pharmakeia

Pharmakeia is a Greek term historically used to denote the practice of preparing and using drugs, remedies, or poisons. The word derives from pharmakon, meaning drug, remedy, or poison, combined with the suffix -akeia, forming a noun that in antiquity could refer to the art of drug preparation and administration as practiced by physicians, healers, and apothecaries. In classical Greek writings, pharmakeia could signify legitimate pharmacology as well as illicit or magical uses of substances, and the distinction between medicine and magic was not always clear.

In religious and ethical discourse, the term acquired a negative sense in some traditions. In the New Testament, pharmakeia occurs as a term for sorcery or magical arts, often with moral connotations. It appears in passages such as Revelation 9:21 and 18:23 and is rendered as "sorcery" or "witchcraft" in many translations, while Galatians 5:20 includes it among acts of the flesh. Because of its associations with deception and occult practices in these texts, pharmakeia has had a lasting role in debates about morality and medicine in some Christian contexts.

Influence on modern language and usage is largely historical. The same root underlies English words such as pharmacy, pharmaceutical, and pharmacology, which refer to the science and practice of medicines rather than magical arts. In scholarly and theological discussions, pharmakeia is treated as a historical and doctrinal term, used to discuss ancient practices and biblical texts rather than as a contemporary technical term.