The Iconography of Magic: Images of Power and the Power of Images in Ancient and Late Antique Magic (Studies in the History and Anthropology of Religion, 7)

"The study of magical texts of the Classical, Greco-Roman and Late Antique World has experienced a remarkable impulse since the last decades of the twentieth century until today. The so-called "material turn" in philological studies has promoted an ever-growing interest in the study of the materiality and other non-textual components of ancient documents, which has favored interdisciplinary studies aimed at a holistic approach to ancient texts. From this perspective, the articles collected in this volume offer a series of in-depth case studies of images and other paratextual elements of magical artifacts. Comparative studies, statistical analyses, image-text interconnections, and other analytical possibilities are applied to achieve a greater understanding of the magical objects in question, as well as of the belief system in which they were produced. The book illustrates the importance of iconographic analysis as a fundamental part of understanding Antiquity, its ritual texts, and its magical objects." --Provided by publisher CONTENTS PREFACE NOTES ON THE CONTRIBUTORS I. THE “VIGNETTES”OF THE GREEK MAGICAL PAPYRI.VISUAL ELEMENTS OF THE PHARAONICMAGICAL TRADITION AND THE USEOF BILDZAUBER IN THE PGM II. IMAGES OF TIED VICTIMS IN MAGICAL TEXTS III. EULAMO VS. SETH.ON THE EQUINEHEADED DEMONREPRESENTED IN THE DEFIXIONESFROM PORTA S. SEBASTIANO (ROME) IV. BAITMO AND LAMASHTU V. THE HUNGRY WOLF VI. THE LATEANTIQUE TRANSFEROF CIRCULAR GEMDESIGNS TO PAPYRI AND FOIL:THE OUROBORUS AND SOLOMON’S SEAL VII. THE ANGUIPEDE, ITS ORIGINS AND MARKET DIFFUSION VIII. HEATHEN SERPENTS AND WINGLESS ANGELS? SOME NOTES ON IMAGES IN COPTIC MAGICAL TEXTS IX. DRAWING AND WRITING. REFLECTIONS ON THE TRANSMISSION OF RITUAL KNOWLEDGE LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS INDEXES