Magic and the Supernatural in the Ancient World

Discussion Questions

Feb. 17: Roman Witchcraft

• Tobin Cataldo: tcatald@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • What is the importance of the oath to Hercules in the Golden Ass.
  • Is the Socrates in the dialogue in Socrates of renown?
  • Is this story similar to those of Virgil and Horace attempting to put witchcraft in an evil light?

• Kate Bolin--kbolin@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • Most of the texts we read rely on (to put it delicately) "low-brow" humor. Can we really consider these texts to be accurate in their depiction of Roman witches?
  • Does the Roman literature depict witches differently than the Greek literature?
  • Is it possible that the "real" Roman witch is in-between the vicious evil crones and the bumbling housewives portrayed in the literature?

• Derek Pepiak:dpepiak@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • What, if any, significance does the number three have in Roman witchcraft?
  • In Lucan's Pharsalia, it is implied that witches may be more powerful that Jupiter. Was this a commonly held belief in Roman times?
  • What is the difference between a necromancer and a witch. Both can bring people back from the dead, but is this all a necromancer is able to do?

• Zachary Harrelson: zharrel@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  1. In Apuleis all of the witches and female villains had either a servant or confidant to help them with their magic or crime. Was this a characteristic of witchcraft in ancient Rome?
  2. While Apuleis created unflattering portraits of a couple of male charcaters he wrote many scathing descriptions of various female characters, including tales of adulterous and jealous wives. Was Apuleis a misogynist or Roman society in general?
  3. What is the significance of Lucius being transformed into an ass as opposed to any other animal, especially any other pack animal?

• Nick Backer
  • In our categoization of reasons people engage in modern witchcraft, I think certain individuals might, like certain Wiccans, have a tie to folk roots of the past, and state this as their motivation for engaging in witchcraft.
  • In Apuleius' "The Golden Ass," I wonder why no reference was ever made to Milo (Lucius' host, and the husband of the witch) having knowledge or opinions on his wifes practices, and why this was never brought into the story.

• Michelle Arens marens@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • 1. What characteristics of Roman witches can we gather from these stories?
  • 2. What types of witchcraft and/or magic are evidenced in these stories?
  • 3. Are these witches in any way different from those of the Greeks stories?

• Jason S. Lapkin @ Dweinbe@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • What is the motivation behind Horace's less-than-flattering portrayal of witches? Is is personal, social, for entertainment purposes?
  • How do the descriptions of Greek witches differ from those of Roman witches? How do their powers and attributes differ? How do the Greek and Roman descriptions of Medea differ?
  • How reliable are the Roman sources?

• Robert C Fraser: rfraser@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • 1. Where do we "draw the line" with respect to whether or not these events occured in ancient Rome according to the writers of these texts such as Horace page 75 where he describes women digging holes with their bare hands and pouring blood into them?
  • 2. Was witchcraft in the days of Rome looked down upon as a choice by the participants or were the participators forced by the gods to be as they were, submissive to their powers?
  • 3. Women seem entirely connected to nature in the Roman accounts of "witchlike" activity. Who were the people who watched these events so closely if women who were "possesed" were the only people present?

• "Christina Wilson": cwilson2@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • What are the relationships between the witches in the readings and their dieties?
  • How can we use these readings to get an understanding of societies views of witches in this time?
  • How do these reading/witches compare to those of last weeks?

• Jay Munsch:wmunsch@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
  • In the stories told in Apulieus, what kinds of activities are attributed to the witches?
  • Can we distinguish any changes in how this Roman author conceived of witchcraft?