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Product: Book
ISBN-10: 0-19-538520-9
ISBN-13: 9780195385205
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Country:
Year: April 24, 2009
Edition: 2
Size: 17.60 x 24.79 x 2.79cm
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 739gr
Binding: Paperback
ISBN-10: 0-19-538520-9
ISBN-13: 9780195385205
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Country:
Year: April 24, 2009
Edition: 2
Size: 17.60 x 24.79 x 2.79cm
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 739gr
Binding: Paperback
editions
Daniel Ogden (Eds.)
Oxford University Press, USA; 2002
Hardcover
Daniel Ogden (Eds.)
Oxford University Press, USA; 2002
Paperback
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Product Description
In a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now strange to us, magic was of great importance both in the literary and mythic tradition and in ritual practice. Recently, ancient magic has hit a high in popularity, both as an area of scholarly inquiry and as one of general, popular interest. In Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds Daniel Ogden presents three hundred texts in new translations, along with brief but explicit commentaries. This is the first book in the field to unite extensive selections from both literary and documentary sources. Alongside descriptions of sorcerers, witches, and ghosts in the works of ancient writers, it reproduces curse tablets, spells from ancient magical recipe books, and inscriptions from magical amulets. Each translation is followed by a commentary that puts it in context within ancient culture and connects the passage to related passages in this volume. Authors include the well known (Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Pliny) and the less familiar, and extend across the whole of Greco-Roman antiquity. The second edition includes a new preface, an updated bibliography, and new source-passages, such as the earliest use of the word »mage« in Greek" (fr. Aeschylus' Persians ), a werewolf tale (Aesop's Fables), and excerpts from the most systematic account of ancient legislation against magic (Theodosian Code).
In a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now strange to us, magic was of great importance both in the literary and mythic tradition and in ritual practice. Recently, ancient magic has hit a high in popularity, both as an area of scholarly inquiry and as one of general, popular interest. In Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds Daniel Ogden presents three hundred texts in new translations, along with brief but explicit commentaries. This is the first book in the field to unite extensive selections from both literary and documentary sources. Alongside descriptions of sorcerers, witches, and ghosts in the works of ancient writers, it reproduces curse tablets, spells from ancient magical recipe books, and inscriptions from magical amulets. Each translation is followed by a commentary that puts it in context within ancient culture and connects the passage to related passages in this volume. Authors include the well known (Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Pliny) and the less familiar, and extend across the whole of Greco-Roman antiquity. The second edition includes a new preface, an updated bibliography, and new source-passages, such as the earliest use of the word »mage« in Greek" (fr. Aeschylus' Persians ), a werewolf tale (Aesop's Fables), and excerpts from the most systematic account of ancient legislation against magic (Theodosian Code).
reviews
note: this is a sourcebook, not a story book! 
If you're not involved in research or the scholarly pursuit of this subject, or if you don't enjoy reading footnotes and obscure annecdotes, then this is not the book for you. However, that said, this is the only book I've come across with such a detailed account of the subject. I've used this text again and again for research and reference. Ogden's commentary on the texts is precise and to the point, too. I'd highly recommend this book, but just know what it is before you buy it.
If you're not involved in research or the scholarly pursuit of this subject, or if you don't enjoy reading footnotes and obscure annecdotes, then this is not the book for you. However, that said, this is the only book I've come across with such a detailed account of the subject. I've used this text again and again for research and reference. Ogden's commentary on the texts is precise and to the point, too. I'd highly recommend this book, but just know what it is before you buy it.
A must-have for classical & esoteric boffins 
Daniel Ogden is so dedicated to his efforts of collection. I kept taking this out of the library for weeks at a time before I realized I could just purchase it. A must-have for anyone studying the classics for fun, research or enrichment.
Daniel Ogden is so dedicated to his efforts of collection. I kept taking this out of the library for weeks at a time before I realized I could just purchase it. A must-have for anyone studying the classics for fun, research or enrichment.
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© 1994–2010 Sascha Hendel
last update: 3/17/2010
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