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Pompeian wall painting depicting a hermaphrodite sitting, left hand raised towards an old satyr approaching from behind; a maenad or bacchant brings a love potion.. Magic in the Greco-Roman world – that is, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and the other cultures with which they interacted, especially ancient Egypt – comprises supernatural practices undertaken by individuals, often privately ...
The Greek Magical Papyri (Latin: Papyri Graecae Magicae, abbreviated PGM) is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt, written mostly in ancient Greek (but also in Old Coptic, Demotic, etc.), which each contain a number of magical spells, formulae, hymns, and rituals.
As noted by Davies, for the ancient Greeks—and subsequently for the ancient Romans—"magic was not distinct from religion but rather an unwelcome, improper expression of it—the religion of the other". [63] The historian Richard Gordon suggested that for the ancient Greeks, being accused of practicing magic was "a form of insult". [64]
Greek divination is the divination practiced by ancient Greek culture as it is known from ancient Greek literature, supplemented by epigraphic and pictorial evidence. Divination is a traditional set of methods of consulting divinity to obtain prophecies (theopropia) about specific circumstances defined beforehand.
Keith Thomas: "Spiritual magic or theurgy was based on the idea that one could reach God in an ascent up the scale of creation made possible by a rigorous course of prayer, fasting and devotional preparation." [6] Pierre A. Riffard: "Theurgy is a type of magic. It consists of a set of magical practices performed to evoke beneficent spirits in ...
Kykeon, ancient Greek drink of various descriptions used at the climax of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Pneuma, a supernatural substance that is present in all souls and sustains life in all breathing living creatures. Thought of as giving cosmic energy through breath. One main components of the parts of the soul in ancient Greek medicine.
MS 5236 (inventory number of the Schøyen Collection) is an ancient Greek amulet of the 6th century BC, which is unique in two respects: it is the only known magic amulet of the time inscribed with a text that was stamped as opposed to incised, and it is the only extant specimen of ephesia grammata made of gold.
The "Mithras Liturgy" is a text from the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris, part of the Greek Magical Papyri, [1] numbered PGM IV.475–829. [2]The modern name by which the text is known originated in 1903 with Albrecht Dieterich, its first translator, [3] [4] based on the invocation of Helios Mithras (Ἥλιοϲ Μίθραϲ) as the god who will provide the initiate with a revelation of ...