TY  - BOOK
AU  - Graf,Fritz
TI  - Magic in the ancient world
T2  - Revealing antiquity
SN  - 0674541510 (m)
AV  - BF 1591 G736m 2002
U1  - 133.43093 
PY  - 2002///
CY  - London
PB  - Harvard University Press
KW  - Magic, Ancient
KW  - Magia
KW  - Greece
KW  - Religion
KW  - Rome
KW  - Grecia
KW  - Religión
KW  - Roma
N1  - Naming the sorcerer --
Portrait of the magician, seen from the outside --
How to become a magician: the rites of initiation --
Curse tablets and voodoo dolls --
Literary representation of magic --
Words and acts
N2  - Ancient Greeks and Romans often turned to magic to achieve personal goals. Magical rites were seen as a route for direct access to the gods, for material gains as well as spiritual satisfaction. In this survey of magical beliefs and practices from the sixth century B.C.E. through late antiquity, Fritz Graf sheds new light on ancient religion. Graf explores the important types of magic in Greco-Roman antiquity, describing rites and explaining the theory behind them. And he characterizes the ancient magician: his training and initiation, social status, and presumed connections with the divine world. With trenchant analysis of underlying conceptions and vivid account of illustrative cases, Graf gives a full picture of the practice of magic and its implications. He concludes with an evaluation of the relation of magic to religion.
ER  -