The Myth of the Magus

The Magus, a legendary magician of superhuman powers, is an archetype central to myth and religion across many cultures. Identifying its anthropological origins in ancient rituals performed by a shaman or wizard to ensure the prosperity of his tribe, E. M. Butler goes on to trace its subsequent development in pre-Christian religious and mystic philosophers, in medieval sorcerers and alchemists, and finally in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century occult revival. From Zoroaster to Solomon, Merlin to Faust, Cagliostro to Rasputin, legends of the Magus are explored and where possible compared with the historical record in this fascinating account, first published in 1948, of one of the major figures in religious and occult mythology.

Author: E. M. Butler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 03/26/1993
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.52h x 5.56w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780521437776

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