ABSTRACT
In this chapter the current views of magic must always be seen in relation to the rise of new mechanical views of the world and related notions of natural religion feeding the Enlightenment war against superstitition. The Egyptians were famous in the ancient world for their knowledge of magic. In the early second century CE, Clement of Alexandria referred to Egypt as the mother of magicians. The Pyramid Texts are nonetheless essential primary sources for the history of ancient Egyptian thought and its relationship to the wider Mediterranean cultural landscape. Much has been written on the conceptualization of magic and the techniques of magical practice in Greek antiquity. Literary evidence reveals that certain individuals named in this curse graffito were prominent citizens in classical Athens Nikomachos, Charisandros, Demokles. A final graffito affords a view of the extent to which magical expression permeated the ancient Greek-speaking world.
