| 1. Pindar, Pythian Odes, 4.11-4.56, 4.189-4.201 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 148, 176 |
| 2. Pindar, Olympian Odes, 1.71-1.87 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 147 |
| 3. Plato, Republic, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Struck (2016), Divination and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Intuition in Classical Antiquity, 45 |
| 4. Plato, Laws, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Struck (2016), Divination and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Intuition in Classical Antiquity, 46 |
| 5. Xenophon, Hellenica, 1.4.12, 5.4.17 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 148 |
| 6. Plato, Laches, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •divination, and magic Found in books: Struck (2016), Divination and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Intuition in Classical Antiquity, 45 |
7. Plato, Charmides, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •divination, and magic Found in books: Struck (2016), Divination and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Intuition in Classical Antiquity, 45 | 173c. our shoes, nay, everything about us, and various things besides, because we should be employing genuine craftsmen? And if you liked, we might concede that prophecy, as the knowledge of what is to be, and temperance directing her, will deter the charlatans, and establish the true prophets as our prognosticators. Thus equipped, the human race would indeed act and live |
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| 8. Hippocrates, The Sacred Disease, 18 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 176 |
9. Cicero, On Divination, 1.3, 1.72, 1.74, 1.98-1.99, 2.40, 2.58 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •divination, and magic •magic, magical gems and dream-divination •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 168, 169; Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 5; Struck (2016), Divination and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Intuition in Classical Antiquity, 10| 1.3. Quam vero Graecia coloniam misit in Aeoliam, Ioniam, Asiam, Siciliam, Italiam sine Pythio aut Dodonaeo aut Hammonis oraculo? aut quod bellum susceptum ab ea sine consilio deorum est? Nec unum genus est divinationis publice privatimque celebratum. Nam, ut omittam ceteros populos, noster quam multa genera conplexus est! Principio huius urbis parens Romulus non solum auspicato urbem condidisse, sed ipse etiam optumus augur fuisse traditur. Deinde auguribus et reliqui reges usi, et exactis regibus nihil publice sine auspiciis nec domi nec militiae gerebatur. Cumque magna vis videretur esse et inpetriendis consulendisque rebus et monstris interpretandis ac procurandis in haruspicum disciplina, omnem hanc ex Etruria scientiam adhibebant, ne genus esset ullum divinationis, quod neglectum ab iis videretur. 1.72. in quo haruspices, augures coniectoresque numerantur. Haec inprobantur a Peripateticis, a Stoicis defenduntur. Quorum alia sunt posita in monumentis et disciplina, quod Etruscorum declarant et haruspicini et fulgurales et rituales libri, vestri etiam augurales, alia autem subito ex tempore coniectura explicantur, ut apud Homerum Calchas, qui ex passerum numero belli Troiani annos auguratus est, et ut in Sullae scriptum historia videmus, quod te inspectante factum est, ut, cum ille in agro Nolano inmolaret ante praetorium, ab infima ara subito anguis emergeret, cum quidem C. Postumius haruspex oraret illum, ut in expeditionem exercitum educeret; id cum Sulla fecisset, tum ante oppidum Nolam florentissuma Samnitium castra cepit. 1.74. Quid? Lacedaemoniis paulo ante Leuctricam calamitatem quae significatio facta est, cum in Herculis fano arma sonuerunt Herculisque simulacrum multo sudore manavit! At eodem tempore Thebis, ut ait Callisthenes, in templo Herculis valvae clausae repagulis subito se ipsae aperuerunt, armaque, quae fixa in parietibus fuerant, ea sunt humi inventa. Cumque eodem tempore apud Lebadiam Trophonio res divina fieret, gallos gallinaceos in eo loco sic adsidue canere coepisse, ut nihil intermitterent; tum augures dixisse Boeotios Thebanorum esse victoriam, propterea quod avis illa victa silere soleret, canere, si vicisset. 1.98. cum Cumis Apollo sudavit, Capuae Victoria? quid? ortus androgyni nonne fatale quoddam monstrum fuit? quid? cum fluvius Atratus sanguine fluxit? quid? cum saepe lapidum, sanguinis non numquam, terrae interdum, quondam etiam lactis imber defluxit? quid? cum in Capitolio ictus Centaurus e caelo est, in Aventino portae et homines, Tusculi aedes Castoris et Pollucis Romaeque Pietatis: nonne et haruspices ea responderunt, quae evenerunt, et in Sibyllae libris eaedem repertae praedictiones sunt? 1.99. Caeciliae Q. filiae somnio modo Marsico bello templum est a senatu Iunoni Sospitae restitutum. Quod quidem somnium Sisenna cum disputavisset mirifice ad verbum cum re convenisse, tum insolenter, credo ab Epicureo aliquo inductus, disputat somniis credi non oportere. Idem contra ostenta nihil disputat exponitque initio belli Marsici et deorum simulacra sudavisse, et sanguinem fluxisse, et discessisse caelum, et ex occulto auditas esse voces, quae pericula belli nuntiarent, et Lanuvii clipeos, quod haruspicibus tristissumum visum esset, a muribus esse derosos. 2.40. Et quidem illi facilius facere possunt; deos enim ipsos iocandi causa induxit Epicurus perlucidos et perflabilis et habitantis tamquam inter duos lucos sic inter duos mundos propter metum ruinarum, eosque habere putat eadem membra, quae nos, nec usum ullum habere membrorum. Ergo hic circumitione quadam deos tollens recte non dubitat divinationem tollere; sed non, ut hic sibi constat, item Stoici. Illius enim deus nihil habens nec sui nec alieni negotii non potest hominibus divinationem inpertire; vester autem deus potest non inpertire, ut nihilo minus mundum regat et hominibus consulat. 2.58. Sanguine pluisse senatui nuntiatum est, Atratum etiam fluvium fluxisse sanguine, deorum sudasse simulacra. Num censes his nuntiis Thalen aut Anaxagoran aut quemquam physicum crediturum fuisse? nec enim sanguis nec sudor nisi e corpore. Sed et decoloratio quaedam ex aliqua contagione terrena maxume potest sanguini similis esse, et umor adlapsus extrinsecus, ut in tectoriis videmus austro, sudorem videtur imitari. Atque haec in bello plura et maiora videntur timentibus, eadem non tam animadvertuntur in pace; accedit illud etiam, quod in metu et periculo cum creduntur facilius, tum finguntur inpunius. | 1.3. And, indeed, what colony did Greece ever send into Aeolia, Ionia, Asia, Sicily, or Italy without consulting the Pythian or Dodonian oracle, or that of Jupiter Hammon? Or what war did she ever undertake without first seeking the counsel of the gods? [2] Nor is it only one single mode of divination that has been employed in public and in private. For, to say nothing of other nations, how many our own people have embraced! In the first place, according to tradition, Romulus, the father of this City, not only founded it in obedience to the auspices, but was himself a most skilful augur. Next, the other Roman kings employed augurs; and, again, after the expulsion of the kings, no public business was ever transacted at home or abroad without first taking the auspices. Furthermore, since our forefathers believed that the soothsayers art had great efficacy in seeking for omens and advice, as well as in cases where prodigies were to be interpreted and their effects averted, they gradually introduced that art in its entirety from Etruria, lest it should appear that any kind of divination had been disregarded by them. 1.72. But those methods of divination which are dependent on conjecture, or on deductions from events previously observed and recorded, are, as I have said before, not natural, but artificial, and include the inspection of entrails, augury, and the interpretation of dreams. These are disapproved of by the Peripatetics and defended by the Stoics. Some are based upon records and usage, as is evident from the Etruscan books on divination by means of inspection of entrails and by means of thunder and lightning, and as is also evident from the books of your augural college; while others are dependent on conjecture made suddenly and on the spur of the moment. An instance of the latter kind is that of Calchas in Homer, prophesying the number of years of the Trojan War from the number of sparrows. We find another illustration of conjectural divination in the history of Sulla in an occurrence which you witnessed. While he was offering sacrifices in front of his head-quarters in the Nolan district a snake suddenly came out from beneath the altar. The soothsayer, Gaius Postumius, begged Sulla to proceed with his march at once. Sulla did so and captured the strongly fortified camp of the Samnites which lay in front of the town of Nola. 1.74. Again: what a warning was given to the Spartans just before the disastrous battle of Leuctra, when the armour clanked in the temple of Hercules and his statue dripped with sweat! But at the same time, according to Callisthenes, the folding doors of Hercules temple at Thebes, though closed with bars, suddenly opened of their own accord, and the armour which had been fastened on the temple walls, was found on the floor. And, at the same time, at Lebadia, in Boeotia, while divine honours were being paid to Trophonius, the cocks in the neighbourhood began to crow vigorously and did not leave off. Thereupon the Boeotian augurs declared that the victory belonged to the Thebans, because it was the habit of cocks to keep silence when conquered and to crow when victorious. 1.98. And what of those other instances? As when, for example, the statue of Apollo at Cumae and that of Victory at Capua dripped with sweat; when that unlucky prodigy, the hermaphrodite, was born; when the river Atratus ran with blood; when there were showers frequently of stone, sometimes of blood, occasionally of earth and even of milk; and finally, when lightning struck the statue of the Centaur on the Capitoline hill, the gates and some people on the Aventine and the temples of Castor and Pollux at Tusculum and of Piety at Rome — in each of these cases did not the soothsayers give prophetic responses which were afterwards fulfilled? And were not these same prophecies found in the Sibylline books? [44] 1.99. In recent times, during the Marsian war, the temple of Juno Sospita was restored because of a dream of Caecilia, the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus. This is the same dream that Sisenna discussed as marvellous, in that its prophecies were fulfilled to the letter, and yet later — influenced no doubt by some petty Epicurean — he goes on inconsistently to maintain that dreams are not worthy of belief. This writer, however, has nothing to say against prodigies; in fact he relates that, at the outbreak of the Marsian War, the statues of the gods dripped with sweat, rivers ran with blood, the heavens opened, voices from unknown sources were heard predicting dangerous wars, and finally — the sign considered by the soothsayers the most ominous of all — the shields at Lanuvium were gnawed by mice. 2.40. And they can laugh with the better grace because Epicurus, to make the gods ridiculous, represents them as transparent, with the winds blowing through them, and living between two worlds (as if between our two groves) from fear of the downfall. He further says that the gods have limbs just as we have, but make no use of them. Hence, while he takes a roundabout way to destroy the gods, he does not hesitate to take a short road to destroy divination. At any rate Epicurus is consistent, but the Stoics are not; for his god, who has no concern for himself or for anybody else, cannot impart divination to men. And neither can your Stoic god impart divination, although he rules the world and plans for the good of mankind. 2.58. Reports, you say, were made to the Senate that there was a shower of blood, that the river Atratus actually flowed with blood and that the statues of the gods dripped with sweat. You do not think for a moment that Thales, Anaxagoras, or any other natural philosopher would have believed such reports? Sweat and blood you may be sure do not come except from animate bodies. An effect strikingly like blood is produced by the admixture of water with certain kinds of soil; and the moisture which forms on the outside of objects, as we see it on our plastered walls when the south wind blows, seems to resemble sweat. Such occurrences, which in time of war appear to the timid to be most frequent and most real, are scarcely noticed in times of peace. Moreover, in periods of fear and of danger stories of portents are not only more readily believed, but they are invented with greater impunity. |
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10. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library, 17.50-17.51 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 169 | 17.50. 1. The land where this temple lies is surrounded by a sandy desert and waterless waste, destitute of anything good for man. The oasis is fifty furlongs in length and breadth and is watered by many fine springs, so that it is covered with all sorts of trees, especially those valued for their fruit. It has a moderate climate like our spring and, surrounded as it is by very hot regions, alone furnishes to its people a contrasting mildness of temperature.,2. It is said that the sanctuary was built by Danaüs the Egyptian. The land, which is sacred to the god, is occupied on the south and west by Ethiopians, and on the north by the Libyans, a nomadic people, and the soâcalled Nasamonians who reach on into the interior.,3. All the people of Ammon dwell in villages. In the midst of their country there is a fortress secured by triple walls. The innermost circuit encloses the palace of the ancient rulers; the next, the women's court, the dwellings of the children, women, and relatives, and the guardrooms of the scouts, as well as the sanctuary of the god and the sacred spring, from the waters of which offerings addressed to the god take on holiness; the outer circuit surrounds the barracks of the king's guards and the guardrooms of those who protect the person of the ruler.,4. Outside of the fortress at no great distance there is another temple of Ammon shaded by many large trees, and near this is the spring which is called the Spring of the Sun from its behaviour. Its waters change in temperature oddly in accordance with the times of day.,5. At sunrise it sends forth a warm stream, but as the day advances it grows cooler proportionally with the passage of the hours, until under the noonday heat it reaches the extreme degree of cold. Then again in the same proportion it grows warmer toward evening and as the night advances it continues to heat up until midnight when again the trend is reversed, and at daybreak once more the waters have returned to their original temperature.,6. The image of the god is encrusted with emeralds and other precious stones, and answers those who consult the oracle in a quite peculiar fashion. It is carried about upon a golden boat by eighty priests, and these, with the god on their shoulders, go without their own volition wherever the god directs their path.,7. A multitude of girls and women follows them singing hymns as they go and praising the god in a traditional hymn. 17.51. 1. When Alexander was conducted by the priests into the temple and had regarded the god for a while, the one who held the position of prophet, an elderly man, came to him and said, "Rejoice, son; take this form of address as from the god also.",2. He replied, "I accept, father; for the future I shall be called thy son. But tell me if thou givest me the rule of the whole earth." The priest now entered the sacred enclosure and as the bearers now lifted the god and were moved according to certain prescribed sounds of the voice, the prophet cried that of a certainty the god had granted him his request, and Alexander spoke again: "The last, O spirit, of my questions now answer; have I punished all those who were the murderers of my father or have some escaped me?",3. The prophet shouted: "Silence! There is no mortal who can plot against the one who begot him. All the murderers of Philip, however, have been punished. The proof of his divine birth will reside in the greatness of his deeds; as formerly he has been undefeated, so now he will be unconquerable for all time.",4. Alexander was delighted with these responses. He honoured the god with rich gifts and returned to Egypt. |
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| 11. Suetonius, Augustus, 31 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 153 |
| 12. Artemidorus, Oneirocritica, 4.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 4 |
13. New Testament, Matthew, 1.18-1.22 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 164| 1.18. ΤΟΥ ΔΕ [ΙΗΣΟΥ] ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν. Μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου. 1.19. Ἰωσὴφ δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, δίκαιος ὢν καὶ μὴ θέλων αὐτὴν δειγματίσαι, ἐβουλήθη λάθρᾳ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν. 1.20. Ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμηθέντος ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος Κυρίου κατʼ ὄναρ ἐφάνη αὐτῷ λέγων Ἰωσὴφ υἱὸς Δαυείδ, μὴ φοβηθῇς παραλαβεῖν Μαρίαν τὴν γυναῖκά σου, τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου· 1.21. τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν. 1.22. Τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος | 1.18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this; for after his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregt by the Holy Spirit. 1.19. Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. 1.20. But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 1.21. She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins." 1.22. Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, |
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| 14. Sextus, Against The Mathematicians, 6.190 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 4 |
15. Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, 4.41 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 169 | 4.41. But putting a skull on the ground, they make it speak in this manner. The skull itself is made out of the caul of an ox; and when fashioned into the requisite figure, by means of Etruscan wax and prepared gum, (and) when this membrane is placed around, it presents the appearance of a skull, which seems to all to speak when the contrivance operates; in the same manner as we have explained in the case of the (attendant) youths, when, having procured the windpipe of a crane, or some such long-necked animal, and attaching it covertly to the skull, the accomplice utters what he wishes. And when he desires (the skull) to become invisible, he appears as if burning incense, placing around, (for this purpose,) a quantity of coals; and when the wax catches the heat of these, it melts, and in this way the skull is supposed to become invisible. |
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| 16. Lucian, The Syrian Goddess, 36 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 168, 169 |
17. Philostratus The Athenian, Life of Apollonius, 1.1-1.2 (2nd cent. CE - missingth cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 171| 1.1. οἱ τὸν Σάμιον Πυθαγόραν ἐπαινοῦντες τάδε ἐπ' αὐτῷ φασιν: ὡς ̓́Ιων μὲν οὔπω εἴη, γένοιτο δὲ ἐν Τροίᾳ ποτὲ Εὔφορβος, ἀναβιοίη τε ἀποθανών, ἀποθάνοι δέ, ὡς ᾠδαὶ ̔Ομήρου, ἐσθῆτά τε τὴν ἀπὸ θνησειδίων παραιτοῖτο καὶ καθαρεύοι βρώσεως, ὁπόση ἐμψύχων, καὶ θυσίας: μὴ γὰρ αἱμάττειν τοὺς βωμούς, ἀλλὰ ἡ μελιττοῦτα καὶ ὁ λιβανωτὸς καὶ τὸ ἐφυμνῆσαι, φοιτᾶν ταῦτα τοῖς θεοῖς παρὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τούτου, γιγνώσκειν τε, ὡς ἀσπάζοιντο τὰ τοιαῦτα οἱ θεοὶ μᾶλλον ἢ τὰς ἑκατόμβας καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοῦ κανοῦ: ξυνεῖναι γὰρ δὴ τοῖς θεοῖς καὶ μανθάνειν παρ' αὐτῶν, ὅπη τοῖς ἀνθρώποις χαίρουσι καὶ ὅπη ἄχθονται, περί τε φύσεως ἐκεῖθεν λέγειν: τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἄλλους τεκμαίρεσθαι τοῦ θείου καὶ δόξας ἀνομοίους ἀλλήλαις περὶ αὐτοῦ δοξάζειν, ἑαυτῷ δὲ τόν τε ̓Απόλλω ἥκειν ὁμολογοῦντα, ὡς αὐτὸς εἴη, ξυνεῖναι δὲ καὶ μὴ ὁμολογοῦντας τὴν ̓Αθηνᾶν καὶ τὰς Μούσας καὶ θεοὺς ἑτέρους, ὧν τὰ εἴδη καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα οὔπω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους γιγνώσκειν. καὶ ὅ τι ἀποφήναιτο ὁ Πυθαγόρας, νόμον τοῦτο οἱ ὁμιληταὶ ἡγοῦντο καὶ ἐτίμων αὐτὸν ὡς ἐκ Διὸς ἥκοντα, καὶ ἡ σιωπὴ δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ θείου σφίσιν ἐπήσκητο: πολλὰ γὰρ θεῖά τε καὶ ἀπόρρητα ἤκουον, ὧν κρατεῖν χαλεπὸν ἦν μὴ πρῶτον μαθοῦσιν, ὅτι καὶ τὸ σιωπᾶν λόγος. καὶ μὴν καὶ τὸν ̓Ακραγαντῖνον ̓Εμπεδοκλέα βαδίσαι φασὶ τὴν σοφίαν ταύτην. τὸ γὰρ χαίρετ', ἐγὼ δ' ὔμμιν θεὸς ἄμβροτος, οὐκέτι θνητός καὶ ἤδη γάρ ποτ' ἐγὼ γενόμην κόρη τε κόρος τε καὶ ὁ ἐν ̓Ολυμπίᾳ βοῦς, ὃν λέγεται πέμμα ποιησάμενος θῦσαι, τὰ Πυθαγόρου ἐπαινοῦντος εἴη ἄν. καὶ πλείω ἕτερα περὶ τῶν τὸν Πυθαγόρου τρόπον φιλοσοφησάντων ἱστοροῦσιν, ὧν οὐ προσήκει με νῦν ἅπτεσθαι σπεύδοντα ἐπὶ τὸν λόγον, ὃν ἀποτελέσαι προὐθέμην: 1.2. ἀδελφὰ γὰρ τούτοις ἐπιτηδεύσαντα ̓Απολλώνιον καὶ θειότερον ἢ ὁ Πυθαγόρας τῇ σοφίᾳ προσελθόντα τυραννίδων τε ὑπεράραντα καὶ γενόμενον κατὰ χρόνους οὔτ' ἀρχαίους οὔτ' αὖ νέους οὔπω οἱ ἄνθρωποι γιγνώσκουσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθινῆς σοφίας, ἣν φιλοσόφως τε καὶ ὑγιῶς ἐπήσκησεν, ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν τό, ὁ δὲ τὸ ἐπαινεῖ τοῦ ἀνδρός, οἱ δέ, ἐπειδὴ μάγοις Βαβυλωνίων καὶ ̓Ινδῶν Βραχμᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ Γυμνοῖς συνεγένετο, μάγον ἡγοῦνται αὐτὸν καὶ διαβάλλουσιν ὡς βιαίως σοφόν, κακῶς γιγνώσκοντες: ̓Εμπεδοκλῆς τε γὰρ καὶ Πυθαγόρας αὐτὸς καὶ Δημόκριτος ὁμιλήσαντες μάγοις καὶ πολλὰ δαιμόνια εἰπόντες οὔπω ὑπήχθησαν τῇ τέχνῃ, Πλάτων τε βαδίσας ἐς Αἴγυπτον καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ προφητῶν τε καὶ ἱερέων ἐγκαταμίξας τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ λόγοις καὶ καθάπερ ζωγράφος ἐσκιαγραφημένοις ἐπιβαλὼν χρώματα οὔπω μαγεύειν ἔδοξε καίτοι πλεῖστα ἀνθρώπων φθονηθεὶς ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ προαισθέσθαι πολλὰ καὶ προγνῶναι διαβάλλοι ἂν τὸν ̓Απολλώνιον ἐς τὴν σοφίαν ταύτην, ἢ διαβεβλήσεταί γε καὶ Σωκράτης ἐφ' οἷς παρὰ τοῦ δαιμονίου προεγίγνωσκε καὶ ̓Αναξαγόρας ἐφ' οἷς προὔλεγε: καίτοι τίς οὐκ οἶδε τὸν ̓Αναξαγόραν ̓Ολυμπίασι μέν, ὁπότε ἥκιστα ὗε, παρελθόντα ὑπὸ κωδίῳ ἐς τὸ στάδιον ἐπὶ προρρήσει ὄμβρου οἰκίαν τε, ὡς πεσεῖται, προειπόντα μὴ ψεύσασθαι, πεσεῖν γάρ, νύκτα τε ὡς ἐξ ἡμέρας ἔσται καὶ ὡς λίθοι περὶ Αἰγὸς ποταμοὺς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐκδοθήσονται, προαναφωνήσαντα ἀληθεῦσαι; καὶ σοφίᾳ ταῦτα τοῦ ̓Αναξαγόρου προστιθέντες ἀφαιροῦνται τὸν ̓Απολλώνιον τὸ κατὰ σοφίαν προγιγνώσκειν καί φασιν, ὡς μάγῳ τέχνῃ ταῦτ' ἔπραττεν. δοκεῖ οὖν μοι μὴ περιιδεῖν τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἄγνοιαν, ἀλλ' ἐξακριβῶσαι τὸν ἄνδρα τοῖς τε χρόνοις, καθ' οὓς εἶπέ τι ἢ ἔπραξε, τοῖς τε τῆς σοφίας τρόποις, ὑφ' ὧν ἔψαυσε τοῦ δαιμόνιός τε καὶ θεῖος νομισθῆναι. ξυνείλεκται δέ μοι τὰ μὲν ἐκ πόλεων, ὁπόσαι αὐτοῦ ἤρων, τὰ δὲ ἐξ ἱερῶν, ὁπόσα ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐπανήχθη παραλελυμένα τοὺς θεσμοὺς ἤδη, τὰ δὲ ἐξ ὧν εἶπον ἕτεροι περὶ αὐτοῦ, τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἐκείνου ἐπιστολῶν. ἐπέστελλε δὲ βασιλεῦσι σοφισταῖς φιλοσόφοις ̓Ηλείοις Δελφοῖς ̓Ινδοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ὑπὲρ θεῶν ὑπὲρ ἐθῶν ὑπὲρ ἠθῶν ὑπὲρ νόμων, παρ' οἷς ὅ τι ἁμαρτάνοιτο, ἐπηνώρθου. τὰ δὲ ἀκριβέστερα ὧδε συνελεξάμην: | 1.1. The votaries of Pythagoras of Samos have this story to tell of him, that he was not an Ionian at all, but that, once on a time in Troy, he had been Euphorbus, and that he had come to life after death, but had died as the songs of Homer relate. And they say that he declined to wear apparel made from dead animal products and, to guard his purity, abstained from all flesh diet, and from the offering of animals in sacrifice. For that he would not stain the altars with blood; nay, rather the honey-cake and frankincense and the hymn of praise, these they say were the offerings made to the Gods by this man, who realized that they welcome such tribute more than they do the hecatombs and the knife laid upon the sacrificial basket. For they say that he had of a certainty social intercourse with the gods, and learnt from them the conditions under which they take pleasure in men or are disgusted, and on this intercourse he based his account of nature. For he said that, whereas other men only make conjectures about divinity and make guesses that contradict one another concerning it, — in his own case he said that Apollo had come to him acknowledging that he was the god in person; and that Athena and the Muses and other gods, whose forms and names men did not yet know, had also consorted with him though without making such acknowledgment. And the followers of Pythagoras accepted as law any decisions communicated by him, and honored him as an emissary from Zeus, but imposed, out of respect for their divine character, a ritual silence on themselves. For many were the divine and ineffable secrets which they had heard, but which it was difficult for any to keep who had not previously learnt that silence also is a mode of speech.Moreover they declare that Empedocles of Acragas had trodden this way of wisdom when he wrote the lineRejoice ye, for I am unto you an immortal God, and no more mortal.And this also:For erewhile, I already became both girl and boy.And the story that he made at Olympia a bull of pastry and sacrificed it to the god also shows that he approved of the sentiments of Pythagoras. And there is much else that they tell of those sages who observe the rule of Pythagoras; but I must not now enter upon such points, but hurry on to the work which I have set myself to complete. 1.2. FOR quite akin to theirs was the ideal which Apollonius pursued, and more divinely than Pythagoras he wooed wisdom and soared above tyrants; and he lived in times not long gone by nor quite of our own day, yet men know him not because of the true wisdom, which he practiced as sage and sanely; but one man singles out one feature for praise in him and another another; while some, because he had interviews with the wizards of Babylon and with the Brahmans of India, and with the nude ascetics of Egypt, put him down as a wizard, and spread the calumny that he was a sage of an illegitimate kind, judging of him ill. For Empedocles and Pythagoras himself and Democritus consorted with wizards and uttered many supernatural truths, yet never stooped to the black art; and Plato went to Egypt and mingled with his own discourses much of what he heard from the prophets and priests there; and though, like a painter, he laid his own colors on to their rough sketches, yet he never passed for a wizard, although envied above all mankind for his wisdom. For the circumstance that Apollonius foresaw and foreknew so many things does not in the least justify us in imputing to him this kind of wisdom; we might as well accuse Socrates of the same, because, thanks to his familiar spirit, he knew things beforehand, and we might also accuse Anaxagoras because of the many things which he foretold. And indeed who does not know the story of how Anaxagoras at Olympia in a season when least rain falls came forward wearing a fleece into the stadium, by way of predicting rain, and of how he foretold the fall of the house, — and truly, for it did fall; and of how he said that day would be turned into night, and stones would be discharged from heaven round Aegospotami, and of how his predictions were fulfilled? Now these feats are set down to the wisdom of Anaxagoras by the same people who would rob Apollonius of the credit of having predicted things by dint of wisdom, and say that he achieved these results by art of wizardry.It seems to me then that I ought not to condone or acquiesce in the general ignorance, but write a true account of the man, detailing the exact times at which he said or did this or that, as also the habits and temper of wisdom by means of which he succeeded in being considered a supernatural and divine being.And I have gathered my information partly from the many cities where he was loved, and partly from the sanctuaries whose long-neglected and decayed rites he restored, and partly from the accounts left of him by others and partly from his own letters. For he addressed these to kings, sophists, philosophers, to men of Elis, of Delphi, to Indians, and Ethiopians; and in his letters he dealt with the subjects of the gods, of customs, of moral principles, of laws, and in all these departments he corrected the errors into which men had fallen. But the more precise details which I have collected are as follows. |
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18. Apuleius, The Golden Ass, 2.29-2.30, 11.6 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 155, 175 | 11.6. “The great priest shall carry this day, following in procession by my exhortation, a garland of roses next the rattle in his right hand. Follow my procession amongst the people and, when you come to the priest, make as though you would kiss his hand. But snatch at the roses, whereby I will put away the skin and shape of an ass. This kind of beast I have long abhorred and despised. But above all things beware that you do not doubt or fear any of those things as being hard and difficult to bring to pass. For in the same hour as I have come to you, I have commanded the priest, by a vision, of what he shall do. And all the people by my command shall be compelled to give you place and say nothing! Moreover, do not think that, amongst so fair and joyful ceremonies and in so good a company, any person shall abhor your ill-favored and deformed figure, or that any man shall be so hardy as to blame and reprove your sudden restoration to human shape. They will not conceive any sinister opinion about this deed. And know this for certain: for the rest of your life, until the hour of death, you shall be bound and subject to me! And think it not an injury to be always subject to me, since by my means and benefit you shall become a man. You shall live blessed in this world, you shall live gloriously by my guidance and protection. And when you descend to hell, you shall see me shine in that subterranean place, shining (as you see me now) in the darkness of Acheron, and reigning in the deep profundity of Styx. There you shall worship me as one who has been favorable to you. And if I perceive that you are obedient to my command, an adherent to my religion, and worthy my divine grace, know you that I will prolong your days above the time that the fates have appointed, and the celestial planets have ordained.” |
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| 19. Iamblichus, Concerning The Mysteries, 2.8, 3.14, 3.24 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 158, 160 |
| 20. Papyri, Papyri Graecae Magicae, None (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 496 |
| 21. Gregory The Wonderworker, Epistula Canonica, 206-207, 209-215, 208 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 113 |
| 22. Porphyry, Fragments, None (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 167, 168 |
| 23. Porphyry, Fragments, None (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 167, 168 |
| 24. Eunapius, Lives of The Philosophers, 469, 5-6, 473 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 157 |
| 25. Isidore of Seville, Etymologies, 8.9.11 (6th cent. CE - 7th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 144 |
26. Strabo, Geography, 17.1.43 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 169 | 17.1.43. Having before spoken at length of the temple of Ammon, we wish to add this only, that in ancient times divination in general and oracles were held in greater esteem than at present. Now they are greatly neglected ; for the Romans are satisfied with the oracles of the Sibyl, and with Tyrrhenian divination by the entrails of animals, the flight of birds, and portentous appearances. Hence the oracle of Ammon, which was formerly held in great esteem, is now nearly deserted. This appears chiefly from the historians who have recorded the actions of Alexander, adding, indeed, much that has the appearance of flattery, but yet relating what is worthy of credit. Callisthenes, for instance, says that Alexander was ambitious of the glory of visiting the oracle, because he knew that Perseus and Hercules had before performed the journey thither. He set out from Paraetonium, although the south winds were blowing, and succeeded in his undertaking by vigour and perseverance. When out of his way on the road, he escaped being overwhelmed in a sand-storm by a fall of rain, and by the guidance of two crows, which directed his course. These things are stated by way of flattery, as also what follows: that the priest permitted the king alone to pass into the temple in his usual dress, whereas the others changed theirs; that all heard the oracles on the outside of the temple, except Alexander, who was in the interior of the building; that the answers were not given, as at Delphi and at Branchidae, in words, but chiefly by nods and signs, as in Homer; the son of Saturn nodded with his sable brows, the prophet imitating Jupiter. This, however, the man told the king, in express terms, that he was the son of Jupiter. Callisthenes adds, (after the exaggerating style of tragedy,) that when Apollo had deserted the oracle among the Branchidae, on the temple being plundered by the Branchidae (who espoused the party of the Persians in the time of Xerxes,) and the spring had failed, it then re-appeared (on the arrival of Alexander); that the ambassadors also of the Milesians carried back to Memphis numerous answers of the oracle respecting the descent of Alexander from Jupiter, and the future victory which he should obtain at Arbela, the death of Darius, and the political changes at Lacedaemon. He says also that the Erythraean Athenais, who resembled the ancient Erythraean Sibyl, had declared the high descent of Alexander. Such are the accounts of historians. |
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27. Vergil, Aeneis, 4.554-4.572, 8.26-8.67 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 165 | 4.554. uch misery, and with the timely word 4.555. her grief assuage, and though his burdened heart 4.556. was weak because of love, while many a groan 4.557. rose from his bosom, yet no whit did fail 4.558. to do the will of Heaven, but of his fleet 4.559. resumed command. The Trojans on the shore 4.560. ply well their task and push into the sea 4.561. the lofty ships. Now floats the shining keel, 4.562. and oars they bring all leafy from the grove, 4.563. with oak half-hewn, so hurried was the flight. 4.564. Behold them how they haste—from every gate 4.565. forth-streaming!—just as when a heap of corn 4.566. is thronged with ants, who, knowing winter nigh, 4.567. refill their granaries; the long black line 4.568. runs o'er the levels, and conveys the spoil 4.569. in narrow pathway through the grass; a part 4.570. with straining and assiduous shoulder push 4.571. the kernels huge; a part array the file, 4.572. and whip the laggards on; their busy track 8.26. in troubled seas of care. This way and that 8.27. his swift thoughts flew, and scanned with like dismay 8.28. each partial peril or the general storm. 8.29. Thus the vexed waters at a fountain's brim, 8.30. mitten by sunshine or the silver sphere 8.31. of a reflected moon, send forth a beam 8.32. of flickering light that leaps from wall to wall, 8.33. or, skyward lifted in ethereal flight, 8.34. glances along some rich-wrought, vaulted dome. 8.35. Now night had fallen, and all weary things, 8.36. all shapes of beast or bird, the wide world o'er, 8.37. lay deep in slumber. So beneath the arch 8.38. of a cold sky Aeneas laid him down 8.39. upon the river-bank, his heart sore tried 8.40. by so much war and sorrow, and gave o'er 8.41. his body to its Iong-delayed repose. 8.42. There, 'twixt the poplars by the gentle stream, 8.43. the River-Father, genius of that place, 8.44. old Tiberinus visibly uprose; 8.45. a cloak of gray-green lawn he wore, his hair 8.46. o'erhung with wreath of reeds. In soothing words 8.48. “Seed of the gods! who bringest to my shore 8.49. thy Trojan city wrested from her foe, 8.50. a stronghold everlasting, Latium 's plain 8.51. and fair Laurentum long have looked for thee. 8.52. Here truly is thy home. Turn not away. 8.53. Here the true guardians of thy hearth shall be. 8.54. Fear not the gathering war. The wrath of Heaven 8.55. has stilled its swollen wave. A sign I tell: 8.56. Lest thou shouldst deem this message of thy sleep 8.57. a vain, deluding dream, thou soon shalt find 8.58. in the oak-copses on my margent green, 8.59. a huge sow, with her newly-littered brood 8.60. of thirty young; along the ground she lies, 8.61. now-white, and round her udders her white young. 8.62. There shall thy city stand, and there thy toil 8.63. hall find untroubled rest. After the lapse 8.64. of thrice ten rolling years, Ascanius 8.65. hall found a city there of noble name, 8.66. White-City, Alba; 't is no dream I sing! 8.67. But I instruct thee now by what wise way |
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| 28. Anon., Alexander Romance, 1.4-1.12 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 163, 164 |
| 29. Papyri, Papyri Demoticae Magicae, 14.93-14.114, 14.232-14.238, 14.528-14.553, 14.805, 14.1070-14.1077 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 148, 159, 160, 162, 165 |
| 30. Epigraphy, Amph.-Orop. 3), 50.1562 Tagged with subjects: •bes and dionysos cult, dream-divination rituals in the magical papyri Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 496 |
| 31. Epigraphy, I.Metreg, 131 Tagged with subjects: •bes and dionysos cult, dream-divination rituals in the magical papyri Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 496 |
| 32. Ancient Near Eastern Sources, Cth, None Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 5 |
| 33. Papyri, P.Zauzich, 7-8 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 623 |
| 34. Papyri, P.Dembrit.Mus., 10822 Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 623 |
| 35. Epigraphy, Colosse De Memnon, 500, 641, 528 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 496 |
| 36. Babylonian Talmud, Midrash Qohelet Zuta, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 168 |
| 37. Longus, Daphnis And Chloe, 2.21-2.24 Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 4, 5 |
| 38. Epigraphy, Ig Xiv, 2413 Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 623 |
| 39. Didache, Hist. Mon., 4 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 113 |
| 40. Plautus, Fugitivi, 19.12 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 166, 167 |
| 41. Ps. Ignatius, Smyrnaeans, 216.24 Tagged with subjects: •magic and divination Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 160 |
| 42. Epigraphy, Supplmag, 2.9 Tagged with subjects: •bes and dionysos cult, dream-divination rituals in the magical papyri Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 496 |
| 43. Papyri, P.Ups.8, 1.78, 1.81 Tagged with subjects: •magic, magical gems and dream-divination Found in books: Renberg (2017), Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World, 623 |
| 44. Solon Fr., Fr., 6, 8-9, 7 Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Johnston (2008), Ancient Greek Divination, 113 |
