Ancient Greek Love Magic

Christopher A. Faraone is Professor and Chairman of Classics, University of Chicago.

• Preface Introduction The Ubiquity of Love Magic Definitions and a New Taxonomy The Advantages of a Synchronic and Comparative Approach Spells for Inducing Uncontrollable Passion (Eros) If Eros Is a Disease, Then Erotic Magic Is a Curse Jason's Iunx and the Greek Tradition of Agoge Spells Apples for Atlanta and Pomegranates for Persephone The Transitory Violence of Greek Weddings and Erotic Magic Spells for Inducing Affection (Philia) Aphrodite's Kestos Himas and Other Amuletic Love Charms Deianeira's Mistake: The Confusion of Love Potions and Poisons Narcotics and Knotted Cords: The Subversive Cast of Philia Magic Some Final Thoughts on History, Gender, and Desire From Aphrodite to the Restless Dead: A Brief History of the Agoge Spell Courtesans, Freedmen, and the Social Construction of Gender Aelian's Tortoises and the Representation of the Desiring Subject Glossary Abbreviations Bibliography Subject Index Index of Foreign Words Index of Passages from Ancient Authors Index of Magical Texts

Christopher Faraone's masterly Ancient Greek Love Magic [is] an always intriguing--and often disturbing--exploration of ancient erotic society. Faraone, an established expert on ancient magic and ritual, examines the evidence for the two most-widely practiced types of love magic: agoge spells, which lasso even the most ornery of love-objects and philia spells, which prevent your significant other from searching for greener pastures elsewhere...Faraone's analysis of the interplay of gender and magic will be the book's most important contribution; although agoge magic is usually practiced by males and philia magic by females, the exceptions (and there are some) point to the paradoxes inherent in Ancient Greek constructions of gender...The book is a veritable encyclopedia of fascinating magical recipes, and boasts many well-researched variations on agoge and philia charms.