What is the difference between miracle and magic? Scholars today believe that one cannot meaningfully differentiate between the two. The difference is a matter of perspective. This project investigates how Christians in late antiquity made the distinction between the fluid concepts of miracle and magic, how they tried to make it convincing, and why they constructed the distinction in the first place. It investigates these questions through the study of the character type of the 'magos' (‘magician’) in Byzantine hagiography (i.e. Christian narratives about holy (wo)men). The project takes a literary approach, studying the depiction of confrontations between so-called ‘magoi’ and holy (wo)men in hagiography, to see what kind of image Christians portray of 'magoi' and how they distinguish such figures from the saints. The project aims to show that the portrayal of 'magoi' as impostors and frauds lends the saint religious authority and thereby builds up the identity of the Christian community.