
Drawing Down the Moon
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What did magic mean to the people of ancient Greece and Rome? How did Greeks and Romans not only imagine what magic could do, but also use it to try to influence the world around them? In Drawing Down the Moon, Radcliffe Edmonds, one of the foremost experts on magic, religion, and the occult in the ancient world, provides the most comprehensive account of the varieties of phenomena labeled as magic in classical antiquity. Exploring why certain practices, images, and ideas were labeled as "magic" and set apart from "normal" kinds of practices, Edmonds gives insight into the shifting ideas of religion and the divine in the ancient past and later Western tradition.
Using fresh approaches to the history of religions and the social contexts in which magic was exercised, Edmonds delves into the archaeological record and classical literary traditions to examine images of witches, ghosts, and demons as well as the fantastic powers of metamorphosis, erotic attraction, and reversals of nature, such as the famous trick of drawing down the moon. From prayer and divination to astrology and alchemy, Edmonds journeys through all manner of ancient magical rituals and paraphernalia-ancient tablets, spell books, bindings and curses, love charms and healing potions, and amulets and talismans. He considers the ways in which the Greco-Roman discourse of magic was formed amid the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, including Egypt and the Near East.
An investigation of the mystical and marvelous, Drawing Down the Moon offers an unparalleled record of the origins, nature, and functions of ancient magic.
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Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Works Cited: Titles and Abbreviations
- 1 DRAWING DOWN THE MOON: DEFINING MAGIC IN THE ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
- Introduction
- Defining Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman World
- Drawing Down the Moon
- Conclusions: An Overview
- 2 THE WORLD OF ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN MAGIC
- The Ancient Greco-Roman World
- The Nature of Ritual
- Conclusions
- 3 CURSES FOR ALL OCCASIONS MALEFIC AND BINDING MAGIC
- What Are Curse Tablets?
- Where and When Were Curse Tablets Deposited?
- Why Did People Make Curse Tablets?
- How Did Curse Tablets Work?
- Conclusions
- 4 BEWITCHED, BOTHERED, BEWILDERED LOVE CHARMS AND EROTIC CURSES
- Introduction
- What Is the Evidence for Erotic Magic?
- Why Practice Erotic Magic?
- How Does Erotic Magic Work?
- Who Performed Erotic Magic?
- Conclusions
- 5 HEALING AND PROTECTIVE MAGIC DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS
- Introduction
- What Kinds of Protective and Healing Magics Are Found?
- Why Employ Protective Magics?
- How Do Amulets and Other Protective and Healing Magics Work?
- Conclusions
- 6 RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE DIVINE PRAYER AND MAGIC
- Introduction: The Problem of Magical Prayer and sacrifice
- Mechanics of Prayer
- The Form of the Prayer
- Gifts for the Gods
- Prayer and Sacrifice: Magic or Religion?
- Conclusions
- 7 THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY DIVINATION AND MAGIC
- Introduction: Divination and Magic
- Why Use Divination?
- How Does Divination Work?
- What Are the Varieties of Divination?
- Technical Divination: Reading the Divine Signs
- Natural Divination: Interpersonal Communication with the Divine
- Who Performs Divination?
- Conclusions: Divination and Magic
- 8 MYSTERIES OF THE HEAVENLY SPHERES ASTROLOGY AND MAGIC
- Introduction: The Magic of the Astrological System
- What: The Sources of Evidence for Astrology
- Who: Astrology in Practice
- How: Theories of Celestial Influence
- How: The Mechanics of Astrological Divination
- Why: Astrology and Risk Management
- Conclusions: Magic and Astrology
- 9 TRANSMUTATIONS OF QUALITY ALCHEMY AND MAGIC
- Introduction: The Nature of Alchemy
- What: The Sources of Evidence for Alchemy
- How: Cosmology and Alchemy
- Why: The Alchemical Perfection of Matter
- Where and When: The Practice of Alchemy
- Conclusions: Alchemy as Magic, Science, or Religion
- 10 THE ILLUMINATIONS OF THEURGY PHILOSOPHY AND MAGIC
- Who: Theurgy among the Elite
- How: Philosophical Accounts of Theurgy
- What: The Evidence for Theurgy
- When: Choosing the Propitious Times
- Why: The Purpose of Theurgic Rituals
- Conclusions: Theurgy as Magic or Religion or Philosophy
- 11 THE LABEL OF 'MAGIC' IN THE ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
- Other-Labeling: Accusations of Magic
- Self-Labeling of Magic
- Conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Subject Index
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