Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #794516 in Books
• Published on: 1985-10-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

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

Customer Reviews

Excellent collection of ancient occult texts
Arcana Mundi handily collects -- in neat, new translations -- excerpts from Greek & Roman authors concerning all aspects of the occult in the classical world: witches and spells, astrology, divination and much more. The texts are grouped in thematic chapters, for each of which the author has also provided essays introducing the various subjects and providing background details which illuminate the selected passages.

This is a good book for the non-specialist, not assuming prior knowledge and largely free of academic jargon. Selections range from the authentic spells of the Egyptian Magical Papyri to poetical descriptions of magic, the underworld and witches from Homer, Virgil, Lucan and so on.

The result is something not unlike Frazer's The Golden Bough -- an exploration of superstitions and irrational beliefs of the ancient world, as revealed by contemporary sources. Highly readable and informative for anyone who wants to delve into the byways of classical literature.

For anyone fascinated by the subject, there are many examples of such Greco-Roman occultism on offer in "Amida: A Novel", ISBN 0954747305