The Magi in Pliny

Extract

In neither Lewis and Short nor the old Forcellini is there a single reference under ‘Magus’ to Pliny, and yet the word occurs in the Natural History about one hundred times; this work in fact is one of our primary authorities for Magism.

The story of the Magi has been dealt with ably in Pauly and Hastings, and there is an interesting note by A. D. Nock in The Beginnings of Christianity (Foakes Jackson and Kirsopp Lake), pt. I, pp. 164–88. The writer thinks that Apion was Pliny's authority. The Magi were originally a local tribe of the Medes, but later they grew to be a priestly caste, as did the tribe of Levi among the Hebrews. The Magian religion appears to have been introduced among the Persians by Cyrus. It contained much priestcraft and esoteric knowledge, but whether in these early times fraudulent ‘magic’ took part in it is a matter of dispute. Herodotus speaks of Magian incantations, but a fragment of Aristotle declares that Magism was innocent of wizardry. The honourable priesthood of the Magi, however, began from the first to give a name to dishonest deceit and quackery.