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Blackwell Ancient Religions
Ancient Greek Divination
The first English-language survey of ancient Greek divinatory methods, Ancient Greek Divination offers a broad yet detailed treatment of the earliest attempts by ancient Greeks to seek the counsel of the gods.
193 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2007
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264 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Iles Johnston
18 books34 followersSarah Iles Johnston is the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Religion and Professor of Classics and Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 23, 2015
Well written, compact but informative general overview of divination practices in Ancient Greece, ranging from the famous professional oracle (e.g. at Delphi, Dodona, etc), to itinerant manteis, to the relationship between divination and magic. It would be interesting to read a book on the subject organised by time period, but the author always made it very clear when and from what milieux her numerous examples were drawn from.
December 19, 2009
A scholarly book that is very well written and takes a broad look at divination in Ancient Greece. Dr. Johnston compares the Oracles, myths, historical documents, and the common household.
November 24, 2025
It was brilliant. It helped me to understand all the different divination pratices in Ancient Greek. This really helped with researching for my presentation.
I especially liked the two chapters on the mantis and the magician, because it refers to the different practices the free-lance diviners did rather than the temple priests and priestresses. I liked listening and reading the critics of divination throughout.
I especially liked the two chapters on the mantis and the magician, because it refers to the different practices the free-lance diviners did rather than the temple priests and priestresses. I liked listening and reading the critics of divination throughout.
July 30, 2020
Good book. Pretty academic work that does its best to be for the lay reader, but it still can be a little dense.
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July 27, 2012This is truly one of the best books I've read in a long time.
In modern times, divination (tarot reading, astrology and other popular forms) is at best, taken as a form of entertainment, and at worst, a dirty little secret. If people engage in these sorts of things, then they typically have no explanation for how they work, and no interest finding an explanation.
To the ancient Greeks, it couldn't be more different. Their whole religious ethos, of which divination was a part, had deeply esoteric philosophical explanations. Most modern people, and even scholars, have tended to view the Greeks in light of their own modern, post-enlightenment prejudices, and see these ancient people as merely being superstitious or following in the footsteps of some kind of "primitive" understanding of the world. The reality could not be further from the truth. Many brilliant and rational thinkers such as Socrates consulted with, and had belief in the value of oracles.
The Stoics, such as Zeno, came up with the idea of Sympatheia. That is, strings of associations which connected the Gods, certain occurrences and certain symbols regardless of how far apart they were. This was used to explain both divination and magic. In divination, one could foretell the future by the symbols around, and in magic, one could create the future by using the symbols. This Stoic idea of "sympatheia" would later influence the Neoplatonist movement. In truth, the complex theology, ontology and philosophy of the Greeks which imbues reality itself with divine intelligence, beauty and inherent existential purpose puts modern theology and outdated 19th century materialism to shame.
Professor Johnston has given a brilliant description, of, so far as we know, what happened at the various oracles such as Delphi, Dodona, Claris and Didmya, as well as how the Mantis, a freelance diviner as well as ordinary individuals used divination in their everyday lives. Along with this, she has explained these vital philosophical issues and the rationale behind divination.
In the introduction to the book, there is a section called "The History of the History of Divination" which gives a review of every book on the subject, to date. This section alone is worth the price of the book, and yet the book has so much more to offer. In it, she explains very clearly the modern biases against divination and how they have crippled modern scholars with an inability to get into, and understand the ancient Greek mindset. In particularl discussing Halliday's book Greek Divination and the many flaws it suffers from (I've read this title and I can attest to it). She also explains why divination has been a neglected subject, particularly when magic is often more alluring due to being more on the fringes of the mainstream than divination was or is.
If you are interested in understanding this subject matter, this book is a great place to start, giving one an understanding of how and why the Greeks did what they did, as well as citing sources which clearly show where to look for more information, and being a continual guide along the way. It also happens to be a very enjoyable read, and it moves right along.
In modern times, divination (tarot reading, astrology and other popular forms) is at best, taken as a form of entertainment, and at worst, a dirty little secret. If people engage in these sorts of things, then they typically have no explanation for how they work, and no interest finding an explanation.
To the ancient Greeks, it couldn't be more different. Their whole religious ethos, of which divination was a part, had deeply esoteric philosophical explanations. Most modern people, and even scholars, have tended to view the Greeks in light of their own modern, post-enlightenment prejudices, and see these ancient people as merely being superstitious or following in the footsteps of some kind of "primitive" understanding of the world. The reality could not be further from the truth. Many brilliant and rational thinkers such as Socrates consulted with, and had belief in the value of oracles.
The Stoics, such as Zeno, came up with the idea of Sympatheia. That is, strings of associations which connected the Gods, certain occurrences and certain symbols regardless of how far apart they were. This was used to explain both divination and magic. In divination, one could foretell the future by the symbols around, and in magic, one could create the future by using the symbols. This Stoic idea of "sympatheia" would later influence the Neoplatonist movement. In truth, the complex theology, ontology and philosophy of the Greeks which imbues reality itself with divine intelligence, beauty and inherent existential purpose puts modern theology and outdated 19th century materialism to shame.
Professor Johnston has given a brilliant description, of, so far as we know, what happened at the various oracles such as Delphi, Dodona, Claris and Didmya, as well as how the Mantis, a freelance diviner as well as ordinary individuals used divination in their everyday lives. Along with this, she has explained these vital philosophical issues and the rationale behind divination.
In the introduction to the book, there is a section called "The History of the History of Divination" which gives a review of every book on the subject, to date. This section alone is worth the price of the book, and yet the book has so much more to offer. In it, she explains very clearly the modern biases against divination and how they have crippled modern scholars with an inability to get into, and understand the ancient Greek mindset. In particularl discussing Halliday's book Greek Divination and the many flaws it suffers from (I've read this title and I can attest to it). She also explains why divination has been a neglected subject, particularly when magic is often more alluring due to being more on the fringes of the mainstream than divination was or is.
If you are interested in understanding this subject matter, this book is a great place to start, giving one an understanding of how and why the Greeks did what they did, as well as citing sources which clearly show where to look for more information, and being a continual guide along the way. It also happens to be a very enjoyable read, and it moves right along.
May 1, 2023
Some scholars might argue that a third important change during this period was the repeated attempt to stamp out both diviners and magicians, first by Roman officials, and then by Christians. The Roman emperors were nervous about predictions concerning the length of their reigns (and lives), and many forms of divination, except when practiced in the service of the emperor, therefore became capital offenses. More generally, the emperors tried to extirpate magic and divination because they recognized that the former endowed one with power, and the latter endowed one with knowledge, which in turn brought power. We hear about magical and divinatory books burned on a number of occasions – Augustus had more than 2,000 burnt at once (Suetonius, 'Augustus' 31). The Christians had an additional campaign against divination: they understood it to rely on the pagan gods, whom they equated with deceptive demos (Fögen 1993; Phillip 1991).
All of this stands in contrast to a long silence in Greek and early Rome, which had no laws against divination or magic per se. There were laws against 'hurting' someone with magic, but it was the harm that mattered, rather than the means of inflicting it. Much of the reason behind this laissez-faire attitude lies, again, in the lack of a dualistic religious system: if magicians and diviners were not themselves viewed as intrinsically evil and anti-social, then why bother to persecute them? It took the Christians to get around to this. It is hard to say how much effect this really had during the periods on which we are focusing in this chapter – the large number of surviving curse tablets and magical papyri argue against it, for example, as does the fact that officials had to make 'repeated' attempts to burn magical books. Like pornography, which survives all modern attempts to extirpation, ancient magic and divination seem to have been amazing resilient.
Sarah Iles Johnston (2008) ' The Mantis and the Magician: Changes' in 'Ancient Greek Divination'. Chichester, ENG: Wiley Blackwell, 152-153.
All of this stands in contrast to a long silence in Greek and early Rome, which had no laws against divination or magic per se. There were laws against 'hurting' someone with magic, but it was the harm that mattered, rather than the means of inflicting it. Much of the reason behind this laissez-faire attitude lies, again, in the lack of a dualistic religious system: if magicians and diviners were not themselves viewed as intrinsically evil and anti-social, then why bother to persecute them? It took the Christians to get around to this. It is hard to say how much effect this really had during the periods on which we are focusing in this chapter – the large number of surviving curse tablets and magical papyri argue against it, for example, as does the fact that officials had to make 'repeated' attempts to burn magical books. Like pornography, which survives all modern attempts to extirpation, ancient magic and divination seem to have been amazing resilient.
Sarah Iles Johnston (2008) ' The Mantis and the Magician: Changes' in 'Ancient Greek Divination'. Chichester, ENG: Wiley Blackwell, 152-153.
January 29, 2012
One of the reviews on this book’s back cover calls it a “highly readable and engaging work.” That’s exactly what it is. The material is presented logically and examined carefully, with enough examples to keep the subject lively and to support the author’s conclusions. (Though I can’t say I totally agree with her suggestion that the Hermes statue in Anatolia represented him in his guise of messenger god and god of merchants. The standard, and simpler, interpretation of the statue depicting him in his role as the god of lesser forms of divination is a better fit.) Additionally, in order to not overwhelm the reader with her points, Johnston organizes her discussions into brief sections, thereby focusing the reader’s mind on the topic at hand. Numerous illustrations illuminate the text, while extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter guide the reader to Johnston’s sources. A very nice addition to the Blackwell Ancient Religions series, and if you’re at all interested in divination, a must read.
November 16, 2014
This book is extremely well researched and presented in a very readable fashion. It is enjoyable as well as extremely useful for insight into ancient Greek magical practices.
There are not enough books like this one that are slowly bridging the gap between hardcore academia and the mainstream reader. This book rides that line very well.
If it is the goal of an author to make a research book entertaining and extremely useful, I believe that this author has achieved that. This book will be one of my mainstays for many years to come.
There are not enough books like this one that are slowly bridging the gap between hardcore academia and the mainstream reader. This book rides that line very well.
If it is the goal of an author to make a research book entertaining and extremely useful, I believe that this author has achieved that. This book will be one of my mainstays for many years to come.
December 16, 2021
对我非常有帮助，但是对于个体占卜师还是没什么涉及
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews