Magic and the Supernatural in the Ancient World

Discussion Questions

Derek Pepiak:dpepiak@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

What are the similarities and differences between ghosts and daemons?
Luck says that a hero was usually benevolent to the people of his community but he could turn into a ghost. If this is true, what was the hero before he became a ghost? Were heroes different from ghosts simply because heroes were benevolent, not evil?
Malefijt says that there are two widely held attitudes about the dead: they have either left the society or remain as active members. Which of these two attitudes do you think is held by the majority of modern Americans?

Nicholas Katsaounis: nkatsao@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

Discuss further the social control theory mentioned in Myers, why is there a need of fear of ghosts in order to have order? Is this true in the modern Western world and how different is this in the non-Western world?
In the Luck readings it is common for the ghost to have been an important figure in its life before. Why? what is the function of the hero ghost?

Kate Bolin--kbolin@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

Can the non-Western idea of ancestor worship be connected to the the hero worship in Greek and Roman society?
Is the ancient Greek and Roman stories about ghosts the start of the standard "ghost story"?
Are there what we would consider proper "ghosts"? There are spirits in dreams, and spirits conjured up, but are there actual "Ghosts"?

Zach harrelson:zharrel@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

Did ghosts have powers that magicians could utilize besides the revelation of past events through a phsychmanteion?
Seneca's ghosts are terrifying. Lucian's ghosts are comical. With only about 100 years between them what accounts for these polar portrayals? Popular social attitudes toward death and ghosts? Different styles or personalities? The different purposes of the works?
Did most ghosts desist from haunting towns and people once they were properly buried, lamented or avenged? Or did those who died an unnatural death continue to haunt living society forever afterward? (Charite's Tlepolemus versus Marathon's soldiers)

Jason Lapkin dweinbe@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

Michelle Arens marens@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

1. What relationship can we find between the type of ghost described in each piece of literature and the setting in which it is found?
2. A major heretical sect in early Christianity developed over the argument concerning the resurrection of Jesus as a physical or spiritual being. What similar beliefs are evidenced in the various writings about ghosts in Greek antiquity?
3. How do the ghosts in the underworld differ from those who visit the living either in dreams or spirit form?
Bonus: What, if any, is the significance of each of the offerings to the dead? (honey, milk, barley, wine, etc.)

Jay Munsch wmunsch@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

In antiquity, were all ghosts viewed as having the same power or were some more powerful than others?
How does one contact or appease the spirits of the dead?
Why are the dead thought to have less power in judeo-christian religion than in other religions today?

Bob Fraser: rfraser@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu

1. Luck talks of how necromancy was condemned by Pluto in his Republic. What were the circumstances that made contact with the dead shift from good to bad?
2. Ghosts that possess people during necromantic ceremonies, "daemonic agents", are said to be actual spirits of the dead or actual demons. Why would a person want to take the risk of calling upon the dead spirits when they know that they might be possessed by this "evil agent"?
3. In the Lucian piece, why is such a lighhearted attitude taken towards these people who were dead and never going to see the light of day again and were awaiting judgement that could involve stone, vultures, etc?

Nick Backer: nbacker@mailhost.tcs.tualne.edu

What might be the reasons that the ancient Greeks did not believe in possesion? Culturasl reasons is a broad explanation and I would like to expand on that.
When did the Persian dualism spread west? Was it as late as the turn to the "common era?"
It seems to me, the primary objective of Lucian's satirical sketches is to criticize philosophers. Is this accurate, and what do scholars of his literature say?