Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in Greek and Roman Worlds

Counter In a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now strange to us, magic was of great importance both in the literary and mythic tradition and in ritual practice. Recently, ancient magic has hit a high in popularity, both as an area of scholarly inquiry and as one of general, popular interest. In Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds Daniel Ogden presents three hundred texts in new translations, along with brief but explicit commentaries. This is the first book in the field to unite extensive selections from both literary and documentary sources. Alongside descriptions of sorcerers, witches, and ghosts in the works of ancient writers, it reproduces curse tablets, spells from ancient magical recipe books, and inscriptions from magical amulets. Each translation is followed by a commentary that puts it in context within ancient culture and connects the passage to related passages in this volume. Authors include the well known (Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Pliny) and the less familiar, and extend across the whole of Greco-Roman antiquity.

First sentence: The aim of this book is to provide a selection of sources in translation for magic and ghost in Graeco-Roman antiquity that does the following: Provides a very full account of the rich representations of sorcerers and witches and their rites in ancient literature.

Year

2002

Language

English

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Editions

1

Pages

364

ISBN

9780195135756

Data source: Wikidata