In blood and ashes : curse tablets and binding spells in ancient Greece /
"From binding spells and incantations to curse-writing rituals, magic pervaded the ancient Greek world. In Blood and Ashes: Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in Ancient Greece provides the first historical study of the development and dissemination of ritualized curse practice from 750 to 250 bc...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2023]
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| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "From binding spells and incantations to curse-writing rituals, magic pervaded the ancient Greek world. In Blood and Ashes: Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in Ancient Greece provides the first historical study of the development and dissemination of ritualized curse practice from 750 to 250 bce, documenting the cultural pressures that drove the use of curse tablets, charms, spells, and other private rites. This book expands understandings of daily life in ancient communities, showing how individuals were making sense of the world and coping with conflict, vulnerability, competition, anxiety, desire, and loss, all while conjuring the gods and powers of the Underworld. Bringing together epigraphic, historical, literary, archaeological, and material evidence, this volume reads between traditional histories of Archaic, Classical, and early Hellenistic Greece, drawing out new voices and new narratives to consider: here are the cooks, tavern keepers, garland weavers, helmsmen, barbers, and other persons who often slip through the cracks of ancient history. The texts and objects presented here offer glimpses of public and private lives across many centuries, illuminating the interplay of ritual and conflict-management strategies among free and enslaved persons, men and women, pagans and Christians. Filled with new material and insights, this book offers a fresh perspective on ancient Greek social history and religion, highlighting the role of ritual in negotiating life's uncertainties"--Publisher's description. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xxvi, 404 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780197517802 0197517803 9780197517796 019751779X 9780197517819 0197517811 |