The magic of ancient literature
What is magical about ancient literature?
Patrick King
St John’s Gospel begins ‘Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος’ (In the beginning was the word). Without language, there would be no literature. Resisting the temptation to focus on magical events in ancient literature, I will argue that what makes ancient literature magical is the magical quality of its language. In my essay, largely restricting myself to ancient Greek literature of the fourth and fifth centuries, I will reflect upon various descriptions by ancient writers of the magical power of language: how it can penetrate to the depths of the soul, how it can persuade, soothe, charm, frighten and even be the ruler of men.
What do I mean by ‘logos’? As previously mentioned, St John’s gospel begins:
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.
In the beginning was the logos and the logos was with God and the logos was God.
This sentence illustrates the ambiguity inherent in logos, which I will often leave un-translated so that I preserve its variety of meaning. The believer may read the above sentence as a statement of the origin of Jesus Christ. I read this sentence with a freer translation: so long as there has been life, there has been language. Language is necessary in all societies for communication and development. John 1.14 continues:
ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο.
The logos became flesh.
Here logos seems to have the meaning of a promise or a prophecy. Once words are uttered, an idea of no measureable matter, composed only of words, is created and can magically transform itself into a physical object. Continuing with the use of the Bible as a source to explain logos, Peter 1.25 states:
τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα Κυρίου μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα .
The word of the Lord remains forever.
However, the logos only remains because it has been written down. This is an important power of literature, which I will approach in more detail later in this essay.
Many ancient writers recognized and explored the magical power of language. Throughout Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen , Gorgias describes the effects of language as magical. In paragraph 10, Gorgias makes an explicit comparison between words and ‘γοητείας δὲ καὶ μαγείας’ – wizardry and magic. Gorgias, speaking metaphorically, writes:
λόγος δυνάστης μέγας ἐστίν
The logos is a great master, (who is capable of) θειότατα ἔργα – the most divine works.
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