Simon Magus, a 1st-century Samaritan sorcerer from Gitta, gained a following in Samaria and later in Rome by blending Christianity with pagan mysticism. According to Acts 8:9–26, he astonished people with his sorcery and claimed divine power, later attempting to buy the ability to confer the Holy Spirit—earning a stern rebuke from Peter. Historical sources suggest he studied in Alexandria, absorbing Zoroastrian, Hellenistic, and Babylonian…