REAL

Greek Necromancy: Reality or Myth?

Vítek, Tomáš (2020) Greek Necromancy: Reality or Myth? ACTA ANTIQUA ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE, 60 (1-2). pp. 27-51. ISSN 0044-5975 (print); 1588-2543 (online)

[img]
Preview
Text
article-p27.pdf

Download (386kB) | Preview

Abstract

The article investigates the extent to which Greek necromancy fits into the wider eschatological, cultic and historical context of an epoch demarcated on the one hand by Homer and on the other by the Classical period. The oldest purported necromantic ritual, with the help of which Odysseus descended into the underworld, is a literary construct inspired especially by the heroic tomb-cults Scenes depicting funereal necromancy, written by dramatists of the Classical period, were also drawn from this source. Ability, behavior and appearance of heroes were additionally ascribed to the so-called restless spirits and revenants and later came to include all the dead. The main cause of this was a change in eschatological ideas and especially heroization, which in the Roman period spread nominally to all the dead. Reports about necromancy include a high percentage of mythical and literarily-dramatized elements that simply do not correspond with contemporary ideas about the soul, the dead, the underworld and chthonic deities. It therefore appears almost certain that, at least to the end of the period described, necromancy was not carried out in reality but remained only the literary surmise of the possibility indicated by Homer.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: MTA KFB támogatási szerződés alapján archiválva
Uncontrolled Keywords: necromancy, the dead, tomb-cult, heroes, eschatological ideas
Subjects: P Language and Literature / nyelvészet és irodalom > PA Classical philology / klasszika-filológia
SWORD Depositor: MTMT SWORD
Depositing User: MTMT SWORD
Date Deposited: 23 May 2022 08:05
Last Modified: 10 Apr 2024 09:25
URI: https://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/142972

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item