An Introduction to Ancient Greek Magic and Sorceresses

Did you know that magic was a part of the religion of ancient Greece? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly, and today's video is all about magic in the culture and religion of ancient Greece. We are going to have a look at the goddess of magic and witchcraft, Hecate, and two of the best known sorceresses from Greek mythology, Circe and Medea. Don't forget, the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up. Subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a nonprofit organization, and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week. So make sure to check it out via the pop up in the top corner of the screen or via the Patreon link down below. When considering magic in the ancient world and the practice of magic in the everyday lives of the ancient Greeks and also the Romans, we aren't talking about magic in the sense that we would think of it today. Instead, magic encompassed a whole range of practices, including prayers, curse tablets, enhancing drugs, deadly poisons, amulets and love potions. There was no clear separation between concepts like magic, superstition, religion, science or astrology in ancient Greece, as there is in the modern world. And probably the best way to understand the role of magic in their society would be as unsanctioned religious activity. Magic wasn't something only for the wealthy, but those who were poor or illiterate still had access to some form of magic, whether that be to curse, to protect or to attract good luck or someone you loved. A common form of magic was the amulet, and this would be worn around the neck or wrists. The amulets from ancient Greece can be divided into roughly two categories. The talismans that were believed to bring good luck and the phylacteries, which were for protection. An amulet could be worn for a particular purpose, such as to cure an ailment, to protect the wearer from any bad magic sent their way, to attract a lover or to even win a sporting competition. These amulets could be made out of various materials like bone, stone, wood or less commonly, semi-precious stones. In addition to amulets that you could wear, they could also be small pieces of metal or papyrus with spells written on them or even just herbs carried in a small container or pouch. There were also favorable shapes that the amulets could take the form of, including knots, a phallus or vulva, a small hand making an obscene gesture, an eye sometimes known as the evil eye or an Egyptian scarab. To make them work, though, you had to invoke the gods who gave them power, especially the goddess of magic, Hecate. And you also would have had to utter certain words that were believed to have magical powers. Although it is more common for women to be sorceresses and witches in mythology with popular figures like Hecate, Circe and Medea, this doesn't mean that women were more likely to turn to magic in real life than men. Cursed tablets were a popular form of magic in Greco-Roman society, often invoking a deity to harm someone. And there is evidence of men using this form of magic as well as love spells and spells to curse someone who had rejected their advances. In addition to cursed tablets, there are also wax or clay figurines, which could resemble the victim of the intended curse. And examples of these figures have had their limbs twisted or bound. And sometimes they were stuck with nails or even buried in a miniature lead coffin. When you move from a study of ancient Greek society and their understanding of magic to their religion, which we call mythology today, you start to see more modern ideas of magic with spells that turn people to animals and potions and concoctions that can harm and kill. The deity most closely associated with magic is the goddess of magic herself, Hecate. She is not only the mother of or related to many sorceresses and witches in Greek mythology, but she would often be invoked by figures from mythology as they enact some kind of magic ritual or spell. Those performing rituals to the goddess of magic, the moon, the night, and ghosts would offer her food at crossroads, road junctions, and any sort of boundary or threshold. She would also have dogs and puppies sacrificed to her. And these offerings would be made during the night of a new moon. In some Greek myths, Hecate is the mother of Circe and Medea, two powerful sorceresses following in the footsteps of their mother. Circe is best known from Homer's Odyssey when Odysseus and his men end up on the mythical island of Aeaea, the home of the sorceress. And it doesn't take long for Circe to show her magical skill in illusion and transmutation. When she promptly turns Odysseus' men into pigs. Odysseus with the help of Hermes and their own little bit of magic is able to stop his own transformation and eventually have his men transformed back. In Roman mythology, Ovid tells us of how the sea god Glaucus loved the beautiful Nymph Scylla, but she fled from his attempts to woo her. Enraged, Glaucus traveled to the magic halls of Circe where he hoped for a spell or magic herb that would cause Scylla to feel the same pain of love as he. Circe responded that it would be better if he stopped wasting his efforts on someone who did not love him and instead woo someone who was willing, namely herself. But Glaucus, ignorantly spurned the powerful sorceress' advances saying he would sooner love someone other than Scylla than when seaweed would grow on the hills or green leaves grow in the sea. Since Circe still loved the god, she took out her rage at his rejection on his beloved instead of him. She filled the bay Scylla lay in with deforming drugs and spoke the words of an incantation that transformed the Nymph into a monster with canines for legs and gaping jaws. Circe's sister and sometimes her niece in different versions Medea is also seen to dabble in the field of magic and sorcery. Medea is best known from the tale of Jason and the Argonauts as the only reason why Jason ended up getting the golden fleece in the first place. When Jason arrived at Colchis where the golden fleece was kept by its King Aetes, he was told he could have the fleece if he completed a few dangerous tasks, including plowing a field using fire breathing bulls, sowing some dragon's teeth and then fighting the monsters that arose from the field. The only way Jason was able to do any of these things is because Medea, the daughter of Aetes gave him a potion that would make him invulnerable to both fire and steel. After the adventure of Jason and the golden fleece came to an end, Medea and Jason lived happily with their two children until Jason became captivated by Glauci, the daughter of King Creon of Corinth. In a jealous rage, Medea killed the two children she had with Jason and then Glauci with a poisoned robe and crown, and then fled Corinth on a flying chariot pulled by dragons. If there's one lesson to be learned from both Cersei and Medea, it's that you never want to be on the bad side of a sorceress. Can you think of other sorceresses from world mythology? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content, head to our website via the link below. If you like my shirt, you can find this design and a bunch more at flaroillustration.com or you can find a link for it down below. Thank you so much for watching and we will see you soon with another video.