The Warburg Institute of the University of London is dedicated to the study of the classical tradition and its influence on all areas of European culture. For many years, the position of magic in that complex tradition has been one of its major areas of focus. D. P. Walker was a Reader in Renaissance Studies at the Warburg, and Frances Yates was an honorary fellow. Charles Burnett is currently “Professor of the History of Islamic Influences in Europe,” and William Ryan was until recently chief librarian. Both are, of course, known for their important contributions to the history of magic. Given the Warburg’s great prominence in the field of Renaissance studies, one might have expected that a volume on “Magic and the Classical Tradition,” arising from a colloquium of the same title held at the Institute in May 2000, would focus on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Instead the essays here focus on medieval Europe (up through the fifteenth century) and Byzantium, with some forays into the world of Islam and the Russian east, as well as a consideration of the composition of the Jewish Talmud.