This accessible study of witches, from their western origins in Greece and Rome, to their persecution in the 16th century and 20th-century paganism, aims to challenge some commonly held misconceptions about witches and witchcraft. Many witches, for example, were male and witches went unharmed and unpersecuted for much of history. Maxwell-Stuart discusses the connection between magic and heresy, sterotypical images of witches through the centuries and methods used to identify suspects. Chapters also consider famous trials and witches and the social and religious context for the witches who plagued' North America and Protestant England in the 17th century.