Magic - The Ancient Near East Today

Amuletic pendant made of copper alloy. On top: the Holy Rider spears a fallen enemy (these figures are sometimes identified as Solomon and Lilith). On bottom: image of the “much suffering eye” attacked by a lion, snake, scorpion, stork, and various weapons. 5th or 6th century CE. Said to be from Israel. Walters Art Museum 54.2653. Photos: CC0 1.0 (Public Domain).

October 2024 | Vol. 12.10 By Megan Nutzman Malaria, battle wounds, pregnancy, scorpion stings, sciatica: these are just a few of the medical concerns that regularly appear in ancie

September 5, 2024

By ANE Today Editor

Egypt Mythology Religion

Osiris Must Die – Understanding the Practice of “Menacing the Gods” in Ancient Egyptian Magic

September 2024 | Vol. 12.9 By Franziska Naether Ancient Egyptian magical texts offer a rich repository of spells and incantations designed to manipulate divine forces for diverse p

The Good Shepherd with Jonah in repose (on the right), Chamber II of the Coemeterium Maius, Rome. Photo by Joseph Wilpert, Die Malereien der Katakomben Roms, 1903. Tf. 171. Public Domain. Courtesy of Heidelberg historic literature – digitized. https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1339

March 7, 2024

By ANE Today Editor

Christianity Funerary Practices Roman Period

A Minor Biblical Prophet Lives Again—Among the Dead

March 2024 | Vol. 12.3 By Amy Erickson In the catacombs beneath the city of Rome, where the dead were interred, honored, and visited, Jonah is strikingly alive. On the walls, the c

Magic Tag

Person, Place, and Object: Ritual Healing in Roman and Late Antique Palestine

Osiris Must Die – Understanding the Practice of “Menacing the Gods” in Ancient Egyptian Magic

A Minor Biblical Prophet Lives Again—Among the Dead