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RELIG 274 > Witchcraft and the Occult in the Greco-Roman world > Flashcards

Witchcraft and the Occult in the Greco-Roman world Flashcards

1
Q

Who is Hecarte and what is her significance?

A
  • is the goddess of witchcraft and necromancy
  • common depiction is her holding two torches. she has three heads symbolizing crossroads (she could see the past, present and future)
  • she had familiars, specifically female black dog: trojan queen that died after the siege of troy
  • although she was feared, also cared for those who were oppressed, neglected or abandoned
  • mostly seen during the evening (queen of the night)
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2
Q

What is the meaning of crossroads? symbolism?

A
  • gateway to the other side (thinnest veil)
  • place of uncertainty and mystery
  • which way are you going?
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3
Q

Hellenistic Period

A
  • circa 4th -1st centuries BCE
  • revolved around Alexander
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4
Q

Roman empire

A

27 BCE - 476 CE

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5
Q

Define Theourgia

A
  • “magical” ritual for the purpose of evoking and uniting with the divine
  • highest form of magic
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6
Q

Define Mageia

A
  • “magic” or sorcery
  • lower grade
  • originally Iranian astrologer but later became known as harmful sorcery and fraud
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7
Q

Define Goetia

A
  • “charm” from a sorcerer or wizard
  • lowest grade of magic
  • crude variety of incantations, potion mixers and spell weavers
  • reputation for being charlatans
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8
Q

What are Magical Handbooks/Papyri? What do they contain? Who uses them?

A
  • in general: collection of spells, instructions etc.
  • is reference material for magicians and ritual experts
  • is also suggested that material was used for monetary purposes
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9
Q

What are some common examples of material in the magical handbooks/Papyri?

A

most common subjects: attracting a lover, harming an enemy and restraining anger/passion

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10
Q

What is the Greek Magical Papyri? Where was in found?

A
  • a modern textual construction comprised of various individual spells, partial texts. and entire booklets
  • found in egypt
  • texts range from 2nd century BCE to 5th CE
  • written in greek, coptic and demotic
  • references to greek, egyptian gods as well as jewish and christian figures
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11
Q

Summarize the story of the Metamorphosis

A
  • the golden ass
  • revolves around the character Luciuis
  • Luciuis is obsessed with magic and travels to Thessaly, the “birthplace of magic” in order to witness magic
  • through magic, he becomes an ass - later his salvation occurs through Isis
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12
Q

What are the lessons of the story of the Golden Ass?

A
  • don’t mess with magic that you don’t understand
  • your salvation comes through some form of deities
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13
Q

What is the story of Ovid’s Metamorphoses

A

he sons of King Lycaon sacrificed their youngest brother to prove Zeus’s weakness. They tricked Zeus into eating the corpse. Zeus was furious and killed the sons and transformed their father into a wolf
- was one of, if not the first story/idea of the werewolf

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14
Q

What is the significance of Transformation?

A
  • early on, physical transformations were viewed as punishments as acts against gods
  • later discourses equated physical transformations as evidence of witchcraft
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15
Q

What do Hybrid Creatures represent?

A

as an “outsider” or something dangerous

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16
Q

What are the significant changes that the Greek word ‘daimon’ underwent?

A

homer -> socrates -> Xenocrates

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17
Q

How did Homer define Daimon?

A

synonym for theos (“God”)

18
Q

How did Socrates define daimon?

A

spirits that were inferior to gods, but still possessed good and bad qualities and tendencies

19
Q

How did Xenocrates define daimon?

A

divided spiritual world into gods and demons by shifting the various dark qualities of the gods onto the demons

20
Q

Describe the evolution of sorcery

A
  • began as a simple mechanical device linked to invoking spirits
  • eventually, sorcery became a pejorative
  • because of the changes that the word ‘daimon’ underwent sorcery became linked to demonology
21
Q

what are harpies?

A

flying winged women who perpetuated indignities - later became characteristics similar to witches (theives, cruel,etc.)

22
Q

What is a Striga (Striges, Strix)?

A

nocturnal creature (vampire-owl) who eats babies - term later became synonyms with “witch”

23
Q

What are lamias?

A
  • similar to strix
  • half-serpent figures who seduced men and devoured people, usually children
24
Q

What are the qualities of a Gorgon?

A
  • locks of hair made from serpents, large staring eyes which turns people into stone, wide mouths and long tongues
25
Q

Who is the most famous Gorgon?

A

Medusa

26
Q

Formation of “the Witch”? What are some of the labels of the witch?

A
  • there is different terminology for different types of “witches”
  • the label someone gave to the audience described a specific creature or a reference
  • include harpies, striga, lamias, and gorgons
27
Q

Who is Circe?

A
  • From Homer’s Odyssey
  • Described as a secluded witch - located in a mysterious and remote location
  • Has full power and control over all the animals on her island - wolves and lions
  • Used spells and pharmaka to turn Odysseus’ men into pigs, then “bewitches” Odysseus himself - spent a year with her, away from his wife
28
Q

What does Circe symbolize

A
  • beauty and seduction by being “enchanting” and “bewitching”
  • makes people, especially men, bow to her will
  • not a typical witch, can be helpful and entertaining, not purely negative, secluded/isolation from society
29
Q

Who is Medea? What is her story?

A
  • Most well known from Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica (Jason and the Argonauts)
  • Viewed as Circe’s sister or niece - archetype of an avenger of past offenses, used potions, pharmaka, trickery and conducted spells during full moons
  • Obsessed with Jason - abandons her family and kills for him
  • Witch figure dominated by “violent” passions - Jason (kills jason’s children because he fell in love with someone else)
    She gave birth to the empire (persia) which at the time was a threat to Ancient Greece so was thought that witches could still wreak havoc after death
30
Q

What is Medea most commonly described as?

A

described as a woman on violent emotions - “abominable infatuation” derived from Eros (sexual passion)
- the witch/woman cannot control her emotions
- ruled by emotion, not logic

31
Q

Who is Erichtho?

A
  • From Lucan’s Pharsalia - takes place during the Caesar’s Civil war
    Thessalonian “witch”
  • Thessalonians were not seen as civilized
  • Uses necromancy, lives in graveyard, and robs graves for flesh and bone to use for her rituals
  • Purpose of her magic and rituals were destructive - she ‘slits open the womb in a way not called for by nature, and drags forth the unborn child to place it upon the flames of an alter”
  • Described as old and hideously ugly
  • No positive or redeeming qualities, resembles modern day depiction of witch
32
Q

What is Drawing down the Moon?

A
  • from Menander’s play “the thessalonian woman” - about women drawing down the moon
  • act of someone who is not a normative place in the social and political order, not a mature male citizen, but old, female or alien
33
Q

Why would someone draw down the moon?

A
  • women used power of moon to attract, or win-back lovers (females taking control seen as unusual)
  • avoiding debt payment
  • simply collecting moon’s power
34
Q

What are two examples of Greco-Roman occult?

A
  1. the festival of dionysos
  2. Bacchanalia
35
Q

What is the festival of dionysos?

A
  • took place night, often in cave, used torches for light and led by an image of a dark goat
  • dionysos portrayed as a goat = symbol of fertility , usually seen as shaggy and horned
  • included copious wine, dancing, sexual frenzy and sacrifice
  • no real indication of these things
36
Q

What is Bacchanalia? when was it outlawed?

A
  • roman version of festival of dinoysos
  • outlawed by Senate circa 186 CE
  • dionysos was seen as very volatile (demonization of the God himself?)
37
Q

Who was Celsus?

A
  • 2nd century greek philosopher
  • ridiculed Christian theologies
  • stated Jesus’ father was a Roman soldier and proclaimed Jesus performed and accomplished his miracles through sorcery
38
Q

Who was Simon Magus? What did he do?

A

he performed magic and amazed people, was baptized but wanted power to heal through “laying of hands” for profit and influence, was then condemned

39
Q

How did politicians and other authority figures view the occult and their practices?

A

as potentially subversive to social order

40
Q

What was unapproved or illegitimate magic associated with?

A

women, non-citizens, foriegners, the poor and slaves
- generally magic that was practiced by “people not like us”

RELIG 274 (7 decks)

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