Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World

✍ Scribed by Marvin W. Meyer, Paul Allan Mirecki

• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 490
• Series: Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, 141
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This volume contains a series of essays that explore expressions of magic and ritual power in the ancient world. The essays are written by scholars in the fields of Egyptology, ancient Near Eastern studies, the Hebrew Bible, Judaica, classical Greek and Roman studies, early Christianity and patristics, and Coptology. Throughout the book the essays examine the terms employed in descriptions of ancient magic. From this examination comes a clarification of magic as a polemical term of exclusion along with an understanding of the classical Egyptian and early Greek conceptions of magic as a more neutral category of inclusion. This book is intended to be of use as a foundation for further scholarly studies of ancient magic and ritual power.

✦ Table of Contents

MAGIC AND RITUAL IN THE ANCIENT WORLD......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Paul Mirecki and Marvin Meyer: Introduction......Page 10
Selected Bibliography......Page 17
PART ONE: NEW TEXTS OF MAGIC AND RITUAL POWER......Page 20
William Brashear and Roy Kotansky: A New Magical Formulary......Page 22
P. Berol. 17202......Page 26
Translation......Page 28
Commentary......Page 29
Liturgical Reconstructions......Page 31
1. “Great Isis the Lady”......Page 44
2. An invocation of the Almighty......Page 47
References......Page 55
Translation......Page 56
Text......Page 58
Commentary......Page 59
1.a. Previous research and discovery......Page 66
1.b. Description of the manuscript......Page 67
1.d. Language......Page 70
1.f. The texts and their history-of-religions context......Page 71
2. Transcription, Translation and Textual Commentary......Page 73
Textual Commentary......Page 79
PART TWO: DEFINITIONS AND THEORY......Page 90
Jonathan Z. Smith: Great Scott! Thought and Action One More Time......Page 92
Fritz Graf: Theories of Magic in Antiquity......Page 112
I Introduction......Page 124
II Brief survey of the material......Page 129
III.1 Names, words, and worse......Page 131
III.1.1 Complications......Page 136
III.2 The appeal to analogy: comparison, similes, historiolae......Page 141
III.2.1 Complications......Page 145
III.3.1 Formal techniques: (asyndetic) cumulation, repetition, variation, rhyme, alliteration......Page 149
III.3.2 Complications: the complexity of alienation......Page 154
IV Some inferences and suggestions......Page 160
Bibliography......Page 176
David Frankfurter: Dynamics of Ritual Expertise in Antiquity and Beyond: Towards a New Taxonomy of “Magicians"......Page 178
I Community Ritual Experts: Local and Peripheral......Page 180
II Quasi-Institutional Literati: Local and Peripheral......Page 186
III Prophets......Page 189
IV The Healer’s Enemy: Magos, Sorcerer, Witch......Page 192
V Conclusions......Page 196
C. A. Hoffman: Fiat Magia......Page 198
PART THREE: THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST......Page 214
Richard H. Beal: Dividing a God......Page 216
JoAnn Scurlock: Translating Transfers in Ancient Mesopotamia......Page 228
Billie Jean Collins: Necromancy, Fertility and the Dark Earth: The Use of Ritual Pits in Hittite Cult......Page 243
References......Page 258
An Analysis of Deuteronomy 18:9-11......Page 261
Conclusion......Page 275
PART FOUR: JUDAISM......Page 280
Magic and Liturgy......Page 282
Aqiva and Magic......Page 284
Evidence From Aqiva’s Martyrdom......Page 288
The Charge that Aqiva is a Magician......Page 292
The Public Nature of Aqiva’s Pronouncements......Page 294
Aqiva and the Rewards of Martyrdom and Liturgical Recitations......Page 297
Conclusions......Page 300
1. Shamanic Initiatory Transformations......Page 302
2. Dangerous Encounters with the Divine in the Judaic Tradition......Page 305
3. The Enoch Tradition......Page 315
4. Enoch and Metatron......Page 317
Conclusion......Page 320
Michael D. Swartz: Sacrificial Themes in Jewish Magic......Page 322
1. The Temple......Page 324
2.a. ˁInyan Sotah......Page 326
2.b. Divination Texts......Page 330
2.c. Cult in Magical Ritual......Page 331
2.d. Conclusions......Page 334
PART FIVE: GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITY......Page 336
Christopher A. Farrone: The Ethnic Origins of a Roman-Era Philtrokatadesmos (PGM IV 296-434)......Page 338
The Logos......Page 342
The Praxis......Page 349
Conclusion......Page 361
Sarah Iles Johnston: Sacrifice in the Greek Magical Papyri......Page 363
Lynn R. LiDonnici: Beans, Fleawort, and the Blood of a Hamadryas Baboon: Recipe Ingredients in Greco-Roman Magical Materials......Page 378
Oliver Phillips: The Witches’ Thessaly......Page 397
Peter T. Struck: Speech Acts and the Stakes of Hellenism in Late Antiquity......Page 406
Contemplative and Active Ways......Page 407
The Culture of Contemplation......Page 408
The Culture of Action......Page 412
Constructing Identities and the Stakes of Hellenism......Page 415
Reason, Spiritual Ascent, and Hellenism......Page 420
PART SIX: EARLY CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM......Page 424
Marvin Meyer: The Prayer of Mary Who Dissolves Chains in Coptic Magic and Religion......Page 426
Ayse Tuzlak: The Magician and the Heretic: The Case of Simon Magus......Page 435
Nicole B. Hansen: Ancient Execration Magic in Coptic and Islamic Egypt......Page 446
Coptic Texts......Page 466
Early Christian Texts......Page 467
Egyptian Texts......Page 469
Greco-Roman Texts......Page 470
Greek Magical Texts......Page 474
Hebrew Scriptures......Page 481
Hittite Texts......Page 483
Jewish Texts......Page 484
Mesopotamian Texts......Page 485
New Testament Texts......Page 486
Ugaritic Texts......Page 487
Back Matter......Page 488