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Scylla
A fearful, monster barking like a dog, with 12 feet, 6 necks and mouths, rows of sharp teeth; each one of her necks and mouths will attack
beloved by the gods, but cursed by circe
the gods curing people and turning them into the monstrous
Charybdis
Thrice swallowed and spewed forth the water of the sea
Meant to be an explanation for tides and whirlpools
daughter of Poseidon, cursed by Zeus
The Odyssey
written by Homer
sequel to the Illiad
Odysseus attempts to get back home; constantly confounded; story of returning and longing for home
monsters in the Odyssey
they exist in a fixed location, and Odysseus must go to them
move the story along
marks the fantastical due to their location; generally found in the foreign
Cohen’s 7 Theses
the monster always escapes; fear is never defeated
the monster doesn’t fit into a specific category;
they have different physiologies; they cross the boundaries by being disturbing
the monstrous difference can be political, sexual, economic, and cultural; represents the foreign
the monster policies the differences of the possible; there are borders of where the monster can go
the monster is a link between the forbidden
the monster stands at the threshold of becoming; because they’re different they always in the edge of becoming; you become a monster if you fight your desires
Gods in Greece/Rome
they meddle in human affairs
affect women by turning them into monsters; used as punishments
Katadesmoi/ Defixiones
curse tablets
aggressive magic; people use them for tiny or big slights
they were pleads to the gods
a lead sheet, that can be inscribed rolled stabbed, fixing your opponent to this curse; directed against particular action; contains oath section
restricting victim’s abilities; inhabit success of opponent; divide people in intimate relationships
magic in Greece/ Rome
the socially unsanctioned use of supernatural powers and tools to control nature and compel both humans and superhuman beings to do one’s will
love magic (defixiones/curse tablets): feeds into abjection; can cause people to become emotionally attached to another person w/out their consent and cause them to abandon everything for the person you cursed them; can be used to break apart relationships; used by both men and women
The Iliad
written by Homer
epic of the hero Achilles during the Trojan War
Sisyphus
Doomed to roll a big boulder to the top of a hill but never making it up all the way for the rest of eternity
They punished him for trickery of others, including his cheating death twice.
He got this punishment because he believed he was smarter than Zeus
Tantalus
He offers a great banquet made up of human flesh to try and fool the gods, the gods punish him by being unable to quench his hunger and thirst
He violates his cultural taboo of cannibalism
He is constantly being tempted with water and food, but never being able to reach them
Persephone
a goddess, Demeter's daughter by Zeus, wife of Hades, and queen of the underworld
abducted by Hades, and raped by him
forced to stay in the underworld for 3 months of the year because she ate a seed from a pomegranate in the underworld
Orphic Tablets
Tablets call upon certain deities to help a person be guided to a good afterlife
Psychopomp
Charon and Hermes
guides to the underworld
can travel back and forth
Maschalismos/Armpitting
targeted mutilation of the corpse
rendered corpse and ghost helpless in death
the mutilation of the genitals, arms and hands; cutting of each hand and putting them in the other side to prevent the proper use of their limb
The Aeneid
written by Virgil
story of Aeneas, Trojan who fled Troy
travels to Italy
first half of the book is parallel to the journey Odysseus went through; second half is the battle
3rd book following the odyssey and the iliad
Aeneas
refugee of the Trojan war
finds his way to italy, founder of rome
the main character in the Aeneid
Sibyl
prophetess in Greek legend and lit
women of prodigious old age uttering predictions in ecstatic frenzy
figure of the mythical past and prophecies
Lake Avernus
the door to the Netherworld in rome
need to get instructions form the oracle, Sibyl; need to retrieve holy wood in deep forest; purify themselves by burying dead
witches in Greece/ Rome
in general known for love spells and spell sin general, invocation of spirits, and curse tablets
Thessaly
location in greece
where witches are from
The Golden Ass
written by Lucius Apuleius in complete Latin
details the transformation of the narrator Lucius and his eventual conversion to the mystery cult of Isis
known for its interest in magic rituals, its detailed account of the story of Cupid and Psyche and its interest in sexual preservation
Erichtho
witch of Thessaly
lucan’s The Civil War
Force of nature
prophecy via necromancy
her use of snakes
knows hell and its secrets
re-animated corpse to deliver prophecy
Pamphile
witch of Thessaly
is in the Golden Ass
seduces men w/ the stench of their own hair burning in her enchanted fire
can turn into an owl
Meroe
a story w/in a story
the account of what meroe does to her lovers if they betray her
she would curse people who would betray her
Circe
daughter of the sun god Helios and Perse
first witch in Greek lit; linked to Helen, Calypso, and the sirens
skills: sexually transgressive, knowledge that odysseus requires, path to the netherworld, turning men into animals while keeping their internal psyche
Helen of Troy
specialized in pharmakos
she’s able to do this because she picked it up form Egypt
her power is rooted in foreign knowledge
aspects of her magic aren’t really explained
Medea
from Colchis, niece to Circe
magical power- plants
role as mother
is of the foreign; her foreignness is always looked at and becomes a place for distrust
Euripedes’ Medea
the play revolving around medea and jason and her act of infanticide
Jason
husband to medea
is favored by hera the god of marriage
divorces medea driving her to kill her children
is punished w/ the murder of his children
The Argonautica
Jason, the Argonauts, and the Golden Fleece
written knowing what Jason and Medea’s fate will be
medea is subject to the whim of the divine; Hera made her fall in love w/ Jason
jason and medea are married, they consummate their loce on the golden fleece, and jason goes back to his kingdom to reclaim it
The Peliades
lost text
written by Euripedes
death of Pelias
medea uses her witchcraft, makes potion, and makes a sheep new and young again
the daughters of Pelias want to do the same for their father , but it doesn’t work
medea and jason are forced to flee their land and go to corinth
Hecate
goddess of witchcraft, moon, magic, the night, ghosts, and necromancy
links to witches in thessaly
daughter of titans, and is one and the only one to retain power
familiars: black-she dog and a polecat
aids Demeter in searching for Persephone
links to pathways and crossroads
triple goddess
connection to the netherworld= spectral, witchcraft qualities
sacrifices= dogs, honey, black female lambs
Babylonian Talmund
set of commentaries on the Mishnah (Jewish law)
red: mishnah
yellow: gemara
(red + yellow= Talmud)
blue= Rashi’s commentary on the Talmud
(rashi= medieval french rabbi)
green: medieval commentators
purple: tractate info, page number
hebrew Bible/ old testament
incantation bowls
designed to: exorcise demons, cure illness, protect against evil spirits, adn other demons
most common in Aramaic
most are apotropaic (protect person or family from evils, such as sorcery and demons), some can be aggressive (send evil against one’s enemies), some can be erotic (to make someone love someone else)
most commonly found in upside down position
set in/ at liminal points of danger
binding of demons= efficacy of bowl, shackles (circle of text) circle around the inscription and bowl
call on God and angels to protest the user and bind the demon to the bowl
aramaic
the incantation bowls were mostly written in aramaic
Baal
the lord, monster
Baal (place): particular gods
OT abstracts to foreign/ false gods
Later medieval demon in hell
Beelzebub
OT 2Kings 1:2- a foreign god: Ba’al-zebub of Ekron; King Ahaziah of Israel seeks counsel form him, Lower ranking
NT- Beezelbub: lord of the flies, sacrifices to foreign gods, a version of a foreign deity and associated w/ Satan
Jesus
Christianity i s Jesus-centric w/ a martyr complex
has the ability to exorcise demons, sign of divine power/ connection
Jesus will always win, he will al ways have power over demons
Jesus having the ability to heal disabilities, therefore linking demons to. diseases
Shenoute (early church father)
Thomas Aquinas
they had immediate triumph over demons
showing the demonic as being a threat and not being stronger than the divine
The desert Fathers
Anthony the Great
Shenoute
Benedict of Nursia
they’re monks
Satanic Panic
anything being connected the the demonic
pulls on our ideas of using conspiracies to explain the world
demons and the occult was the reason for explaining all the things that were happening
