Hostes deum: Magic in the literature of the Neronian period

Arampapaslis, Konstantinos

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/105804 Copy

Description

Title

Hostes deum: Magic in the literature of the Neronian period

Author(s)

Arampapaslis, Konstantinos

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Augoustakis, Antony

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Augoustakis, Antony

Committee Member(s)

• Tzanetou, Angeliki
• Walters, Brian
• Williams, Craig A

Department/Program

Classics

Discipline

Classical Philology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree

Ph.D.

Dissertation or Thesis

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Magic
• Superstition
• Petronius
• Seneca
• Lucan
• Medea
• Erichtho
• Oenothea
• Proselenos
• werewolf
• witches
• witchcraft
• realism
• magical papyri
• defixiones

Abstract

This study examines magical discourse in the Neronian literature and, more specifically, its role in the works of the three major authors of the period, namely, Petronius, Seneca, and Lucan. It endeavors to trace possible echoes of popular beliefs about magic and real witchcraft practices of the 1st century C.E. in the text of the Satyrica, the Medea, and the Bellum Ciuile. This is done through a close reading of the relevant passages, and their thorough comparison with the magical texts of the Papyri Graecae Magicae and the defixionum tabellae as well as Pliny’s Historia Naturalis; such collation with other texts allows us to underline structural as well as verbal similarities. A large part of the study is dedicated to each author’s treatment of magic according to their personal views and the work’s generic context.

Date Deposited

2019-08

Type of Resource

text

Identifiers: URI or URL

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105804

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 Konstantinos Arampapaslis

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