Figuring out the Anguipede (‘snake-legged god’) and his relation to Judaism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12372712
AutoresÁrpád M Nagy (Museum of Fine Arts, autor de correspondencia)
Año2002
Volumen15
Páginas159-172
Fecha de publicación2002-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Roman Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1047-7594 • E-ISSN: 2331-5709
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s104775940001388x
OpenAlexW51414045
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas6

So-called magical gems constitute an especially rich body of material evidence for magic and religion in the Roman Empire. They differ from the ordinary run of gems in three respects: in their selection of iconographic types, normally divine images of one sort or another; by their use of magic words and occasionally longer texts, primarily in Greek script; and by their use of magic signs, usually called characteres . At least one of these three elements must be present for a gem to be identifiable as magical. These “Zaubergemmen” form the most easily distinguishable sub-group of the wider class of amuletic gems, that is, engraved stones of talismanic function. The majority of the iconographic schemes appearing on magical gems adhere closely to the classical Graeco-Roman and Egyptian traditions. Others, however, are unique to this class of gems: rare even on other magical objects, they are practically unknown outside this sphere in the whole variety of ancient art

Ancient art · Art · Art history · Literature · MAGIC (telescope · Roman Empire · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies