Cursed !: The Power of Magic in the Ancient World

Spier, Jeffrey

ISBN 10: 1646570502 / ISBN 13: 9781646570508

Published by Toledo Museum of Art and Marquand Books, 2026

About this Item

Hardcover without dustjacket as issued, 112 pages; new condition; still sealed in shrinkwrap; clean and crisp; Foreign shipping may be extra.

Seller Inventory # CuSpTo30

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cursed !: The Power of Magic in the Ancient World
• Publisher: Toledo Museum of Art and Marquand Books
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1646570502
• ISBN 13: 9781646570508
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Ancient to Medieval

About this title

Synopsis

A bewitching study of magical objects from ancient societies, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome

Published with Toledo Museum of Art.

The belief in magic was widespread across ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome. In these societies, the world was believed to be populated by divine forces, and magicians (also called sorcerers, witches and shamans) could manipulate supernatural powers through the performance of rituals and recitation of spells to achieve a wide range of aims, including protection from demonic harm, healing various medical ailments, attracting lovers, cursing enemies and even winning in the law courts and at the racetrack. This volume, published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name at the Toledo Museum of Art, explores how the supernatural was visualized in these societies and how magic was actually practiced in the period from around 2000 BCE to 300 CE. It displays and studies magical objects from each of these regions, including protective objects, written records of spells and images of supernatural beings.