Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook

by Daniel Ogden (Editor)

In a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now strange to us, magic was of great importance both in the literary mythic tradition and in ritual practice. In this book, Daniel Ogden presents 300 texts in new translations, along with brief but explicit commentaries. Authors include the well known (Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Pliny) and the less familiar, and extend across the whole of Graeco-Roman antiquity.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Magic, Occult, Religion, Witchcraft

353 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Professor of Ancient History; Honorary Research Fellow, UNISA



Principal research areas:

(1) traditional narratives in antiquity;

(2) Greek religion;

(3) Macedonian and Hellenistic Dynasties.

Reviews

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is NOT an easy read, nor is it a guidebook for would-be modern witches; rather, it is an excellent, academic examination of a fascinating and often misunderstood subject, extensively (and impressively!) researched and annotated. The commentaries are concise but extremely helpful, but the heart of the book is the source material itself. One cannot overstate the importance of reading original sources -- and this book is a powerful example. Enlightening and entertaining, this should be in the shelves of any serious student of Graeco-Roman history, culture or religion.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heavy book. It includes hundreds of translated passages from ancient sources about magic. They range all over.

At one extreme, there's a passage jeering at taking a certain name literally and one of the examples is that no one uses sea-skulls for divination; at the other extreme, there's texts prescribing spells, such as one to shut up an unsuitable skull (not giving the reason, though the commentary speculates that a skull, once used, might keep it up).

There are fictional accounts analyzed for what they reflect; rhetorical exercises such as one arguing that after a woman was condemned for witchcraft and burned only because another woman helped, that the woman who help should also be burned for witchcraft; actual court cases, where you had to argue against your knowing magic while showing enough knowledge of it to make the argument; and many other reflections of belief.

Themes can be traced through: erotic magic is considered evil; Thessalonian women are all witches; skulls are often used; it revolves around conjuring spirits both ghosts and (what we would call) demons (the ghosts often being called that in the texts); the attribution of magic to the Middle East; the syncretism, such that a spell can habitually combine Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish influences; drawing down the moon, and more.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, designed as a undergraduate text for those studying ancient belief systems, was perfect for my research. Each section gives sample readings translated from Greek and Roman literature, followed by the author's explication and sources for further research.

[Petros Lamprides · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thorough and systematic work, a fundamental book that paved the road for many scholarly views on the subject of Greek and Roman magic that followed. Not the most up-to-date today (the subject grew in academic popularity since it was published), but certainly very well documented and useful. A very good starting point, guide and must-read for someone who wants to get involved.

[Jess M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting read for this humanities class!

[Geertje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een handig naslagwerk over magie, hekserij en andere magische dingen in het Oude Griekenland en het Romeinse rijk. Fijn dat er zoveel bronmateriaal wordt gebruikt; ik kan niet zeggen hoe accuraat de vertalingen zijn, maar voor mij als leek was het allemaal prima.

[Anatolikon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am assuming that this sourcebook is meant to be used alongside Night's Black Agents: Witches Wizards and the Dead in the Ancient World, but regardless, on its own it is a fairly weak book. The sources themselves are good and varied, and although many of the early examples will be know to classicists due to their appearance in many major historical sources (Herodotos, Pliny, Lucian, et al.) some of the later ones are a little more obscure and quite useful. Ogden provides some commentary for each entry, and this is really where the book falls short. The commentary itself is not bad, and Ogden provides some useful connections between the various sources in the book. However, it is totally lacking any sort of critical analysis. I do not regularly expect a sourcebook to have such entries, but Ogden devotes enough space to each source snippet that something in the area of broader context beyond the magical realm is needed. While the sources are given context in the area of ancient magic, nothing broader is discussed, with very little information given on critical aspects such as how certain sources approach magical material, or even how the source the regarded today. A great deal of context can be provided in very little space. Lee's Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity: A Sourcebook is a fantastic example of how in a brief paragraph or two an editor can provide a solid contextual base, relate the source to other pertinent sources, and include a few references to academic literature on the relevant passage. This is the golden standard which I hold sourcebooks to, and unfortunately Ogden fails to live up to such demands. This book is still a very useful collection, but its composition as a sourcebook is not ideal.

[Mattia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful collection of texts in translation, but not an adequate reference on the topic because of the lack of context and analysis of the texts.

While it covers many fascinating and sometimes blood-curdling subjects such as necromancy, child sacrifice, the use of young boys' souls in magic, haunted houses, curse tablets, early accounts of vampires and werewolves, etc., I can't recommend it for pleasure reading either, because the prose is rather flat and dry (which is expected and well enough for a reference, but still). I enjoyed the sections from Pliny's natural histories, but those can be found elsewhere.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title indicates, this is a sourcebook of selections from classical texts dealing with the supernatural. Some are from famous authors -- Pliny, Virgil, St. Paul -- but many from lesser-known authors. The translations are adequate, and seem to track the original texts closely, meaning that the prose tends to be stiff, somewhat unnatural, and ugly.

Not light reading, and not a book most will want to read from front to back. Rather, a resource for research, or just a book to pick up from time to time, to dip one's toes into one of the darker corners of the classical world, so like our own in some ways, but so different in others.

[Saturnq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something any ancient history or occult buff should own. Very well organized translations of texts with commentaries makes is accessible and enjoyable for both the undergraduate reader and/or lay person.

[pj · Rating 4 out of 5]

there are a number of places where ogden could have given a bit more context or backstory to the pieces in translation

however, he covers A Lot of content and gives a variety of examples of different types of magic, curses, and spells that gave a really good basis for class discussion and assignments

also this is the only book i paid for in this class that i'm actually keeping because it was rather interesting

[Bookreadingnarcissist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for magic and witchcraft in the ancient Greek and Roman world. Definitely not an easy read at all, but Ogden's notes throughout each section really help contextualize the topics. A great source book, but you definitely need prior knowledge on Rome and Greece to understand what is going on. The only problem with this is that he cuts out a lot of important quotes from the listed authors.
4/5

[Chris Langfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very large and varied collection of primary sources, both literary and archaeological, including some frankly insane curse tablets. Will be most useful for historians as a reference, but it was very enjoyable to dip into as a lay person. The commentary is brief but useful and the translations are precise.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really impressive collection. Ogden's scholarship categorizes an incredible number of primary texts by which type of witchcraft they represent. Each text is followed by insightful commentary on why it is interesting or important. I learned so much from this text. It was just so long that I got a little bored by the end.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic research companion by Daniel Ogden! This offers so many really well translated primary sources for research both for literary endeavors as well as historical works. Just a really great read over-all.

[Joseph]

This is an academic source book so I'm not sure how to appropriately star this on here but it was an enjoyable read cover to cover for this amateur interest guy. You learn about just how *old* and everlasting many of our magical tropes are.

[S.A. Hartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as part of my research for script I was writing about a real person in 2nd Century Rome.

[D]

school...lowkey a bop though

[Awright · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many discrepancies. Ogden cherry picks.

[Venetia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely helpful and useful sourcebook for anyone interested in reading about or writing on the topics of witchcraft and necromancy in the ancient world. Would highly recommend.

[M. Chaisuvan]

อ่านยากมาก แนวประวัติศาสตร์เน้นๆ

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good survey of the topics in covered.

[Cara Klopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most accessible and readable resources on ancient magic. Love it!!