Introduction – The Persian Magi
Often overshadowed in historical narratives, they Persian Magi were instrumental in shaping the foundational elements of Western civilization. Their contributions to monotheistic religions, human rights, and Greek philosophy will be explored in-depth.
The Persian Magi may be the single most important group of people in the history of the western world and among the most overlooked. The three great Monotheistic religions grew from them in some way. Ideas like human rights, cross-cultural exchange of ideas, religious tolerance, and preserving ancient knowledge started with the Persian Empire 2,500 years ago. And finally, Greek philosophy, from which rational inquiry, the scientific method, and democracy emerged came about largely as a result of Greeks learning from the Magi from which the philosophers grew and influenced the world for the next 2,000 years. The Magi were also occultists or “magicians”, the practice of which still bears their namesake.
The Magi were the priests of ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). Like the priesthoods of other nations, they were the most educated people of their time and held a high position in society, with many acting as the closest advisors to royalty. The Persian religion was Zoroastrian, the monotheistic religion known for its emphasis on a single supreme God Ahura Mazda (monotheism), the eternal struggle against evil Angra Mainu (dualism), and an emphasis on the virtues of peaceful behavior. Its three core principles were Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds, which were unique for the time. The time of Zoroaster’s life has been estimated as anywhere from 600 BCE to 1,500 BCE, and as far back as 6,500 BCE. The Avesta and Gathas, the Zoroastrian scriptures which have survived, consist mostly of hymns, rites, rules and some brief statements about the cosmos. A lesser-known theology within Zoroastrianism called “Zurvan” existed as early as 400 BCE, which emphasized the ultimate unity of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainu, through the primordial source Zurvan. This is comparable to the ideas of the One or Monad of Pythagoras. Zurvanism overall appears to have been a relative minority within the Zoroastrian religion which emphasized the timeless struggle of good and evil, similar to the later Sufi orders that still exist within Islam and explore the deeper meanings of their faith.
Their influence spread across the Near East during the Persian Empire beginning 2,500 years ago and may have been the single biggest, and most unrecognized, factor to shape western civilization by engaging in exchanges of knowledge and ideas with the most prominent thinkers of the conquered areas. This possibly resulted in region-wide social engineering that lasts to this day. The Magi were also famed for their knowledge of astronomy, astrology, natural science and ability to harness spiritual forces to produce miraculous effects.
Efforts at social engineering would have been an effective method to repair immense and widespread damage done to the region during the Late Bronze Age Collapse (approximately 1,200 BCE). To this day it is still unclear what the main cause or causes were, but the elaborate cities of Mycenaean Greece, the Aegean, and Anatolia became the villages of the Greek Dark Ages. The Hittite Empire collapsed, as did many thriving city-states like Ugarit.
The New Kingdom of Egypt survived, but only barely. Only the Phoenicians managed to thrive and expand trade networks while the rest of the region continuously declined until the rise and rapid expansion of the Achaemenid empire in 550 BCE. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, their empire was the largest in history by population – a staggering 44% of humans alive at the time, 49 million out of a total of 112 million. (1)
ABOVE: Map of the Persian Empire at its peak SOURCE: WIKI Commons
According to numerous Greek sources, the Magi were skilled in the art of creating astrological talismans and using supernatural means to produce effects in the natural world. In Greece, the title Magos and Magi (plural) spawned the word Mageia to describe the activity they were known for, which eventually became “magic” and remains so today. Herodotus (484- 425 BCE) clearly defined the Magi as skilled interpreters of dreams and omens. Pliny the Elder (24-79 AD) defined magic as the sum of astrology, religious rites and medicine, who also attributed its origins mainly to Zoroastrians over the previous six thousand years.
Like the Israelites, the Zoroastrians did not worship statues of deities. They worshiped one supreme God, called Ahura Mazda (Lord of Wisdom). Herodotus wrote, “[the Persians] have no images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly. This comes, I think, from their not believing the gods to have the same nature with men, as the Greeks imagine.” He adds that the Persians offer sacrifice to, “the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water, and to the winds. These are the only gods whose worship has come down to them from ancient times. At a later period, they began the worship of Urania (goddess of the stars and astronomy) which they borrowed from the Arabians and Assyrians.”
Their religion appears to have been similar to the practice of Theurgy described by Iamblichus in his work On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians in the 3rd century.
The skills and knowledge of the Magi at the start of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire in 550 BCE will probably remain unknown. The spread of the Persian Empire was incredibly fast. In approximately one century the Persians established their rule from parts of Central Asia and India all the way to Mesopotamia, Turkey and Egypt. They could have possessed high levels of sophistication in all areas and passed this on to the priests and scholars of conquered nations or formed partnerships and established orders within the conquered areas, sharing and consolidating skills and knowledge.
The latter scenario seems most plausible, as the incredible sophistication of Babylonian and Egyptian sciences prior to the Persian Empire is well known. A widespread astrological religious fervor had taken hold of ancient Iraq by 800 BCE. Ziggurats were being built or restructured to clearly reflect the planetary hierarchy. Groups of foreign astrologer-priests would have likely found themselves in good company among Babylonian priests, and the Persian emphasis on cross-cultural exchange would have made for a natural partnership. The Persian and Babylonian priesthoods were both referred to as “Magi” and “Chaldeans” 2,000-2,500 years ago. The esoteric text “Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster” venerated by Neoplatonists is an excellent example of this.
Strictly speaking, Chaldeans are Babylonian and Magi are Persian, but many writers lumped them together based on their shared practice of astrology and magic of various kinds and their origins as “eastern”, which meant any area from Mesopotamia to India. By the time of Philo of Alexandria, schools identified as Magi were commonplace throughout the region, many practicing a syncretic blend of practices from centuries prior. The Persian policy of religious tolerance cultivated many groups who merged their own existing practices and deities with knowledge received from the Magi. According to Xenophon, it was the Magi who advised Cyrus to offer sacrifices and pay respects to the gods of the cities he conquered, as he was known to have done for Marduk in Babylon.
Philo apparently held the Persian priesthood itself in very high esteem, while also using the term “Magi” as a blanket term for charlatans of all types:
“XVIII. (100) Now the true magical art, being a science of discernment, which contemplates and beholds the books of nature with a more acute and distinct perception than usual, and appearing as such to be a dignified and desirable branch of knowledge, is studied not merely by private individuals, but even by kings, and the very greatest of kings, and especially by the Persian monarchs, to such a degree, that they say that among that people no one can possibly succeed to the kingdom if he has not previously been initiated into the mysteries of the Magi (101) But there is a certain adulterated species of this science, which may more properly be called wicked imposture, which quacks, and cheats, and buffoons pursue, and the vilest of women and slaves, professing to understand all kinds of incantations and purifications, and promising to change the dispositions of those on whom they operate so as to turn those who love to unalterable enmity, and those who hate to the most excessive affection by certain charms and incantations; and thus they deceive and gain influence over men of unsuspicious and innocent dispositions…” (2)
Elsewhere, when discussing mystics and priestly orders of his time, Philo gives another glowing account of the Persian Magi.
“Among the Persians there is the body of the Magi, who, investigating the works of nature for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the truth, do at their leisure become initiated themselves and initiate others in the divine virtues by very clear explanations.” (Page 689) (2)
(1) Largest empire by percentage of world population | Guinness World Records
(2) The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged. Translated by C.D. Yonge.
The Magi’s Influence on Monotheist Religions
Aristotle, like many other Greek philosophers, claimed that the Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) lived over 8,000 years ago. Now dismissed as fanciful by the majority of academics, most of whom argue the time of Zoroaster to be no later than 600 BCE and no earlier than 1,500 BCE based on linguistic evidence in Zoroastrian scriptures, Mary Settegast presents considerable evidence in her book “When Zarathustra Spoke” that the more ancient date shouldn’t be dismissed. She meticulously demonstrates compelling evidence that peaceful farming life in the region, which Zoroaster encouraged over war cultures, was also accompanied by unique art styles reflecting dualism, light and dark patterns, for which Zoroastrian thinking is well-known. The ceramic artifacts were not used for food and appear to have been for religious purposes in all places they were found, which matches ancient descriptions of Persian ritual worship. Furthermore, for thousands of years these farming communities left no traces of spears or any weapons of war. In fact, the act of tending to the earth and farming appears to have been a sacred undertaking in these communities. This began around 6,000 BC, the time that Greek sources claim Zarathustra began his religion and spread from Central Asia all the way to Greece until the rise of warring city-states who became dominant in the early Bronze Age. This phenomenon also appears to have been the result of missionaries, as physical evidence has been found for large, highly organized groups of people sailing to Greece to establish these farming communities, bringing hundreds of animals and seeds not native to the area. Further adding weight is the fact that they appeared to have been welcomed upon arrival and their lifestyle was adopted and spread throughout that part of Europe for the next two millennia.
What became the religion of the Persian Empire underwent changes for six thousand years, but its core principles appear to have remained intact from the time agriculture became widespread in the region. The result was promoting the growth of populations who valued a peaceful agrarian life over continuous raids, slavery, hunting and genocide. Although it is unlikely that this can ever be proven or disproven, it provides valuable food for thought and highlights overlooked contributions of Zoroastrians to human history.
The first Messiah, meaning “Annointed by God”, mentioned in Jewish scripture is Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, who conquered Babylon 2,500 years ago and freed the Jewish people from their captivity. He even sponsored their return to their homeland and assisted with rebuilding when the Second Temple was constructed, and the Jewish nation was reestablished for another half millennia. 2,500 years after Cyrus, the Jewish people live on in the modern state of Israel and are considered the root of Christianity and Islam.
At least two billion people alive today have seen depictions of the Magi and recognize them as the three “Wise Men” or “Kings” bearing gifts at the birth of Jesus Christ and are widely seen on Christmas decorations. According to the New Testament, they came “from the East” and knew not only the location of the infant Jesus but also the time of his birth by observing the stars and following information they somehow derived from it. The details of how they did this are not explained, nor are any other details about them provided in Biblical sources. These “Wise Men” are widely recognized by Christians and non-Christians alike to have been Persian Magi. Their known role in Christianity begins and ends there, but their journey to the birth implies that their importance and authority were widely recognized 2,000 years ago and their recognizing Jesus as King of the Jews was highly significant. Philo of Alexandria, the Jewish philosopher, wrote that schools of the Magi were still active in the region in his time, around the time of Christ.
600 years later, a wandering young man named Salman al-Farisi (Salman the Persian), met the Prophet of Islam in what later became the city of Medina, and became one of his closest companions throughout Muhammad’s life, with some Islamic traditions claiming that he was considered a member of the Prophet’s household. Salman was born and raised in Isfahan, Persia, and spent the first sixteen years of his life training to be a Zoroastrian Magus (priest) and became guardian of a temple. He became interested in Christianity and left his home to travel around the Middle East to study with priests and scholars before encountering Muhammad at a critical time of his life and becoming one of the key figures in the foundation of Islam. Salman later translated the Quran into Persian, the first time it became available in a language outside of its original Arabic, and this played a key role in Persians converting to Islam, which remains the dominant religion of the former Persian Empire to this day.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are best known for monotheism, the doctrine that there is only one supreme God, and together they comprise the faith of half the people on the planet and is one of the defining features of the west. Zoroastrians, themselves monotheists and widely considered to be the oldest such religion, played a crucial role and largely overlooked role in all three. Today, the number of Zoroastrians number only around 100,000. They may have played an even more important and overlooked role in the development of Greek philosophy, widely acknowledged as the foundation of the western world and which also emphasized monotheistic thinking at its core.
Pioneers of Human Rights and Cross-Cultural Exchange
One of the most unique contributions of the Persian priesthood to the region is the ethics and way of thinking that later crystallized in Greek philosophy and continues to affect us today. These ethics and ideas include human rights. Cyrus the Great is still admired for his pioneering policy of religious and cultural tolerance and not forcing any language, religion or customs onto them.
It should be noted that 2,500 years ago, slavery, genocide, religious tyranny and even government-mandated human sacrifice was the norm in many places. One notable example of enforced human sacrifice was the Phoenicians, or the Canaanites of the Bible. While the descriptions of infant sacrifice by burning was well-attested by the Jewish scriptures, many people argued that this was simply a case of demonizing foreign enemies. Roman accounts of soldiers witnessing the mass sacrifice of babies in Carthage, with the firstborns of each family forcibly taken from the parents to be publicly burned alive with a large statue of a horned deity, was similarly scorned. The accounts of the Israelites and Romans gained credibility when archaeologists in the Phoenician colony of Carthage discovered mass graves of thousands of infants burned to ashes, accompanied by inscriptions that indicated they were offerings to a god. (2) The Phoenicians were not the only people who endured such gruesome practices, only one of the best known. Various kingdoms in the region still practiced human sacrifice on a smaller scale, including that of infants, during the rise of Islam in the 7th century, which was quickly outlawed under Muslim rule.
The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay cylinder inscribed with a declaration by the king, is considered one of the earliest examples of a declaration of human rights and was an extremely benevolent approach to government for the time. The Persians also emphasized the transmission of ideas between cultures, as well as preserving and restoring the works of older ones. One of Cyrus’s first orders after his entry into Babylon was the restoration of temples and the return of religious artifacts to suppressed groups. Cyrus also advocated for the protection of vulnerable people, promoting the welfare of women, children and the poor. He also desired to abolish forced labor and the mistreatment of workers overall. (3)
Women’s rights were also pioneered by the Persians. While most women did not hold a prominent role in government, women could be employed in leadership roles in their workforce, which offered higher pay, and many trades offered equal pay regardless of sex. Some women held very important positions in the Persian empire such as Artemisia I of Caria, an admiral and queen who was highly respected by Xerxes. Artemisia was portrayed by Eva Green in 300: Rise of An Empire, albeit as mostly historical fiction.
Like monotheism, the role of Greek philosophy on the western world also cannot be overstated. The extent of the role of Persian thought and the Magi in its development has been and will probably always be a matter of debate, but it is beyond question that there was Persian influence. Greek philosophy has had a profound and lasting impact on the Western world, influencing various aspects of culture, thought, and intellectual inquiry. Among the most important effects of Greek philosophy are the development of rational inquiry. Philosophers, such as Thales, Pythagoras, and Parmenides, were among the first to emphasize reason and critical thinking as tools to understand the natural world. This emphasis on rational inquiry laid the foundation for the scientific method and the development of Western science. The empirical and rational approach to understanding the natural world, championed by figures like Aristotle and Archimedes, laid the groundwork for the development of modern science and the scientific method.
Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle explored ethical questions and the nature of the good life. Their ideas on ethics and virtue continue to shape moral philosophy and ethical debates in Western society. The development of Christian thought in Europe was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, especially after Marsilio Ficino translated Plato’s writings into Latin and its popularity began to spread. Although there was widespread debate initially among Church authorities, Greek philosophy was accepted as compatible with Christian ideas. Saint Albertus Magnus devoted great efforts to defend it. The spread of ethical philosophy emphasized the ideas of empathy and the intuitive knowledge of right and wrong. During the Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries, the revival of interest in classical Greek philosophy contributed to the emphasis on reason, individual rights, and the rejection of traditional authority. Enlightenment thinkers drew upon Greek philosophy to advance ideas about democracy, liberty, and human rights.
Plato’s “Republic” and Aristotle’s “Politics” remain foundational texts in political philosophy. They introduced concepts of justice, governance, and the ideal state, which have influenced political thought throughout Western history. Greek philosophy contributed to the secularization of Western thought, paving the way for the separation of religion and philosophy. This separation has been a defining characteristic of Western intellectual life.
2. Ancient Carthaginians really did sacrifice their children | University of Oxford
3. The Cyrus Cylinder – World History Encyclopedia
The Magi and Greek Philosophers
Over 2,000 years ago, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, founded his new city of Alexandria, and ordered that all of the written documents in the region be consolidated in its famous library, the largest in the world at the time. This included ancient knowledge from Mesopotamia, Europe, Central Asia, India and the Far East. Sadly, the library was burned on multiple occasions under Roman occupation, destroying vast amounts of writings that can never be replaced. Later, in the Muslim conquest of 642 CE, the Caliph Omar ibn Al-Kattab ordered the remaining writings in Egypt to be burned, and among these were a vast amount of Greek texts. The lasting damage to our knowledge of Greek achievements cannot be overstated but remnants remain. Even more tragically, and ironically, many of the most ancient scriptures of Zoroaster were destroyed during Alexander’s campaign to conquer Persia centuries prior.
Relatively few details about the personal lives of the Greek philosophers are in the writings for which they are famous. Various ancient historians have remarked on both the important Greek philosophers and the Magi but provide little depth. Pythagoras, one of the most important founders of philosophy, has no authoritative biography and what little is written was penned centuries later. The same is true of Plato, who is today still a household name today. Much of the biographical information of Greek philosophers comes from “Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers” written by Diogenes Laertius, of which himself no biographical information exists. Even the time he lived is disputed although the early 200 – 250 CE is most likely. Further adding to the confusion, Diogenes takes everything at face value and states all information as fact, without any critical thinking, analysis and little source citing. He appears to have collected any and all information available at the time and compiled it exactly as he found it.
While this hodgepodge of biographical information provides few definitive answers, it does present a clear argument that the Platonic philosophers who lived after Plato were fully convinced that they owed everything to the Egyptians and the Persian Magi, the latter of which I will focus on in this article. Egyptian influences are much more prominent and well-known.
Much of this section is speculative and deals with circumstantial evidence or writings far removed from the time and place that they were referring to, but the sheer volume of written statements and circumstances points to the Magi providing the roots of what is probably the most overlooked contributions in our modern world in all branches of thinking: ethics, government, theology, philosophy, science, and also what is now relegated to the metaphysical or occult.
As stated in “The History of Astrological Magic”, today most Greek philosophers would be considered highly educated occultists, much to the surprise of many today who fully equate them with our modern ideas of “rationality”. Pythagoras was stated by Porphyry and Diogenes to have studied with Egyptian priests for many years, and later studied with the Magi in Babylon before returning to his homeland of Samos, and only then when it was under the rule of the Persian Empire. Socrates spent vast amounts of time in a meditative trance, conversing with his “daimon” or “Genius”, a spirit that he claimed gave him his most profound knowledge.
The exact details of Plato’s life are scarce. Diogenes Laertius stated that Plato studied in Egypt and desired to study in the Persian Empire but was unable to go further east. Pliny the Elder praised Zoroastrian philosophy and claimed that Plato incorporated it into the Academy. Eudoxus of Cnidus, best known today for his important contributions to mathematics and astronomy, headed the Academy in Plato’s absence. He traveled to Babylon (then part of the Persian Empire) and Egypt and studied at length in Heliopolis where he learned “priestly wisdom” and “astrology”. According to Pliny, Eudoxus wanted magic to be recognized as the highest and most useful of the schools of philosophy.
The Epinomis, widely attributed to Plato but possibly penned by his student Philip of Opus, shows heavy influences of Zoroastrian doctrine and especially the Magi for its emphasis on astrology. It claims the science which makes men most wise is astrology, which provides knowledge of numbers. According to this text, astrology originated with the Egyptians and Syrians, and finally reached Greece after thousands of years of being tested.
According to Mary Settegast, some historical sources claim that one of the Magi traveled to Greece to accompany Plato in his old age just before his death. There were also many Magi who attended his funeral and claimed he was a member of their order. In the 3rd century, Colotes of Lamascus accused Plato of plagiarizing Zoroastrian writings, specifically in The Republic. At the time, there was a widespread debate in philosophical circles regarding the originality and sources of Greek knowledge.
Timaeus and Critias have long been recognized as unusual when compared to the Plato’s other writings. Best known today for their story of Atlantis and a worldwide cataclysm 11,500 years ago, both books represent what is termed “esoteric” today. Plato records the dialogue of Timaeus, a respected Pythagorean philosopher, as he explains the structure of the cosmos, spirit, and matter, with an emphasis on the material world as a reflection of the cosmos (microcosm and macrocosm), both of which are but visible manifestations of a perfect divine pattern that cannot be perceived by the senses, the World of Forms. His cosmology is also notable in that it emphasizes “the One”, or ultimate source of all existence, essentially a philosophical and mathematical description of a single supreme God, which allowed his writings to avoid suppression by Christian and Muslim authorities whenever they deemed it necessary to stamp out heretical ideas.
Plato is elaborated on here because he is the most well-known Greek philosopher today and throughout the last 2,000 years, Aristotle perhaps being a close second. Pythagoras is generally known for his mathematical work, especially the Pythagorean theorem that bears his name and he is credited for discovering. It should be noted that in 2022, a Babylonian tablet written in cuneiform, over 3,700 years old and 1,200 years older than the time of Pythagoras, was discovered by Daniel Mansfield, a mathematician with the University of South Wales, to display the very same mathematical formula. This is mentioned to emphasize the high levels of sophistication existing in Bronze Age civilizations, lending further weight to my belief that the Persian and later the Greek Empire were region-wide social engineering projects intended to mitigate the damage of the Bronze Age Collapse in 1,200 BCE and propel civilization forward, rather than allow further degeneration.
By the time of the Neoplatonists 2,000 years ago, Plato obtaining important knowledge from the Magi was widely accepted. However, Plato was far from the only notable Greek philosopher to be accredited with teachings of the Magi. Democritus, considered by many as the father of science, was a pre-Socratic philosopher born around 460 BCE. Democritus is famous for his idea of atoms. In fact, his atomic theory was unsurpassed until the Atomic Age almost 2,500 years later. Historical sources claim that Democritus spent a significant portion of his early life being taught by the Magi, which clearly led him to incredible heights of knowledge.
Democritus is said to have been born into a noble family who received the Persian King Xerxes with hospitality during the Second Persian War. One of Xerxes’ gifts was to leave behind numerous Magi, who taught the young man astronomy, astrology and their theology among other things, having a profound impact on him. Following the death of his father, he used his family’s considerable wealth to travel and learn from the best sources available. Democritus visited Persia, Ethiopia, parts of Central Asia and India, as well as spending five years in Egypt to learn their mathematics. One source states that he studied under a Chaldean Magi named Ostanes.
Following his return to his home and his fortune spent, Democritus embraced the philosophical thought of Cynicism, an ascetic way that rejected material pleasures in favor of pursuing wisdom. He gave public lectures and earned some degree of favor from the public, using his advanced knowledge to accurately predict natural events and celestial phenomenon such as eclipses. The tutelage of the Magi clearly led Democritus to ideas that were thousands of years ahead of his time, assuming they originated with him, and he was not repeating what he had learned elsewhere. Either scenario is remarkable and raises questions that have no apparent rational explanation.
Although astrology and much of what constituted natural sciences of the time would now be termed “occult practice” and relegated to pseudo-science, the Prologue of Book 1, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers clearly describes a core practice of the Magi to obtain knowledge as something that would be considered a specialized form of clairvoyance today, shortly after mentioning Democritus and reminiscent of Socrates obtaining information from his daimon.
“Clitarchus in his twelfth book… also says that the Chaldaeans apply themselves to astronomy and forecasting the future; while the Magi spend their time in the worship of the gods, in sacrifices and in prayers, implying that none but themselves have the ear of the gods….Further, they practice divination and forecast the future, declaring that the gods appear to them in visible form. Moreover, they say that the air is full of shapes which stream forth like vapour and enter the eyes of keen-sighted seers.”
Although this is vague and open to many interpretations, the statement “the air is full of shapes…and enter the eyes of keen-sighted seers” could imply that deep contemplation of geometry and the Forms espoused by Plato led to a special altered state of consciousness where the mind could produce thoughts unavailable in a normal waking state. These types of practices were wholeheartedly endorsed by later generations of Platonists such as Iamblichus, Porphyry, Plotinus, Proclus and others.
Identifying the Persian Magi influence in Greece becomes more complicated as many historical sources used variations of the term Magi as an insult. The wars between Greeks and the Persian Empire did not result in fondness for the foreigners among the average person, and the rulers of the time encouraged prejudice for many reasons. “Magi” could simply be a derogatory name for any foreigner, or even a Greek practicing native religious rites that were misunderstood or disliked. However, the discovery and translation of the Deverni Papyrus dating back to approximately 400 BCE, firmly establishes that some Greek mystics and initiates of mystery schools were knowledgeable of the esoteric rites of the Magi and could only have been known via firsthand observation. (4)
The papyri remains were badly burned and only fragments were available to translate, but part of it contains extensive details of Zoroastrian funeral rites, as well as ritual and prayer practices that have been verified as practices specific to the Persian religious rites. While this is a small piece of evidence, it does establish definitively that cross-cultural exchanges were taking place and making an impression on some learned Greeks and philosophers were keen students of the mystery schools of their time.
These are only a few notable examples, to provide a full treatment would require volumes. As stated earlier, vast amounts of original Greek sources perished in the Roman and Islamic conquests of Egypt and the surrounding areas. What is clear is that Greek philosophy produced thinkers that were often unrivaled for centuries or even thousands of years, in all fields of learning, and they fully embraced practices that have been deemed disreputable since the beginning of the Industrial Age, and there are overwhelming claims that they owed all of this to priests from Egypt and Persia.
(4) “Rites without Frontiers” Magi and Mystae in the Deverni Papyrus”, Franco Ferrari, 2011
The Lasting Legacy of the Magi
The gods of the philosophers are beyond human understanding, orderly, and in an ideal society the people would strive to elevate themselves morally and mentally to better understand them and to live in harmony with the order they embody. Perhaps their most defining contribution was equating the Greek gods with the celestial bodies and advocating for a society that strives to improve the mental faculties of its citizens and rulers. Although the Greek gods predated philosophy by centuries, they were permanently equated with stars and planets after the rise of Alexander.
When comparing the Greeks gods as described by philosophers versus that of the writings of Hesiod, the contrast is striking. The gods of Homer have few qualities above the people who worshiped them, indulging in murder, theft, rape, and other cruel acts on a whim with no restraint or remorse, thereby giving license to people to do the same. The philosopher did not want to emulate Achilles nor look to him for an example of how to live. The sadistic and masochistic Spartans would have been appalling, and the possibility of their way of life spreading beyond their borders would have been nightmarish. Although the Greek people as a whole were not extraordinarily cruel like Sparta, they were nonetheless a band of constantly warring city-states who showed no indication of ever advancing beyond that. The philosophers desired for them to reach a higher potential, mentally and morally.
In Cyropaedia, the famous Greek soldier and scholar Xenophon (430-350 BCE) described the role of the Magus as an authority in all religious matters as well as providing the education for future emperors to produce a “sage and philosopher-king”, much like the later role of Aristotle in the life of Alexander the Great as his personal tutor from childhood.
“He took pains to show that he was the more assiduous in his service to the gods the higher his fortunes rose. It was at this time that the Persian priests, the Magians, were first established as an order, and always at break of day Cyrus chanted a hymn and sacrificed to such of the gods as they might name. (24) And the ordinances he established service to this day at the court of the reigning king. These were the first matters in which the Persians set themselves to copy their prince; feeling their own fortune would be the higher if they did reverence to the gods, following the man who was fortune’s favourite and their own monarch. At the same time, no doubt, they thought they would please Cyrus by this.” (Cyropaedia, Book 8)
Plato, in The Republic and many other works, advocated for this type of government. In Book 6 of Laws, he advocates for dividing a state into twelve groups, each with its own hierarchy of citizens to perform various functions. The number 12 is notable because of its reflection of the signs of the zodiac, essentially organizing a nation in the same pattern as the celestial hierarchy and the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses. Curiously, this same pattern of twelve tribes is crucial to the identity of Jews since ancient times.
Possibly the most convincing evidence of social engineering goals by philosophers is the “Noble Lie” described by Plato in Book 3 of The Republic. This is the notion that an enlightened elite should create a set of laws, beliefs and customs that will benefit the unenlightened masses, and propose these ideas in a way that are most appealing to the masses, regardless of their basis in fact. For example, if the people venerate heroic and mythical ancestors, these laws and ideas should be presented as originating from them to give it authority and credibility, as well as to easily gain the unquestioning support of the masses. If people believe this, they will more happily play their roles in a well-ordered society. Socrates even claims that a stable society must be founded this way. In short, a group of people will only function well if they fully believe that their laws and customs originate from a revered hero from the past, an important prophet, a deity or a combination of all.
Circumstantial evidence points to social engineering of some kind as well. Socrates was convicted and executed for “corrupting the youth of Athens”. In The Republic, Plato strongly hints that Socrates strongly rejected the mythology of Greek gods behaving immorally, and strongly hints that Socrates was devoted to monotheism in stark contrast to the Greek polytheism of the time. While this does not point to his involvement with the Magi, it should be noted that at the time, the Persian Empire surrounded Greece along with Zoroastrian (monotheistic) ideas. The only other people who practiced monotheism were the Jews, who were insignificant at the time and had barely begun to reconstruct their nation with the support of the Persians.
Contrary to popular and fanciful notions, philosophers were not held in high regard in Greece. In fact, many were systematically persecuted and often killed; their ideas of how Greek society should be were in stark contrast to the ruling classes of the time and represented a threat to them. Pythagoras was murdered by a mob and his school burned. Plato became a target of Dionysius, the tyrannical ruler of Syracuse, and was marked for death but sold into slavery instead. His freedom was purchased by Anniceris, a fellow philosopher, and Plato returned to Athens. These are only a few examples of many. The point I wish to illustrate is that philosophy in Greece was in no way supported by its rulers and violently opposed by many Athenians, many of whom were easily persuaded to carry out violence against them.
The wars between the Greeks and Persians also led to a widespread and well-documented prejudice of the former against the latter and the exchange of ideas between the two was widespread and unavoidable due to proximity. This circumstantial evidence points to social engineering on the part of the philosophers, whether real or perceived, as well as influence from the Persian priesthood who had a presence in Greece to some extent, as evidenced by the remarks of historians at the time about the Magoi and their activities.
Returning to the subject of the Persian Magi’s legacy, philosophy (love of wisdom) as a whole seems to be a highly developed product of Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds, coupled with advanced learning in multiple areas as well as esoteric religious rites like astrology and seership. The decrees of Cyrus for benevolent government finally crystallized in Greece. The ideas of the philosophers slowly took hold over centuries and were only respected posthumously. When the Roman Empire reached its zenith 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosophers were held in the highest regard and many of their ideas about governance, religious tolerance and rational inquiry were adopted. The high regard of Romans for Greece was so immense that Greek art was adopted as the ideal, and the syncretizing of Roman gods with the planets was also adopted from Greek philosophy.
As the monotheistic religions of Christianity and Islam spread, so too did the writings of Plato, Aristotle and others. During the Abbasid Caliphate in the 8th and 9th centuries, vast efforts were made to translate Greek philosophy into Arabic and make them easily available to Islamic scholars. These writings played an immense role in the Islamic Golden Age for reconciling faith with reason, ethics, and also contributed greatly to the development of astronomy, astrology, and medicine. Christian Europe was influenced possibly even more. The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries were a direct result of the study of philosophy, resulting in the embrace of reason, secularism, the scientific method, human rights, and political thinking, all of which were crucial in what was to become our modern world only a few centuries later.
While I do not argue that any nation today or in the past ever created what could be called an ideal state, as Plato believed was possible, the western world has experienced ways of life that were once unthinkable. War, crime, corruption, persecution, ignorance, poverty, and many ills plague the modern world, even in the most desirable nations, just as they have throughout history. But in the last two centuries alone, we have seen slavery abolished, equal rights under law for men and women, banning genocide and ethnic cleansing, workers’ rights, equal rights for all races, religions and creeds, recognition of human rights, democracy, the universal right to education, and many other things on a large scale. These were only wishful thinking and idealistic goals for two thousand years and not even questioned as right or wrong before that.
Everything is intertwined, actions and events have ripple effects that can sometimes never stop moving. All that exists now is the result of countless events that happened before leading up to the present. Looking back at the pivotal developments in our history, the Greek philosophers’ ideas were openly at work. And in the background of Greece, the presence and influence of the Magi is visible. The religious faiths of half the planet are monotheistic, and the Magi played a direct role in the founding of all three. The pioneering efforts of Cyrus for building a better world slowly but surely took hold and grew. Whether this was by some grand design or by accident will probably never be known, but most people today would agree that it was ultimately a good thing, maybe even the best thing, and the Magi, as well as the ancient Persians as a whole, are owed a debt of gratitude for their contributions.
Further Reading:
“When Zarathustra Spoke: The Reformation of Neolithic Culture and Religion” by Mary Settegast, (2005)
Encyclopaedia Iranica. https://iranicaonline.org
“Those Who Wander In The Night: Magoi Amongst the Hellenes” by Damon Zacharias Lycourinos
“Lives of the Eminent Philosophers”, Diogenes Laertius
