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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mystaros" data-source="post: 1286757" data-attributes="member: 3921">I'd say, look to the east...Among the core influence on the concept of a "wizard" or "magician" in western myth can be found the archetypal Magi of Persia. The Persian Magi were what we would today regard as fire worshippers of a sort, followers of Zoroastrianism (and earlier Mazdaism, later Manichiism and somewhat Mithraism, though that faith had a quite different canon and ritual). The Persians and thus the Magi adopted many traits from the Sumerians/Akkadians/Babylonians, whom they conquered early in their imperial era. Among the architectual traits that were adopted (or further embellished, from whatever fashion it existed in Persia already) was the use of towers to better see the stars and planets whilst engaged in astrology (truly ancient style astrology, not astronomy or even modern astrology as we would know it today). The Babylonians and their predecessors had used towers since time immemorial for this very important religious function, and many religious rituals and beliefs were adopted from Babylon by the Persians (as too by the Hebrews during the Exile, but that is another matter). Note that these ancient towers were not the same type of tower that we are familiar with in the west, the "keep" style tower. Many of these were tall piles of stone with stairs snaking up to the top on the outer or, more rarely the inside of the structure, with an observatory at the top. They were usually (though not always) somewhat distant from a city (for the same reasons modern observatories avoid cities today), built as part of a religious complex. Not designed for defense at all...Much, much later the Muslims from Arabia stormed into Mesopotamia and Persia, adopting many of the local cultural traits wholesale and disseminating them further. Towers used by astrologers and mystics continued, as did the development of the more "modern" minaret, a classic round tower as we know from medieval times. Sufis and other Islamic mystics (often confused as "magi" by westerners) could be found from Persia to Andalus (Spain), where, as mentioned, they enter the collective myth of the west during the time of the Frankish emperor, Karl the Great (Charlemagne for you Francophiles). Use of the tower, adopted to western styles (sometimes; often wizards in tales were Saracens, remember) continued fitfully in myth and legend throughout the late middle ages and into the gothic era, during which the "mad scientist" or "dark lord" often lived in the tower of an ancient castle (Frankenstein, Dracula, etc.)The modern myth of the "wizard in the tower" developed at the same time in Britain and America, with Tolkien on the one hand and Howard on the other. But, until the development of role-playing games, and the subsequent re-seeding of fantasy literature by those that played such games, the "wizard's tower" was still usually part of a fortress complex, such as Orthanc at Isengard, the "Scarlet Citadel" of Tsotha-lanthi, or Dol Guldur and Barad-Dur of Sauron. Even the tower of Merlyn in T.H.White's "Once and Future King" was, IIRC, part of a castle. And Thangorodrim, the "towers" of Morgoth, were actually huge, mountain-sized slag heaps that stood above the pits of Angband, not towers at all. In almost every case in early fantasy literature where there is a "wizard in a tower," it is a tower as part and parcel of a greater fortress or city, or ruined fortress or city.No, the singular wizard's tower, outstanding of all other structures and civilization, is really a modern development, born of the simple fact that, in D&D, a wizard often didn't *need* anything more than a simple tower for self defense. Any wizard of sufficient power to live in the wilderness on his own or with but few followers could take care of invading forces with fireballs, lightning bolts, and stinking clouds... Not to mention that most of the living space in the "tower" was actually found in the "dungeon" belowground! Plus, why waste treasure building more "fortress" than necessary, when that treasure could go toward creating or buying magic items, eh?So really, we have to blame *ourselves* for the pure concept of a "wizard's tower". Y'all give yourselves a pat on the back, eh? (^_^)</blockquote>

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