Ebook: Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic

This volume advances the study of ancient magic through separate discussions of ancient terminologies for ambiguous or illicit ritual likemageiaorkhesheph, the ancient texts and artifacts commonly designated as magical, such as PGM, and contexts in which the term 'magic' may be used in a descriptive way, as in 'the magic of the written word'.

Beginning with an overview of problems posed by the term 'magic', the volume is organized in three sections covering most of Mediterranean and Near Eastern antiquity, with essays by both renowned and emergent scholars of ancient religions.

In a burgeoning field of magic studies trying to negotiate critical discussions of the category, this volume brings new clarity to the field. This will be an indispensable resource to all interested in magic in the Bible and the Ancient Near East, ancient Greece and Rome, Early Christianity and Judaism, Egypt through the Christian period, and also comparative and critical theory.