Topic: Greek Witches, Anthropological Approaches to Witchcraft
What made women such good targets for the witchcraft accusations from
the 14th to the 17th centuries? Women were viewed as weak, unclean.
Marriage wasn't the trend, and women often had to work instead of raising a
family. This made women more submissive to the patriarchial ideology (women
are weak, attracted to evil, therefore they are witches-Aristotle). Women
also raised the children and punished them. This also helped women fit the
"witch" role. (Summer Townsend)
What are some ways we used to define the difference between witchcraft
and sorcery? Historical difference-sorcery is archaic, witches are more
recent (possibly became common around 1450 C.E.). Gender difference-
sorcerers are male whereas witches are female (most anthropologists use this
method). Emic view-looking at the culture of a people through the use of
language. (Summer Townsend)
Are witches always perceived as evil? Support your anwer with
examples from the readings. Answer: Lehmann & Myers 208-216 and 292-299
(Melissa Klotz)
How has the perception of witches changed in Babylonian
literature? (Neusner 50) Can this be compared to the changes in the
perception of witches in Europe from pre-witchcraze to the end (1650)?
Answer: Neusner 233-244 (Melissa Klotz)
Discuss the contrasting interpretations of Medea's cleverness in
Euripides' The Medea.
(Jason and King Creon are threatened by it, so they think her
cleverness is evil. Her friend King Aegeus, however, wants her to use her
cleverness to help him so he thinks it is good.) (Sharon O'Regan)
Why do people begin to persecute witches in 15th century Europe?
(Witches become associated with the devil and therefore their
actions become heresy punishable by law.) (Sharon O'Regan)
Deliniate one view of why women were "at risk" for withcraft. - - WET.
(megan ostrander)
What was the Malleus Maleficarum? - - A manuscript which outlined the
evils of witches. (megan ostrander)
Name three reasons for the witchcraze.(Kelly Donaghy)
Blame as a scapegoat, Psychological issues, Hierarchical
societies.
Discuss the reasons why women are called witches. (Kelly Donaghy)
Women are inherently weaker than men, so they require some sort o
power, and turn to magic for it.
During the witchcraze, women were given contrary social roles due
to the Plague.
The "wetness" theory.
Women punish children at a young age and are thought of as
menacing figures.
Essay: State what the anthropologists view of witchcraft is and use an
example to illustrate. (Diana Hollenbeck)
Answer: the witch is a scapegoat, a representation of deviant behavior.
An example of this is the Kabana of New Britian.
Objective: Name the witch who, by one authors account, was a
representation of feminism. (Diana Hollenbeck)
Answer: Circe
The control which Babylonian exorcists exerted over witches is
similar to that of which of the following? (Sirida Graham)
Satan
Catholic priests
Kabana sorcerors
Inquisitors
Describe at least 3 possible distinctions between witchcraft and
sorcery as discussed in class. (Sirida Graham)
How was sthe view of witches in Babylonian times paralleled in the
13th-15th centuries?(Rhonda Rowland)
How and why does mobility affect a societies views towards
witchcraft? (Rhonda Rowland)
How was the witchcraze of the medeival period just a reflection of
the socio-economic upheavals of the time? (Eric Moore)
What are the characteristics of women that have historically made
them the subject of a disproportional degree of persecution regarding
their use of magic? (Eric Moore)
Take a side, pro or con, to the role of the Kabana sorcerers within
that society. Write a convincing argument defending your choice. --> The
answer is pretty self explanitory. (Chris Roy)
Name three non-magic actions Medea takes to reach her goals -->
Examples would be lying, killing, trickery, etc. (Chris Roy)
Account for the reasoning that women are more suited for
witchcraft than men. What are the characteristics that women have which
allows them to be more suited? (Krista Ernewein)
True or false: Circe was always a goddess in the her folklore
legends. (Krista Ernwein)
The Kabana people use sorcery in two ways to deal with deviant
behavior. How is sorcery used simutaneously as devience and as a control
of devience in this society? (louise mullins)
Many ancient texts recount stories of witches, in which the women are
percieved in the same way. Euripides wrote about which women in this way
and who was her victim?(louise mullins)
How is the god Pan associated with the devil (alex)
Is Circe a goddess or a witch? Choose and defend either way
(alex)
Discuss the material we've read on the relationship between the label
"witch" and gender. (Julie Alvarez)
What is Margaret Murray's controversial theory about the witch covens
of the middle ages? (Julie Alvarez)
Explain the term -polluting women- and how that affects the status of
women in certain cultures. (Sheeja Kanacheril) Lehmann/Myers 292-299
Out of the Greek witches we studied, who was most witch-like and why?
(Sheeja Kanacheril) look at Circe, Medea, Symthia
Why are mobile societies unconcerned with witchcaft? Sedentary
societies believe in witchcraft as a means of conflict resolution. Mobile
societies, however, move away if a conflict is at hand. Of course, some
mobile societies with property do, in fact, believe that witchcraft
exists, but never within their own group. They can avoid this witchcraft
by moving. (Jeremy Bufford)
What factors make women, more so than men, the target of
witchcraft accusations? Witches are not always women, but in many
societies women are witches. This is the result of four major factors.
1) philosophical-Aristotle and other philosophers said that women were
inherently weak, 2) societal changes-women were associated with witches
when they attempted to assert their power and take their place in the
"male-dominated" world, 3) biological-women were considered to be polluted
because they excreted liminal fluids or fluids which crossed the body such
as milk, afterbirth, and menstrual fluids, 4)psychological-in societies
where women raised the children, they were associated with discipline and
punishment and this caused them to be associated with evil. (Jeremy Bufford)