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So-Called Possession in Pre-Christian Greece

Bibliographic Data

ID9333382
AuthorsW D Smith (0000-0002-6523-7864, University of Pennsylvania, corresponding author)
Year1965
Volume96
Pages403-403
Publication date1965-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0065-9711 • E-ISSN: 2325-9213
PublisherJohns Hopkins University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/283740
PMID19943364
OpenAlexW2418054726
LanguageEN
Citations received5

In 1909 Julius Tambornino published what has remained the standard collection of material relevant to the belief in demonic possession in pagan and Christian antiquity.1 The views advanced by Tambornino have been generally accepted. As H. J. Rose puts it: That a human being might become possessed by a supernatural power was a fairly common ancient belief. The effect might be a prophetic frenzy, as in the case of the Pythia; such a person was EV0EoE. It might also be some terrifying disease, as epilepsy.... Later, under Oriental influence (cf., e.g., the numerous references to demoniacs in the New Testament), the belief grew stronger and commoner, and mentions of magical cures and the activity of exorcists, pagan and Christian, are extremely frequent. 2 Possessed (like besessen, possede) is used by extension to describe one who is mad, or even under unusual compulsion from an idea or passion, but in the strict sense it refers to a person who has been entered by an alien being who assumes control of him, as we know the phenomenon from late antiquity and the Middle Ages.3 It has been generally agreed that, although a belief in possession in the strict sense was not common among the enlightened in Greek antiquity, the belief itself was ancient, and persisted as a folk belief either from pre-Greek times or from its introduction in the seventh century B.C. or thereabouts.4

Linguistics · Possession (linguistics · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

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Unique citing works5
Citations per year0,18
Citation span1998 - 2019 (22)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 5

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