Magic in Ancient Egypt - Softcover

Pinch, Geraldine

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Softcover

ISBN 10: 0714109711 ISBN 13: 9780714109718

Publisher: British Museum Press, 1994

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The Egyptians were famous in the ancient world for their knowledge of magic. Religion, medicine, technology, and what we would call magic coexisted without apparent conflict, and it was not unusual for magical and practical remedies for illness, for example, to be used side by side. Everyone resorted to magic, from the pharaoh guarding his country with elaborate magical rituals to the expectant mother wearing amulets to safeguard her unborn child. In this book, Geraldine Pinch examines the connections between myth and magic and the deities--such as the goddess Isis, and the protective lion-demon Bes--who had special magical importance. She discusses the techniques of magic, its practitioners, and the surviving magical texts, as well as the objects that were used in magic: figurines, statues, amulets, and wands. She devotes a chapter to medicine and magic and one to magic and the dead. Finally, Dr. Pinch shows how elements and influences from Egyptian magic survived in or were taken up by later societies, right down to our own century.

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Synopsis:

The Egyptians were famous in the ancient world for their knowledge of magic. Religion, medicine, technology and what we would call magic co-existed without apparent conflict in Egypt, and it was not unusual for magical and practical remedies for illness, for example, to be used side by side. Magic was resorted to by everyone, from the pharoah guarding his country with elaborate magical rituals to the expectant mother wearing an amulet to safeguard her unborn child. Spells and magical objects were usually employed to protect the living or the dead, rarely for malign purposes. This book examines the connections between myth and magic, and the dieties - particularly the goddess Isis, and the protective lion-demon Bes - who had special magical importance. The techniques of magic, its practitionars and the surviving magical texts are discussed, as are the objects which were used in magic: figurines, statues, amulets and wands. A chapter is devoted to medicine and magic, and one to magic and the dead. Finally, Dr Pinch shows how elements and influences from Egyptian magic survived in or were taken up by later societies, right down to our own century.

About the Author:

GERALDINE PINCH is a former lecturer in Egyptology at Oxford University. She is the author of numerous books on ancient Egypt.

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