysseus
Although Greek mythology and
lore contains the accounts of many witches, Circe, in Homer’s Odyssey, may be the most colorful and
remembered. Odysseus landed on her island during his long trek home following
the Trojan War. It is here that he encountered the beguiling woman who had
transformed several of his crew into pigs.
The passages are full of
magic and aspects of witchcraft. Circe used potions and a magic wand. She cast
spells. Her magical ointments (sometimes referred to as magical rejuvenation)
retransformed the pigs back to men. Circe can make herself invisible. Odysseus
overcame her power with a magical root, given to him by the god Hermes.
Although the passages do not say exactly how the root was used, it rendered
Circe’s potion useless.
This magical root, called molu, may have been garlic, according to
some interpretations. Garlic is one of the oldest spices in the ancient world,
often equated with warding off evil, perhaps because of its curative powers.
Little wonder garlic came to be identified as a defense against vampires in
later centuries.
The outcome in the Odyssey was positive. Circe, after
swearing an oath not to attempt any more magical arts against Odysseus, slept
with him and fed his entire crew. She shared the secrets of necromancy, which
would help Odysseus in subsequent adventures.
Abundance of Witchcraft in
the Ancient World
Scholars have determined that
the terms used in the ancient world to denote “witch” and “witchcraft” were
both feminine and masculine. During the formation of the early Christian
Church, Simon Magus was considered a witch or “wizard.” Yet, as in the time of
the 16th and 17th Century Witch Craze, witchcraft was
more often associated with females. Circe and the Witch of Endor are but two
colorful examples of the phenomenon.
Sources:
T. Witton Davies,
“Witchcraft,” International Standard
Bible Encyclopedia Volume V (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1939)
Daniel Ogden, Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek
and Roman Worlds (
New American Standard Bible, 1973
Published June 22, 2009, Suite101, M.Streich, copyright
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