Abstract
_ Source: _Volume 9, Issue 2, pp 146 - 158 In the _De abstinentia_ Porphyry is the first philosopher to give an exact definition of _goeteia_or _black magic_saying: “All black magic is accomplished through the opposite sort [i.e. evil] daemons. This paper will be presented in two parts: in the first part, there is the description about the difference between Magic—the sacred science of the Persian Magi —, and the black magic ; in the second part, using Porphyry’s definition of black magic and other philological data, it’s shown that Porphyry was not merely a philosopher interested in black magic in a theoretical manner, but also a practicing sorcerer