Simon Magus in popular culture
Encyclopedia
The stories of the rogue sorcerer Simon Magus
and his consort Helen, which showcased the early battles between religion
and magic
, have often captured the imagination of artists and writers.
Simon Magus
Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, in Latin Simon Magus, was a Samaritan magus or religious figure and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Apostle, whose later confrontation with Peter is recorded in . The sin of simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is...
and his consort Helen, which showcased the early battles between religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
, have often captured the imagination of artists and writers.
Folklore
- In Irish mythologyIrish mythologyThe mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, Mug RuithMug RuithMug Ruith is a figure in Irish mythology, a powerful blind druid of Munster who lived on Valentia Island, County Kerry. He could grow to enormous size, and his breath caused storms and turned men to stone. He wore a hornless bull-hide and a bird mask, and flew in a machine called the roth rámach,...
is said to have been a student of Simon MagusSimon MagusSimon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, in Latin Simon Magus, was a Samaritan magus or religious figure and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Apostle, whose later confrontation with Peter is recorded in . The sin of simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is...
, who taught him his magic skills and helped him build the flying machine roth rámach. Mug Ruith's daughter TlachtgaTlachtgaTlachtga is the name of a powerful druidess from Irish mythology and a festival celebrated in her honor in early Ireland.Tlachtga was the daughter of Mug Ruith, a druid from Irish legend. She accompanied him on his world travels, learning his magical secrets and discovering sacred stones in Italy...
was raped by the three sons of Simon Magus and returned to IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
where she gave birth to triplets on the hill that would bear her name.
Theatre and poetry
- In Canto XIX of The Divine ComedyThe Divine ComedyThe Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
by Dante AlighieriDante AlighieriDurante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, Simon is in the third ditch of the eighth circle of the Inferno (Hell). - Simon and Helen appear in Christus: A Mystery and Helen of Tyre by Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
.
Faust
- Many aspects of the life of Simon Magus are echoed in the later Faust legend of Christopher MarloweChristopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
and Johann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
. Hans JonasHans JonasHans Jonas was a German-born philosopher who was, from 1955 to 1976, Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City.Jonas's writings were very influential in different spheres...
writes, "surely few admirers of Marlowe's and Goethe's plays have an inkling that their hero is the descendant of a gnostic sectary, and that the beautiful Helen called up by his art was once the fallen Thought of God through whose raising mankind was to be saved."- The presence of Helen of Troy.
- The name "Faustus" ("the favored one"), both as a possible appellation of Simon in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and with a person by that name appearing in the Clementine literatureClementine literatureClementine literature is the name given to the religious romance which purports to contain a record made by one Clement of discourses...
. Later, Augustine of HippoAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
became a fierce opponent of a certain Faustus the Manichean. - The homunculusHomunculusHomunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
. - Faust is employed by the Emperor, just as Simon is employed by NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. - The ascent of Gretchen and Faust past the demons of MephistophelesMephistophelesMephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
in Faust Part One and Faust Part TwoFaust Part TwoFaust: The Second Part of the Tragedy is the second part of Goethe's Faust. It was published in 1832, the year of Goethe's death. Because of its complexity in form and content, it is usually not read in German schools, although the first part commonly is. It can be seen as one of the most...
, respectively, can be seen as mirroring the descent of the Ennoia and Simon past the world-creating angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s. Additionally, the passage wherein Mephistopheles is distracted by the allures of seductive angels has its parallel in the Ennoia arousing desires in the world-creating angels who prevent her initial ascent.
Film
- Simon Magus is portrayed as a pivotal character, "Simon the Magician," played by Jack PalanceJack PalanceJack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
, in the 1954 movie The Silver ChaliceThe Silver Chalice (film)The Silver Chalice is a 1954 historical epic film from Warner Bros., based on Thomas B. Costain's 1952 novel of the same name.-Plot:A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself. He travels to Jerusalem and...
(which also debuted a young Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
). - In the 1997 movie, "the Saint" during the opening scene, the protagonist, a young man Simon Templar refers to himself as Simon Magus the magician
- In the 1999 movie "Simon Magus" by Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi the mystery of Simon Magus is set in contemporary Paris.
Books
- Simon is the hero of a series of short stories and novels by Richard L. TierneyRichard L. TierneyRichard L. Tierney is an American writer, poet and scholar of H. P. Lovecraft. He is the coauthor of a series of Red Sonja novels, featuring cover art by Boris Vallejo. Some of his standalone novels utilize the mythology of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.-Youth:Tierney was born in Spencer, Iowa...
, set in the Cthulhu MythosCthulhu MythosThe Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
. - According to the book The Templar RevelationThe Templar RevelationThe Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ is a book written by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince and published in 1997 by Transworld Publishers Ltd in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand...
, Simon Magus (not Jesus Christ) was the true heir of John the BaptistJohn the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. - A character based on Simon Magus appears in Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.
- Simon Magus appears in the 2001 Scott McBainScott McBainScott McBain is a pseudonym of a Scottish writer of fictional books.McBain being born in Stirling, Scotland in June, 1960 lived in Girvan at the east coast of Scotland until 1969 after his parents divorced and moved to England....
novel The Coins of Judas. - Simon Magus was a villain in an early issue of DC Comics' original Justice League of America comic book series.
- In his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange LandStranger in a Strange LandStranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and...
, science fiction writer Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
refers to a character named "Professor" Simon Magus, a carnival grifter and mentalist who is described as a "likable scoundrel." - Simon Magus is one of the central figures in Robin Cook's latest book "Intervention"
- In David GutersonDavid GutersonDavid Guterson is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, and essayist.-Early life:David Guterson was born May 4, 1956, in Seattle, Washington. During his childhood, he attended Seattle public schools and later attended the University of Washington where he earned Bachelor of...
's 2008 novel "The Other" John William Barry frequently signs his name as Simon Magus - In Book of Magic, a sourcebook for the Mutants & Masterminds role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Simon Magus was one of the "Master Mages" (skilled mages tasked with protecting the Earth dimension from mystical threats), and forged The Pact, a binding spell that altered/strengthened the dimensional barriers so much that the gods and other entities from outside Earth's dimension could no longer enter without being called upon by mortal power and permission. - The character of Simon Leclerc in Charles WilliamsCharles Williams (UK writer)Charles Walter Stansby Williams was a British poet, novelist, theologian, literary critic, and member of the Inklings.- Biography :...
's All Hallow's Eve is based on Simon Magus.
Music
- In 2007, Abnocto released a CD entitled Simon Magus.
- In 2010, St. Sunday released a concept album based on the ideas of Simon Magus.
- There was a Providence band called Simon Magus and the Radical Scam in the early 1990's.