Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Private magic was practiced throughout Greek and Roman cultures as well as among Jews and early Christians of the Roman Empire. Primary sources for the study of Greco-Roman magic include the Greek Magical Papyri, curse tablets, amulets, and literary texts such as Ovid's Fasti and Pliny the Elder's Natural History. [1]
Page from the Greek Magical Papyri, a grimoire of antiquity. A grimoire (also known as a "book of spells", "magic book", or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, deities ...
The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin: Papyri Graecae Magicae, abbreviated PGM) is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, written mostly in ancient Greek (but also in Old Coptic, Demotic, etc.), which each contain a number of magical spells, formulae, hymns, and rituals.
Unlike eros, which was more commonly used by men, philia magic was utilized by women and others who were considered to be social inferiors. Since there was an emphasis on service to the state in Greco-Roman culture, these social inferiors felt like they were doing their country a service.
The Greco-Roman society believed in using magic to control the natural world. [18] This practice was common among all members of society, irrespective of their economic or social status. Approximately 1,600 curse tablets have been discovered, most of which are inscribed in Greek.
Keith Thomas: "Spiritual magic or theurgy was based on the idea that one could reach God in an ascent up the scale of creation made possible by a rigorous course of prayer, fasting and devotional preparation." [6] Pierre A. Riffard: "Theurgy is a type of magic. It consists of a set of magical practices performed to evoke beneficent spirits in ...
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Graeco-Roman_magic&oldid=958474863"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Graeco-Roman_magic&oldid
Within the Roman Empire, laws would be introduced criminalising things regarded as magic. [67] In ancient Roman society, magic was associated with societies to the east of the empire; the first century CE writer Pliny the Elder for instance claimed that magic had been created by the Iranian philosopher Zoroaster, and that it had then been ...