🔮Intro to Greco-Roman Magic Unit 8 – Necromancy & Afterlife in Ancient Magic

Key Concepts and Terminology

• Necromancy involves communicating with the dead, often to gain knowledge, power, or insight into the future
• Psychagogoi were ancient Greek necromancers who specialized in leading souls from the underworld
• Nekyia refers to the practice of summoning and questioning ghosts, as seen in Homer's Odyssey
• Katabasis is the hero's journey to the underworld, undertaken by figures like Odysseus and Aeneas
  • These journeys often involved necromantic rituals and encounters with the dead
• Nekromanteion were ancient Greek temples or oracles of the dead, where necromancy was practiced
• Lemures and larvae were restless spirits of the dead in Roman belief, often the target of necromantic rites
• Defixiones were curse tablets used in both Greek and Roman magic, sometimes invoking the dead
• Goetia is a branch of magic that involves conjuring spirits, including the souls of the deceased

Historical Context and Origins

• Necromancy has roots in ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Persian practices of contacting the dead
• In ancient Greece, necromancy was associated with chthonic deities like Hades, Hecate, and Hermes Psychopompos
• The Necromanteion of Ephyra, mentioned by Herodotus, was a famous oracle of the dead in ancient Greece
• The Odyssey's account of Odysseus's nekyia helped popularize necromantic themes in Greek literature
  • Later works, like Aeschylus's Persians and Euripides's Hecuba, also featured necromantic scenes
• In Rome, necromancy was often linked to foreign cults, like those of Isis and Osiris
• The Greek magical papyri and Roman curse tablets provide insights into necromantic practices in the Greco-Roman world
• Necromancy was often associated with witchcraft and viewed with suspicion by authorities
  • In 451 BCE, the Twelve Tables of Roman law prescribed the death penalty for casting evil spells, including those involving the dead

Necromantic Practices in Ancient Greece and Rome

• Necromancers would often perform rituals at tombs or battlefields, where restless spirits were thought to linger
• Blood sacrifices, especially of black animals, were common in necromantic rites to attract ghosts
• Libations of milk, honey, wine, and water were poured as offerings to the dead
• Necromancers would chant prayers and spells to summon the deceased, often using the deceased's name and invoking chthonic deities
• The dead were questioned about the future, hidden knowledge, or the afterlife
  • Ghosts could also be compelled to perform tasks or enact curses on the living
• Some necromancers claimed to physically resurrect the dead through powerful magic
• Necromancy was sometimes combined with other forms of divination, like oneiromancy (divination through dreams)
• Curse tablets were placed in graves or tombs to persuade the dead to carry out curses against the living

Beliefs About the Afterlife

• In Greek belief, the souls of the dead went to the underworld, ruled by Hades
  • The rivers Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, and Lethe separated the underworld from the realm of the living
• The Greeks believed that proper funeral rites were necessary for souls to enter the underworld and find rest
  • Those who died without proper rites or were left unburied were doomed to wander the earth as ghosts
• In the underworld, the dead were judged by Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus based on their actions in life
  • The virtuous were sent to the Elysian Fields, while the wicked were punished in Tartarus
• The Romans had similar beliefs, with the underworld ruled by Pluto and Proserpina
• The Romans believed that the dead could return to the world of the living during festivals like Lemuria and Parentalia
  • Lemuria involved exorcising malevolent spirits from the household, while Parentalia honored benevolent ancestral spirits
• Some mystery cults, like the Eleusinian Mysteries and the cult of Orpheus, promised a better afterlife to initiates
• Philosophers like Plato and Cicero proposed the idea of an immortal soul that could be reincarnated or achieve a blissful afterlife through virtue

Rituals and Spells for Contacting the Dead

• Necromantic rituals often began with purification rites, such as washing, fasting, and donning clean garments
• Offerings to chthonic deities, like Hades, Hecate, and Hermes, were made to gain their favor and assistance
• Animal sacrifices, particularly of black sheep, goats, or dogs, were performed to provide blood for the spirits
• Libations of milk, honey, wine, and water were poured into offering pits (bothros) dug into the ground
• Necromancers would chant spells and prayers, often in a foreign or magical language, to summon the dead
  • The deceased's name, patronymic, and place of burial were often invoked in these spells
• The necromancer would then question the ghost or compel it to perform tasks through magical commands
• Some spells were designed to bind or trap ghosts, preventing them from harming the living
• Curse tablets (defixiones) were inscribed with spells and placed in graves to enlist the dead in cursing enemies
  • These tablets were often made of lead and folded or pierced with nails to symbolize the binding of the curse

Tools and Materials Used in Necromancy

• Offering pits (bothros) were dug into the ground to receive blood sacrifices and libations for the dead
• Sacrificial animals, especially black sheep, goats, and dogs, provided blood to attract and nourish spirits
• Vessels for libations, such as phialai and oinochoai, were used to pour milk, honey, wine, and water offerings
• Magical herbs and incenses, like frankincense, myrrh, and sulfur, were burned to purify the ritual space and attract spirits
• Curse tablets (defixiones) made of lead were inscribed with spells and placed in graves or tombs
• Magical papyri containing necromantic spells and formulae were used by some practitioners
• Amulets and talismans, often depicting chthonic deities or magical symbols, were worn for protection during rituals
• Some necromancers used figurines or effigies to represent the deceased or the targets of their spells
• Wax or clay tablets were sometimes used to write spells or petitions to the dead

Famous Necromancers and Mythological Examples

• Odysseus's nekyia in Book 11 of the Odyssey is one of the most famous examples of necromancy in Greek literature
  • Odysseus summons the shade of the seer Tiresias to learn how to appease Poseidon and return home to Ithaca
• The Witch of Endor in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 28) is a rare biblical example of necromancy
  • She summons the ghost of the prophet Samuel at the request of King Saul
• Erichtho, a Thessalian witch in Lucan's Pharsalia, is a powerful necromancer who reanimates a corpse to foretell the future
• Medea, in Ovid's Metamorphoses, uses necromancy as part of her magical arsenal
• The legendary poet Orpheus used necromantic katabasis to try to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld
• Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, was said to have the power to resurrect the dead
• In Lucian's Philopseudes, a Babylonian magician named Mithrobarzanes summons the ghost of Achilles
• Simon Magus, a Samaritan magician mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, was later accused of necromancy in apocryphal legends

Ethical and Social Implications

• Necromancy was often associated with witchcraft and viewed with suspicion or hostility by ancient authorities
  • The Twelve Tables of Roman law prescribed the death penalty for casting evil spells, including those involving the dead
• Some ancient authors, like Pliny the Elder, condemned necromancy as a fraudulent and impious practice
• Others, like Cicero, acknowledged the power of necromancy but argued that it should only be used for beneficial purposes
• Necromancy was sometimes employed for political ends, such as when the ghost of Caesar was invoked to justify Octavian's power grab
• The use of curse tablets and necromantic spells was often motivated by personal animosity, jealousy, or a desire for revenge
  • Targets of these curses could include rivals in love, business competitors, and legal opponents
• Some ancient philosophers and religious leaders, like Pythagoras and Empedocles, were accused of practicing necromancy
• The association of necromancy with foreign cults, like those of Isis and Osiris, reflects ancient xenophobia and mistrust of outside influences
• Later Christian authors, like Augustine and Tertullian, condemned necromancy as a demonic practice that violated the sanctity of the dead