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Book Synopsis
As magic is a powerful means to influence the natural world and human beings, and is deeply connected to the divine sphere, persons using it are in constant need to justify its use. The ambivalence of magic to serve both well-wishing and ill-wishing aims puts the practitioners ever at risk. This volume illuminates the strategies adopted to legitimise the practice of magic and analyses how these justifications are phrased and formulated in cuneiform texts, thereby revealing the underlying principles and unexplained axioms of using magic in the Ancient Near East.

Legitimising Magic: Strategies and Practices in Ancient Mesopotamia

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    A Hardback by Elyze Zomer, Nils Heeßel

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      Publisher: Brill
      Publication Date: 13/11/2023
      ISBN13: 9789004687400, 978-9004687400
      ISBN10:
      Also in:
      Ancient history Magic, alchemy and hermetic thought

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      As magic is a powerful means to influence the natural world and human beings, and is deeply connected to the divine sphere, persons using it are in constant need to justify its use. The ambivalence of magic to serve both well-wishing and ill-wishing aims puts the practitioners ever at risk. This volume illuminates the strategies adopted to legitimise the practice of magic and analyses how these justifications are phrased and formulated in cuneiform texts, thereby revealing the underlying principles and unexplained axioms of using magic in the Ancient Near East.

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