The evidence for ancient Egyptian magic spans about four and a half
thousand years. Amulets go back as far as the early fourth millennium
BC; while magical texts occur from the late third millennium BC until the
fifth century AD. Written spells are the main source material, but objects
sometimes provide evidence for types of magic scarcely recorded in the
texts. These objects would have been even more useful if all early
archaeologists had appreciated the need to record the exact context of
their finds. The large number of well-preserved tombs and the sheer
quantity of tomb objects on view in museums have ensured that
funerary magic has been the subject of much research. Ritual magic
performed in temples and everyday magic - the spells and rites enacted
for individuals in life - have been studied far less. These three types of
magic were closely related and influences passed back and forth between
them. The insights that everyday magic can give into the personal lives of
the ancient Egyptians make it of far more than marginal interest.
Mediafire
0 comments:
Post a Comment