The divinatory kit from Pergamon and Greek magic in late antiquity

Divination was one of the most important features of the learned magical arts in the Imperial period. Not only do the Graeco-Egyptian ‘magical papyri’ contain an abundance of recipes which claim to enable the practitioner to know the future, but several ancient authors attest that divination was of special interest to occultists. Recent scholarship has indeed recognised the importance of divination in ritual-magical practice, but the relevant archaeological evidence has not been much discussed since the publication of the second volume of Th. Hopfner's Griechisch-ägyptischer Offenbarungszauber in 1924. The major new evidence here has been the Near-Eastern divination- and incantation-bowls. The present article, however, is concerned with the possible implications of a much older find, the divination kit from Pergamon, and its recently-discovered analogue from Apamea in Syria, for the study of specifically theurgic divination. The rôle of magical ritual within theurgy has received considerable attention in recent years, but the relevance of the divination kits has not hitherto been noticed. I shall argue that the physical instruments employed in theurgic divination help us to understand several features of theurgic practice. I shall also stress the possible contribution of magical gems in the same context, for in them we can recognise images and attributes of divine beings with whom magicians and theurgists identified themselves during their performances

Archaeology · Art · Astrology · Context (archaeology · Divination · Incantation · Literature · MAGIC (telescope · Scholarship · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History

• The Middle Platonists

  John Dillon•The Middle Platonists•1996

  Añadir item

• Traces of Thaumaturgic Technique in the Miracles

  Open Access•Campbell Bonner•Harvard Theological Review•1927

  Añadir item

• Les Jardins d'Adonis

  Marcel Detienne•Les jardins d'Adonis•1972

  Añadir item

• Études sur la magie grecque

  Armand L Delatte•Bulletin de correspondance…•1913

  Añadir item

• Master Bronzes from the Classical World

  Larissa Bonfante Warren, Suzannah F Doeringer et al.•The Classical World•1969

  Añadir item

• Magika Hiera

  Sarah Iles Johnston, Christopher A Faraone et al.•The Classical World•1993

  Añadir item

• Apex Omnium

  Robert J Penella, R L Rike•The Classical World•1990

  Añadir item

• Greek Philosophers and Sophists in the Fourth Century A.D

  Catherine Sider Hamilton, Robert J Penella•The Classical World•1992

  Añadir item

• Die Chaldäischen Orakel und Jamblich de mysteriis

  Louis H Feldman, Freidrich W Cremer•The Classical World•1970

  Añadir item

• The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century

  Richard M Haywood, Arnaldo Momigliano•The Classical World•1963

  Añadir item

• Neoplatonism and Gnosticism

  Stephen A Stertz, Richard Wallis et al.•The Classical World•1993

  Añadir item

• L'Iynge dans le discours mythique et les procédures magiques

  Vincianne Pirenne-Delforge•Kernos•1993

  Añadir item

• Greek Magical Amulets

  Open Access•Roy Kotansky•Greek Magical Amulets•1994

  Añadir item

• Ancient Greek Love Magic

  Open Access•Christopher A Faraone•Ancient Greek Love Magic•1999

  Añadir item

• Magic Spells and Formulae

  Michael E Stone, Joseph Naveh et al.•Journal of the American Oriental…•1995

  Añadir item

• Incantations magiques syriaques

  Michael Sokoloff, Philippe Gignoux•Journal of the American Oriental…•1989

  Añadir item

• Ancient Greek Love Magic

  David Frankfurter, Christopher A Faraone•Phoenix•2000

  Añadir item

• Magic Spells and Formulae

  David Sperling, S David Sperling et al.•The Jewish Quarterly Review•1996

  Añadir item

• A Neolithic Celt with Gnostic Inscriptions at Toronto

  J H Iliffe•American Journal of Archaeology•1931

  Añadir item

• Une scène d'initiation alchimique

  Michèle Mertens•Revue de l histoire des religions•1988

  Añadir item