Scholarship on ancient Greco-Roman magic over time and place, has largely focused on the role and identity of ritual practitioners, investigating the nature and source of their perceived expertise and often locating it in their linguistic skills. Less attention has been paid to those identified as the targets of magical rituals, who tend to be described as passive recipients of the ritual or victims of the social power of another. In contrast, drawing on the theory of ritual form developed by Robert McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson, alongside the ritualization theories of Catherine Bell, this article argues that victims of magic were also agents of ritual. Focusing on an experience of hostile magic reported by the fourth-century c.e. orator Libanius, it explores how conceptions of magical power were co-created by spell-makers and their so-called victims and should be regarded as relational, that is, as emerging from the interactions of people and groups.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Barrett Justin L. , '“Smart Gods, Dumb Gods, and the Role of Social Cognition in Structuring Ritual Intuitions” ' (2002 ) 2 (3 ) Journal of Cognition and Culture : 183 -193 .
Barrett Justin L. & Lawson E. Thomas , '“Ritual Intuitions: Cognitive Contributions to Judgments and Ritual Efficacy” ' (2001 ) 1 (2 ) Journal of Cognition and Culture : 183 -201 .
Bell Catherine , Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 1992 ).
Betegh Gábor , The Derveni Papyrus: Cosmology, Theology, and Interpretation , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2004 ).
Bierl Anton , Ritual and Performativity: The Chorus in Old Comedy , (Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Mass. 2009 ).
Björck Gudmund , Der Fluch des Christen Sabinus: Papyrus Upsaliensis , (Almqvist and Wiksell , Uppsala 1938 ).
Boschung Dietrich & Bremmer Jan N. , 'The Materiality of Magic ', in Morphomata , (Wilhelm Fink , Paderborn 2015 ).
Brown Peter , '“Sorcery, Demons, and the Rise of Christianity from Late Antiquity into the Middle Ages” ', in Mary Douglas (ed), Witchcraft: Confessions and Accusations , (Tavistock , London 1970 ) 17 -45 .
Bryen Ari Z. & Wypustek Andrzej , '“Gemellus’ Evil Eyes (P.Mich.vi 423–424)” ' (2009 ) 49 Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies : 535 -55 .
Burkert Walter , Creation of the Sacred: Tracks of Biology in Early Religions , (Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Mass. 1996 ).
Burrus Virginia , 'The Making of a Heretic: Gender, Authority, and the Priscillianist Controversy ', in Transformation of the Classical Heritage , (University of California Press , Berkeley 1995 ).
Calame Claude , 'Les chœurs de jeunes filles en Grèce archaïque ', in Filologia e critica , (Edizioni dell’Ateneo and Bizzarri , Rome 1977 ) 2 vols. .
Carastro Marcello , La Cité des mages: penser la magie en Grèce ancienne , (Jérôme Millon , Grenoble 2006 ).
Chaniotis Angelos , '“Under the Watchful Eyes of the Gods: Aspects of Divine Justice in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor” ', in Stephen Colvin (ed), The Greco-Roman East: Politics, Culture, Society , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2004 ) 1 -43 .
Collins Derek , 'Magic in the Ancient Greek World ', in Blackwell Ancient Religions , (Blackwell , Malden, Mass. 2008 ).
Cooper Kate , The Virgin and the Bride: Idealized Womanhood in Late Antiquity , (Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Mass. 1996 ).
Cribiore Rafaella , The School of Libanius in Late Antique Antioch , (Princeton University Press , Princeton 2007 ).
Cribiore Rafaella , Libanius the Sophist: Rhetoric, Reality, and Religion in the Fourth Century , (Cornell University Press , Ithaca, N.Y. 2013 ).
Curbera Jaime B. , '“Maternal Lineage in Greek Magical Texts” ', in David R. Jordan, Hugo Montgomery & Einar Thomassen (eds), The World of Ancient Magic: Papers from the First International Samson Eitrem Seminar at the Norwegian Institute at Athens 4–8 May 1997 , (The Norwegian Institute at Athens , Bergen 1999 ) 195 -203 .
D’Angelo Mary Rose , '“Women in Luke-Acts: A Redactional View” ' (1990 ) 109 (3 ) Journal of Biblical Literature : 441 -461 .
Dickie Matthew W. , Magic and Magicians in the Greco‐Roman World , (Routledge , London 2001 ).
Douglas Mary , Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo , (Routledge and Kegan Paul , London 1966 ).
Mary Douglas (ed), Witchcraft: Confessions and Accusations , (Tavistock , London 1970 ).
Eidinow Esther , Oracles, Curses, and Risk among the Ancient Greeks , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 2013 [2007] ).
Eidinow Esther , Envy, Poison, and Death: Women on Trial in Classical Athens , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 2016a ).
Eidinow Esther , '“‘A Devotee and a Champion’: Re-interpreting the Female ‘Victims’ of Magic in Early Christian Texts” ', in Matthew P. Dillon, Esther Eidinow & Lisa Maurizio (eds), Women’s Ritual Competence in the Greco-Roman Mediterranean , (Ashgate , Farnham 2016b ) 213 -228 .
Evans-Pritchard Edward Evans , Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande , (Clarendon Press , Oxford 1937 ).
Faraone Christopher A. , '“An Accusation of Magic in Classical Athens (Ar. Wasps 946–48)” ' (1989 ) 119 Transactions of the American Philological Association : 149 -160 .
Faraone Christopher A. , '“The Agonistic Context of Early Greek Binding Spells” ', in Christopher Faraone & Dirk Obbink (eds), Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 1991a ) 3 -33 .
Faraone Christopher A. , '“Binding and Burying the Forces of Evil: The Defensive Use of ‘Voodoo Dolls’ in Ancient Greece” ' (1991b ) 10 (2 ) Classical Antiquity : 165 -205 .
Faraone Christopher A. , Ancient Greek Love Magic , (Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Mass. 1999 ).
Favret-Saada Jeanne , Deadly Words: Witchcraft in the Bocage , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 1980 ).
Flower Michael , The Seer in Ancient Greece , (University of California Press , Berkeley 2008 ).
Frankfurter David , ' “Narrating Power: The Theory and Practice of the Magical Historiola in Magical Spells” ', in Marvin Meyer & Paul Mirecki (eds), Ancient Magic and Ritual Power , (Brill , Leiden 1995 ) 457 -476 .
Frankfurter David , '“Ritual Expertise in Roman Egypt and the Problem of the Category ‘Magician’” ', in Peter Schäfer & Hans Kippenberg (eds), Envisioning Magic: A Princeton Seminar and Symposium , (Brill , Leiden 1997 ) 115 -135 .
Frankfurter David , '“Dynamics of Ritual Expertise in Antiquity and Beyond: Towards a New Taxonomy of ‘Magicians’” ', in Paul Mirecki & Marvin Meyer (eds), Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World , (Brill , Leiden 2002 ) 159 -178 .
Frazer James G. , The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion , (Macmillan , London 1922 ).
Geertz Clifford , '“Religion as a Cultural System” ', in The Interpretation of Cultures , (Basic Books, Inc. , New York 1973 ) 87 -125 .
Giordano Manuela , La parola efficace: Maledizioni, giuramenti e benedizioni nella Grecia arcaica , (Istituti Editoriali E Poligrafici Internazionali , Pisa 1999 ).
Gordon Richard , '“Imagining Greek and Roman Magic” ', in Valerie Flint (ed), Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome , (The Athlone Press , London 1999 ) 159 -275 .
Gordon Richard , '“Raising a Sceptre: Confession-Narratives from Lydia and Phrygia” ' (2004 ) 17 Journal of Roman Archaeology : 177 -196 .
Gordon Richard , '“Talking of Magic” ', in John Petropoulos (ed), Greek Magic: Ancient, Medieval and Modern , (Routledge , Abingdon and New York 2008 ) 139 -149 .
Graf Fritz , '“Excluding the Charming: The Development of the Greek Concept of Magic” ', in Marvin Meyer & Paul Mirecki (eds), Ancient Magic and Ritual Power , (Brill , Leiden 1995 ) 29 -42 .
Graf Fritz Philip Franklin , Magic in the Ancient World , (Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Mass 1997a ).
Graf Fritz , '“How to Cope with a Difficult Life: A View of Ancient Magic” ', in Peter Schäfer & Hans Kippenberg (eds), Envisioning Magic: A Princeton Seminar and Symposium , (Brill , Leiden 1997b ) 93 -114 .
Henig Martin , Religion in Roman Britain , (Batsford , London 1984 ).
Hutton Ronald , '“Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Witchcraft: Potential for a New Collaboration?” ' (2004 ) 47 (2 ) The Historical Journal : 413 -434 .
Johnston Sarah Iles , '“Sacrifice in the Greek Magical Papyri” ', in Paul Mirecki & Marvin Meyer (eds), Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World , (Brill , Leiden 2002 ) 344 -358 .
Kingsley Peter , Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition , (Clarendon Press , Oxford 1995 ).
Laskaris Julie , The Art is Long: On Sacred Disease and the Scientific Tradition , (Brill , Leiden 2002 ).
Lawson E. Thomas & McCauley Robert N. , Rethinking Religion: Connecting Cognition and Culture , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 1990 ).
Lévi-Strauss Claude , La pensée sauvage , (Plon , Paris 1962 ).
LiDonnici Lynn R. , '“Beans, Fleawort, and the Blood of a Hamadryas Baboon: Recipe Ingredients in Greco-Roman Magical Materials” ', in Paul Mirecki & Marvin Meyer (eds), Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World , (Brill , Leiden 2002 ) 359 -377 .
Lloyd Geoffrey , Magic, Reason, and Experience: Studies in the Origin and Development of Greek Science , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 1979 ).
Lonsdale Steven H. , Dance and Ritual Play in Greek Religion , (The Johns Hopkins University Press , Baltimore 1993 ).
McCauley Robert N. & Lawson E. Thomas , Bringing Ritual to Mind: Psychological Foundations of Cultural Forms , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2002 ).
Mylonopoulos Joannis , '“Greek Sanctuaries as Places of Communication through Rituals: An Archaeological Perspective” ', in Eftychia Stavrianopoulou (ed), Ritual and Communication in the Graeco-Roman World , (Presses universitaires de Liège , Liège 2006 ) 69 -110 .
Naerebout Frederick. G. , Attractive Performances: Ancient Greek Dance: Three Preliminary Studies , (Gieben , Amsterdam 1997 ).
Naerebout Frederick. G. , '“Moving Events: Dance at Public Events in the Ancient Greek World: Thinking through its Implications” ', in Eftychia Stavrianopoulou (ed), Ritual and Communication in the Graeco-Roman World , (Presses universitaires de Liège , Liège 2006 ) 37 -67 .
Newton Charles T. , History of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus and Branchidae , (Day and Son , London 1862–1863 ) with assistance from by R. P. Pullan 2 vols .
Norman A.F. , 'Libanius: Autobiography and Selected Letters ', in Loeb Classical Library , (Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Mass. 1992 ).
Norman A.F. , Antioch as a Centre of Hellenic Culture as Observed by Libanius , (Liverpool University Press , Liverpool 2000 ).
Ogden Daniel , '“Binding Spells: Curse Tablets and Voodoo Dolls in the Greek and Roman Worlds” ', in Valerie Flint (ed), Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome , (The Athlone Press , London 1999 ) 3 -90 .
Ortner Sherry , Anthropology and Social Theory: Culture, Power, and the Acting Subject , (Duke University Press , Durham, N.C. 2006 ).
Otto Bernd-Christian , 'Magie: Rezeptions- und diskursgeschichtliche Analysen von der Antike bis zur Neuzeit ', in Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten , (De Gruyter , Berlin 2011 ).
Petzl Georg , 'Die Beichtinschriften Westkleinasiens ', in Epigraphica Anatolica , (Habelt , Bonn 1994 ).
Prins Johanna Henrica , '“The Power of the Speech Act: Aeschylus’ Furies and Their Binding Song” ' (1991 ) 24 (2 ) Arethusa : 177 -194 (Yopie) .
Ray Benjamin C. , '“Koyukon Bear Party and the ‘Bare Facts’ of Ritual” ' (1991 ) 38 (2 ) Numen : 151 -176 .
Salvo Irene , '“Sweet Revenge: Emotional Factors in ‘Prayers for Justice’” ', in Angelos Chaniotis (ed), Unveiling Emotions: Sources and Methods for the Study of Emotions in the Greek World , (Franz Steiner Verlag , Stuttgart 2012 ) 235 -266 .
Sandwell Isabella , Religious Identity in Late Antiquity: Greeks, Jews and Christians in Antioch , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2007 ).
Schnoebelen Jill , Witchcraft Allegations, Refugee Protection, and Human Rights: A Review of the Evidence , (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , Geneva 2009 ) (New Issues In Refugee Research, Research Paper 169) .
Smith Jonathan Z. , '“The Bare Facts of Ritual” ' (1980 ) 20 (1–2 ) History of Religions : 112 -127 .
Smith Jonathan Z. , '“Great Scott! Thought and Action One More Time” ', in Paul Mirecki & Marvin Meyer (eds), Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World , (Brill , Leiden 2002 ) 73 -91 .
Sørensen Jesper , '“The Problem of Magic — Or How Gibberish Becomes Efficacious Action” ' (2005 ) 25 (1–2 ) Recherches semiotiques/Semiotic Inquiry : 93 -117 .
Sørensen Jesper , A Cognitive Theory of Magic , (AltaMira Press , Lanham, Md. 2007a ).
Sørensen Jesper , '“Acts that Work: A Cognitive Approach to Ritual Agency” ' (2007b ) 19 (3 ) Method and Theory in the Study of Religion : 281 -300 .
Stewart Pamela J. & Strathern Andrew , Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors, and Gossip , (Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 2004 ).
Stratton Kimberley , '“The Rhetoric of ‘Magic’ in Early Christian Discourse: Gender, Power and the Construction of ‘Heresy’” ', in Todd Penner & Caroline Vander Stichele (eds), Mapping Gender in Ancient Religious Discourses , (Brill , Leiden 2007 ) 89 -114 .
Tambiah Stanley J. , '“The Magical Power of Words” ' (1968 ) 3 (2 ) Man : 175 -208 .
Tambiah Stanley J. , '“A Performative Approach to Ritual” ' (1979 ) 65 Proceedings of the British Academy : 113 -169 .
Tomlin Roger S. O. , '“The Curse Tablets” ', in Barry Cunliffe (ed), The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath, Vol. 2: The Finds from the Sacred Spring , (Oxford University Committee for Archaeology , Oxford 1988 ) 59 -277 .
Versnel Hendrik S. , '“Beyond Cursing: The Appeal to Justice in Judicial Prayers” ', in Christopher A. Faraone & Dirk Obbink (eds), Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion , (Oxford University Press , Oxford 1991a ) 60 -106 .
Versnel Hendrik S. , '“Some Reflections on the Relationship Magic-Religion” ' (1991b ) 38 (2 ) Numen : 177 -197 .
Versnel Hendrik S. , 'Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion II: Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual ', in Studies in Greek and Roman Religion , (Brill , Leiden 1993 ).
Versnel Hendrik S. , '“‘Punish Those Who Rejoice in Our Misery’: On Curse Tablets and Schadenfreude” ', in David R. Jordan, Hugo Montgomery & Einar Thomassen (eds), The World of Ancient Magic: Papers from the First International Samson Eitrem Seminar at the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 4–8 May 1997 , (The Norwegian Institute at Athens , Bergen 1999 ) 125 -162 .
Versnel Hendrik S. , '“The Poetics of the Magical Charm. An Essay in the Power of Words” ', in Paul Mirecki & Marvin Meyer (eds), Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World , (Brill , Leiden 2002 ) 105 -158 .
Versnel Hendrik S. , '“Prayers for Justice, East and West: New Finds and Publications since 1990” ' Magical Practice in the Latin West: Papers from the International Conference , 30th Sept. – 1st Oct. 2005 , University of Zaragoza .
Versnel Hendrik S. , Coping with the Gods: Wayward Readings in Greek Theology , (Brill , Leiden 2011 ).
Webster G.A. , The British Celts and Their Gods under Rome , (Batsford , London 1986 ).
Winkler John J. , The Constraints of Desire: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece , (Routledge , New York and London 1990 ).
Wittgenstein Ludwig , '“Bemerkungen über Frazers ‘The Golden Bough’” ' (1967 ) 17 (1 ) Synthese : 233 -253 .
See Collins 2008: 114–117, who offers a useful warning at the end of his analysis of the need for caution in interpretation.
See Stratton 2007: 111–114, who summarizes previous scholarship, including D’Angelo 1990, Burrus 1995, Cooper 1996; cf. Eidinow 2016b.
Tomlin 1988: 101–102, quoting Henig 1984: 145 and Webster 1986: 136; see a discussion of emotionalist theories of magic in Sørensen 2007a: 24–30.
See Versnel 1991a: 68–69, elaborated in Versnel 2009. The Knidian curses texts may have been displayed in this way (Newton 1862–1863), or they may have been inscribed on stone. On a stele in the Sanctuary of the Syrian Gods on Delos, one Theagenes asks for justice against a woman to whom he has lent money for her manumission and who has not returned it; see Björck 1938: 30 n. 14; Versnel 1999: 141; Salvo 2012: 252–253.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1070 | 200 | 30 |
Full Text Views | 474 | 19 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 331 | 46 | 0 |
Scholarship on ancient Greco-Roman magic over time and place, has largely focused on the role and identity of ritual practitioners, investigating the nature and source of their perceived expertise and often locating it in their linguistic skills. Less attention has been paid to those identified as the targets of magical rituals, who tend to be described as passive recipients of the ritual or victims of the social power of another. In contrast, drawing on the theory of ritual form developed by Robert McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson, alongside the ritualization theories of Catherine Bell, this article argues that victims of magic were also agents of ritual. Focusing on an experience of hostile magic reported by the fourth-century c.e. orator Libanius, it explores how conceptions of magical power were co-created by spell-makers and their so-called victims and should be regarded as relational, that is, as emerging from the interactions of people and groups.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1070 | 200 | 30 |
Full Text Views | 474 | 19 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 331 | 46 | 0 |