Apsethus the Libyan
The details
Biography
Introduction
Apsethus the Libyan (2nd century AD) was an occultist. Despite repeated intrigues, he failed to become god. Multiple accounts mentioned his mystic and occult skills.
Desire of God
Apsethus attempted to prove that he was divine, leading to claims that he desired to become God. He was compared with Simon Magus.
As occult
Apsethus trained parrots that flew around Northern Africa. They would utter the phrase "Apsethus is God". Apsethus asserted himself to be God. The Libyans sacrificed to Apsethus, as they started believing him to be a voice from Heaven. Later a Greek caught one of these parrots. He trained the parrot to say, "Apsethus having caged us, compelled us to say Apsethus is a god". The Libyans later burned Apsethus.