Since the dawn of time man has been faced with unexplainable phenomenon that has amazed, confused, frightened, and beguiled for centuries. Primeval man witnessed lightning bolts and thunder and believed it to be magic and sorcery of the gods, and not scientific activity. Early magicians are recorded in ancient Egypt, as early as 2700 BC, performing unexplainable acts, which later became the influence for pieces written over 3000 years later and the performances of contemporary magicians. Even the early Greeks and Romans leaned towards magic and sorcery of the gods and goddesses as explanations for the origins of many things, as well as for the causes of weather. Early magic found its roots in people trying to pay homage to the gods, but soon it was evolving in Europe and North America into forms of entertainment. Magic, as entertainment, is a phenomenon within today’s society acknowledged by billions because past literature has successfully portrayed a foundation of ideas and inspirations for contemporary magicians to expand and build on.
When early man saw the flash of a lightening bolt and heard the crash of the thunder, he truly believed he was witnessing the magic of the gods. Man-made magic came when these less civilize

Not only do modern magicians derive their inspiration form past literature, but literature like “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” drew its influence form even earlier works. As discussed earlier, the familiar workings of the Egyptian magician Dedi, who performed before Cheops, reflect greatly the magical acts performed by the Green Knight in this Arthurian romance. Dedi brought to life and reattached the head to a decapitated goose in just the same way that the Green Knight in Wilhelm’s story did not die from the messy decapitation. Modern day magicians of entertainment not only draw upon past literature for inspiration, but past literature of magic draws upon even earlier literature for its inspiration.

It can be argued that the Holy Bible is also a source of influence to modern magicians. From the time of the Old Testament to the time of Jesus, supernatural feats were seemingly commonplace, and many of today’s magicians do not ignore this fact. During the time of Jesus, one such feat is when he turned five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed five thousand (Mark 6:41). Jesus is also noted as “walking on the sea,” a physically impossible act for a regular human being, but one that is nevertheless influential to magicians such as David Blaine who perform similar physically impossible acts, such as levitation (Mark 6:48). At another time in the bible, the lawyer Saul is walking by a bush, on his way through a town. The bush spontaneously bursts into flames, and the voice of God is heard coming from the skies. One more example from the Bible which influences modern magicians can be seen in the wedding miracle in which Jesus turned water into wine. All these examples support the theory that magic is a phenomenon throughout today’s society acknowledged by billions because of what past literature has successfully portrayed.

“Then a goose was brought to him with its head cut off. The goose was placed on the western side of the pillared hall. Then Dedi uttered a magic spell and the goose rose up quivering. And when one had reached the other the goose stood up cackling” (www.historyofmagic.com).

ilized people began to pay homage to their own gods. The original attempts at magic were fairly crude and elementary, however displayed a level of mystery and ambiguity that could beguile many humans of lesser mental standing (www.historyofmagic.com). Due to a lack of resources and technology, the early forms of magic revolved mainly around tricks involving fire, animals, and other natural phenomena manipulated.

The great magician, Harry Houdini, drew upon literature from the past for his magical influence and especially his name. His stage name evolved from drawing upon a past French conjurer from the 1800’s by the name of Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (Silverman 9). The –I ending had a long tradition among magicians, many having used it to invoke the famous 18th century Tuscan conjurer Pinetti (1750-1800). In this light, Houdini is seen as drawing upon past literature as influence for his stage name.