Arcana Mundi

Magic, miracles, daemonology, divination, astrology, and alchemy were the Arcana Mundi (the "secrets of the universe") of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In Arcana Mundi Georg Luck has provided the first comprehensive sourcebook and introduction to magic as it was practiced by witches and sorcerers, magi and astrologers, in the Greek and Roman worlds. Proceeding from the assumption that the best way to study the occult sciences in antiquity is through the texts that have come down to us, Luck has gathered together more than 120 documents dating from the eighth century B.C. through the fourth century A.D. Brought together here are the observations of poets, historians, and philosophers as well as the actual charms and incantations used by the ancient magicians. From the Odyssey of Homer to the "Great Magical Papyrus of Paris," from Cicero's On Divination to a North African curse tablet designed to affect the outcome of a chariot race, the documents are presented in Luck's new translations and accompanied by his lucid interpretations. Until now, many of these documents have been known only to specialists; many appear here in English for the first time. The six chapters of Arcana Mundi are arranged thematically to treat different kinds of occult practice, Each chapter is designed to equip the reader with the knowledge necessary to understand the texts in their historical context and in relation to modern theories concerning para-psychological phenomena. In Arcana Mundi Georg Luch has compiled a volume of interest to classicists and general readers alike, a book that presents a fascinating and at times startling alternative vision of the ancient world. This fantastic book is in previously loved condition with minor shelf wear.