{"product_id":"9781788312981","title":"Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eMagic in Ancient Greece and Rome\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Lindsay C. Watson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eParting company with the trend in recent scholarship to treat the subject in abstract, highly theoretical terms, \u003ci\u003eMagic in Ancient Greece and Rome\u003c\/i\u003e proposes that the magic-working of antiquity was in reality a highly pragmatic business, with very clearly formulated aims - often of an exceedingly maligant kind. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn seven chapters, each addressed to an important arm of Greco-Roman magic, the volume discusses the history of the rediscovery and publication of the so-called \u003ci\u003eGreek Magical Papyri, \u003c\/i\u003ea key source for our understanding of ancient magic; the startling violence of ancient erotic spells and the use of these by women as well as men; the alteration in the landscape of \u003ci\u003edefixio\u003c\/i\u003e (curse tablet) studies by major new finds and the confirmation these provide that the frequently lethal intent of such tablets must not be downplayed; the use of herbs in magic, considered from numerous perspectives but with an especial focus on the bizarre-seeming rituals and protocols attendant upon their collection; the employment of animals in magic, the factors determining the choice of animal, the uses to which they were put, and the procuring and storage of animal parts, conceivably in a sorcerer's workshop; the witch as a literary construct, the clear homologies between the magical procedures of fictional witches and those documented for real spells, the gendering of the witch-figure and the reductive presentation of sorceresses as old, risible and ineffectual; the issue of whether ancient magicians practised human sacrifice and the illuminating parallels between such accusations and late 20th century accounts of child-murder in the context of perverted Satanic rituals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy challenging a number of orthodoxies and opening up some underexamined aspects of the subject, this wide-ranging study stakes out important new territory in the field of magical studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“Watson’s work is clearly born from great experience and expertise with Classical literature.” - \u003ci\u003eBryn Mawr Classical Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781788312981\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40688667295950,"sku":"9781788312981","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781788312981","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}