David Frankfurter ed., "Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic" (Brill, 2019)

Feb 19, 2026

David Frankfurter, professor of religion at Boston University and editor of The Brill Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic, explores how scholars define and study ancient “magic.” He outlines the book’s three-part approach: native terminology, textual and material sources, and ritual contexts. The conversation highlights surprising artifacts, the power of writing and names, everyday ritual control, and issues of stereotyping and efficacy.

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INSIGHT

Roman Magic Is Framed As Exotic And Dangerous

Roman terms like superstitio and magia carried geographic and cultural stigma.
Roman portrayals of witches were stereotyped, sexualized, and more caricature than accurate record.

INSIGHT

Egypt's Rich Ritual Formularies

Egypt preserves extensive formularies spanning pharaonic to late antique and Coptic periods.
These texts mix healing, divination, vision, and cursing, so 'ritual formularies' is a better label than 'magic texts.'

INSIGHT

Material Objects Reveal Popular Practices

Archaeology yields many non-literary materials like amulets, lead figurines, and house mosaics used as protective devices.
These material cultures reveal everyday protective practices across Jewish, Roman, and other communities.

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In the midst of academic debates about the utility of the term “magic” and the cultural meaning of ancient words like mageia or khesheph, this Guide to the Study of Ancient Magic seeks to advance the discussion by separating out three topics essential to the very idea of magic. The three major sections of this volume address (1) indigenous terminologies for ambiguous or illicit ritual in antiquity; (2) the ancient texts, manuals, and artifacts commonly designated “magical” or used to represent ancient magic; and (3) a series of contexts, from the written word to materiality itself, to which the term “magic” might usefully pertain.
The individual essays in this volume cover most of Mediterranean and Near Eastern antiquity, with essays by both established and emergent scholars of ancient religions.
In a burgeoning field of “magic studies” trying both to preserve and to justify critically the category itself, this volume brings new clarity and provocative insights. This will be an indispensable resource to all interested in magic in the Bible and the Ancient Near East, ancient Greece and Rome, Early Christianity and Judaism, Egypt through the Christian period, and also comparative and critical theory.
Contributors are: Magali Bailliot, Gideon Bohak, Véronique Dasen, Albert de Jong, Jacco Dieleman, Esther Eidinow, David Frankfurter, Fritz Graf, Yuval Harari, Naomi Janowitz, Sarah Iles Johnston, Roy D. Kotansky, Arpad M. Nagy, Daniel Schwemer, Joseph E. Sanzo, Jacques van der Vliet, Andrew Wilburn.

David Frankfurter holds the William Goodwin Aurelio Chair of the Appreciation of Scripture at Boston University. He joined the faculty of B.U. in the fall of 2010. A scholar of ancient Mediterranean religions with specialties in Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, magical texts, popular religion, and Egypt in the Roman and late antique periods, Frankfurter’s particular interests revolve around theoretical issues like the place of magic in religion, the relationship of religion and violence, the nature of Christianization, and the representation of evil in culture.

Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network.

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