Defense Against the Dark Arts in the Ancient World

Alongside their Jewish and Pagan neighbors, ancient Christians sought to control and defend themselves against unseen forces teeming around them. They bound powerful angels to their will and harnessed the spirits of the recently deceased to activate their spells. Though none found the Elixir of Life, they left behind spells, recipes, and talismans as evidence of their quest to master spirits both hostile and sympathetic. This course will interrogate Christian and non-Christian conceptions of magic, its relationship with “religion” and “philosophy,” contextualize Christian magical practices alongside their neighbors, and conclude by examining the reception of “magic” into the modern West.