magic witchcraft and ghosts in the greek and roman worlds
in a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now strange to us magic was of great importance both in the literary and mythic tradition and in ritual practice . recently ancient magic has hit a high in popularity both as an area of scholarly inquiry and as one of general popular interest . in magic witchcraft and ghosts in the greek and roman worlds daniel ogden presents three hundred texts in new translations along with brief but explicit commentaries . this is the first book in the field to unite extensive selections from both literary and documentary sources . alongside descriptions of sorcerers witches and ghosts in the works of ancient writers it reproduces curse tablets spells from ancient magical recipe books and inscriptions from magical amulets . each translation is followed by a commentary that puts it in context within ancient culture and connects the passage to related passages in this volume . authors include the well known sophocles herodotus plato aristotle virgil pliny and the less familiar and extend across the whole of greco roman antiquity . br the second edition includes a new preface an updated bibliography and new source passages such as the earliest use of the word mage in greek fr . aeschylus persians a werewolf tale aesops fables and excerpts from the most systematic account of ancient legislation against magic theodosian code .