Drawing Down the Moon

Abstract

What did magic mean to the people of ancient Greece and Rome? How did Greeks and Romans not only imagine what magic could do, but also use it to try to influence the world around them? This book provides the most comprehensive account of the varieties of phenomena labeled as magic in classical antiquity. Exploring why certain practices, images, and ideas were labeled as “magic” and set apart from “normal” kinds of practices, the book gives insight into the shifting ideas of religion and the divine in the ancient past and in the later Western tradition. Using fresh approaches to the history of religions and the social contexts in which magic was exercised, the book delves into the archaeological record and classical literary traditions to examine images of witches, ghosts, and demons as well as the fantastic powers of metamorphosis, erotic attraction, and reversals of nature, such as the famous trick of drawing down the moon. From prayer and divination to astrology and alchemy, the book journeys through all manner of ancient magical rituals and paraphernalia. It considers the ways in which the Greco-Roman discourse of magic was formed amid the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, including Egypt and the Near East.

Notes on rehabilitating “magic” in the study of early Christian literature

“…Not all Graeco-Roman texts conceptualize magic primarily as a polemical charge aimed at a delegitimized other (Gordon, 1999). Some texts feature practices either expressly called "magic" and/or those commonly associated with magic in Graeco-Roman literature more broadly (Edmonds, 2019). Narratives featuring magical practices have functions beyond "othering" or delineating insiders from outsiders (Gordon, 1999).…”

“…Radcliffe G. Edmonds III offers a possible way forward. He claims we can distill an ancient "discourse" of magic -what I call a "stereotype of magic" (Edmonds, 2019). He establishes this discourse of magic by collating explicit references to the Greek mageia and Latin magia (and cognates) in an array of literary and material evidence, as well as looking for specific markers that signify magic (see his fuller discussion, 2019, pp.…”

“…In the end, he arrives at a range of activities and phenomena associated with "magic." These activities and phenomena may or may not be negatively-evaluated depending on their immediate contexts (Edmonds, 2019;cf. Gordon, 1999).…”

“…Luke further excludes Jesus' use of spittle in a healing 8:23). Secrecy, foreign words, and the use of efficacious substances are associated with magical activities in broader Graeco-Roman literature (Aune, 2008;Dombrowski, 2018;Edmonds, 2019). This is one strategy Luke employs to make magic disappear from his story, but it highlights two critical methodological points: (1) our author seems aware of how closely his protagonists' activities correspond to Graeco-Roman stereotypes of magic and (2) the question of what is or is not magic cannot be answered in simple "yes/no" fashion.…”

“…The bibliography on magic is vast, so I will focus on the study of magic in early Christianity in particular, making reference to broader theoretical works as necessary. 3 We should acknowledge that Classics has been conducting a critical interrogation of "magic" for at least two decades (e.g., Collins, 2008;Dickie, 2003;Dombrowski, 2018;Edmonds, 2019;Mirecki & Meyer, 2002;Otto, 2013;Rives, 2002Rives, , 2003. 4 With few exceptions, scholars of early Christian literature have not integrated classicists' latest findings, though we mention magic when we analyze things such as "pneumatology" or "Christology. "…”