An alchemist of German legend who sol his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge; Also called: Faustus.
Play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, completed in two parts 1808 and 1832. Mephistopheles attempts to win over the soul of the world-weary Faust but ultimately fails after helping Faust in the pursuit of good.
Legendary magician who sold his soul to the devil. The historical Georg Faust appears to have been a wandering scholar and conjurer in Germany at the start of the 16th century. J W Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Thomas Mann, and Paul Valéry all used the legend, and it inspired musical works by Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, C F Gounod, and Ferruccio Busoni.
Earlier figures such as Simon Magus (1st century AD, Middle Eastern practitioner of magic arts) contributed to the Faust legend. In 1587 the first of a series of Faust books appeared. Christopher Marlowe’s tragedy Dr Faustus was first acted in 1594. In the 18th century the story was a subject for pantomime in England and puppet plays in Germany, and was developed by Goethe into his masterpiece.