|
|
Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Worship > General
In the midst of academic debates about the utility of the term
"magic" and the cultural meaning of ancient words like mageia or
khesheph, this Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic seeks to advance
the discussion by separating out three topics essential to the very
idea of magic. The three major sections of this volume address (1)
indigenous terminologies for ambiguous or illicit ritual in
antiquity; (2) the ancient texts, manuals, and artifacts commonly
designated "magical" or used to represent ancient magic; and (3) a
series of contexts, from the written word to materiality itself, to
which the term "magic" might usefully pertain. The individual
essays in this volume cover most of Mediterranean and Near Eastern
antiquity, with essays by both established and emergent scholars of
ancient religions. In a burgeoning field of "magic studies" trying
both to preserve and to justify critically the category itself,
this volume brings new clarity and provocative insights. This will
be an indispensable resource to all interested in magic in the
Bible and the Ancient Near East, ancient Greece and Rome, Early
Christianity and Judaism, Egypt through the Christian period, and
also comparative and critical theory. Contributors are: Magali
Bailliot, Gideon Bohak, Veronique Dasen, Albert de Jong, Jacco
Dieleman, Esther Eidinow, David Frankfurter, Fritz Graf, Yuval
Harari, Naomi Janowitz, Sarah Iles Johnston, Roy D. Kotansky, Arpad
M. Nagy, Daniel Schwemer, Joseph E. Sanzo, Jacques van der Vliet,
Andrew Wilburn.
|
|