The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice – Robert K. Ritner
To date, no comprehensive treatment of Egyptian magic has focused on the practice of the magician. Both general studies and textual publications have emphasized instead the religious elements in the contents of recited spells, while the accompanying instructions, with their vignettes and lists of materials, instruments, and ritual actions, remained uninvestigated.
This study represents the first critical examination of such magical techniques, revealing their widespread appearance and pivotal significance for all Egyptian religious practices from the earliest periods through the Coptic era, influencing as well the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri. The author also discusses the pagan-Egyptian influence on Old and New Testament practices and in the lives of the Coptic Desert Fathers. The third edition is a reprinting of the second, which included minor corrections from the original edition. This volume is a significant revisionist approach to ancient Egyptian magic.
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