Witches, Whores, and Sorcerers

S. K. Mendoza Forrest has produced an engaging analysis of the concept of evil in Witches, Whores, and Sorcerers: The Concept of Evil in Early Iran. There are illuminating illustrations of the ways in which evil was understood, categorized, and warded off in early Iranian traditions. The author interweaves Iranian material with references to Indian culture while taking full note of the classic writings of Bronislaw Malinowski, S. J. Tambiah, and Max Weber on magic in its various social and historical manifestations. The book consists of a preface and introduction followed by twelve chapters. Moreover, the book opens with a valuable initial chapter, “The Avesta and Its Translation” written by leading scholar, Prods Oktor Skjærvø of Harvard University. The translations of the Avesta used in the book are also his, though in some instances the author has shortened cited passages to avoid long stretches of translated text. The first three chapters by the author are historical and theoretical in their approach. After a survey of early Zoroastrian literature in the first chapter, the author embarks on a discussion of the relationship between the Magi and magic through an analysis of the role and use of magic in Zoroastrianism (Chapters 2–3).

Art · Art history · Islam · Literature · MAGIC (telescope) · Theology · Zoroastrianism · Ancient Near East History · Classics · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy