▁claimed ▁that ▁magic ▁had ▁been ▁created ▁by ▁the ▁Iran ian ▁phil os opher ▁Z oro aster , ▁and ▁that ▁it ▁had ▁then ▁been ▁brought ▁west ▁into ▁Greece ▁by ▁the ▁mag ician ▁Ost han es , ▁who ▁accompanied ▁the ▁military ▁campaign s ▁of ▁the ▁Pers ian ▁King ▁X er xes . ▁ ▁Early ▁Christian ity ▁and ▁the ▁Middle ▁A ges ▁ ▁In ▁the ▁first ▁century ▁CE , ▁early ▁Christian ▁authors ▁absor bed ▁the ▁Gre co - R oman ▁idea ▁of ▁magic ▁and ▁incorpor ated ▁it ▁into ▁their ▁developing ▁Christian ▁the ology . ▁These ▁Christians ▁retained ▁the ▁Gre co - R oman ▁negative ▁con not ations ▁of ▁the ▁term ▁and ▁en hanced ▁them ▁by ▁incorpor ating ▁concept ual ▁patterns ▁borrow ed ▁from ▁Jewish ▁thought . ▁Like ▁earlier ▁G rac o - R oman ▁think ers , ▁the ▁early ▁Christians ▁attributed ▁the ▁orig ins ▁of ▁magic ▁to ▁an ▁area ▁to ▁the ▁east ▁of ▁Europe , ▁among ▁the ▁Bab yl oni ans , ▁Pers ians , ▁or ▁Egypt ians . ▁The ▁Christians ▁shared ▁with ▁earlier ▁classical ▁culture ▁the ▁idea ▁that ▁magic ▁was ▁something ▁distinct ▁from ▁proper ▁religion , ▁although ▁drew ▁their ▁distinction ▁between ▁the ▁two ▁in ▁different ▁ways . ▁ ▁For ▁early ▁Christian ▁writers ▁like ▁August ine ▁of ▁Hi ppo , ▁magic ▁did ▁not ▁merely ▁const itute ▁fra ud ul ent ▁and ▁uns an ction ed ▁rit ual ▁practices , ▁but ▁was ▁the ▁very ▁opposite ▁of ▁religion ▁because ▁it ▁re lied ▁upon ▁co operation ▁from ▁dem ons , ▁the ▁hen ch men ▁of ▁Sat an . ▁In