A Study Of The Ancient Egyptian Magicians

Magic prevailed in ancient Egypt,and magicians played a significant role in the society of ancient Egypt.Different kinds of titles were given to them: (?) and (?).While the first two words were especially used to name the magicians,the others were irrelevant with regard to magicians originally.However,the Egyptians entitled by their terms were also included into the category of magician,due to their permanent engagement in the work related to magicians.According to the source,the ancient Egyptian magicians were distributed into three different categories: the king,priests and the common people.The king as a magician had the highest status and greatest power among the magicians.They always applied their magic to the communication with the gods and national affairs,rather than to daily life.The priest-magicians had a lower status than the king,but formed a huge population,and they were always obliged to serving the society,what results in their status of a dominant force.With regard to the magicians with a common identity,their composition and activities are known little due to the rareness of related sources.What we can know is that they had the lowest status among the magicians,but still gained influence on social life.Since magic was used extensively in the society of ancient Egypt,the magicians had different kinds of responsibilities and performed different kinds of functions in diverse social aspects,such as military and medical treatment.Research of ancient Egyptian magicians not only throws light on the contemporary magic culture,but also provides a new perspective on the study of the ancient Egyptian civilization.