Blurring the Between Magic and Philosophy: Legendary Wizards of the Ancient World

The word ‘wizard’ is derived from the Middle English word ‘wys’ (meaning wise) and the suffix ‘-ard’. Therefore, a wizard was basically a wise man, up until around the middle of the 16th century AD. Prior to this period, the distinction between magic and philosophy was blurred. It was only after the 1550s that the word ‘wizard’ gained its present meaning, i.e. one who has magical abilities. In this sense, the word ‘wizard’ may be used interchangeably with such words as ‘sorcerer’, ‘magician’, ‘warlock’, ‘sorceress’ (female) and ‘witch’ (female).

Wizards are common characters that can be found in many varieties of tales. Stories involving wizards come from different periods of time and from diverse parts of the world. Although a wizard may be distinguished by his magical powers, he is not exactly a one-dimensional ‘stock character’ that plays the same role in every tale he is featured in. In certain tales, for example, the wizard is the protagonist, in others the side-kick, and still in others, the anti-hero. In this article, several wizards will be looked at.

Ancient Egyptian Wizards

A set of tales regarding wizards can be found in an ancient Egyptian text known as the Westcar Papyrus. There are five known stories, though only the conclusion of the first one has survived. This text is thought to have been composed during the Middle Kingdom or Second Intermediate Period. The tales may be regarded as ‘stories within a story’, as the Westcar Papyrus is essentially a story of magical stories told at the court of Khufu.