Olympias, Alexander the Great's Mother, is the most important spellcaster of the era.
Olympias presenting the young Alexander the Great to Aristotle by Gerard Hoet before 1733
While originally an adept sorceress and a devout member of the snake-worshiping cult of Dionysus, the fact is that her powers were merely fledgling until her beloved son began to march across the known world-conquering all in his wake.
From this, she used the systematic sorting capacities of Aristotle and mix them with her own training to create a standardized method for spellcasting.
She took the "local" magic and bent it to her will allowing her an undue amount of power in her own right.
While she was reportedly executed by a family that she murdered, there is a consistent rumor that she sent a shapeshifted goat to take her fate and that she is still around, doing her great work hundreds of years later.
Magic - An Overview
The root of the magic system is that of telos: the study of purposiveness or of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. With this filter, most magical rituals were streamlined to the absolute minimum.
By giving magic a degree of rationality, it also requires an altered state of consciousness. This created a multimedia psychodrama, where the spellcaster puts on a theatrical performance using sounds sights, and smells to create the perfect state for the spellcaster. It's a combination of both altering the way the spellcaster views the world and how the world is used as both inspiration and projection to get the desired effect.
Technically, despite the possibilities, magic cannot violate the laws of nature. While the rules of Greek Mechology are not our own, they are consistent enough that give it a pseudo-scientific methodology.
So what are the Rules?
Roman copy in marble of a Greek bronze bust of Aristotle by Lysippos, c. 330 BC, with modern alabaster mantle
1. Energy is Energy: Technically energy cannot be created or destroyed, merely transferred. Spellcasters become more powerful over time by making themselves more susceptible to natural law and become living batteries over time. It also means energy can block energy, even if the energy comes from a radically different source.
2. Magic uses Energy: Even if successful, Magic will take much energy and drain it not unlike an electrical device. Expect to have to recharge using repetition, altered states, and even drugs.
3. The Four Humors: are particularly necessary to be self manipulated in order to focus the spellcaster. However, this effect will unbalance the spellcaster and will have adverse effects on their health.
Blood is the channel where the energy is stored. If you wish to generate a flashy external effect (ex. Fireball), it comes from the blood. This is where most Kinesis forces start.
Yellow Bile is the channel for physical human augmentation (ex enhanced strength).
Black Bile is the channel that is associated with the melancholy nature of the spellcaster. This is the humor of enchantment of objects and influencing other people.
Phlegm is the channel of the mind. This is the human aspect that allows mind-reading and the moving of objects without physical activity. It also has a cold aspect.
4. Cosmic Patron: Often the magic requires a "Cosmic Patron" to perform. This usually means "the gods", but may also refer to powerful mythological creatures. This usually requires a sacrifice of some sort to be able to use such power.
5. Teamwork helps: Just like any job, having the help of others makes work easier. This often includes chanting, singing, and even the production of "magical plays" for a powerful effect. This can even include conducting automata such as at the Temple of Artemis.
6. Negotiation. In many ways, a spellcaster needs to be political. Without being able to negotiate with the Shades of long-dead heroes and divine avatars, the powers are limited. However, since many of these shades now possess the living, the negotiation may also include ensuring the host gets something out of it as well.
Religion
The Gods exist, but honestly, they want little or nothing to do with this world.
However, divine experiences do happen on a regular basis.
Most divine intervention is that of Shades pretending to be something they are not.
Most of the time, they get away with it because most religious folks would rather be safe than sorry and they do usually fulfill the obligation as is it not all that much different than secular magic.
Additionally, this also explains the existence of hybrid gods, as a shade may pretend to be more than one god: ex. Hermes Trismegistus - a divine hybrid of Hermes and Thoth.
Classical Gods
These are the "Mainstream" gods of the classical world. Even if you are a nonbeliever, don't be surprised if you have to perform some rites in the name of civic duty:
- Zeus/Jupiter
- Hera/Juno
- Poseidon/Neptune
- Cronos/Saturn
- Aphrodite/Venus
- Hades/Pluto
- Hephaistos/Vulcan
- Demeter/Ceres
- Apollo
- Athena/Minerva
- Artemis/Diana
- Ares/Mars
- Hermes/Mercury
- Dionysus/Bacchus
- Persephone/Proserpine
- Eros/Cupid
- Gaia/Gaea
- Hypnos/Somnus
- Rhea/Ops
- Uranus
- Nike/Victoria
- Eos/Aurora
- Pan/Faunus
- Selene/Luna
- Helios/Sol
- Hekate (Hecate)
Mystery Cults
Dionysiac cult Louvre G407 n2.jpg
Besides the normal overt religion, there are many mystery cults that range in popularity under the radar of standard society. The following are the most common of the mystery cults
- Cult of Attis
- Cult of Cybele
- Cult of Despoina
- Cult of Trophonius
- Dionysian Mysteries
- Eleusinian Mysteries
- Mysteries of Isis
- Mithraic Mysteries
- Orphic mysteries
- Sabazios
- Samothracean mysteries
- Serapis
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/myst/hd_myst.htm
Other Gods
There are a ton of worshiped gods even outside the Greco-roman pantheon. Whether it is Bhaal of Carthage, the Egyptian gods, the Persian gods, and many more. While the magic works more or less the same, some of these may have exotic tricks that may catch people used to standardized magic unaware.
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