Elymas the Sorcerer (ca. 47 C.E.)
As reported in the Christian New Testament (Acts 13712),
a magician of Paphos, in Cyprus, who openly defied the Apostle
Paul before the Roman governor. Oh, full of all subtlety and
mischief, said Paul in righteous anger, child of the devil,
enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the
right ways of the Lord And, now, behold, the hand of the Lord
is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a
season.
How Elymas exercised his talents is not related, nor are the
characteristics of his sorceries, but we are told that the sentence
of Paul immediately took effect, and there fell on him a mist
and a darkness; and he went about, seeking some to lead him
by the hand.
Elymus the Sorcerer Struck with Blindness is the title of
a famous cartoon by Raphael Sanzio (14831520), from which
tapestries in the Vatican were executed.
