Maidens, Matrons, and Magicians: Women and Personal Ritual Power in Late Antique Egypt
Meghan Paalz McGinnis
University of Louisville:Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art History, Master of Arts, May (2012)
Abstract
Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of material, textual, and literary evidence, the aim of this thesis is to shed light on the realities –rather than stereotypes- of an important aspect of late ancient women’s experience: the use of ritual power. Patterns of gender differentiation in late antique Egyptian magic are investigated and shown to be connected to the particular aims to which numinous powers were employed, aims which were in turn bound up with the social roles expected of each sex. The majority of this study consists of a series of case studies of different types of women’s rituals of power, which emphasize examples of significant trends in ritual iconography, praxis, and context, both those which were typical of late antique Egyptian magic as a whole, and those which were uniquely female in character. The fact that female practitioners came from a wide array of socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds is also addressed.
A girl worries that her lover’s eye might wander. A mother wants to ensure the health of her child in every way possible. A businesswoman wishes for success in her newest venture. A new bride hopes for a harmonious marriage. A female scholar works to compose her latest treatise. Though over a thousand years separate the lives of these late antique Egyptian women from today’s world, their concerns are hardly ones which would be unfamiliar to many of their contemporary counterparts. But whereas the twenty-first century woman (or man) may look to things such as the wonders of modern medicine, or the omnipresent–if not always helpful–vastness of advice, how-tos, and other kinds of information to be found a mere keystroke away online, for assistance, women (and men) in the late antique world often sought to solve problems by tapping into numinous forces.
Meghan Paalz McGinnis
University of Louisville:Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art History, Master of Arts, May (2012)
Abstract
Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to a variety of material, textual, and literary evidence, the aim of this thesis is to shed light on the realities –rather than stereotypes- of an important aspect of late ancient women’s experience: the use of ritual power. Patterns of gender differentiation in late antique Egyptian magic are investigated and shown to be connected to the particular aims to which numinous powers were employed, aims which were in turn bound up with the social roles expected of each sex. The majority of this study consists of a series of case studies of different types of women’s rituals of power, which emphasize examples of significant trends in ritual iconography, praxis, and context, both those which were typical of late antique Egyptian magic as a whole, and those which were uniquely female in character. The fact that female practitioners came from a wide array of socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds is also addressed.
A girl worries that her lover’s eye might wander. A mother wants to ensure the health of her child in every way possible. A businesswoman wishes for success in her newest venture. A new bride hopes for a harmonious marriage. A female scholar works to compose her latest treatise. Though over a thousand years separate the lives of these late antique Egyptian women from today’s world, their concerns are hardly ones which would be unfamiliar to many of their contemporary counterparts. But whereas the twenty-first century woman (or man) may look to things such as the wonders of modern medicine, or the omnipresent–if not always helpful–vastness of advice, how-tos, and other kinds of information to be found a mere keystroke away online, for assistance, women (and men) in the late antique world often sought to solve problems by tapping into numinous forces.
Click here to read this thesis from the University of Louisville
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