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Arcana Mundi

By Georg Luck

Product Image: Arcana Mundi

Arcana Mundi

By Georg Luck

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Description
Magic, miracles, daemonology, divination, astrology, and alchemy were the arcana mundi, the secrets of the universe, of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In this path-breaking collection of Greek and Roman writings on magic and the occult, Georg Luck provides a comprehensive sourcebook and introduction to magic as it was practiced by witches and sorcerers, magi and astrologers, in the Greek and Roman worlds. In this new edition, Luck has gathered and translated 130 ancient texts dating from the eighth century BCE through the fourth century CE. Thoroughly revised, this volume offers several new elements: a comprehensive general introduction, an epilogue discussing the persistence of ancient magic into the early Christian and Byzantine eras, and an appendix on the use of mind-altering substances in occult practices. Also added is an extensive glossary of Greek and Latin magical terms. In Arcana Mundi Georg Luck presents a fascinating--and at times startling--alternative vision of the ancient world. For a long time it was fashionable to ignore the darker and, to us, perhaps, uncomfortable aspects of everyday life in Greece and Rome, Luck has written. But we can no longer idealize the Greeks with their 'artistic genius' and the Romans with their 'sober realism.' Magic and witchcraft, the fear of daemons and ghosts, the wish to manipulate invisible powers--all of this was very much a part of their lives.
Product details
Binding:
Paperback
Edition:
2
Number of Pages:
566
Release Date:
2006-05-06
Publication Date:
2006-05-01
Publisher:
Johns Hopkins University Press
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
0801883466
ISBN13:
9780801883460
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
952 g
Height:
156 cm
Width:
234 cm
Thickness:
34 cm
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