whether a crown he’d commissioned was pure gold or
a cheaper alloy, Archimedes had an epiphany when he
got into his bathtub and the water sloshed over the
side. Realizing that objects displace water according
to volume rather than weight and that the volume of
water displaced by the crown could be compared with
that of an equal weight of pure gold, Archimedes leapt
from his tub and went running naked down the streets
to the palace, crying “Eureka!” (“I’ve found it!”)
Archimedes invented war machines to help Syra-
cuse defend itself against the Romans. His inventions
included catapults and burning mirrors. In spite of his
brilliant defenses, the Romans breached the walls and
conquered the city. Archimedes was killed by a Ro-
man soldier who did not even know who he was.Apollonius of Tyana (c.30-96 CE)
Apollonius Tyaneus was
the greatest Wizard of the first
century. Francis Barrett de-
clared him “one of the most
extraordinary persons who
ever appeared in the world.”
He witnessed the reign of
eleven Roman Emperors.
Born at Tyana in Asia Minor,
Apollonius was educated at
Tarsus and at the Temple of Aesculapius at Aegae. At
16, he became an adherent of Pythagoras whose disci-
pline he ascribed to all of his life. In his desire for knowl-
edge, he traveled through many Eastern countries.
According to legend, he performed miracles and
reformed religious worship wherever he went. At feasts
he astonished guests by causing exotic foods to ap-
pear at his bidding. Statues became animated with life,
and bronze figures came down from their pedestals
and performed the labors of servants. Gold and silver
vessels with all their contents—and the servants—
vanished in an instant. He is even said to have brought
a dead girl back to life.
Apollonius was eventually brought before Em-
peror Domitian (r. 81-96 CE) at Rome, accused of being
a sorcerer. His answers to the questions of his accus-
ers were so wise that the Emperor acquitted him.
Apollonius’ death is a mystery. Most people did not
even know he had died, and some believe he never
did. A temple was built in Tyana and dedicated to him,
and statues of him also reside in other temples.Simon Magus (fl. 20-50 CE)
Simon Magus (“Simon the Mage”) was a promi-
nent Magician living in Sumeria at the same time as
Jesus. Reference is made to him in the Acts of the
Apostles, 8:9-24, and even Christians admitted that he
performed genuine miracles. His fame was world-wide,
and he had followers in every nation. Some even
thought that he, rather than Jesus, was the true Mes-siah. Purported to have been the apprentice of a Wiz-
ard named Dosithesus, Simon became the center of
possibly the first Gnostic religious cult (from the Greek
gnosis, “knowledge”), a spiritual pursuit of divine wis-
dom. Writers of the early Church considered him the
first heretic, the “Father of Heresies.” His followers,
however, variously referred to him as the First Aeon,
the Emanation, the First Manifestation of the Primal
Deity, the Word, the Paraclete, and the Almighty.
Simon was baptized into the community of early
Christians, hoping to gain greater magickal power and
thus increase his influence. Later, he had frequent
“miracle-matches” with Peter to determine who had
the greater power. It is stated in The Acts of Peter and
Paul that Simon caused a brass serpent to move, stone
statues to laugh, and himself to rise into the air—but
he could not revive the dead. In a demonstration be-
fore Emperor Nero, he levitated in the Roman Forum,
but the prayers of Peter and Paul (so they claimed)
caused him to fall; he was severely injured and died
soon after. His enemies cited this as proof of his asso-
ciation with demons. His magickal arts were contin-
ued by his disciples, the Simonians. Later Gnostics
also practiced magick and sorcery.Hypatia of Alexandria
(370- 415 CE)
Hypatia was the daughter
of Theon, the last head of the Mu-
seum at Alexandria. She was librar-
ian at the great library and renowned
for her wisdom, especially regarding
astronomy. She wrote The Astronomi-
cal Canon and a commentary on The
Conics of Apollonius. Hypatia was as articulate and
eloquent in speaking as she was prudent and civil in
her deeds. Wearing her philosopher’s cloak, she
walked through the middle of town, where she would
publicly interpret Plato, Aristotle, or the works of any
other philosopher to those who wished to listen.
Hypatia was beautiful and shapely but also chaste,
and remained always a virgin. The whole city adored
her, but Hypatia was both female and Pagan in an in-
creasingly misogynist (“anti-women”) Christian world.
Cyril, the new Bishop, was so envious of her beauty,
intellect, wisdom, and fame that he plotted her heinous
murder. In the spring of 415, a mob of Christian monks
seized Hypatia on the street, beat her to death, and
dragged her body to a church where they flayed her
flesh from bones with sharp oyster shells and scattered
her remains throughout the city. They then burned
down the great library—a tragic loss for civilization.Merlin (Emrys Myrddhin Ambrosias)
(c.440-520?)
Perhaps the most famous Wizard of Western leg-
end, Merlin is known primarily as the childhood tutor334 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard
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