Greek and Roman Necromancy

Name: Greek and Roman Necromancy
Brand: Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand
SKU: 9780691119687
Price: 119.0 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Daniel Ogden

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4.42

( 140 ratings, 18 reviews)

Summary

Greek and Roman Necromancy explores the ancient art of necromancy—the practice of consulting the dead for divinatory purposes across Greek and Roman worlds. From sleeping on tombs to visiting oracles and attempting to reanimate corpses, the book offers the first comprehensive survey spanning from the archaic Greek period through the late Roman Empire, including Egypt. It reveals the fascinating and often terrifying beliefs about ghosts and magic prevalent in classical antiquity.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$119⁰⁰

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Greek and Roman Necromancy

$119⁰⁰

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for scholars and enthusiasts of classical history, religion, spirituality, and the occult. Those intrigued by ancient magic, ghosts, and divination will find it intellectually exciting and richly informative.

Surveys the places, performers, and techniques of necromancy as well as the reasons for turning to it. This book investigates the cave-based sites of oracles of the dead at Heracleia Pontica and Tainaron, as well as the oracles at the Acheron and Avernus, which probably consisted of lakeside precincts.

This study fills a gaping hole in the scholarship, and it is sorely needed. The fascinating material it covers has never been collected and discussed in one volume, in spite of the current surge of interest in ancient magic and its intersection with religion. The author's command of the sources is excellent. He has made an exhaustive survey of all the relevant evidence, so that the coverage of the subject is satisfyingly complete. -- Jennifer Larson, Kent State University

Description

In classical antiquity, there was much interest in necromancy – the consultation of the dead for divination. People could seek knowledge from the dead by sleeping on tombs, visiting oracles, and attempting to reanimate corpses and skulls.

Ranging over many of the lands in which Greek and Roman civilizations flourished, including Egypt, from the Greek archaic period through the late Roman empire, Greek and Roman Necromancy is the first comprehensive survey of the subject ever published in any language. It will be of central importance to those interested in the rapidly expanding, inherently fascinating, and intellectually exciting subjects of ghosts and magic in antiquity.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as a substantial and indispensable contribution by the Times Literary Supplement, the book is recognised for its exhaustive research and breadth. The New York Review of Books notes Ogden's cool, scholarly approach to a chilling subject, while the International History Review highlights the accessibility and engaging style that brings these ancient accounts vividly to life. It is described as a rare work of high calibre that is difficult to put down.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780691119687

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 February 2004

Country: United States

Imprint: Princeton University Press

Illustration: 13 halftones. 3 line illus.

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 510g

Pages: 320

Collections

Daniel Ogden Non-Fiction Religion & Spirituality

About the Author

Daniel Ogden is Reader in Ancient History at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds; Greek Bastardy in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods; The Crooked Kings of Ancient Greece; Aristomenes of Messene; and Polygamy, Prostitutes and Death. He is editor of The Hellenistic World New Perspectives.

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