[natroniks]

I have formulated a dual analogy between antiquity and modern viewpoints: science:technology::religion:magic

Science today, like religion of old, had a centralized authority with strict qualifications to enter. Academia, like priesthoods, were often a blend of talent and nepotism. Meanwhile, technology today is like magic of old, in that in can be wielded by anyone who has the desire to learn. There is also the common refrain in today's tech world that things like the recently unveiled Meta's Project Orion are "like magic." Meanwhile, the Ivory Tower is not far removed from the college (a coincidental term I'm sure) of pontiffs at Rome.

Anyway, this is not to say the modern form has replaced the old, but it helps me conceive of how ancients may have understood the distinction between religion and magic, since both involved the gods, just as scient and technology are based on the same foundational principles and yet are applied in the real world in much different ways.