Magic, Charisma and Violence in Late Antiquity

David Frankfurter is Professor of Religion and Aurelio Chair in the Appreciation of Scripture at Boston University.

• Acknowledgments and CreditsAbbreviationsGeneral IntroductionPart I: Magic and the Materiality of Religion in Late Antiquity1. Female Figurines in Early Christian Egypt2. Fetus Magic and Sorcery Fears in Roman Egypt3. Scorpion/Demon4. The Supernatural Vulnerabilities of Domestic Space in Late Antique Egypt5. The Binding of AntelopesPart II: Charisma and its Mediation in Landscape and Charms6.Stylites and Phallobates7. The Cult of the Martyrs in Egypt before Constantine8. Voices, Books, and Dreams9. Where the Spirits Dwell10. Dynamics of Ritual Expertise in Antiquity and Beyond11. Sortes, Scribality, and Syncretism12. Charismatic Textuality and the Mediation of Christianity in Late Antique Egypt13. The Social Context of Women’s Erotic Magic in Antiquity14. ’As I twirl this spindle, . . .’Part III: Fantasies and Ideologies of Religious Violence15. Lest Egypt's City Be Deserted16. ‘Things Unbefitting Christians’17. Iconoclasm and Christianization in Late Antique Egypt18. Horrors of the Inner Chamber19. On Sacrifice and Residues20 Martyrology and the Purient Gaze21. Religion in the Mirror of the Other

A game-changing collection redefining ancient magic, sacred violence, and religious change through the crucible of materiality. Laced with uncanny cross-cultural parallels, Frankfurter’s book reveals how ritual experts devised small objects by which to unleash supernatural forces that heal, protect, and punish, as well as persistent imaginaries driving horrific violence.