 In doing so it underwent a transformation of meaning, gaining negative connotations, with the "magos" being regarded as a charlatan whose ritual practices were fraudulent, strange, unconventional, and dangerous.As noted by Davies, for the ancient Greeks—and subsequently for the ancient Romans—"magic was not distinct from religion but rather an unwelcome, improper expression of it—the religion of the other".The historian Richard Gordon suggested that for the ancient Greeks, being accused of practicing magic was "a form of insult".