Carpathian Wizard
Preserved but no longer current.
Proteus, who lived in the island of Carpathus (now Scarpanto), between Rhodes and Crete, who could transform himself into any shape he pleased. He is represented as carrying a sort of crook in his hand, because he was an ocean shepherd and had to manage a flock of sea-calves. By the Carpathian wizard's book.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Carpathian Wizard” mean?
Proteus, who lived in the island of Carpathus (now Scarpanto), between Rhodes and Crete, who could transform himself into any shape he pleased. He is represented as carrying a sort of crook in his hand, because he was an ocean shepherd and had to manage a flock of sea-calves. By the Carpathian wizard's book.
Is “Carpathian Wizard” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.