Biblical and pagan societies / Fredrick H. Cryer, Marie-Louise Thomsen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cryer, Frederick H., author.

Thomsen, Marie-Louise, author.

Series:

Athlone history of witchcraft and magic in Europe ; v. 1.

The Athlone history of witchcraft and magic in Europe ; volume 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Witchcraft--Iraq.

Witchcraft.

Magic--Iraq.

Magic.

Magic--Syria.

Witchcraft--Syria.

Magic--Palestine.

Witchcraft--Palestine.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (189 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London : Athlone Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The oldest roots of the European concepts of witchcraft and magic lie in the Hebrew and other cultures of the ancient Near East and in the Celtic, Nordic and Germanic Societies of the North and West. The authors of this volume survey three crucial aspects of this earliest phase of development. These are the role of magical incantations and rituals against witchcraft in Mesopotamia in the last three millennia BC, the attitudes to witchcraft and magic in the Old Testament and in later Jewish tradition, and the beliefs and legends associated with trolldomor (witchcraft) in pre-Christian Scandanavia.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""Illustrations""; ""General Introduction""; ""PART 1: WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA""; ""Introduction""; ""Mesopotamia: The Land, its People and History""; ""Earliest History and First Settlements""; ""The Sumerian City-States""; ""The Akkadians: Babylonians and Assyrians""; ""The First Millennium: The Neo-Assyrian Empire""; ""Mesopotamia under Foreign Rulers: Persians and Greeks""; ""Religion""; ""The Sumero-Babylonian Pantheon""; ""Ethics""; ""Purification""; ""Magic""; ""The Literary Tradition""; ""Sumerian Literature""; ""Akkadian Literature""

""Canonization""""Babylonian Tradition in Assyria""; ""First Millennium""; ""The Magical Texts""; ""Mesopotamian Magic, State of Research""; ""Witchcraft""; ""A Literary Example of Witchcraft""; ""Laws against Witchcraft""; ""The Witch""; ""How Witchcraft Manifests Itself""; ""Diagnosis""; ""Characteristic Symptoms""; ""Methods""; ""Contagious Magic""; ""Magic Knots""; ""Evil Magic with Images""; ""Messages of Witchcraft: zikurudû""; ""The Evil Eye""; ""Anti-Witchcraft Rituals""; ""Medical Treatment of Witchcraft""; ""The Exorcist's Rituals against Witchcraft""; ""Maqlû""; ""Zikurudû""

""Magic""""Luck and Misfortune""; ""The Power of Precious Stones""; ""Amulets""; ""Amulets for the Protection of Babies""; ""Love Charms""; ""Potency Incantations""; ""Therapy""; ""Diseases and Demons""; ""Expelling Demons by Offering a Substitute""; ""The Ritual for the Substitute King""; ""Ghosts""; ""Evil Portents and Apotropaic Rituals""; ""Divination""; ""Necromancy""; ""Astrology""; ""Mesopotamian Magic after the Fall of Babylon""; ""Abbreviations for Publications of Cuneiform Texts""; ""PART 2: MAGIC IN ANCIENT SYRIA-PALESTINE - AND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT""

""The Social-Historical Problem""""Constructing Syrian-Palestinian History""; ""Material History""; ""Settlement Pattern and Social Structure""; ""The Patronage Principle""; ""The Common Proprium of Magic and Religion""; ""The Problem of Definition""; ""The Production of New Magic""; ""The Role of Stories""; ""Magic and Empiricism""; ""The Biblical Understandings of Magic""; ""The Evolutionary Picture""; ""Pseudo-evolution: The Tradition of 'Priestly' Divination""; ""Other Forms of Divination than Prophecy""; ""The Role of Women in Israelite and Judaean Magic""; ""Active Magic""

""Witchcraft, Sorcery and Cursing""""The Evil Eye""; ""Witchcraft and Gender""; ""Self-cursing: The Oath""; ""Another Self-curse: The Ordeal""; ""The Status of Magic in Ancient Syria�Palestine""; ""The Practitioners""; ""Abbreviations""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""Q""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""; ""Y""; ""Z""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [153]-164) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780567323378

0567323374

OCLC:

929149232