ARCANA MUNDI; Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds. a Collection of Ancient Texts Translated, Annotated and Introduced.

Luck, Georg

ISBN 10: 0801825482 / ISBN 13: 9780801825484

Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992

About this Item

Some edgewear to wraps.; 9.8 X 7.9 X 0.6 inches; 395 pages.

Seller Inventory # 33585

Bibliographic Details

• Title: ARCANA MUNDI; Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds. a Collection of Ancient Texts Translated, Annotated and Introduced.
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801825482
• ISBN 13: 9780801825484
• Binding: Softcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Paganism
  • Astrology & Astronomy

About this title

Synopsis

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 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."

Review

An excellent translation of ancient texts on the subject, but it's a lot more than that. It's a glimpse into the minds of the everyday people of the times and what made them turn, what made them stop, what made them look over their shoulders.

(Courier-Gazette)