Semitic Magic: Its Origins and Development - Couverture rigide

Thompson, R Campbell

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0877289328 ISBN 13 : 9780877289326

Editeur : Red Wheel/Weiser, 2000

Synopsis

A study of magical practices including direct translations of spells, rituals, and incantations in ancient Western Asia, the birthplace of Western civilization. Using knowledge preserved in cuneiform incantation tablets from Assyria, aided by Rabbinic tradition, Syriac writings, and Arabic tales, Thompson tracks early magical practices through 3000 years to its vestigial traces in contemporary society.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Excerpt from Semitic Magic Its Origins and Development

The theories put forward or maintained in this book are based on a study of that intricate demonology which has gradually developed throughout the lands of Western Asia. The earliest written records of this magic are found in the cuneiform incantation tablets from Assyria; and, aided by the various stepping-stones afforded by Rabbinic tradition, Syriac monkish writings, and Arabic tales, we can trace its growth and decadence through three thousand years down to its survival in modern Oriental superstition. Furthermore, the parallels afforded by Aryan and Hamitic nations show how close the grooves are in which savage ideas run, and that the principles of magic are, broadly speaking, coincident in each separate nation, and yet, as far as we know, of independent invention. All these superstitions combine to throw light on many of the peculiar customs of the Old Testament, and help to explain the hidden reason why these customs existed. From a study of the characteristics of the evil spirits, which the Semite believed to exist everywhere, certain deductions can be made which bear intimately on our knowledge of the origins of certain tabus and the principle of atonement.

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Présentation de l'éditeur

A study of magical practices including direct translations of spells, rituals, and incantations in ancient Western Asia, the birthplace of Western civilization. Using knowledge preserved in cuneiform incantation tablets from Assyria, aided by Rabbinic tradition, Syriac writings, and Arabic tales, Thompson tracks early magical practices through 3000 years to its vestigial traces in contemporary society.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Red Wheel/Weiser
• Date d'édition: 2000
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0877289328
• ISBN 13: 9780877289326
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 286
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible