Jan N. Bremmer and Andrew Erskine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637980
- eISBN:
- 9780748670758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637980.003.0022
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter starts by examining the fact that for most of Greek history, gods’ visits to humans were hard to discern--one never could be sure when or if a god were present, even within divinatory ...
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This chapter starts by examining the fact that for most of Greek history, gods’ visits to humans were hard to discern--one never could be sure when or if a god were present, even within divinatory settings, when one would most expect that to be the case. It then moves on to contrast this with the situation found in later antiquity, particularly as expressed by divinatory rituals described by magical and theurgic texts. In these cases, the practitioner not only knew exactly what the visiting god or angel or daemon would look and sound like, but often was able to request that it manifest itself in a specific form. The paper explores these points by focusing particularly on four different types of divinatory experiences described by these texts: direct encounters (sustaseis, autopsiai), photagogia (leading in of divine light), lecanomancy and lychnomancy (divining by flames and water) and dreams.Less
This chapter starts by examining the fact that for most of Greek history, gods’ visits to humans were hard to discern--one never could be sure when or if a god were present, even within divinatory settings, when one would most expect that to be the case. It then moves on to contrast this with the situation found in later antiquity, particularly as expressed by divinatory rituals described by magical and theurgic texts. In these cases, the practitioner not only knew exactly what the visiting god or angel or daemon would look and sound like, but often was able to request that it manifest itself in a specific form. The paper explores these points by focusing particularly on four different types of divinatory experiences described by these texts: direct encounters (sustaseis, autopsiai), photagogia (leading in of divine light), lecanomancy and lychnomancy (divining by flames and water) and dreams.
