An Introduction to Ancient Greek Magic and Sorceresses

When considering magic in the ancient world, and the practice of magic in the everyday lives of the ancient Greeks (and also the Romans), we aren’t talking about magic in the sense that we would think of it today. Instead, magic encompassed a whole range of practices including prayers, curse tablets, enhancing drugs, deadly poisons, amulets, and love potions. Although it is more common for women to be sorceresses and witches in mythology, with popular figures like Hekate, Circe, and Medea, this doesn’t mean that women were more likely to turn to magic in real life than men. When you move from a study of ancient Greek society and their understanding of magic to their religion - which we call mythology today - you start to see more modern ideas of magic with spells that turn people to animals and potions and concoctions that can harm and kill. The deity most closely associated with magic is the goddess of magic herself, Hekate. She is not only the mother of, or related to, many sorceresses and witches