Post by Felix I. Genero on Jun 23, 2012 11:05:14 GMT -5
The professors that everyone always loves are the ones that have quirks. History is notoriously boring subject, so if the subject Felix was assigned was boring, he would have to make up for it. He accomplished such a task with a simple bow tie and a tweed jacket. With elbow pads.
Felix was sitting in the oversized maroon leather chair that was provided for him, but he was too anxious to sit. It was not nervousness. Felix’s capacity to feel fear or nervousness was killed, slowly and without mercy, over the past six years of his life. No, Felix wanted to make a good impression, and he was genuinely excited to teach the subject. He wasn’t sure if his excitement was rooted in the fact that he was finally a professor, or that it would mean that his endless years of research would finally actually come to some use. Perhaps Felix wanted to see the looks in the student’s eyes as they learned about the amazing wizards and witches who had come before them. Shaping their world through bloody rebellions and intellectual revolutions. Help them to gain knowledge of the past that can assist their endeavors to change their future—
But Felix was getting ahead of himself. Before he thought of any more clichés he could add to the list, he stood up, scribed his name and class name on the chalkboard with his wand, and sat back down. His leg started to twitch, so he jumped back up to his feet and waited for the students.
“Hello class. My name is Professor Genero. Some of you I have had the pleasure of meeting, some of you I have not, I am almost always available to answer questions, discuss ideas or just chat, so please feel free to stop by my office any time. As we begin this lecture, please take out a quill and some parchment and take notes. History is the sort of subject that has the propensity to quickly escape us if we are not paying attention. At any time during the lecture, feel free to interrupt me with a question.”
Hm. ‘Professor Genero’. It has a peculiar ring to it?
“Today we’re going to do a quick overview of some of the origins of the Wizarding World as we know it, especially as it relates to Muggles. We will be starting with the Egyptians and spending most of our time on the Greeks."
"Magic existed for many centuries before the Egyptians but it wasn’t really until the third millennium BC that we have magic being codified and studied. Of course, both Latin and wands were not in use, thus most magic was elementary and crude. Because of that, magic, called heka was not used very often, and usually had dangerous, spontaneous and unintended consequences. An extremely interesting aspect of this era is that Muggles and wizards lived in relative harmony. Muggles knew about magic and Wizards who had bothered to develop their skills in magic were called priests and they were part of the Egyptian religious structure. An interesting distinction between the Egyptian mythology and the Greco-Roman mythology is that the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses were real people, which we’ll talk about more later, while Egyptian deities were mostly based on legendary wizards who did not claim to be divine, but were deemed such later one in Egypt’s history. There were a sect of priests called the lector priests, wizards and witches who had mastered the art of magic. These priests could read books of magic kept in temple and palace libraries and had some basic magical skills, mostly in the field of Transfiguration and Charms generally relating to nature. Curses, jinxes, offensive and defensive magic was also used, but it was much less mainstream, ‘hipster’ if you will, and the priests generally did not study those branches of magic. The only major use was to curse tombs to prevent grave robbers. The ancient Egyptians were also extremely advanced in Divinations and Astrology, and many of their techniques are still used today. This magic was attempted by non-Wizarding Egyptian scholars as well. ”
“By the first millennium BC, the role of the priests were taken over by the hekau or magicians who not only mastered some basic Transfigurations and nature Charms, but the hekau started mastering more household, useful types of magic, such as healing, assistance in childbirth, and charming amulets with shield charms or other protections. These magicians were for hire by the common people, both Muggle and Wizarding, and were no longer confined to the temples. Many pharaohs of the Egyptian dynasties saw great use for these tricksters and had their royal courts filled with them.”
“Okay, so before I move on to the Greeks… any questions?”
Felix was sitting in the oversized maroon leather chair that was provided for him, but he was too anxious to sit. It was not nervousness. Felix’s capacity to feel fear or nervousness was killed, slowly and without mercy, over the past six years of his life. No, Felix wanted to make a good impression, and he was genuinely excited to teach the subject. He wasn’t sure if his excitement was rooted in the fact that he was finally a professor, or that it would mean that his endless years of research would finally actually come to some use. Perhaps Felix wanted to see the looks in the student’s eyes as they learned about the amazing wizards and witches who had come before them. Shaping their world through bloody rebellions and intellectual revolutions. Help them to gain knowledge of the past that can assist their endeavors to change their future—
But Felix was getting ahead of himself. Before he thought of any more clichés he could add to the list, he stood up, scribed his name and class name on the chalkboard with his wand, and sat back down. His leg started to twitch, so he jumped back up to his feet and waited for the students.
“Hello class. My name is Professor Genero. Some of you I have had the pleasure of meeting, some of you I have not, I am almost always available to answer questions, discuss ideas or just chat, so please feel free to stop by my office any time. As we begin this lecture, please take out a quill and some parchment and take notes. History is the sort of subject that has the propensity to quickly escape us if we are not paying attention. At any time during the lecture, feel free to interrupt me with a question.”
Hm. ‘Professor Genero’. It has a peculiar ring to it?
“Today we’re going to do a quick overview of some of the origins of the Wizarding World as we know it, especially as it relates to Muggles. We will be starting with the Egyptians and spending most of our time on the Greeks."
"Magic existed for many centuries before the Egyptians but it wasn’t really until the third millennium BC that we have magic being codified and studied. Of course, both Latin and wands were not in use, thus most magic was elementary and crude. Because of that, magic, called heka was not used very often, and usually had dangerous, spontaneous and unintended consequences. An extremely interesting aspect of this era is that Muggles and wizards lived in relative harmony. Muggles knew about magic and Wizards who had bothered to develop their skills in magic were called priests and they were part of the Egyptian religious structure. An interesting distinction between the Egyptian mythology and the Greco-Roman mythology is that the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses were real people, which we’ll talk about more later, while Egyptian deities were mostly based on legendary wizards who did not claim to be divine, but were deemed such later one in Egypt’s history. There were a sect of priests called the lector priests, wizards and witches who had mastered the art of magic. These priests could read books of magic kept in temple and palace libraries and had some basic magical skills, mostly in the field of Transfiguration and Charms generally relating to nature. Curses, jinxes, offensive and defensive magic was also used, but it was much less mainstream, ‘hipster’ if you will, and the priests generally did not study those branches of magic. The only major use was to curse tombs to prevent grave robbers. The ancient Egyptians were also extremely advanced in Divinations and Astrology, and many of their techniques are still used today. This magic was attempted by non-Wizarding Egyptian scholars as well. ”
“By the first millennium BC, the role of the priests were taken over by the hekau or magicians who not only mastered some basic Transfigurations and nature Charms, but the hekau started mastering more household, useful types of magic, such as healing, assistance in childbirth, and charming amulets with shield charms or other protections. These magicians were for hire by the common people, both Muggle and Wizarding, and were no longer confined to the temples. Many pharaohs of the Egyptian dynasties saw great use for these tricksters and had their royal courts filled with them.”
“Okay, so before I move on to the Greeks… any questions?”