Magic and Divination in the Ancient World

A new transliteration, translation, and commentary of the the „Exorcist’s Manual“ together with an editon of the hitherto unpublished manuscript A 366 from Assur. The differences between the Assur manuscripts to those from Babylonia are discussed.

This book challenges previous definitions of modernity by comparing Max Weber (1864–1920), often considered the most important sociologist of the 20th century, and Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), founder of Waldorfpädagogik and the esoteric social reform movement of anthroposophy.

While acknowledging that Weber and Steiner were different in several respects, this research illustrates that the individual histories of these two thinkers are more entangled than previously recognized. This includes the influence of esotericism on their thinking, as well as their profound concern with science and technological change and an openness to the religious and philosophical concepts of the civilizations of South and East Asia.

Demonstrating the importance of non-European influences for a full understanding of modernity, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Asian and European philosophy, social theory, and Asian society.

Historians have long agreed that humanity’s earliest reflections were seen in still water, followed by obsidian and later polished metals.
However, I propose a new perspective: before water or stone, humans first saw themselves in each other’s eyes. This intimate and magical experience may have been humanity’s very first encounter with its own reflection.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are working to create common ground for developing shared policies and standards among their member countries (Affordable Housing Database -OECD, n.d.). However, scholars argue divergent descriptions of homelessness emerging across various contexts, allocating public services and resources effectively to the right social groups is becoming increasingly difficult . There is a growing

In the framework of the article, the perception of magic in the ancient world, especially in the Hittite environment, has been focused on, considering magic as a phenomenon in comparative parallels with the perceptions of the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Armenians and other ancient Near Eastern peoples. Within the framework of the study, the origin and perception of magic will be presented, considering it from an etymological, ritualistic, operational point of view, as well as the role of magic as a negative and positive phenomenon for ancient societies, etc. will be presented. In addition, in the context of the question, an attempt is made to present the role of the sorcerer in the ancient society.

В предыдущих работах автора (Vassilkov1999; Васильков 2021) был выявлен эпизод, сохранившийся в некоторых рукописях «Махабхараты», но не включенный в основной текст критического издания. В этой сцене девушка, мечтающая о замужестве, приходит в рощу цветущих деревьев ашока, берет в одну руку ветвь ашоки, в другой руке держит зеркало и пытается разглядеть в нем лицо своего будущего супруга. Ранее была поставлена задача обнаружить подобные обряды или, хотя бы, их следы, в индоарийских, а также родственных или смежных этнокультурных традициях. В настоящей статье обряд, описанный в Махабхарате, рассматривается на фоне обрядов дивинации с использованием отражающих поверхностей, засвидетельствованных у многих народов мира. Уделено внимание современным научным экспериментам, вскрывающим психологические основы появления иллюзорных образов при гаданиях по зеркалу. Следы знакомства с практикой гидромантии и катоптромантии обнаруживаются в ведийско-индуистской традиции, начиная с эпохи Брахман (900 – 500 гг. до н.э.). Девичьи гадания по зеркалу о суженом, подобные обряду из Махабхараты, засвидетельствованы у многих народов Европы. В статье предпринимается попытка выявить следы существования в древности подобного обряда у ближайших языковых родственников индоариев – иранцев.

Vidoviti članovi porodice Tarabić, prema u javnosti široko rasprostranjenoj predstavi, navodno su uspešno predvideli veliki broj budućih istorijskih događaja i životnu sudbinu pojedinih znamenitih vladara Srbije. Ova predviđanja, kolektivno poznata kao Kremansko proročanstvo, međutim, od svog nastanka do danas, predstavljaju apokrifni tekst koji je u različitim iteracijama iznova dopisivan i prilagođavan istorijskim i aktuelnim političkim okolnostima, te je njegova autentičnost višestruko upitna. U ovom radu biće napravljen osvrt na oblikovanje i političku upotrebu ovih predviđanja u periodu od početka Prvog do početka Drugog svetskog rata, kroz osvetljavanje uloge njegovih promotera i kritičara, poput Radovana Kazimirovića, Ilije Đukanovića, Dragana Aleksića i dr. Ovaj članak ima za cilj da pokaže kako politička proročanstva postaju narativi kroz koje se tumači i stvara realnost i etablira politički establišment koji ove interpretacije plasira u medije, pri čemu istinitost predviđanja ima sekundarni značaj, a verodostojnost proroka se utvrđuje retrodatiranjem, odnosno ponavljanjem navodno obistinjenih predviđanja koja se odnose na događaje koji su se dogodili pre obelodanjivanja samog proročanstva. Ovaj "začarani krug" pruža dobar uvid u način na koji politika može da prepozna i izdigne jedan segment narodne religije i verovanja na pijedestal svetosti i predstavi ga kao simbol nacionalnog identiteta, a sve u svrhu razrešenja određene društvene krize, kroz identifikovanje aktuelnih političkih događaja kao posledice neminovnosti sudbine ili volje "više sile".
Ključne  reči:  politička  proročanstva,  proricanje,  predviđanje  budućnosti,  Kremansko  proročanstvo, Tarabići, Prvi svetski rat.

Značajni događaji u istoriji Srbije opisani su u različitim verzijama "Kremanskog proročanstva", koje je tokom vremena trpelo konstantna dopisivanja i izmene. U ovom radu biće napravljen osvrt na nastanak i inicijalnu političku utilizaciju predviđanja vidovitih članova porodice Tarabić u periodu neposredno pre, tokom i nakon Majskog prevrata. Namera je da se pokaže način na koji su predviđanja budućnosti države, naroda i sudbine vladara inkorporirana u dnevnu politiku i medijski instrumentalisana krajem 19. i početkom 20. veka, pri čemu je politika imala presudni uticaj na konačan oblik samih predviđanja. Studija slučaja početne faze formiranja ovog narativa, s posebnim osvrtom na ulogu Pere Todorovića i Čedomilja Mijatovića, ima za cilj da pokaže da se njegova prvenstvena društvena funkcija ne nalazi u proklamovanom proricanju budućih događaja, već u legitimisanju sadašnjosti u skladu s aktuelnim političkim okolnostima.
Ključne reči: politička proročanstva, proricanje, predviđanje budućnosti, Kreman-sko proročanstvo, Tarabići, Majski prevrat

This paper’s goal is to defend the thesis put forward by Michael Flower (2016) that piety is a sine qua non of effective leadership of Xenophon and also justify the fact that the model of leader in Xenophon is "first" (and foremost) a follower of the gods. We will present examples of the use of divination in two main texts. First of all, we will present the advice offered by Xenophon in one of his didactic treatises, the Hipparchicus or Cavalry Commander. This short text was written based on his personal experience as a mercenary soldier and commander and in it he offers his advice on how to become a good commander. In the second place I shall present the practical applications of the counsels of the Hipparchicus in Anabasis, a work in which Xenophon relates the events of his expedition in 401 B.C., when he accompanied Cyrus the Younger to fight for the throne of Persia against his brother Artaxerxes and, after the death of Cyrus, led the soldiers back to Asia Minor. Anabasis exhibits one of the most complete descriptions of divination from a first-hand account. Here, the main forms of Greek divination are presented: consultation of the oracle at Delphi, extispicine (reading of entrails), omens (interpretation of bird flights), and the appearance of omens of luck or signs.

This paper problematises the purported dichotomy between ‘direct’ (explicit) and ‘indirect’ (moderate) magic in Qumran sectarian texts, and between liturgical genres such as worship and intercession or exorcism. It examines the efficacious strategies in the Hymns of the Maskil/Sage from Qumran and in several late antique Jewish ‘magical’ texts found in amulets and incantation bowls. It uncovers striking philological parallels between these two groups, and points to parallel modes of mobilising the supernatural. Despite their obvious differences, both text groups are able to trigger an efficacious ‘chain reaction’ in a manner that can be subtle, but affects multiple transmundane agents simultaneously. This reaction involves the construction of exorcism as praise, and of praise as exorcism. Praise and exorcism become intertwined, reinforcing each other. In the Hymns, this mutual interaction also seems to serve as a tool for launching the eschaton.

The emergence of Soviet power in the Danube region dates back to the end of June 1940. It was here, on the lands of Southern Bessarabia, that the centre of mass repressions and so-called «purges» actually moved. The Soviet totalitarian power in practice demonstrated a purposeful and openly negative attitude towards the Ukrainian population of the region, seeking to «cleanse» this border region of «undesirable Ukrainian elements». Illegal arrests and repressions, forced evictions and prohibition to live in cities, deportation to Siberia and South Kazakhstan, imprisonment and shootings – this is not a complete list of «innovations» of the Soviet authorities. A certain document was chosen for the object of study. It is preserved in the funds of the Izmail Museum of History and Local Lore of the Danube region, and in the author's opinion, this archive file can be considered a kind of marker of the era. The article analyses the age, gender, corporate (professional) characteristics of the Ukrainian population of Southern Bessarabia in the period June 1940 – July 1941 and August 1944 – March 1953. In addition, the author researched and systematized aspects related to the reasons for arrests, the time spent under investigation, and the
sentences handed down. As a result of analyzing the materials, the author came to the conclusion that the authorities used a «traditional set» of accusations of counter-revolutionary activities against the Ukrainian population of the region. The accusation of creating bases and supporting the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists was unconventional for the region. The eviction of a part of the Ukrainian population from
Southern Bessarabia in 1947 coincided with a similar process in the western Ukrainian regions, which is a clear evidence of a purposeful policy of persecution of Ukrainians, the purpose of which was to radically change the socio-ethnic landscape of the Ukrainian lands, especially those regions that were included in the USSR at the initial stage of the Second World War. These actions of the authorities led to long-term
consequences for the demographic, political, cultural structure of the region. Commemorating tragic events is an important process that helps society cope with the consequences of a traumatic past. The memory of tragedies can become the basis for collective identity and strengthening of social solidarity, which becomes
especially important for our country, especially in the conditions of war.

This paper explores the continuity and transformation of ancient Mesopotamian religious elements within Syriac magical texts and incantations. Drawing on a comparative analysis of Mesopotamian and early Christian Syriac sources, the study reveals the persistence of mythological motifs, cosmological structures, and ritual formulas originating from Babylonian and Assyrian traditions. Special attention is given to the adaptation of demonological concepts, healing rituals, and protective invocations in late antique and early medieval Syriac manuscripts. By examining these continuities, the paper highlights the dynamic interplay between cultural memory and religious innovation in the development of Syriac magical practices, suggesting that such texts served not only therapeutic and protective purposes but also as vehicles of cultural transmission across time and tradition.

Il pontificato di Maffeo Barberini, asceso al soglio pontificio con il nome di Urbano VIII (1623-1644), rappresenta un capitolo di straordinaria complessità nella storia dei rapporti tra potere ecclesiastico, cultura scientifica e credenze occulte. Al centro di questa complessità si colloca una marcata dualità nel suo operato: Urbano VIII, un uomo profondamente convinto della validità dell'astrologia e proveniente da una famiglia che le "dava moltissimo credito", fu al contempo l'artefice di una delle più severe condanne mai promulgate contro di essa. Egli non esitò a ricorrere personalmente a elaborate pratiche di magia astrale per la propria protezione, avvalendosi dell'opera di Tommaso Campanella, ma il 1° aprile 1631 emanò la bolla Inscrutabilis iudiciorum Dei altitudo, un atto che inaspriva drasticamente le pene contro l'astrologia giudiziaria, in particolare quella applicata alla vita del pontefice. Questo saggio si propone di dimostrare che tale apparente contraddizione si dissolve se le azioni del Papa vengono analizzate non attraverso la lente di un conflitto interiore tra fede e scetticismo, ma come l'espressione di una coerente, sebbene pragmatica, strategia di ragion di stato. La politica di Urbano VIII non mirava a negare la dottrina astrologica in sé-ovvero l'idea che gli astri influenzassero il mondo sublunare-ma a reprimere la sua applicazione politica incontrollata, che egli percepiva come una minaccia diretta e intollerabile alla propria sovranità e alla stabilità dello Stato Pontificio. Il suo fu un tentativo di monopolizzare, non di confutare, il potere derivante dalla conoscenza del cosmo.

En este TFM realizamos un análisis sobre las referencias a las unidades de medida en los tratados ginecológicos De mulierum affectibus, De sterilibus y De natura muliebri, con el objetivo de ampliar conocimientos acerca del uso de las unidades de medida griegas en el ámbito de la medicina ginecológica hipocrática.

Solomonica Magica is the first comprehensive survey of 'Solomonic' or 'Holy Rider' amulets from the Mediterranean of Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. Hundreds of magical gems, leaf-shaped pendants, circular medallions, and other apotropaic objects—many of which were previously unpublished—are presented against the backdrop of a parabiblical tradition involving Solomon the Magician and Sisinnius the Demon-Hunter. All Greek texts have received fresh critical editions and English translations. The text of the monograph is richly illustrated with over 700 images, many newly commissioned specifically for this volume.

In een eerdere bijdrage besteedden we aandacht aan de vondst van object 1786 in de collectie van Museum het Palthe Huis, en gaven we een beschrijving van het voorwerp. Object 1786 werd bij toeval ontdekt door collectiebeheerder Doreen Flierman in een ladekast in het depot van het Palthe Huis. Het voorwerp dateert waarschijnlijk uit de late negentiende eeuw, en het merendeel van de opschriften is ontleend aan Duitstalige toverboeken. Deze aan Mozes, Salomo en Faust toegeschreven bronnen waren hoofdzakelijk bedoeld om, middels ingewikkelde rituelen, contact te leggen met de geestenwereld, en dan met name met demonen en engelen. Het is dan ook zeer waarschijnlijk dat object 1786 een magisch voorwerp is, maar wat voor soort toverij werd er beoogd? In de huidige bijdrage gaan we in op de constructie en het gebruik van object 1786. We vertellen tevens meer over de plaats van object 1786 in de collectie van het Palthe Huis, in het licht van de occulte interesses van de eerste conservator, A.G. de Bruyn.

The study of ancient divination has increasingly become a focus of research over the past few decades, with both institutionalized and individual (‘lived’) practices attracting scholarly interest. However, it is only in recent years that one fundamental aspect concerning the significance of divination has begun to receive attention: the nature, meaning, and role of authority.

In the view of contemporaries, ancient divination was a form of communication with the divine sphere. It allowed individuals, regardless of their social status, to ascertain the opinion of the supernatural regarding a given situation and, in turn, to communicate this information. As such, divination played a crucial role in Greek and Roman societies, shaping both private life and political affairs. Despite its centrality, divination was neither a fixed and coherent nor a universally valid or universally accepted system but rather a contested space where various specialists and techniques competed for legitimacy. At the heart of this competition was the issue of authority—how it was constructed, recognized, and maintained. While previous scholarship has explored specific divinatory practices and their political uses, the broader relationship between divination and authority remains insufficiently examined. This conference, therefore, seeks to explore both the authority of divination (how divination as a system gained credibility) and the authority in divination (how individual diviners established and maintained their status).

In what ways was  the authority of the supernatural conveyed through divinatory practices used in different contexts of the Greek and Roman world? How did ancient societies negotiate which individuals could claim divinatory authority? How did divination reinforce the authority of the powerful? How did divination empower marginalized individuals? What role did divinatory rituals, objects, and performances play in asserting authority? What theoretical concepts and methodological approaches enable a better understanding of historical developments related to these questions? By addressing these and similar issues, this conference will contribute to broader discussions on religious expertise, materiality, and ancient Mediterranean belief systems, and ultimately place the still-young study of the significance of authority in the field of divination on a new foundation.

After experimenting with AI for a while, it’s clear that AI cannot replace humans. AI mod-
els are built vertically, meaning they optimize based on mathematical formulas (specifi-
cally derivatives) to find the most resource-efficient solution, rather than horizontally as
initially thought. Instead of covering all possible combinations of scenarios for n elements,
AI plays a game of filling in the blanks using derivative-based formulas to find the most
optimal, semantically coherent answer. This applies not only to everyday tasks but also
to scientific contexts. As a result, humans gain experience through trial and error, while
AI does no

In this publication, the focus is on the fate aspect of the solar ‘supreme deity’ (‘Ra, Helios’) in favour-gaining spells (charitesia) of the Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri (PGM), with the main question: whether someone’s fate is changeable or inevitable, according to these sources. Using motifs from pharaonic Egyptian solar hymns and cosmogonies, mostly from the New Kingdom onward (especially from the 13th c. BCE), the article shows how they were passed down and used in Greek-language magical sources from the 4th c. AD. One of the main protagonists in these favour-gaining spells is (P)Shai (Egy. Pꜣ-šꜣ.w/šꜣ.y), who first appears in the New Kingdom, and from Ptolemaic times onward is equated with the Greek Agathodaimon (Good Daimon). According to this article, it can be stated that in ancient Egypt, a person’s destiny heavily depended on various deities—especially the ‘solar god’—whose favour everyone strived for, as they played essential roles not only in fulfilling individual wishes, but also in granting a prosperous and long life as gods who apportion fate. This means that the favour of the gods outweighed fate or was even ‘Fate’ itself.

Co-organized by Leiden University (Institute for History / Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions) and the University of Potsdam (Department of History / Chair of Ancient History).

Organizers: Kim Beerden, Jens Fischer, Rafal Matuszewski

Co-organized by Leiden University (Institute for History / Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Religions) and the University of Potsdam (Department of History / Chair of Ancient History).

Organizers: Kim Beerden, Jens Fischer, Rafal Matuszewski

The Cultural Identity and Intellectual Heritage of the Nangnang Wang Clan
-A Study through the Biography of Wang Kyŏng-

This study explores the cultural identity and scholarly traditions of the
Nangnang Wang clan (樂浪王氏) through an analysis of the biography of
Wang Kyŏng (王景) in the Biographies of Upright Officials (循吏列傳) from the
Book of the Later Han (後漢書). Focusing on how the clan’s intellectual
traditions were formed and sustained, the study reveals that the Nangnang
Wang clan maintained their status as local gentry (chaeji hojok, 在地豪族)
amid political upheavals—including the rise of Wiman Chosŏn, the
establishment of Nangnang-gun (Lelang Commandery), and the rebellion of
Wang Cho (王調)—while preserving their family’s scholarly legacy in
astronomy (ch’ŏ nmun, 天文) and divination (sulsu, 術數), rooted in the classical learning (kyŏnghak, 經學) traditions of Shandong, China. Notably, their cultural identity appeared closer to "Confucian scholars" (yu, 儒) rather than "Han Chinese" (hanin, 漢⼈), as the clan’s progenitor, Wang Chung (王仲), had minimal ties to the Han court. By challenging the conventional label of
"indigenized Han Chinese" (t’och’ak hanin, ⼟着漢⼈), this study redefines the
Nangnang Wang clan as a localized powerful family (chaeji hojok) and offers new insights into their socio-political role in early Korean history.

This paper argues that in the Phaedrus, Plato tackles issues relating to the Academy he founded. To that end, the scene-setting of the dialogue is examined as an evocation of the topographical location and symbolism associated with the Academy. An alternative educational model to the Lysias-Phaedrus relationship is also analysed as specific to the Academy. Finally, the relationship between rhetorical treatises and democratic decrees as writings of politicians is studied in order to highlight the place of the library in the Academy.

The present article addresses the important role that oracular procedures played at the Hittite royal court as a means of preventing and managing crises. First, the procedures and their significance in different contexts will be described. Second, two very similar oracular texts, each dealing with the king’s place of residence during winter and the dangers he might face there, will be compared with each other (CTH 563 KUB 5.4+ and KUB 5.3+). The texts will be presented in parallel in order to show their relationship with each other. On the basis of formal and content-related criteria, it will be argued that the two texts are presumably records of different teams of experts who conducted their oracles separately from each other in order to achieve greater certainty about the dangers that might threaten the king. Since the outcomes of the oracular inquiries, insofar as they are noted or preserved in both texts, agree in both texts, it will furthermore be discussed to what extent the oracles may have been manipulated. Based on the examination of the two texts, it will also be asked why the Hittites for centuries evidently regarded oracles as an effective means of preventing and overcoming crises. In doing so, the oracles will be viewed from the perspective of modern resilience research.

In addition to several pit houses, the excavations on the village of Bostel di Rotzo unearthed the remains of a pottery workshop with activity held between the end of the 4th and the 2nd centuries BC. Inside it, two sets of spatially confined, selected anatomical elements, were recovered. The first cluster (2006-2010) was found near the south-western furnace and totalled 60 items, including 32 metapodials, 27 phalanxes and 1 horncore fragment; 12 of these featured inscriptions. The second lot was discovered recently in a wooden-floor area on the north-eastern part of the same structure and totalled 78 elements, of which 7 featured inscriptions. The systematic selection of phalanxes and metapodials was once more evident. The presence of several unfused epiphyses found in undisturbed anatomical connection suggested the existence of connective tissue in the pre-depositional phase. This paper presents the context of the discovery, the osteological analysis, and alternative models of interpretation. In particular, the hypothesis of a rituality connected to craft activities, as has been hypothesized for other contexts of the pre-Roman Veneto, or a practical use with a numeral function, will be evaluated.

Neste artigo analiso o uso do termo Phármaka, utilizado na Grécia Antiga para mulheres que possuíam conhecimentos médicos e de ervas,  muitas vezes relacionados à magia e à bruxaria, bem como a maneira pela qual o
estigma era associado à madrasta, considerada uma figura pouco confiável, uma ameaça no âmbito familiar grego. Para isso, a analiso um processo criminal que aponta uma madrasta enquanto responsável pela morte do marido através de envenenamento.

with Christina Gousopoulos, “Hope for the Hopeless (1 Thess 4:13): Imagining Death in the Papyri,” in Everyday Life in Graeco-Roman Times. Documentary Papyri and the New Testament. Essays in Honour of Peter Artz-Graebner, ed. Christina M. Kreinecker, John S. Kloppenborg, and James R. Harrison, 147-164. Leiden: Brill, 2024.

thank Danni Cai for all her help and support in checking translations and giving feedback on the article as a whole. All errors are my own. Data for this study derives from my dissertation, "The Veins of the Earth: Property, Environment, and Cosmology in Nanbu County." 1. For an overview on the history of cremation in China, see Ebrey, Women and the Family in Chinese History, 247. Ebrey notes that "archaeological evidence suggests that cremation declined very rapidly in the Early Ming." Women and the Family in Chinese History, 162. 2. The Great Qing Code 276. 01, 276.02, 276.06, and 263.01.

This article examines professional diviners employed by the Qing (1636-1912) government to assist in local administration. Known as yin-yang officers, these officials served among the technical and religious specialists embedded in prefectural and county governments across the empire. Although they held marginal or unranked positions within the formal bureaucracy, yin-yang officers played a vital role in both administrative and ritual life at the grassroots level. By tracing their training, sources of authority, and everyday responsibilities, this article sheds light on the Qing's local technical and religious bureaucracy-an often-overlooked dimension of imperial statecraft that bridged ritual, cosmological knowledge, healing and divination, and official governance. It argues for the importance of examining imperial bureaucracy from below, showing how these unsalaried, low-level figures helped sustain the empire's overstretched administrative apparatus well into the early twentieth century.

Comment peut-on approcher les interactions religieuses de l’Antiquité tardive ? Les intailles astrologico-magiques, tout comme les textes des lapidaires, constituent un terrain d’analyse privilégié pour observer la manière dont des éléments issus de cultures diverses interagissent au sein des intailles dans le but d’en accroître l’efficacité

The article examines the relationships between Asclepius and Trikki, Asclepius' place in Greek mythology and history, and Asclepius' significance for sports education. The research focuses on the discovery of the Trikkeos Asclepius sanctuary, the most ancient sanctuary in Greece, and description of rituals and cults related to diagnostic and therapeutic medicine, prayers, dreams, divination, gymnastics and nutrition. These issues were also related to the sources of athletics and sports pedagogy. The research was based on literary, archaeological, monetary and mythological sources and works on religious studies, in particular, L. Preller (1964) and R. Graves (1998). "Not only was Thessaly the cradle and the anchor point of Hellenism, but it was also the birthplace of medicine, because medicine as a science prospered for the first time in Thessaly. The first medical personalities appeared in this area, such as the wisest Centaur Chiron and the illustrious son of Thessalian Trikki, the doctors' first ancestor, the Divine Asclepius. Asclepius was Chiron's student, practiced medicine systematically in Trikki and bequeathed it to all the Greeks" . According to literary sources, e.g. Pausanias' Description of Greece , mentioned by Preller and Thomson : "∆είκνυται δ' εν τη Γερηνία Τρικκαίον ιερόν Ασκληπιού αµφίδρυµα του εν τη Θεσσαλική Τρίκκη" ("They show a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius in Gerinia, a 'replica' of the sanctuary situated in Thessalian Trikki") [39]. The acknowledgment of the aforementioned sources by Preller and Thomson, as well as by other researchers make them most accurate and credible. According to the excerpt by Strabo above (also referred to by Thomson) there are three important contexts of Asclepius: a) Asclepius Sanctuary; b) Asclepius Cult and c) Trikkeos Asclepius . The mentioned sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius (a temple, oracle or any other type of sacred place), is still being searched for. So far archeological excavations run by the Archaeological Service of Trikki have revealed only a small part of it. Thus, the cult of Trikkeos Asclepius can be best reconstructed on the basis of Greek mythology and other Asclepius' sanctuaries in Greece. The sanctuary dedicated to Trikkeos Asclepius is regarded as the "αρχαιότατον και επιφανέστατον", i.e. "the most ancient and most renowned" . Preller emphasizes that among Asclepius' numerous worship and therapeutic

According to the Report on the Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions discovered in 1983 in Henan province, the character bao 'treasure; precious' is found written consecutively after the adverb yong 'always', giving ze yong bao bao . The presence of this unusual juxtaposition of two bao is puzzling because such a phrasal structure has never been encountered in any other bronze inscriptions. The Report did not deal with this dubious structure, or justify the identification of the two characters as bao bao (hereafter referred to as X and Y), not to mention any verification of its idiomatic acceptability. After a thorough check of relevant bronze rubbings, it became clear that the Report's graphic identification of X and Y is not valid and that neither of them has anything to do with the character bao . The new reading proposed here is based on graphic identifications and semantic analyses, buttressed with evidence from some similar idiomatic expressions found in Chinese bronze inscriptions of the same period.

is one of the most respected living Chinese composers, whose innovative compositions hold a place of prominence in contemporary Chinese music. Zhao, a pianist himself, naturally has written a number of works for solo piano which can be divided into three major compositional periods. During the 1970's, he concentrated mostly on arranging the works of other composers. In the 1980's, Zhao began to explore the combination of contemporary Western idioms with more traditional Chinese music. Since the 1990's, he has focused his activities on creating a new kind of Chinese musical expression-a sort of Chinese-style serialism called the Tai Chi (or Taiji) System of Composition. Over the course of Zhao Xiao-sheng's compositional lifetime, his life experiences and his education have led him to this more personalized compositional style. The Tai Chi System of Composition represents the full maturity of the composer's creative thinking and the solo piano works are excellent examples of his compositional output under this system. This document will examine Zhao's innovative fusion of Chinese and Western musical influences in his solo piano works from the Tai Chi system and its place within the future of world music.

***Author’s note: I presented this at the annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting in 2007 but, for reasons I can only partly recall now, decided not to pursue the topic or publish this. I offer it here as a self-publication and artifact of the time—there has been good research on the question of magic and divination vis-a-vis biblical prophecy since 2007, and obviously none of that is cited here. -BRD (11 June 2025)
ABSTRACT: Despite some important recent works, it is still the case that insufficient attention has been paid to the theoretical, historical, and theological questions of divination and magic in the Hebrew Bible's prophetic corpus. This is perhaps surprising, since so many of the prophets offer their pronouncements in specific opposition to opponents who are said to practice some form of "divination" or "magic," and also since the prophetical books (and accounts of prophetic figures in Samuel-Kings) are replete with descriptions of dreams and visions, sign-acts, and other fascinating mantic activities. Relatively few attempts have been made to understand the theological implications of divination, witchcraft, and magical practices addressed by the Ezekiel tradition1 specifically, or to integrate the appearance of these phenomena in Ezekiel into any of the existing theological frameworks suggested for the book....Our present investigation, therefore, will first require that we attempt to understand something of the methodological problems for understanding divination in the ancient Near East. An examination of Ezekiel's rhetoric and vocabulary of divination in chs. 12, 13, and 21 will follow, and as a more focused example of Ezekiel's encounter with divination, we will discuss the scene at the "parting of the ways" in 21:26-27 (Heb.; Eng. vv. 21-2) and propose a translation of 21:27 that correctly recognizes the particular method of divination practiced by the Babylonian king. What we will offer, then, is not so much a "theology of divination" per se, but rather an avenue toward integrating the prophet's view of divination within some aspect of Ezekiel's overarching theological messages.

A third century A.D. epitaph from Thessalonike which was fi rst published in 1913 contains the name Arepyros: Ἀρήπυρος Γαλάτου ∆ιονυσίῳ τῷ τέκνῳ / καὶ τῇ συνβίῳ μνείας χάριν. 1 D. Detschew argued that the name Arepyros was not Galatian but Thracian. 2 In the publication of the inscriptions of Thessalonike (IG Χ 2, 1, 896), Charles Edson followed this suggestion. The name Arepyros was included in the list of Thracian names from the Axios valley but was omitted from the LGPN IV. 3 The reason for this was that the name was corrected to A(u)re(lius) Pyrus by M. B. Hatzopoulos. 4 Although the correction proposed by Hatzopoulos is possible, another explanation seems to be more convincing. Arepyros may be a composite name. 5 The ending-πυρος is not Thracian and derives from the Greek word πῦρ, 'fi re'. We can fi nd it in some Greek names that we know from literary sources, inscriptions and papyri. 6 From these the most common is Ζώπυρος. Βλέπυρος, known from Aristophanes (Eccl. 327), occurs in Attica, Delos and Eretria (Euboea).

Magical gems, also called Gnostic gems, are dated mainly to the 1st-3rd century. The depic-tions, symbols and inscriptions on them often refer to Gnosticism, a religious-philosophical current very popular in that period. The relics discussed were amulets. The syncretic icon-ographic solutions as well as the words and inscriptions on them were of great importance. Voces magicae, the names of gods, and also words unintelligible in any language frequent-ly appear. In order to maintain secrecy they were often written in code and clandestine names were used. To reach god, it was necessary to overstep the rules of ordinary lan-guage. Similarly to the Egyptian or Gnostic tradition, in Greco-Roman magic it was be-lieved that words and names had power. On gems, just as in magical papyri or on magical tablets the so-called charakteres were also used, i.e. symbols inspired by shapes of the Greek, or less frequently the Semitic, alphabet used by magi, astrologists and Gnostics. The kinds of dep...

This paper argues that the Greek Magical Papyri (PGM), a collection of magical texts from Greco-Egyptian antiquity, should be interpreted not as a purely elite or esoteric tradition, but as a living record of ancient folk magic. Drawing parallels with the African American folk tradition of Hoodoo, the study explores shared features including syncretism, pragmatic use of magical materials, spirit invocation, oral transmission, and ritual language. By highlighting these continuities, the paper situates the PGM within a broader lineage of vernacular spirituality-one that persists across cultures and centuries. In doing so, it reclaims the practical magician as a historical and contemporary figure of creative spiritual agency.