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Christian Use of Magic in Late Antique Egypt

2012; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 20; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/earl.2012.0003

1086-3184

Walter Michael Shandruk,

Ancient Egypt and Archaeology

Determining the contours of late antique Christian use of magic involves two variables: (1) the religious affiliation of the user and (2) the content of the magic. The presence or absence of Christian motifs does not provide a clear-cut solution to a user's personal religious identity since Christian and non-Christian elements are often found side-by-side. This paper proposes that an onomastic analysis of user names from applied magical texts can provide a possible solution. An analysis of those results in comparison with the content of the texts reveals some significant patterns in the type of magic used and its chronological distribution.