Greece & Rome
Greek magical papyri, curse tablets, oracles, theurgy and magic in Roman law.
Alexander of Abonoteichus and Glycon: an oracle in the 2nd century
Lucian's account of the prophet of Abonoteichus: the egg with the snake, human-headed Glycon, sealed scrolls, mysteries and archaeological evidence.
Apollonius of Tyana: the wonder-working sage in Philostratus' Life
The first-century Pythagorean in Philostratus' biography: travels, rule of life, wonders, the trial before Domitian and his afterlife as Balinas.
Apuleius' Apology: a philosopher accused of magic at Sabratha
The speech in which Apuleius defended himself against the charge of winning Pudentilla by magic: the charges, his arguments and the idea of the magus.
Augurs and auspices: reading the flight of birds in ancient Rome
The college of augurs, the lituus and the heavenly templum, the signs of birds and sacred chickens, Romulus' auspices and the case of Claudius Pulcher.
The Bath tablets: prayers for justice to Sulis Minerva
The lead tablets from the sacred spring at Bath: discovery, formulas, thefts reported to Sulis Minerva and the gap between curse and plea for justice.
Canidia and Horace's witches: night magic on the Esquiline
Canidia in Horace's Satires and Epodes: the night rite on the Esquiline, the wool and wax figurines, the boy of the fifth Epode and the mock recantation.
Circus curse tablets: binding charioteers and their horses
Lead tablets against charioteers and horses in the Roman circus: the four factions, binding formulas, deposit sites and the imagery of the finds.
Didyma and Claros: the oracles of Apollo in Asia Minor
The two great Apolline oracles of Ionia: the spring and unfinished temple of Didyma, the underground passages of Claros and the account of Tacitus.
The oracle of Dodona: Zeus's oak and questions written on lead
The oldest Greek oracle according to tradition: the oak of Zeus, the Selloi, Herodotus' doves, the resounding bronze and the lead question tablets.
Erictho in Lucan's Pharsalia: the witch who makes the dead speak
Book six of the Pharsalia: Sextus Pompey consults the Thessalian witch Erictho, the rite on a soldier's corpse, the prophecy and echoes in Dante.
Etruscan haruspicy and the Piacenza Liver: the discipline of signs
Tages and the books of the Etruscan discipline, the bronze liver of Piacenza with the seats of the gods, lightning lore and haruspices serving Rome.
Graeco-Roman magical gems: Anguipede, Chnoubis and Ouroboros
Magical gems of the Roman imperial age: stones used, figures such as the Anguipede, Chnoubis and Harpocrates, inscriptions, serpent frames and symbols.
The Greek Magical Papyri: history and content of a unique corpus
What the Greek Magical Papyri are, how they surfaced in Roman Egypt, who edited them, and which formulas, rites and deities they actually contain.
Judicial curse tablets: binding the opponent's tongue in Athens
Curse tablets in the lawsuits of classical Greece: Selinus, the Kerameikos, the formula for binding the tongue and the testimony of Plato himself.
The lex Cornelia de veneficis: poison and magic in Roman law
From Sulla's law on poisoners to the Sentences of Paul: how Roman law moved from punishing poison to prosecuting magicians and their secret books.
Magical figurines in antiquity: kolossoi and the Louvre figurine
Ritual figurines of the Graeco-Roman world: wax kolossoi, the oath of Cyrene, the lead figures of Athens and the famous pierced figurine in the Louvre.
The «Mithras Liturgy»: the heavenly ascent in the Paris papyrus
The so-called Mithras Liturgy of the great Paris papyrus: structure of the rite of immortalization, the divine figures met and the scholarly debate.
Odysseus' Nekyia and the oracles of the dead in ancient Greece
The rite of pit and blood in the Odyssey, the oracle of the dead on the Acheron, Periander's wife Melissa and the debated Necromanteion of Ephyra.
The Pythia and the oracle of Delphi: how Apollo was consulted
Who the Pythia was, how a consultation at Delphi unfolded, the famous responses recorded by Herodotus and what we really know about the oracle's vapours.
The Sibylline Books: the secret oracles guarded by Rome
The legend of Tarquin and the Sibyl, the keepers of the books, consultations in times of crisis, the fire on the Capitol and the end under Stilicho.
Theocritus' Sorceress: Simaetha, the iynx and the night rite
Theocritus' second Idyll: Simaetha's rite to win back Delphis, the iynx wheel, wax and laurel, the prayers to Selene and Hecate and the echo in Virgil.
The Theodosian Code and magic: de maleficis et mathematicis
The title De maleficis et mathematicis in the Theodosian Code: the laws of Constantine, Constantius II and Valentinian on haruspices and astrologers.
The witches of Thessaly and the art of drawing down the moon
Why Thessaly became the land of witches: Aristophanes, Plato, Aglaonice and eclipses, Horace, Virgil and the magical Thessaly of Apuleius' novel.
The Twelve Tables and the carmen malum: magic in archaic law
The evil chant and the spell that steals crops in Rome's Twelve Tables: the fragments, their interpretations and the famous case of Furius Chresimus.
Voces magicae and Ephesia grammata: the powerful words of antiquity
The Ephesia grammata and voces magicae of Graeco-Roman magic: origins, examples such as Abrasax and Ablanathanalba, palindromes, vowels and their meaning.