Magic+in+Ancient+Rome

=Magic in Ancient Rome=

Introduction
“Magic” was a term that meant different things to different people in the ancient world. It is one of the most challenging topics to discuss because there is no set-in-stone answer regarding how the Roman people felt about occult practices in their society. Throughout history, mankind has always been fascinated with marvels. Political leaders have always feared the supernatural’s ability to undermine their authority. And, lastly, there is always the possibility of demonic connotations when the supernatural is discussed.toc

Differing Views
In the early days of the Roman Empire, the word “magic” carried negative connoctations. From ancient Roman law, we can tell that magic rituals often involved brutal and violent practices. These laws portray magic as something to be restricted. “The Roman emperors tried to suppress the ‘other’ sciences, such as magic practices and astrology, because these allegedly attempted to undermine the imperial claim to be the sole authority and interpreter of history,” (Veltri). The emperors felt it necessary to squash any cultural or religious force that would dilute or corrode any power or influence they had over their people and other surrounding cultures. At one point in time, the penalty for what appeared to be successful magical practice was exectution (Veltri). Pliny the Elder, a historian, expresses his feelings on magic and and his doubts about magical incantations stating ,“Of the remedies derived from man, the first raises a most important question, and one never settled: have words and formulated incantations any effect?...” (Veltri). As the Roman empire grew and ritualistic practices became common place in temples, magic and superstition became more commonplace in the culture. Pliny seems to believe in certain rituals however, saying “We certainly still have formulas to charm away hail, various diseases, and burns, some actually treated by experience, but I am very shy of quoting them, because of the widely different feeling they arouse” ( Veltri).

=Spells = Many spells and incantations of ancient Rome were intended to leave the victims powerless, not to harm them ( Simpson). Often magic spells were used in athletic events or entertainment by the athletes themselves. A group known for its dark side and invocation of supernatural forces were Rome’s charioteers. One text to survive from Hadrumentum calls for the daemon to “torture and kill” an opposing teams horses and also “kill and crush” the charioteers themselves (Lee-Stecum). Although magic was frowned upon in many Roman circles it seems charioteers openly embraced the supernatural and found it necessary to win. Cassodius writes “ From the frequency of his triumphs, he was called a sorcerer – and among charioteers it is seen as a great honour to attain to such accusations. For, when victory cannot be attributed to the quality of the horses, it is inevitably ascribed to magical cheating.” (Lee-Stecum).

The case of Caius Furius Cressinus according to Pliny
Pliny reports the case of a humble farmer who seems to be prospering while his neighbors, who have many more resources, struggle to reach prosperity. This displays the recurrence of a pattern we see in ancient Roman magic: competition. “The accusation of magic is an easy means of attacking a more successful rival who otherwise gives no visible cause for accusation” (Lee-Stecum, p. 232)

Apelius of Sabrata
Apelius is a member of a community in North Africa. He is accused of using magic to capture a wealthy widow. Here we see another pattern of accounts of magic in ancient Rome; the magician is an outsider. Apulieus was born in Africa but educated in Athens and Rome and therefore seemed to be an outsider to the accusers, the widows family. “Magic becomes a way of expressing, marking, and potentially demonizing the transgression and illegitimacy associated with such figures” (Lee-Stecum, p.233)

<span style="color: #292526; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">Witches
<span style="color: #292526; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Although victims of spells often appear in accounts to be “bound”, witches in Latin literature are portrayed as “loosed” and “unbound”. The depictions of witches in ancient Roman literature are grotesque and demonic. They are often seen practicing erotic magic using wax dolls and animals. The poet Horace depicts two witches, Canidia and Sagana, in the following pasasage of literature: <span style="color: #292526; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">“ //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">hair unbound, howling together with the elder Sagana. // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One shuddered to look at either of them, because of their pallor. // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">They began to dig up the earth with their // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">fingernails and tear apart a dark lamb with their teeth. // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The blood was poured ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">into a pit, so that they could call forth from it // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">ghosts from the underworld to ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">give them answers. There was a woolen // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">doll, and another one made from wax. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">//The woolen one was larger,// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0pt;">//so that it could restrain the smaller one with punishments.”// (Ogden).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Ghosts appear throughout Latin writings. Apelius, a Roman writer, describes ghosts as souls who are being punished with no home. They are forced to wander the earth, harmless "to good men, but they are dangerous to bad men. People usually call these //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">larvae //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%;">.” (Ogden, p.149) Apelius mentioned two types of ghosts; the “larvae” and the “lares”. When it was unclear which type of ghosts were being discussed, ghosts in general were referred to as “Di Manes”. (4) . Spirits from the underworld, to most Romans, were very real. There are even historical accounts of the Roman emperor Nero attempting to settle the ghost of Agrippina, his murdered mother (Ogden).

Curses
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;">There are believed to be approximately 1,600 written curses still surviving from all ancient periods of time. While the majority are Greek, some Roman accounts of curses have been found. Most curses seek to bind their victims. “They are often inscribed on lead, which is then rolled or folded and nailed, in additional symbolic acts of twisting and restraint.” (4) These actions were said to be carried out by spirits of the underworld and were most commonly concerning issues of “choral or athletic competition; <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;">trade; love and sex; and prayers for justice” (Ogden, p.210).

=<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Works Cited = = = Lafferty, Sean D. W. "ITALY IN THE TWILIGHT OF EMPIRE: THE DECLINE OF ROMAN LAW AND CULTURE UNDER THEODERIC THE GREAT (c. 493-526)." //Canadian Journal of History// 45.3 (2010): 457-483. //Academic Search Elite//. EBSCO. Web. 26 June 2011.

Lee-Stecum, Parshia. "DANGEROUS REPUTATIONS: CHARIOTEERS AND MAGIC IN FOURTH CENTURY.ROME." //Greece & Rome// 53.2 (2006): 224-234. //Academic Search Elite//. EBSCO. Web. 25 June 2011.

Ogden, Daneil. "Magi, Witchcraft,and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman World". Oxford University Press. New York, 2002.[] 20witchcraft,%20and%20ghosts%20in%20the%20greek%20and%20roman%20worlds.pdf. 26 June 2011.

Simpson, Jacqueline. "The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe/Ancient Greece and Rome/The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries... (Book)." //Folklore// 112.2 (2001): 235. //Academic// Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 25 June 2011

Veltri, Giuseppe. "The Rabbis and Pliny the Elder: Jewish and Greco-Roman Attitudes toward Magic and .Empirical Knowledge." //Poetics Today// 19.1 (1998): 63. //Academic Search Elite//. EBSCO. Web. 24 June 2011.