The ancient Greeks commonly resorted to magic spells to attract and
keep lovers--as numerous allusions in Greek literature and recently
discovered "voodoo dolls," magical papyri, gemstones, and curse
tablets attest. Surveying and analyzing these various texts and
artifacts, Christopher Faraone reveals that gender is the crucial
factor in understanding love spells. There are, he argues, two
distinct types of love magic: the curselike charms used primarily
by men to torture unwilling women with fiery and maddening passion
until they surrender sexually; and the binding spells and
debilitating potions generally used by women to sedate angry or
philandering husbands and make them more affectionate.
Faraone's lucid analysis of these spells also yields a number
of insights about the construction of gender in antiquity, for
example, the "femininity" of socially inferior males and the
"maleness" of autonomous prostitutes. Most significantly, his
findings challenge the widespread modern view that all Greek men
considered women to be naturally lascivious. Faraone reveals the
existence of an alternate male understanding of the female as
"naturally" moderate and chaste, who uses love magic to pacify and
control the "naturally" angry and passionate male. This fascinating
study of magical practices and their implications for perceptions
of male and female sexuality offers an unusual look at ancient
Greek religion and society.
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