Among the most thoughtful students of the ancient world, Georg Luck has offered subtle and nuanced interpretations of a broad range of classical subjects. Ancient Pathways, Hidden Pursuits brings together the best of Georg Luck's many papers and articles on Graeco-Roman life and thought in the realm of religious beliefs, occult practices, psychology, and morals. The collection complements Luck's Arcana Mundi, an introduction to magic and the occult in antiquity, which has been published in several languages. The present volume includes the author's thoughts on Greek and Roman religions, early Christianity, Greek and Roman psychology and morals, and magic and the occult. Luck's main findings explore generally neglected areas of ancient civilization, locating magic and philosophy with religion as vehicles for moral and psychological guidance. Throughout this study, one finds meaning in "superstitious" and conflicting patterns of behavior and learns much about the nature of the human soul. This collection will serve as a valuable reference for those interested in the driving motivations of ancient man. "The topics of the individual articles in this volume are very central and of great humanistic appeal, and they indeed form a thematic unity concerning man and religion in Greek and Roman society." --Ludwig Koenen, Herbert C. Youtie Distinguished University Professor of Papyrology, University of Michigan Georg Luck is Professor of Classics, emeritus, The Johns Hopkins University.

Ancient Pathways and Hidden Pursuits: Religion, Morals, and Magic in the Ancient World

History

Luck, Georg

Ancient Civilizations

University of Michigan Press

This volume brings together new research into the place of witchcraft and magic in Greek and Roman culture and society. Topics covered include the practice of sorcery, the portrayal of witches and sorcerers in classical literature, and legal and philosophical attitudes to magic.

Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Greece and Rome (History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe) (v. 2)

GORDON, RICHARD

Flint, Valerie

Europe

The Athlone Press

Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Collection of Ancient Texts

Magic, miracles, daemonology, divination, astrology, and alchemy were the arcana mundi, the "secrets of the universe," of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In this path-breaking collection of Greek and Roman writings on magic and the occult, Georg Luck provides a comprehensive sourcebook and introduction to magic as it was practiced by witches and sorcerers, magi and astrologers, in the Greek and Roman worlds. 
In this new edition, Luck has gathered and translated 130 ancient texts dating from the eighth century BCE through the fourth century CE. Thoroughly revised, this volume offers several new elements: a comprehensive general introduction, an epilogue discussing the persistence of ancient magic into the early Christian and Byzantine eras, and an appendix on the use of mind-altering substances in occult practices. Also added is an extensive glossary of Greek and Latin magical terms. 
In Arcana Mundi Georg Luck presents a fascinating―and at times startling―alternative vision of the ancient world. "For a long time it was fashionable to ignore the darker and, to us, perhaps, uncomfortable aspects of everyday life in Greece and Rome," Luck has written. "But we can no longer idealize the Greeks with their 'artistic genius' and the Romans with their 'sober realism.' Magic and witchcraft, the fear of daemons and ghosts, the wish to manipulate invisible powers―all of this was very much a part of their lives."

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Johns Hopkins University Press

Arcana Mundi: Magia y ocultismo en el mundo griego y romano

Religion & Spirituality

Occult & Paranormal

Alianza Editorial

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